New hydrogen batteries can run four times cooler than before – meaning EV batteries are denser and last longer
Future electric vehicles could do away with lithium-ion batteries thanks to new advances in hydrogen energy storage at much lower temperatures than before. Researchers at Tokyo University of Science have created a hydrogen battery that uses magnesium hydride as the anode, hydrogen gas as the cathode, and a solid electrolyte with a crystalline structure. In […]
Tibet’s shape-shifting ‘braided river’ is the world’s tallest, but increasingly unstable — Earth seen from space
simple facts Where is it? Yarlungzangbo River, Tibet Autonomous Region, China [29.2814054, 91.3256581] What is in the photo? The branches of the river winding through the Tibetan Plateau are woven together. Which satellite took the photo?Landsat 9 When was it taken? February 8, 2025 This impressive satellite photo shows a particularly intricate section of China’s […]
Connection between Cascadia and San Andreas earthquakes revealed 30 years after shipwreck uncovers important data
A new study suggests that the “Big One” of the Cascadia subduction zone in the Pacific Northwest could trigger similarly severe earthquakes on California’s San Andreas fault. The discovery is based on sediment taken from the ocean floor off Cape Mendocino, California, and off the coast of Oregon. It is at Cape Mendocino that California’s […]
AI reveals hidden ‘ring fault’ causing earthquakes at Italy’s Campi Flegrei volcano
An artificial intelligence (AI) model has revealed never-before-seen geological structures at Italy’s Campi Flegrei volcano, including an apparent “ring fault” that could trigger a magnitude 5 earthquake. So far in 2025, Campi Flegrei has experienced five earthquakes of magnitude 4 or higher, and the volcano has shown signs of instability since 2005. But most of […]
‘Planet Y’ theory suggests an Earth-sized world hidden in our solar system – and it could be much closer to us than ‘Planet Nine’
Astronomers believe they have discovered evidence of a previously unknown ninth planet lurking in a not-too-distant region of our solar system. The virtual world, dubbed “Planet Y,” is about the same size as Earth and could exist alongside another popular Planet Nine candidate, and if both are confirmed, it could bring the number of planets […]
Scientists identify new type 5 diabetes
Scientists have officially recognized a new type of diabetes, called type 5 diabetes, that is thought to affect 20 million to 25 million people worldwide. The disease is most common in Asia and Africa, where it was first identified more than 70 years ago but has been largely ignored until now. Traditionally, medical textbooks describe […]
‘Increasing attacks on water resources from multiple fronts’: scientists warn ‘day zero drought’ could occur by 2030
Unless emissions are reduced, almost three-quarters of the world’s drought-prone regions will be at risk of extreme water scarcity, known as a “day zero drought”, by 2100, and a third of these could be hit by 2030, according to a new study. Areas under threat include cities in the United States, the Mediterranean, and southern […]
Hidden ‘destined’ star revealed by James Webb Space Telescope could solve decades-old mystery
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revealed a hidden “doomed” star that could help solve huge astrophysical mysteries. The star is a massive red supergiant star, and JWST photographed it just before it exploded into a fiery supernova. In theory, most supernovae should be caused by massive red supergiants, but they are rarely observed. […]
The 2024 ice tsunami tore through Yukon Territory with enough force to rip through trees and riverbeds
Last December, a landslide struck a river in Canada’s Yukon Territory, causing a tsunami of slabs of ice to fly over two soccer fields, shearing trees in the process. Now, new research suggests that the damage caused by this “ice tsunami” was exacerbated by the destructive power of river ice. However, it was confined to […]
$100,000 billion asteroid Psyche may have volcanoes of molten metal thanks to its glowing appearance
Asteroid Psyche may once have had spouts spewing molten metals, but only if they were chemically similar to rare metal-rich meteorites, a new study suggests. The study, published online July 31 in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, could explain why space rocks have unusual metallic mantles. A member of the major asteroid belt between […]