Mars Rover Making Mad Dash to Tantalizing Life Target
NASA's Perseverance Rover is driving at a record-setting pace toward a river delta potentially teeming with signs of ancient life.
Christopher Plain
Israeli Laser Wall Operational by Years End
Israel has reaffirmed their plans to build a “laser wall” defense system, including initial deployment by the end of 2022.
Mental Health Experts Reveal Which Natural Medicines Actually Work and Which Don’t
An international team of researchers has assembled a 'best of the best' analysis of natural medicines used to treat mental health disorders.
How Anxiety Directly Increases or Decreases Motivation
New research indicates that low anxiety individuals become extra-motivated by stress, while high anxiety individuals essentially shut down.
Tech Talk Episode 5: Top 15 of 21st Century Weapons
In this episode of The Debrief’s Tech Talk, hosts Josh Rutledge and Stefan Gearhart take a look at the top 15 weapons of the 21st-century.
Meet Ghost Bat: Boeing’s AI-Controlled Combat Drone
Boeing and the RAAF have officially announced the naming of their latest AI-controlled air combat drone, the MQ-28A Ghost Bat.
This Experiment Could Show Whether Information is a ‘Fifth Element’
A newly proposed experiment could prove (or disprove) that information itself is the fifth element of physical matter.
NASA’s Roman Telescope to Directly Image Exoplanets
Program Will Narrow Gap to Directly Imaging Earthlike Exoplanets
Program Will Narrow Gap to Directly Imaging Earthlike Exoplanets
NASA is currently building the Nancy Grace Roman space telescope in hopes of directly imaging smaller and fainter exoplanets.
Do Spiders Fly Using Electricity?
New research shows that spiders who use silk threads to fly may be tapping into electricity in the Earth's atmosphere for lift.
NASA Funds Next Phase of Exoplanet Hunting Starshade
NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program has granted new funding to develop a working orbital starshade.
Buy This eBike, and You Might Save an Elephant
Swedish eBike designer CAKE has pledged to fight animal poaching by donating one of their specially designed eBikes for each one purchased.
Complex Organic Molecules Found within Planetary Disc
Discovery Will Help the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
Discovery Will Help the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
Astronomers have detected the complex organic molecules dimethyl ether and methyl formate within a star’s planetary-forming disc.
Tech Talk Episode 4: Space Telescopes
In this episode of The Debrief’s Tech Talk, we look at 54 years of science since the launch of the first space telescope in 1968.
Will Cosmic Rays Reveal the Secrets of the Pyramids?
A team of researchers is planning to use cosmic rays to look deeper into Egypt’s Great Pyramid than ever before.
Paper Airplane Study Finds New Aerodynamic Effects
A team of researchers analyzing the flight characteristics of paper airplanes have found a whole new set of unexpected aerodynamic effects.
Did Curiosity Rover Spot a Flower on Mars?
NASA’s Curiosity rover has taken a picture of a rock formation on Mars that looks eerily like a tiny flower.
European Space Agency Issues Statement on Russia
Following a meeting of its member countries, the European Space Agency (ESA) has issued a formal statement regarding cooperation with Russia.
Solar-Powered Car Smokes Tesla in Drag Race
A new video shows Aptera Motors’ solar-powered electric vehicle beating a Tesla Model 3 and an Audi R8 in a drag race.
NASA Eyes Electroaerodynamic Propulsion System
Ionic Wind Thruster Can Propel Aircraft with No Moving Parts
Ionic Wind Thruster Can Propel Aircraft with No Moving Parts
NASA has awarded researchers at MIT a grant to further develop their electroaerodynamic propulsion system, which has no moving parts.
Nostalgia Successfully Relieves Physical Pain
Images of people, places, or objects intended to invoke feelings of nostalgia can relieve physical pain, according to new research.
Exploring Venus in a Manta Ray Inspired Spacecraft
A new spacecraft inspired by the manta ray and designed to surf the clouds of Venus has received a second round of funding from NASA.
Researchers Control Venus Flytrap with Artificial Neurons
Swedish researchers have developed organic artificial neurons, aka nerve cells, capable of communicating directly with a biological system.
Perseverance Rover Spots Artificial Object on Mars
Further Review Confirms Object is Discarded Rover Drill Bit
Further Review Confirms Object is Discarded Rover Drill Bit
NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover has photographed something or the red planet’s surface that is clearly not natural.
Cannabis Shows Promising Results for Treating PTSD
A clinical trial conducted by Soroka University Medical Center has shown promising results in treating PTSD with cannabis.
Tatooine-Like Exoplanet Confirmed
Discovery Expected to Aid the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
Discovery Expected to Aid the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
Astronomers have confirmed an exoplanet orbiting two suns similar to Luke Skywalker’s fictional home Tatooine in the 1977 movie Star Wars.
Watch eVTOL Air Taxi Transition Mid-Flight
A new video from eVTOL designer Autoflight shows their Prosperity I vehicle transition from vertical takeoff to horizontal flight in mid-air.
NASA Rocket Ready to Chase Pulsating Aurora
NASA is readying the launch of a new rocket that will try to figure out what causes one aspect of the aurora borealis to pulsate.
Does Your Brain Replay Your “Best Life” When You Die?
A new study says your brain may be “active and coordinated” during your time of death, potentially replaying...
Tech Talk Episode 4: Wi-Fi Mesh.
In the latest edition of The Debrief's Tech Talk, our super cyber-critics Josh Rutledge and Stefan Gearhart take aim at a technology that has changed the world of Wi-Fi: the mesh.
Kitchen Sponges Are Even More Disgusting Than You Thought
A Better Incubator Than a Laboratory Petri Dish?
A Better Incubator Than a Laboratory Petri Dish?
Researchers have determined that an everyday kitchen sponge provides an ideal environment for the proliferation of E, Coli bacteria.
Light Sail Could Reach Proxima Centauri in 20 Years
Researchers have proposed a light sail design that should be able to survive the stresses of an interstellar voyage.
Solar Power Without Direct Sunlight? This Researcher Says It’s Possible
An engineering student from the Philippines has created a solar panel that doesn’t require direct sunlight to generate power.
NASA is Playing with Fire. In Space. Literally.
A new set of NASA experiments will test how fire acts and how to extinguish it in the...
Meth Use Really Does Make You Insane
Researchers See Five-Fold Increase in Psychosis with Regular Use
Researchers See Five-Fold Increase in Psychosis with Regular Use
New research indicates that the illicit use of amphetamines like meth can cause a five-fold increase in psychosis.
“Kill Switch” Successfully Inserted into Genetically Engineered Organisms
A “kill-switch” which causes genetically engineered organisms to self-destruct has been successfully inserted into a custom-made microbe.
Evidence of Habitable Zone Planet Found Lurking in Orbit Around White Dwarf
Researchers studying a white dwarf star say they have detected signs of a possible planet orbiting within the star’s habitable zone.
Newly Discovered Trojan Asteroid Has Same Orbit as Earth
Rare Space Rock Could Service Future Deep Space Missions
Rare Space Rock Could Service Future Deep Space Missions
Physicists have discovered a Trojan asteroid orbiting the Sun at the same distance as Earth, only the second such space body discovered.
New Planet Found Orbiting Proxima Centauri
Scientists have detected signs of a third planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, which is Earth’s closest stellar neighbor.
This Real-Life Transformer Robot Can Drive, and Fly
Researchers have created a real-life transformer robot that can change from a driving vehicle to a flying one, and then back again.
Fusion Reactor Breakthrough Readies Stage for ITER
Researchers have produced the largest energy output from any fusion reactor to date using the exact type of fuel used by the sun.
Tech Talk Reviews HALO Infinite & The Pattern
In the latest edition of The Debrief’s Tech Talk, resident techno-nerds Mr. Stefan Gearhart (aka the camp counselor,...
Origins of Life on Earth May Be Extraterrestrial After All
Researchers have shown that amino acids can form peptides, the building blocks of life, in space, potentially explaining the origin of life.
Birds with Big Brains Best at Resisting Climate Change
New research shows that birds with big brains are better at resisting climate change-induced shrinking than birds with...
Scientists Make Cannabis Without Growing the Plant
Technology May Also Help Feed and Medicate Future Space Colonists
Technology May Also Help Feed and Medicate Future Space Colonists
BioHarvest Sciences has announced the successful production of 22 pounds of fully viable cannabis biomass without actually growing the plant.
China Reveals Its Newest Plans for Space Dominance
In a newly issued white paper, China has charted out the next five years of its space program's ambitious goals.
Oversized Animal Weapons May Actually Be a Big Bluff
Oversized animal weapons may not indicate better fighters but instead may show the animal is cheating to appear more threatening.
In the Search for E.T., Moon Size Matters
New research indicates that the size of Earth’s moon relative to the size of the planet may have been key to the development of life.
New “Impossible” Plastic is Stronger than Steel
Researchers at MIT have created a new type of two-dimensional plastic that is stronger than steel or even bulletproof glass.
World’s Oldest Tortoise Still Doing His Thing Reptile Style
At 190 years old, Jonathan the "sexually active" tortoise has been declared the oldest living tortoise to ever live.
Sorry Everybody, but Alcohol “Directly Causes” Cancer
Alcohol consumption directly causes a number of types of cancer regardless of other lifestyle choices, according to a new genetic study.