Feb 20th, 2026 - This may be amazing for archiving the world's knowledge. Scientists at Microsoft Research in the United States have demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two million books' worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square. In a paper published today in Nature , the researchers say their tests suggest the data will be readable for more than 10,000 years. What tiny pulses of light can do The new system, called Silica , uses extremely short flashes of laser light to inscribe bits of information into a block of ordinary ... [Read More]

Feb 20th, 2026 - Reading time 3 minutes In 1994, Russian archaeologists unearthed a tiny cemetery with a grave holding a mummified woman wearing a wig. More than 30 years later, researchers revisited the long-dead body—exposing what appears to be a primitive prosthetic in her jaw. In a statement , archaeologists at Novosibirsk State University in Russia announced that a recent analysis of a 2,500-year-old skull found that the woman likely received jaw surgery after a serious head injury. The researchers performed a CT scan of the skull, revealing signs of severe physical trauma and, more ... [Read More]

Feb 19th, 2026 - Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Frequent deployment of satellites and re-entries by the rockets that deploy them might pose a risk to the Earth's upper atmosphere and environment, a German study published Thursday indicates. As more rockets exit and re-enter the Earth's upper atmosphere, they leave behind lithium atoms and space debris that German researchers said could cause harm. The researchers detected 10 times more lithium atoms than normal in the upper atmosphere some 20 hours after a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper-stage rocket made an uncontrolled re-entry a year ago, lead author Robin Wing said in an ... [Read More]

Feb 19th, 2026 - Lithium-ion batteries contain volatile electrolytes that make them susceptible to catching on fire, even in an underwater drone. On February 4, 2026, a 12-foot-long underwater drone caught fire while it was being transported on a trailer along Route 24 in Tiverton, Rhode Island. The drone was described as containing a "large amount" of lithium-ion batteries, and the situation necessitated a hazmat team from the Department of Environmental Management to contain the ignited batteries safely. Though this incident occurred on land, it perfectly demonstrates how lithium-ion batteries can ignite ... [Read More]

Feb 19th, 2026 - Researchers have controlled a temporary stable phase in the system, offering a possible avenue for preserving quantum information Reading Time: 3 minutes In a landmark achievement, Chinese scientists have directly observed and manipulated prethermalisation – a critical transitional state in quantum systems – using the 78-qubit "Chuang-tzu 2.0" superconducting processor . This allows researchers to "tune" the speed of quantum decoherence, providing a vital tool for managing complex quantum environments. If a quantum system is disturbed, it naturally returns to a balanced state. ... [Read More]

Feb 19th, 2026 - Amateur astronomers, take note: A wonderful celestial event known as a total lunar eclipse will occur in the skies above North America during the morning hours of Monday, March 3.  Lunar eclipses happen when the Sun, Earth, and the Moon align, in that order. When this alignment is precise, Earth's shadow falls upon the Moon, obscuring it from direct sunlight. This doesn't happen every month, because the Moon's orbit is tilted to that of the Earth-Sun plane. So, most months our satellite is above or below the point (called a node) where an eclipse can happen. This eclipse's ... [Read More]

Feb 19th, 2026 - The projects are supported by $8.17 million in grants from the Department of Energy's NEWTON (Nuclear Energy Waste Transmutation Optimized Now) program and represent a shift from treating used nuclear fuel as a permanent liability to viewing it as a recyclable fuel source. The researchers are developing ADS technology. This system uses a particle accelerator to fire high-energy protons at a target (such as liquid mercury), triggering a process called "spallation." This releases a flood of neutrons that interact with unwanted, long-lived isotopes in nuclear waste. The technology can ... [Read More]

Feb 19th, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google For decades, evolution has often been taught as a simple story: individuals compete, and the fittest traits win. But a sweeping review of nearly 50 years of research suggests that this story is incomplete. The researchers compiled evidence from 280 empirical studies. The analysis showed that natural selection frequently operates at more than one biological level at the same time – shaping traits not only in individuals but also in cells, groups, and even entire communities. The findings recast evolution as a layered process, where what benefits a gene, a cell, or ... [Read More]