Category Science

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SPHEREx Captures Dramatic Outburst of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

NASA’s SPHEREx telescope captured a dramatic outburst from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS after its close solar flyby in October 2025. Infrared observations in December revealed water vapor, carbon dioxide, methanol, methane, and cyanide erupting from the comet’s nucleus. Scientists say the chemical makeup suggests formation in a relatively warm environment beyond ou...

Dark Matter May Not Exist, Study Suggests Gravity Works Differently at Cosmic Scales

A new theoretical study suggests dark matter may not exist, proposing instead that gravity behaves differently across vast cosmic distances. By modifying how gravity weakens over scale, the research explains galaxy rotation and lensing effects without unseen particles, raising questions about long-standing cosmological models and inviting a fresh look at gravity’s h...

NASA’s SPHEREx Spots Interstellar Comet Flaring With Gas and Organic Molecules

NASA’s SPHEREx telescope has observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS unexpectedly brightening as it leaves the solar system. The comet released water vapour, carbon dioxide, and organic compounds months after its closest solar approach. Scientists say the findings provide a rare chemical snapshot of material formed around another star, helping compare planetary ingredi...

James Webb Space Telescope Finds Most Distant Galaxy Ever Detected

The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered MoM-z14, the most distant galaxy ever observed, dating to just 280 million years after the Big Bang. The galaxy’s brightness, chemical richness, and structure challenge existing theories of early cosmic evolution. Scientists say the finding highlights a growing gap between models and observations of the young universe.

‘I’m the psychedelic confessor’: the man who turned a generation on to hallucinogens returns with a head-spinning book about consciousness

With the Omnivore’s Dilemma and How to Change Your Mind, Michael Pollan transformed our understanding of food and drugs. Can he do the same for our sense of self?

Several years ago, Michael Pollan had a disturbing encounter. The relentlessly curious journalist and author was at a conference on plant behaviour in Vancouver. There, he’d learned that when plants are damaged, they produce an anaesthetising chemical, ethylene. Was this a form of self-soothing, like the release of endorphins after an injury in humans? He asked František Baluška, a cell biologist, if it meant that plants might feel pain. Baluška paused, before answering: “Yes, they should feel pain. If you don’t feel pain, you ignore danger and you don’t survive.”

I imagine that Pollan gulped at that point. I certainly did when I read his account of the meeting in his latest book, A World Appears. Where does it leave our efforts at ethical consumption, if literally everybody hurts – including vegetables?

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