Science

Representative image of the linear cluster of earthquakes tracing the edge of the Yakutat microplate in south-central Alaska (AI generated). Beneath the towering peaks of the Alaska Range, home to Denali, North America’s tallest mountain, scientists have uncovered a hidden geological feature that had gone completely unnoticed until now. Using a machine learning system to…

Morocco is testing a ‘sponge’ pavement that drains water and cools itself through evaporation. For decades, black asphalt has rolled on the roads but parts of Marrakech and Agadir are reportedly becoming testing grounds for this new surface that is deemed to be environmentally better.The idea will not only make roads feel less hot during…

A robotic submersible descended beneath 5 giant floating wind turbines off Scotland, moving around steel structures, cables and anchors that sit as much as 80 metres below the surface. Its high-definition camera recorded a surprisingly busy underwater community at the Hywind Scotland Pilot Park, about 25 kilometres east of Peterhead. Across 41 structures and associated…

Inside Alaska’s tundra (Image: Alaska Organisation) From above, Alaska’s tundra can look like an ordinary expanse of soil, moss and low vegetation. Beneath that surface, however, lies permafrost, ground that has remained frozen for long periods and contains vast quantities of ancient organic material. As temperatures rise, that frozen material can thaw and begin decomposing,…

According to Suparco, Jinnah-1 will study plasma, radiation and the geology of the lunar surface (representative image) Pakistan has named its first lunar rover “Jinnah-1”, marking a new step in the country’s space programme as it prepares to send the rover to the Moon in 2029.The Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) announced…

Alan Turing (Image: AI Generated) Many years before the existence of artificial intelligence was discussed among people, Turing questioned the possibility of machines having the ability to think in the future. In an age where computing devices were huge, experimental gadgets mostly used for computations, he envisioned a world in which people would talk of…

When you look at wind turbines the blades look larger than life. Like permanent, monumental objects that will turn forever above the same field, long after you are gone and someone else is looking up at them similarly. In reality, most wind turbine blades last only 20 to 25 years and when they stop spinning,…

A spider web can look like a single delicate sheet of thread, but its construction is far more complicated. Different strands are made for different jobs, with some providing the strength needed to hold the web together and others stretching to trap prey. Orb-weaver spiders are particularly good examples of this division of labour. Their…

For more than a century, Yosemite’s mountain lakes became home to millions of trout that had never naturally reached those waters. Fish stocking began in 1877 and eventually put more than 33 million fish into the park, transforming habitats that had evolved without aquatic predators. The change came at a cost for the Sierra Nevada…

Harrison’s H4 chronometre. Image Credit: Jordiferrer/Wikipedia The first clockmaker did not have to guess what time it was. Long before gears, wheels and moving hands appeared, people had already learned to track the passage of a day by watching the Sun, Moon and stars. Sundials, water clocks and other simple devices gave earlier societies ways…