Isosurface of the Dyson orbital, taken from Piccinelli, Samuele, et al., “Exploring paths towards quantum chemistry: the case of a molecule with a half-Möbius topology,” arXiv, 9 March 2026. arXiv:2603.08696 A recent paper in the journal Science announced the discovery of a truly new and surprising substance that could have a major impact on our … Read more
Summary: We have known for a long time that alcohol changes the way the brain works, but new research has discovered a surprising direct mechanism: alcohol does not only affect brain chemistry – its breakdown products (metabolites) directly control genes. The study shows that these epigenetic “rewrites” occur throughout the entire brain after long-term exposure, … Read more
If you live in England, you may have just got a new food waste caddy. Councils must now collect your separated food waste and turn it into fuel, compost or compost. So you can live comfortably knowing that your provisions for potatoes and stale bread will be put to good use instead of going to … Read more
James Webb Telescope (JWST) discovered small galaxies with black holes that are not well understood. These black holes, located in galaxies with masses much smaller than those traditionally associated with supermassive black holes (SMBHs), challenge long-held beliefs about how galaxies and their central black holes evolve. The discovery of these “extreme” black holes pushes the … Read more
For more than two decades, textbooks and science fairs have been telling the same story that the universe is not only expanding, but accelerating. Now a new wave of data is quietly shaking up that picture and giving new life to a mysterious ending called the Big Crunch, where everything in the universe finally collapses … Read more
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you want an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Do multiverses exist? If so, what do they look like? How do you get there without wasting time? – Emily, age 9, Pune, Maharashtra, India The concept of multiverse – … Read more
Researchers say a new theory to deal with the Big Bang could change the way physicists think about the early history of the universe. A team from the University of Waterloo and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics has taken a different approach to analyzing the origin of the universe from previous efforts, with a … Read more
Stuart Penkett’s discovery of the chemical processes that cause acid rain changed our understanding of atmospheric pollution and what was needed to deal with it. Penkett, who has died aged 87, and his colleagues at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE) in Harwell, Berkshire, published a landmark paper in 1979 in the journal Atmospheric Environment, … Read more
During the first half of January, Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), the Mexican oil company, repaired a pipeline containing crude oil that was thought to contain more than 19 square kilometers (50 km2), which runs from one of the oil platforms in the Cantarell field to the Dos Bocas facilities. The location of the spill is one … Read more
Summer is a busy season at Schirmacher Oasis, an ice-free rocky outcrop on Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica. It is near the base of the Nivlisen Ice Shelf and about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the open waters of the Lazarev Sea, the country’s “oasis” in the middle of a continuous glacier is home to … Read more