New results from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope suggest the formation of the first stars and galaxies in the early Universe took place sooner than previously thought. A European team of astronomers have found no evidence of the first generation of stars, known as Population III stars, as far back as when the Universe was…

One of the most unknown phenomena in modern physics is gravity. Its measurement and laws remain somewhat of an enigma. Researchers have revealed important information about a new aspect of the nature of gravity by probing the smallest mass-scale. Professor Nobuyuki Matsumoto has led a team of researchers to develop a gravity sensor based on…

Out at the boundary of our solar system, pressure runs high. This pressure, the force plasma, magnetic fields and particles like ions, cosmic rays and electrons exert on one another when they flow and collide, was recently measured by scientists in totality for the first time — and it was found to be greater than…

Precision measurements made with the VLBA have revealed that a small, cool star 35 light-years from Earth is orbited by a Saturn-sized planet once every 221 days. The technique has long been known, but has proven difficult to use. It involves tracking the star’s actual motion in space, then detecting a minuscule «wobble» in that…

Researchers have developed a shape memory polymer that stores almost six times more energy than previous versions. Shape memory polymers alternate between an original, undeformed state and a secondary, deformed state. The deformed state is created by stretching the polymer and is held in place by molecular changes, such as dynamic bonding networks or strain-induced…

Is gravity a quantum phenomenon? That has been one of the big outstanding questions in physics for decades. Physicists have proposed an experiment that could settle the issue. However, it requires studying two very large entangled quantum systems in freefall. Researchers now present a way to reduce background noise to make this experiment more manageable.…

Researchers have developed a breakthrough in energy-efficient phototransistors. Such devices could eventually help computers process visual information more like the human brain and be used as sensors in things like self-driving vehicles. The structures rely on a new type of semiconductor — metal-halide perovskites — which have proven to be highly efficient at converting sunlight…

Maximizing the efficiency of renewable energy technology is dependent on creating nanoparticles with ideal dimensions and density, new simulations have shown. Quantum dots, human-made nanocrystals 100,000 times thinner than a sheet of paper, can be used as light sensitisers, absorbing infrared and visible light and transferring it to other molecules. This could enable new types…

Researchers have developed artificial intelligence (AI) models that help them better understand the brain computations that underlie thoughts. «For centuries, neuroscientists have studied how the brain works by relating brain activity to inputs and outputs. For instance, when studying the neuroscience of movement, scientists measure muscle movements as well as neuronal activity, and then relate…

A team of researchers has developed a new early warning system for vehicles that uses artificial intelligence to learn from thousands of real traffic situations. The results show that, if used in today’s self-driving vehicles, it can warn seven seconds in advance against potentially critical situations that the cars cannot handle alone — with over…