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Ever asked a question and been met with a blank stare? It's awkward enough with a person—but on a humanoid robot, it can be downright unsettling. Now, an international team co-led by Hiroshima University and RIKEN has found a fix: giving androids a "thinking face." Their study reveals that when robots squint and furrow their brow while processing information, they appear more relatable, easing the eerie discomfort we feel with artificial beings that look almost, but not quite, human—known as the "uncanny valley" effect.

Could microbes survive in the permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) of the moon? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC 2025) hopes to address as a team of researchers from the United States and Canada investigated the likelihood of long-term survival for microbes in the PSR areas of the moon, which are craters located at the poles that don't see sunlight due to the moon's small axial tilt.

If you're a young person today, you've probably felt the sting of being called lazy, or caught yourself wondering if you are. Do you sometimes feel guilty when not being productive, or find yourself pretending to be busy?

A research team from the University of Minnesota Medical School has identified a strong predictor of ischemic stroke and dementia, a discovery that could lead to improved patient outcomes. The findings were recently published in Stroke.

What can a sample return mission from Jupiter's volcanic moon, Io, teach scientists about planetary and satellite (moon) formation and evolution? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC 2025) hopes to address as an international team of more than two dozen scientists discussed the benefits and challenges of a mission to Io with the goal of sampling its volcanic plumes that eject from its surface on a regular basis.

In the 1970s, NASA's Voyager probes passed through Jupiter's system and snapped pictures of its largest moons, also known as the Galilean moons. These pictures and the data they gathered offered the first hints that a global ocean may be beneath Europa's icy crust. Moreover, planetary models indicated that Europa's interactions with Jupiter's powerful gravity could lead to tidal flexing in the moon's interior. In short, scientists learned that Europa could have all the necessary ingredients for life in its interior.

One of the first verified predictions of general relativity is the gravitational deflection of starlight. The effect was first observed in 1919 during a total solar eclipse. Since stars appear as points of light, the effect is seen as an apparent shift in the position of stars near the eclipse. But the effect happens more generally.

Scientists at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and University center Unisanté classified 35 commonly used drugs in Switzerland based on their impact on the aquatic biodiversity. The aim of this research is to provide medical staff with a tool for considering the environmental risks associated with certain common drugs when prescribing them. The proposed list is subject to change when new data becomes available, their rarity being a limiting factor for classification.

When you hear the name Kellogg, Corn Flakes might be the first thing that comes to mind. But John Harvey Kellogg is famous for more than just breakfast cereals.

NASA's SPHEREx (short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) has turned on its detectors for the first time in space. Initial images from the observatory, which launched March 11, confirm that all systems are working as expected.

Almost a decade ago, Harvard engineers unveiled the world's first visible-spectrum metasurfaces—ultra-thin, flat devices patterned with nanoscale structures that could precisely control the behavior of light. A powerful alternative to traditional, bulky optical components, metasurfaces today enable compact, lightweight, multifunctional applications ranging from imaging systems and augmented reality to spectroscopy and communications.

A new study from Cedars-Sinai has examined whether a specialized diet could improve symptoms of gastrointestinal disorders linked to an imbalance in gut microbiota.

Using intravascular imaging (IVI) to guide stent implantation during complex stenting procedures is safer and more effective for patients with severely calcified coronary artery disease than conventional angiography, the more commonly used technique.

Scientists have spent decades genetically modifying the bacterium Escherichia coli and other microbes to convert carbon dioxide into useful biological products. Most methods require additional carbon sources, however, adding to the cost. A new study overcomes this limitation by combining the photosynthetic finesse of a single-celled algae with the production capabilities of the bacteria E. coli.

Roads and highways are the lifeline of a country. The United States has over 4 million miles of public roads, including the Interstate Highway System. It's critical to prevent damage and maintain roads highways to support the longevity of the U.S.'s sprawling transportation infrastructure.

Photovoltaic systems, battery storage units, and electric vehicles—private households are increasingly turning towards economical and climate-friendly technologies. However, the full potential of these technologies can only be unleashed in combined use.

Rivers join downstream, flow downhill, and eventually meet an ocean or terminal lake: These are fundamental rules of how waterways and basins are supposed to work. But rules are made to be broken. In the journal Water Resources Research, Sowby and Siegel lay out nine rivers and lakes in the Americas that defy hydrologic expectations.

A new survey reveals that the UK public considers the mobile phone to be the second most important invention of all time, with the majority of people admitting they couldn't live without theirs.

An international research team led by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has achieved a breakthrough in the field of medical microrobots by developing the world's first antibiofilm liquid-bodied magnetic-controlled robot.

Gene therapy, a technique that is revolutionizing the treatment of multiple genetic conditions, including eye and muscle diseases and blood disorders, requires efficient and specific delivery of the genetic material to the tissue and cell type of interest.

There is an urgent need for precision immunotherapy strategies that simultaneously target both tumor cells and immune cells to enhance treatment efficacy. Identifying genes with dual functions in both cancer and immune cells opens new possibilities for overcoming tumor resistance and improving patient survival.

Since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) agreed in March to pay $418 million to settle an antitrust lawsuit, researchers at Texas McCombs see the potential to curb artificially high real estate commissions.

A new interdisciplinary study by researchers from the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Technion reveals a surprising insight: local release of dopamine—a molecule best known for its role in the brain's reward system—is a key factor in acquiring new motor skills

Blood cancer patients who receive a type of anti-cancer therapy should continue to take the drug while having COVID-19 vaccinations, a new study suggests.

Most people donning virtual reality (VR) goggles are seeking the thrill of being immersed in a fictitious video game world. But some are donning them for an entirely different experience: to help researchers identify those most at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

The Burren region of County Clare, Ireland, is famous for its distinctive limestone habitat, coastal landscape, rich wildlife and unusual archaeology. Several hundred farmers also manage livestock on this land.

Polysiloxane materials, such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based elastomers, exhibit a self-healing capability by the introduction of silanolate (Si–O–) groups. This ability stems from their dynamic siloxane (Si–O–Si) bonds, which can break and reform to repair damage. Their self-healing properties could make them valuable in applications like protective coatings for use in various fields, such as optics, electronics, and aerospace.

In mice, autism symptoms arise when a certain pair of competing nerve proteins falls out of equilibrium, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Dongdong Zhao of Wenzhou Medical University, China, Yun-wu Zhang of Xiamen University, China, and colleagues.

Silicon Valley has been a universal symbol of innovation for decades. Because of its reputation, governments around the world have tried to foster their own versions by investing heavily in tech hubs.

Two common and potentially deadly heart diseases can be caused by mutations in the same gene. Surprisingly, though, these two conditions are each associated with very different clinical symptoms. Using engineered heart tissue, a team of researchers bring a clearer understanding of this phenomenon. The results are published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Scientists have taken an important step toward the development of a potential new treatment for treating Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), the notorious bug associated with severe food poisoning.

Delays in diagnosing and treating psoriatic arthritis—a common inflammatory disorder affecting around 200,000 people in the U.K.—are causing irreparable damage to people's health. This damage could be avoided by catching the condition earlier and treating it effectively, according to research led by scientists in the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Bath.

New York City's automated speed cameras reduced traffic crashes by 14% and decreased speeding violations by 75% over time, according to research from NYU Tandon's C2SMARTER published in Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives that tracked more than 1,800 cameras across school zones from 2019 to 2021.

While the typical image of someone suffering a heart attack might be a man clutching his chest, heart disease is a major problem for women, too. In fact, it's the leading cause of death among women in the United States, with nearly 45% of the nation's women over age 20 living with some form of cardiovascular disease.

Over the past decade, 3D printing has gone from being a futuristic idea to a revolutionary tool. In medicine, its ability to produce custom-made, complex structures is changing the way doctors treat injuries and diseases—especially when it comes to rebuilding bones and other body tissues.

People with heart failure are often advised to limit their fluid intake. However, a large study led by Radboud University Medical Center now shows that this practice does not provide any health benefits. Researchers writing in Nature Medicine found that it is safe when patients with heart failure regulate their own fluid intake.

More than a dozen years after higher-fat milk was stripped from school meals to slow obesity in American kids and boost their health, momentum is growing to put it back.

A new study published in JCI Insight suggests that interleukin-7 (IL-7), a key immune-boosting cytokine, may help critically ill COVID-19 patients by reducing life-threatening secondary infections. Led by Richard S. Hotchkiss, MD, professor of anesthesiology, medicine, surgery, and developmental biology at WashU Medicine, the study highlights IL-7's ability to enhance immune recovery without triggering harmful inflammation.

A modified manufacturing process for electric vehicle batteries, developed by University of Michigan engineers, could enable high ranges and fast charging in cold weather, solving problems that are turning potential EV buyers away.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University have developed an innovative method that can help to understand better how cells behave in changing biological environments, such as those found within a cancerous tumor.

The UK government said Tuesday it had pledged £20 million ($25.8 million) to help commercial drone services and "flying taxis" take off in Britain.

Growing up in Spain, Cecilia Huertas Cerdeira was captivated by the elegant movements of aquatic life during frequent vacations to the Atlantic coast. Later, as a doctoral student at the California Institute of Technology, she steered her surfboard into Pacific waves.

How do neural networks work? It's a question that can confuse novices and experts alike. A team from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) says that understanding these representations, as well as how they inform the ways that neural networks learn from data, is crucial for improving the interpretability, efficiency, and generalizability of deep learning models.

An international research team coordinated at KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) has developed mechanical metamaterials with a high elastic energy density. Highly twisted rods that deform helically provide these metamaterials with a high stiffness and enable them to absorb and release large amounts of elastic energy. The researchers conducted simple compression experiments to confirm the initial theoretical results. Their findings have been published in the journal Nature.

Advanced carbon fiber materials could be used in applications from wind turbine blades to biomedical implants following the development of a low-cost carbon fiber feedstock.

When Satya Nadella entered Microsoft's C-suite in 2014, the company wasn't one of the tech darlings dazzling Wall Street.

Unlike conventional silicon-based solar cells, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are not only thin and lightweight, but can also be seamlessly applied to curved surfaces, like building facades and vehicle roofs. What's more, they can be easily manufactured at room temperature using a solution process, leading to significantly reduced production costs.

Faster isn't always better when it comes to high-speed materials science, according to new Cornell research showing that tiny metal particles bond best at a precise supersonic speed.

Fifty years ago, two kids from Seattle flipped the tech industry on its head.

New Zealand's North Island features a number of geothermal systems, several of which are used to generate some 1,000 MegaWatts of electricity. But deeper down there may be even more potential.

A microbial electrochemical technology capable of recovering 90%–95% of lithium from spent lithium-ion batteries has been developed by scientists at the University of Surrey. The breakthrough offers a more sustainable and cost-effective alternative to conventional recovery methods and could be expanded to reclaim other valuable battery metals, like cobalt.

A team of chemists led by Feng Lin and Louis Madsen found a way to see into battery interfaces, which are tight, tricky spots buried deep inside the cell. The research findings were published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Artificial intelligence powerhouse OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, on Monday announced it is building a more open generative AI model as it faces growing competition in the open-source space from Chinese rival DeepSeek and Meta.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Monday warned genetic testing firm 23andMe to honor its promise to protect people's personal information as it navigates bankruptcy.