Uncover reality

For decades, radio waves have been the backbone of communication between spacecraft and Earth. But as NASA prepares for a new era of lunar exploration, the amount of information missions need to send home is growing rapidly. High-resolution images, ultra-high-definition video, scientific measurements, navigation data and spacecraft health information can quickly overwhelm traditional communication systems. A new technology could help solve that problem: laser communication . NASA demonstrated the potential of this technology during the Artemis II mission, showing how invisible beams of infrared light could carry enormous amounts of information between the Moon and Earth. Why Space Communication Needs an Upgrade Modern spacecraft generate huge volumes of data. Future lunar missions will involve not only astronauts, but also rovers, scientific instruments, autonomous systems and potentially permanent infrastructure. All of these systems will need to communicate with Earth. Traditional ra...

Imagine picking up a fragile glass. Your fingers automatically adjust their grip—strong enough to prevent the glass from slipping, but gentle enough to avoid breaking it. You do not consciously calculate the pressure. Your skin and nervous system handle it almost instantly. Now, scientists are trying to recreate this remarkable ability in machines. Researchers at Aarhus University have developed a tiny artificial sensor inspired by the way human sensory cells convert touch into electrical signals. The technology could eventually help prosthetic hands detect physical contact and, potentially, allow users to actually feel what their artificial limbs are touching. The breakthrough was reported in the journal Advanced Functional Materials in a study titled “Bio-Inspired Artificial Ionic Mechanoreceptor.” How Human Skin Turns Touch Into Electrical Signals Human touch is far more sophisticated than it appears. When you press your fingertip against an object, mechanical forces affect special...

Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a new type of electronic skin that can sense pressure and directly turn it into visible light . Called eLuminator , the soft and ultrathin device could make tactile information much easier to see and understand, with potential applications ranging from medical care and surgical training to robotics, prosthetics and wearable technology. The research, published in Nature Communications , introduces a different approach to electronic skin. Instead of depending on hundreds or thousands of individual sensing pixels connected to complicated electronics, eLuminator uses a continuous, pixel-free structure that can visualize pressure directly where it is applied. A New Approach to Electronic Skin Electronic skin, or e-skin, is being developed to give machines and wearable devices a sense of touch similar to human skin. These systems can detect pressure, force and contact, making them useful for robots, prosthetic limbs, me...

For decades, astronomers have searched the skies for planets orbiting distant stars. Now, researchers are developing tools that could help them look for something far more unusual: artificial structures built by advanced alien civilizations . Researchers Bhowmick and Khaire have developed a numerical simulator called Yuti , a powerful tool designed to model the way objects of almost any shape block the light of a star. Unlike conventional transit models that mainly focus on spherical planets, Yuti can simulate objects with complex and unusual geometries—including comets, distorted planets, binary stars and hypothetical alien megastructures. The goal is simple but exciting: understand what these unusual objects would look like when they pass in front of a star, and determine whether their distinctive signals could eventually be identified in real astronomical data. From the First Exoplanet to Thousands of Discoveries The discovery of 51 Pegasi b in 1995 , the first exoplanet found orbit...

Imagine a soft material that changes its colour almost instantly when you press it. A gentle touch could make it shift from one colour to another, while releasing the pressure would quickly return it to its original state. Researchers have now developed a new photonic hydrogel that can do exactly this—with a response time of only about 0.1 milliseconds . The material, developed by Youfeng Yue and his team , combines the flexibility of a hydrogel with a carefully engineered nanoscale structure that can control how light is reflected. The result is a soft material capable of full-colour switching across a wide visible range , while remaining mechanically stable even after more than 10,000 repeated cycles . The technology could eventually be useful for advanced displays, highly sensitive stress sensors and other optical devices. How Does a Photonic Material Produce Colour? Unlike conventional coloured materials that rely on pigments or dyes, photonic materials can produce colour through t...

What if a material could be incredibly lightweight yet withstand powerful impacts better than many conventional protective materials? Scientists are now exploring exactly that possibility using a new class of materials engineered at the nanoscale. A research team led by Carlos Portela has demonstrated that three-dimensional nanoarchitected carbon materials can absorb an extraordinary amount of impact energy while weighing far less than traditional materials such as steel, aluminium, PMMA and Kevlar. The discovery could eventually influence the design of lightweight armour, protective coatings and shields for sensitive electronic systems. A New Way to Think About Strong Materials Traditional impact-resistant materials often depend on their bulk, density and mechanical strength. Steel, for example, is widely used because it is strong and can withstand large forces. However, its relatively high weight becomes a major limitation when engineers need protection without adding significant mas...

For most of us, it seems obvious when we are responsible for an action. If we walk, move our hands, or speak, our brain normally knows that we caused those movements. This ability is known as the sense of agency —the feeling that we are the author of our own actions. But new research shows that this feeling can be surprisingly easy to manipulate. Using immersive virtual reality (VR), researchers demonstrated that people can experience the convincing illusion of walking through a virtual environment while their real body remains seated and almost completely motionless . The study, led by Elena Kokkinara and colleagues , explored how the brain decides whether an action belongs to us and how virtual reality can interfere with that process. How Does the Brain Know an Action Is Ours? When we decide to move, the brain sends motor commands to our muscles. At the same time, it appears to generate an internal prediction of what the movement should feel and look like. Scientists often describe ...