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An innovative, flexible cooling material uses moisture from the air to reduce heat, offering a promising solution for AI data centers, smartphones, and electric vehicle batteries. As artificial intelligence (AI), smartphones, and electric vehicles become increasingly important in everyday life, managing the heat generated by electronic devices has become a major challenge. Powerful computers require efficient cooling to operate safely, while batteries and mobile devices must control their temperature to maintain performance and reliability. However, traditional cooling systems often consume significant amounts of electricity and water. Now, researchers in South Korea have developed a promising alternative: a flexible film that uses moisture from the air to cool electronic devices without requiring an external water supply or electricity to power the cooling process. The research team, led by Professor Seong Kyun Kim from the Department of Physics and Chemistry at the Daegu Gyeongbuk In...

Astronomers have witnessed a dramatic cosmic event in which a massive black hole tore apart a star thousands of light-years away from the center of its host galaxy. The discovery offers valuable clues about a mysterious population of black holes that wander through galaxies instead of remaining at their centers. The event, named TDE 2023mfm , occurred approximately 3,500 light-years from the center of its host galaxy. Researchers studied the explosion using several powerful telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Swift observatory, and the Very Large Array radio telescope. The findings reveal how stars can expose the locations of otherwise hidden black holes. They also raise new questions about how these massive objects reach regions far from galactic centers and why their behavior can differ even when they destroy stars in similar ways. The research was led by Itai Sfaradi of the University of California and published as a preprint on th...

Astronomers have discovered a surprising pattern that could explain when black holes launch enormous jets of material into space. Despite having masses that differ by millions of times, black holes appear to follow the same fundamental rule when producing these powerful cosmic outflows. The discovery, published in Nature Astronomy in 2026, suggests that some black holes launch delayed jets when their feeding rate falls to approximately 2% of a theoretical limit known as the Eddington limit. This finding could help scientists understand why certain black holes erupt soon after consuming a star, while others remain quiet for months or even years before producing detectable radio signals. The research was led by Dr. Adelle Goodwin, an astrophysicist at Curtin University's International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) and a Forrest Research Foundation Fellow, alongside Dr. Andrew Mummery of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. The findings provide new evidence th...

Imagine tiny robots that can move through liquid, change direction, and deliver medicine to specific parts of the body—all with the help of bubbles smaller than a grain of sand. What sounds like science fiction could become a reality thanks to a new technology developed by researchers at Cornell University. Scientists have developed a method to create and control microscopic gas bubbles whenever and wherever they are needed. By combining tiny electrodes with ultrasound, the researchers can generate bubbles on demand and use them to direct the movement of surrounding liquids. This breakthrough could open new possibilities in medical treatment, microscopic robotics, and advanced fluid-control systems. The research, titled “Ultrasound-Driven Electronically Programmable Microbubbles,” was published in the journal Science Advances in 2026. Why Are Scientists Interested in Tiny Bubbles? Bubbles may seem simple, but they can perform surprisingly useful tasks at microscopic scales. When a b...

A 3.8-billion-year-old lunar rock has revealed a surprising chemical feature that could help scientists understand how the Moon formed its ancient volcanic rocks and how oxygen-poor conditions shaped its interior. The Moon may look like a quiet, lifeless world today, but its rocks preserve evidence of a time when powerful volcanic eruptions reshaped its surface. Now, scientists studying an ancient lunar rock collected during NASA’s Apollo 17 mission have discovered an unusual form of titanium inside a mineral that is common in the Moon’s volcanic rocks. The discovery focuses on a mineral called ilmenite, which is one of the main places where titanium is stored in titanium-rich lunar basalts. Researchers found that the ilmenite in the ancient rock contains more titanium than expected, including a form known as titanium in the +3 oxidation state, or Ti³⁺. This finding provides direct evidence of a chemical condition that scientists have suspected existed inside the Moon for decades. It c...

A new type of lightweight electrostatic actuator can lift more than 4 Newtons of force while weighing just 0.7 grams, potentially opening new possibilities for future space robots and spacecraft. Space is one of the harshest environments for operating machines. Extreme temperatures, near-total vacuum, radiation and limited power supplies make even simple mechanical tasks challenging. From opening solar panels to handling scientific instruments, spacecraft depend on reliable mechanisms that can function without frequent maintenance. Now, researchers led by Ion-Dan Sîrbu have developed a new type of electrostatic actuator designed specifically for vacuum environments. Instead of treating the vacuum of space as an obstacle, the technology uses its unique properties to improve performance. The tiny devices are remarkably lightweight yet powerful. According to the researchers, an actuator weighing just 0.7 grams can generate a pulling force exceeding 4 Newtons. The technology could eventual...

A new study reveals that radiation and weightlessness could leave lasting damage inside the human body, raising serious questions about the safety of future missions to Mars. For decades, humans have dreamed of travelling to Mars and exploring the farthest reaches of space. But while space missions promise incredible discoveries, they also expose astronauts to dangers that are largely absent on Earth. Two of the biggest threats are cosmic radiation and microgravity, the condition in which astronauts experience apparent weightlessness. Scientists already know that both can affect the human body. However, the long-term consequences remain uncertain. A new study published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE has raised fresh concerns, suggesting that deep-space conditions could cause lasting damage to the heart, weaken the immune system and increase the risk of diseases associated with ageing. The findings, based on experiments involving rats, highlight an important challenge for future mi...