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Black holes are often shown as objects that pull everything straight into them. But real black holes are surrounded by gas that behaves in very complex and surprising ways. Recent research has shown that cold clumps of gas can form and survive inside very hot gas flows around black holes . Even more surprising, these cold clumps do not fall directly into the black hole when they form. A recent study by Liu and his research team explains how these cold clumps are created, how they move, and how they finally fall into the black hole. Their work helps us better understand one of the biggest puzzles in black hole science: how black holes change their behavior during outbursts . What Is a Black Hole X-ray Binary? A black hole X-ray binary is a system where a black hole is paired with a normal star. Gas from the star is pulled toward the black hole due to its strong gravity. This gas does not fall straight in. Instead, it spins around the black hole and forms an accretion flow . As the gas...

Many aquatic animals do not swim in a smooth, continuous way. Instead, they move in short bursts, pause briefly, and then swim again. This pattern is called intermittent locomotion or bout-and-glide swimming . You can clearly see this behavior in small fish like larval zebrafish, tadpoles, and even some adult fish. For a long time, scientists have wondered: Why do fish swim this way? Is it just a habit, or does it save energy? And what is happening inside the nervous system that controls this movement? Answering these questions using live animals is extremely difficult. Fish are small, fast, and delicate. Measuring their internal muscle activity, neural signals, and energy use while they swim freely is a major technical challenge. To overcome this problem, researchers turned to an innovative solution: a robotic fish . A research team from EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) , led by Xiangxiao Liu , developed a bio-inspired robot called ZBot . This robot mimics the body sha...

Nature has spent millions of years perfecting vision. From the round pupils of humans to the slit-shaped eyes of cats and the panoramic vision of sheep, every eye has evolved to solve a specific environmental challenge. Inspired by this extraordinary diversity, scientists are now building artificial vision systems that do more than just “see.” They sense, adapt, and respond—much like living eyes. In a groundbreaking development, a research team from the University of North Carolina , led by Kun Liang , has introduced a bioinspired artificial vision system that can dynamically change its pupil shape and behavior. This innovation brings machines one step closer to human- and animal-like visual intelligence. Why Animal Eyes Matter in Artificial Vision Evolution has produced a wide range of eye designs, each suited to different environments: Human eyes use round pupils to balance clarity and light control. Cats have vertical slit pupils that improve depth perception and hunting ability ...

Artificial muscles are no longer science fiction. They are already helping soft robots move, wearable devices assist human motion, and future machines interact safely with people. Among the most promising technologies in this field are dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) —soft, rubber-like materials that move when electricity is applied. DEAs can stretch, contract, bend, or twist, just like real muscles. They are lightweight, fast, and capable of producing large movements. However, one major problem has slowed their real-world use: they usually need very high voltages—often thousands of volts—to work . This makes them unsafe, bulky, and unsuitable for portable or wearable systems. Now, researchers from Zhejiang University have made a major breakthrough . They have developed low-voltage, high-output dielectric elastomer actuators (LVHO-DEAs) that deliver powerful performance while operating at much safer voltages. This advance brings artificial muscles much closer to everyday applic...

In astronomy, a shadow is not just darkness. It is a powerful clue about how gravity works near extremely dense objects. When light passes close to a very strong gravitational field, its path bends. Some light escapes, and some gets trapped. To a distant observer, this creates a dark region called a shadow . In recent years, images from the Event Horizon Telescope have shown the shadows of supermassive black holes. These images confirmed many predictions of Einstein’s theory of gravity. But black holes are not the only objects that could cast shadows. Other strange objects, such as traversable wormholes , may also leave visible shadow patterns. In this article, we explain the work of Cheng, Xu, and Zhao. They studied the shadow of a rotating traversable wormhole and found new and surprising features—especially sharp points called cusps . These features could help scientists tell wormholes apart from black holes in the future. What Is a Traversable Wormhole? A wormhole is a theoreti...

Scientists have taken a major step toward understanding how the human brain works—without ever opening a human skull. A new shape-conforming 3D bioelectronic mesh can now wrap around lab-grown mini brains and record 91% of their electrical activity , something that was impossible until now. This breakthrough solves one of the biggest problems in brain organoid research: how to listen to signals from a three-dimensional living brain-like tissue using tools that were designed to be flat. Developed by researchers at Northwestern University and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab , the new device opens the door to deeper insights into brain development, neurological diseases, and drug testing. What Are Mini Brains and Why Do They Matter? Mini brains, formally known as human neural organoids , are tiny brain-like structures grown in laboratories from human stem cells. Though they are only a few millimeters wide, they contain: Living neurons Interconnected neural circuits Brain-like electrical rhyth...

 In a breakthrough that could redefine the future of electronics, a team of Chinese researchers has developed the world’s smallest ferroelectric transistor with a gate just 1 nanometer wide . This revolutionary “nanogate” transistor promises to drastically reduce the energy needed to move data in devices like AI chips, wearables, and edge computing systems. Bridging the Gap Between Memory and Logic Modern electronic devices rely on two main components: logic circuits , which perform calculations, and memory units , which store information. While logic chips operate efficiently at about 0.7 volts, conventional memory devices like NAND flash need 5 volts or more to write data. This mismatch forces chip designers to include extra circuits to step up voltage, which consumes valuable energy and space. Even previous ferroelectric field-effect transistors (FeFETs) , which promised low-power memory, needed over 1.5 volts to operate. In AI chips, this inefficiency is particularly pronounc...