Cataclysmic collisionDana Berry, SkyWorks Digital, Inc./Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics By Mika McKinnon Have we detected a new flavour of gravitational wave? Speculation is swelling that researchers have spotted the subtle warping of the fabric of space resulting from the cataclysmic collision of two neutron stars. Now optical telescopes – including […]
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By Josh Gabbatiss The hallucinogenic effects of magic mushrooms are well documented. But nobody knows what psilocybin, the chemical responsible, does for the mushrooms themselves. Now, one of the first genomic analyses of hallucinogenic fungi has deciphered psilocybin production, and even suggested a function for it. By messing with insect […]
No eavesdropping with quantum commsGetty Images By Devin Powell The weird world of quantum mechanics is going for a swim. A team of Chinese researchers has, for the first time, transmitted quantum entangled particles of light through water – the first step in using lasers to send underwater messages that […]
By Aylin Woodward There’s a bright side to everything, perhaps even mass die-offs of animals. If one population of a species goes rapidly and completely extinct – maybe thanks to a forest fire or hurricane – it may help the species persist in the long run. Members of a species […]
Beginning to see the light?NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle By Jesse Emspak The “alien megastructure” star that has been puzzling us for the past few years might have a more ordinary explanation: an orbiting Saturn-like planet, complete with wobbling rings. In 2015, a group led by Tabetha Boyajian, then of Yale University, found […]
When you first install the Orbit B-Hyve, you might not think it’s that different from an ordinary sprinkler controller. The large central dial, the four large buttons and the clunky LCD display all give the impression that you’re dealing with outdated technology. Indeed, Orbit’s first smart sprinkler doesn’t stray far […]
Last time we reviewed an Oontz was a few years back when Cambridge Soundworks’ original no-frills “value” Bluetooth speakers first hit Amazon. The Oontz Angle 3 Plus is technically the fourth generation of Oontz, and continues the brand’s tradition of delivering good sound for the price. In fact, you could […]
Maurice Savage/Alamy Stock Photo It’s the nightmare scenario: a consumer drone flying into a jet engine. But no one has actually done the tests that could reveal what would happen and inform safety. That’s strange, given the increasing risk of such an incident. We need to know if it could […]