Magnetic gearbox could power robots to crawl or jump inside your body
Robots without batteries, motors or electronics can lack power, but a tiny gearbox driven by an external magnetic field enabled one soft robot to jump almost 40 times its height…
Protons inside some types of hydrogen and helium are behaving weirdly
In some types of helium and hydrogen, protons are more than six times as likely to pair up than they are in other atoms – which may mean there is…
Early mammals lived faster and died younger than modern ones
The extinction of the dinosaurs left an ecological hole that was quickly filled by mammals, which rapidly developed larger bodies. Now it seems this evolutionary growth spurt was a result…
Scientists home in on genetic causes of uncombable hair syndrome
Mutations in a gene called PADI3 appear to be the most common cause of a rare condition that makes hair stick out at right angles to the scalp Health 31…
Hacking device can secretly swipe and tap your smartphone screen
A hacking device can be placed under a table and use electromagnetic signals to mimic human touch on nearby touchscreens. It could then be used to secretly download malware or…
Should you take HRT? Here’s how to think clearly about the risks
Hormone replacement therapy has a bad reputation because of potential risks to long-term health. A new look at the evidence could change our relationship with HRT – and the menopause…
Half of fish tested in an Amazon river have unsafe levels of mercury
At four locations close to the Yanomami Indigenous reserve in Brazil, many species of fish were found to have mercury levels considered unsafe for consumption Environment 31 August 2022 By…
Whale songs can spread between groups nearly 8000 kilometres apart
Songs that were first heard from humpback whales off eastern Australia were picked up in whales off Ecuador several years later, suggesting that the noises passed between groups across the…
Compression socks may prevent nausea and loose bowels during marathons
Stomach cramps and the urgent need for the toilet on long runs may partly be caused by decreased blood flow damaging gut cells. Compression socks reduce signs of this damage…
The time-lapse telescope that will transform our view of the universe
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will scan the whole southern sky every three nights. From short-lived supernovae to alien megastructures, here are some of the fleeting cosmic phenomena it could…