Metasurface Breakthrough Makes Blistering Laser Light Speeds a Reality
In a nanomaterial breakthrough, engineers have developed a new metasurface that can steer and shape light beams at unprecedented speeds.
Ryan Whalen
Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org, and follow him on Twitter @mdntwvlf.
The First Temporal Photonic Crystal Advances Light into a New Dimension
When a team of physicists in Paris fabricated the first temporal photonic crystal, they added a new dimension to the quest to control light.
New Observations Reveal the Staggering Scale of the Universe’s Largest Galaxy
As new observations reveal the edges of IC 1101 for the first time, they allow scientists to confirm it is the largest known galaxy.
“It’s Obviously Quite Over the Top”: We Talked to the Company Behind This Eerie Four-Legged “Centaur” Robot That’s Going Viral
Could a remotely operated centaur robot called Threehalves be the future of manual work in some of our planet’s most dangerous environments?
China Develops Drones with Endless Flight Times Powered by Advanced Laser Technology
Chinese Researchers have developed a breakthrough laser charging technology enabling drone flights of unlimited duration.
The Powerful Radio Afterglow from a Black Hole Tearing Apart a Star Could Help Solve a Cosmic Mystery
The cosmic violence of a black hole tearing apart a star produced a brilliant radio light observed by Chinese astronomers using US equipment.
An Unexpected Transmissible Cancer Is Appearing in North American Waterways—Where Did It Come From?
An unexpected transmissible cancer has been detected in North American waterways, prompting new concerns about how the disease developed.
Barnard’s Star Contains Inhospitable Exoplanets—But They Could Still Tell Us Something Important in the Search for ET
The small exoplanets of our Sun’s second-nearest neighbor, Barnard’s Star, are inhospitable wastelands, British astronomers say.
The Wackers’ Decades-Long Harassment Was One of Unsolved Mysteries’ Strangest Cases—New Information Has Finally Come to Light
For the last 22 years, one of the most bizarre true crime stories ever to grace Unsolved Mysteries has confounded amateur investigators.
“Impossible” Synthetic Motion Opens Faster-Than-Light Speed Possibilities for Extreme Physics Research
A new type of synthetic motion developed in a CUNY laboratory gives physicists access to impossible, faster-than-light speeds.
“Forever Chemical” Breakthrough Rapidly Degrades Synthetic Substances Linked to Cancer and Other Health Problems
The problem of PFAS, a group of potentially cancer-causing “forever chemicals,” may finally have a solution from German scientists.
“This Upper Limit is an Illusion”: NASA Study Warns There May Be “No Limit” to How Solar Storms Impact Earth
Our modern society depends heavily on communications and power networks that are highly susceptible to interference from solar storms.
Deep Beneath the Atlantic, an Eerie “Lost City” is Feeding Legions of Lifeforms That Thrive Where Sunlight Never Reaches
Earth’s hidden plumbing system may be feeding one of its strangest ecosystems: the Lost City hydrothermal field in the Atlantic Ocean.
Can You See It? This Stealth Drone Deploys a Human Perception “Hack” to Become Nearly Invisible to the Eye
The “Phantom Twist” drone disappears from view in a major new robotics advancement, offering a close-to-invisible aerial platform.
Weapons Buried with Ancient Egyptian Women Were Long Seen as Symbols—New Research Suggests They Had a More Lethal Purpose
Egyptian princesses may have been skilled in combat, according to a new archaeological assessment that interprets their weapons.
Scientists Achieve Most Precise Measurement Yet of Einstein’s Frame-Dragging Effect
In major new support for Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, the LARES-2 has detected frame dragging around the Earth.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope May Have Just Unraveled a Longstanding Black Hole Mystery
New James Webb Space Telescope observations have astronomers on the brink of solving a longstanding supermassive black hole mystery.
A 1,200-Year-Old Discovery Has Revealed the Identity of an Ancient Mayan Astronomer, in a New Archaeological First
A Maya astronomer’s identity has been revealed for the first time, as revealed in an inscription discovered at the Xultun site in Guatemala.
Feynman’s Famous Physics Problem of a Sprinkler Running in Reverse has a Surprising New Solution
For decades, physicists have argued about Feynman’s Sprinkler Problem, the question of how a reverse sprinkler would operate.
Did this Ancient Human Survive Being Stabbed in the Face 100,000 Years Ago?
In Israel’s Qafzeh cave, archaeologists have discovered ancient human remains revealing illness, violence, death, and survival in the past.
James Webb Space Telescope Reveals New Features of an Unusual Galaxy That Left Baffled Astronomers Questioning Its Origins
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is celebrating four years of unexpectedly strong performance by providing a deep new view.
For the Last Century, This Creature Was Thought to Only Exist in Hawaii—and Scientists Just Spotted One in the Himalayas
The strange grin of the Happy-Face spider has been spotted far from the Hawaiian Islands, its only previously known home.
Hidden for More Than 1,000 Years, a Lost Maya City Has Been Uncovered Deep in the Mexican Jungle
An international team of archaeologists reports the discovery of a previously unknown Maya city hidden beneath a millennium of jungle growth.
These Microbes Could Allow Plants to Grow in Impossibly Salty Soil
Salty soil, one of the greatest threats to agriculture, may have a new cure in the form of soil bacteria that allows plants to thrive.
A ‘Second Breakfast’ for Real-Life Hobbits? New Evidence Calls into Question Past Presumptions About Homo Floresiensis
Homo floresiensis, a tiny ancient hominin, often compared to the hobbits of the Lord of the Rings, engaged in a sort of second breakfast.
“We’ve Replicated in Chemistry What Only Used to be Possible in Biology”: Scientists Have Created the First Fully Synthetic Cell
Researchers have developed the first entirely artificial cell, made completely from non-living chemical components.
Hawking Radiation Breakthrough: These Black Hole Emissions Could Reveal Quantum Gravity
New experiments are bringing into focus the mechanism behind Hawking radiation, demonstrating black holes are not strictly a one-way street.
This Intriguing Exoplanet is Just 25 Light-Years from Earth—Is Its Too Dangerous to Be Home to Life?
Researchers have discovered a potentially habitable exoplanet just 25 light-years from Earth—but is its precarious location on the cosmic shore too dangerous for extraterrestrial life?
Creatine Could Offer Hope for Depression, Not Just Muscle Growth
Creatine may be more than a muscle-building supplement, as new research investigates whether it can also be a treatment for depression.
“It’s Like Using a Time Machine” Unexpected Cosmic ‘Life After Death’ Discovered on Planets Around a Burned-Out Star
New James Webb Space Telescope observations reveal that the fate of planets after the death of their host star may be surprisingly warm.
This Strange Exoplanet Has Revealed “the Clearest Evidence To Date” of Something Many Astronomers Suspected
An exoplanet is exerting a magnetic influence on its host star in the opposite direction of the normal relationship.
Yellowstone Supervolcano Eruptions Aren’t Caused by What Scientists Used to Think They Were
Yellowstone and other volcanic supereruptions may work completely differently than previously assumed, according to researchers.
Whirlpool in Spacetime Around a Black Hole Merger Provides First Detection of this General Relativity Prediction
Physicists have unlocked clues hidden within gravitational waves that reveal how black holes drag spacetime along with their spin.
CERN Provides Good News on Climate Change as Nature Proves Unexpectedly Resilient
New climate change research conducted at CERN offers rare, hopeful news about the planet’s resilience to global warming.
Two-Century-Old Light Phenomenon Could Power the Next Generation of Communications and Data Storage Tech
A new breakthrough with a light phenomenon discovered two centuries ago has major implications for cutting-edge data storage research.
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Finds Complex Carbon at Ancient Martian Site Rich in Potential Biosignatures
Evidence for possible life on Mars in the ancient past continues to build, thanks to a recent discovery by NASA’s Perseverance rover.
A New Material ‘Upgrades’ Sunlight Into UV Light—and a Solid-State Breakthrough Makes It Possible
In a major advance in UV energy research, scientists have developed a solid material that converts visible light into high-energy UV light.
“Dark Matter Might Have Additional Interactions that are Hidden”: Physicists Are Searching for a Mysterious “Dark Force”
Dark matter interactions may point to a hidden “dark force,” unexpectedly constraining our Universe’s expansion and structural development.
A “Magical” Ancient Curse Artifact Turned Up in an Unexpected Location—and in the Wrong Language
A cursed ancient Roman tablet, intended to invoke divine and demonic wrath upon one’s enemies, was discovered in the Netherlands.
Scientists Say ‘Timescapes’ Could Unlock the Mystery Behind Non-Human Perception of Time
Researchers say "timescapes" offer a new framework for understanding how species experience the flow of reality.
NASA’s JPL Is Testing the Next Generation of Autonomous Martian and Lunar Technology
NASA is developing the next generation of surface exploration technology with its Exploration Rover for Navigating Extreme Sloped Terrain.
James Webb Space Telescope Made a Salty Discovery in This Unusual Exoplanet’s Skies
James Webb Space Telescope observations have revealed the colorful secret of the Pink Planet, the coldest object of its type ever observed.
Inside a Martian Meteorite, These Grains of an Unexpected Gemstone Hold Clues to a Hidden Past
A Martian meteorite fragment containing unexpected grains of the mineral garnet could hold clues to the Red Planet’s geological history.
Earthquake That Shifted the Entire Japanese Archipelago Reveals “Previously Unrecognized Source of Seismic Hazard”
An earthquake shockwave bouncing around inside the Earth moved the entire Japanese archipelago by 5 to 6 millimeters.
Material Scientists Just Created a Revolutionary New Building Material Based on a Tangled Ball of Staples
A new material, inspired by the frustrating strength of a tangled ball of staples could be the future of flexible, adaptable design.
Holographic Breakthrough: This New Futuristic 3D Imaging System Overcomes a Longstanding Problem for Holographic Tech
A new 3D image projection system marks a major step toward overcoming a longstanding problem for holographic technology.
An Ancient Maya City Was Lost for Centuries—This Student Accidentally Rediscovered it Hidden in Google Data
An ancient Maya settlement, lost to the forest for hundreds of years, was unexpectedly discovered at the bottom of an internet rabbit hole.
Could Alien Consciousness Be Unlike Anything We Can Imagine? Non-Human Intelligence May Be Stranger Than We Think, These Experts Say
Consciousness may arise in systems far different than the biology on Earth we are used to, according to new research.
“We’ve Never Seen Anything Like This”: Discovery of a Hidden Biological Clock Reveals the “Master Key” to Growth and Development
A hidden biological clock has been discovered by genetic researchers, revealing how proteins act as a timing mechanism during development.
A Hidden Subterranean Fungal Network is Revealing the Secrets of Earth’s ‘Circulatory System’
Ancient mycorrhizal fungal networks, consisting of a billion astronomical units' worth of roots, have finally been mapped by scientists.