Imagine a “smart fluid” whose internal structure can be rearranged just by changing temperature. In a new study published in Matter, researchers report a way to overcome a long-standing limitation in a class of “smart fluids” called nematic liquid crystal microcolloids, allowing for reconfigurable self-assembly of micrometer-sized particles dispersed in a nematic liquid crystal host.
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Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, working with international partners, have uncovered surprising behavior in a specially engineered crystal. Composed of tantalum, tungsten and selenium—elements often studied for their potential in advanced electronics—the crystal demonstrates an unexpected atomic arrangement that hints at novel applications in spin-based electronics and quantum materials.
When an electron travels through a polar crystalline solid, its negative charge attracts the positively charged atomic cores, causing the surrounding crystal lattice to deform. The electron and lattice distortion then move together through the material—like a single object. Physicists call these quasiparticles polarons. A team led by Professor Jochen Feldmann from LMU has succeeded in tracking the extremely brief formation process of this object for the first time, using an ultrafast imaging method.
Scientists have long seen a puzzling pattern in tokamaks, the doughnut-shaped machines that could one day reliably generate electricity from fusing atoms. When plasma particles escape the core of the magnetic fields that hold the plasma in its doughnut shape, they stream down toward the exhaust system, known as the divertor. There, plasma particles strike metal plates, cool down and bounce back. (The returning atoms help fuel the fusion reaction.) But experiments consistently show that far more particles hit the inner divertor target than the outer one.
Video shows the suspect speaking with Bellevue officers before producing a knife and slashing one in the face; when the officer fell, the man tried to stab him in the back
Dark energy is one of those cosmological features that we are still learning about. While we can’t see it directly, we can most famously observe its effects on the universe—primarily how it is causing the expansion of the universe to speed up. But recently, physicists have begun to question even that narrative, pointing to results that show the expansion isn’t happening at the same rate our math would have predicted.
Scientists have produced the first global map and analysis of small mare ridges (SMRs) on the moon, a characteristic geological feature of tectonic activity. Published in The Planetary Science Journal Dec. 24, 2025, the analysis performed by scientists at the National Air and Space Museum’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies and colleagues reveals for the first time that SMRs are geologically young and are widespread across the lunar maria—the vast, dark plains on the moon’s surface. The team’s discovery of how SMRs form introduces a new set of potential moonquake sources that could affect future site selections for lunar landings.
The United Arab Emirates announced on Tuesday that it would extend its Mars probe mission, now in its fifth year, for an additional three, underlining the oil-rich state’s space ambitions.
The low-noise, high-gain properties needed for high-performance quantum computing can be realized in a microwave photonic circuit device called a Josephson traveling-wave parametric amplifier (JTWPA), RIKEN researchers have shown experimentally. This advance stands to speed up development of superconducting quantum computer systems at the 100-qubit scale. The work is published in the journal Physical Review Applied.
Officer Brian Elliott was responding to a call when he and another officer were shot; Elliott later died from his injuries
Using the Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have discovered a compact binary system consisting of two white dwarfs in the center of a nearby globular cluster designated NGC 6397. The finding was presented in a paper published February 9 on the arXiv preprint server .
Physicists in Germany have carried out the most accurate measurement to date of the width of the proton. By examining a previously unexplored energy-level transition in the hydrogen atom, Lothar Maisenbacher and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics have shown that the Standard Model continues to hold up under extraordinarily tight scrutiny, leaving even less room than before for rival theories that contradict our best understanding of how the universe behaves. The research has been published in Nature.
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are helping to pave a path for the eventual discovery of dark matter. With new approaches to measurement in the quantum realm, using quantum optical sensing techniques, ORNL scientists are developing the methods required to achieve sight beyond sight—and detect this mysterious, invisible, yet seemingly ubiquitous substance.
 Today, the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) culture teaches kids from birth about the Sky Woman, Mother Earth, and Grandmother Moon. The tribes instill a deep abiding respect for women who continue to uphold the Tree of Peace. What’s seldom taught in American classrooms is how the Iroquois Constitution, the Great Law of Peace (Gayanesshagowa) influenced our democracy and Constitution. Moreover, their way of life influenced the fight for women’s equality. Thus, the Iroquois played a vital role in establishing our system of democracy. Today, atop the Capitol Dome, a statue inspired by Native Americans stands overseeing all, like a Sky Woman. The Statue of FreedomSince 1863, a bronze sculpture of a woman wearing a fur-trimmed robe has proudly stood atop the U.S. Capitol Dome. She’s called the Statue of Freedom, created by American sculptor Thomas Crawford. Sadly, the sculptor went blind and died suddenly at age 44, shortly after completing the plaster model from Rome, Italy. On the statue’s pedestal, the Nation’s motto, E Pluribus Unum, “out of many one,” is written. On his deathbed in 1857, Crawford named her America. However, she came to be known as Freedom Triumphant in War and Peace. After many design changes, Crawford settled on a headdress influenced by “the costume of our Indian tribes.” Atop her head, there is a nine star-studded Roman helmet with “an eagle’s head and a bold arrangement of feathers.” Some see the eagle as a reference to the ancient Annunaki, often depicted with an eagle head on a human body. Ironically, a master craftsman and slave named Philip Reid helped cast the 20-foot tall statue dedicated to freedom. Fortunately, the year of her installation on the Capitol Dome, Reid was a free man. In 1862, President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. So, Reid went into business for himself as a plasterer. (see video below) The plaster model for the statue is at Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. See more from Today I Found Out: Recommended: Scientists On How Trees Talk Through an Ancient ‘Otherworld’ Network The Iroquois ConstitutionAmerica’s way of life owes inspiration to the Iroquois’ unwritten democratic Constitution, as well as ancient Greco-Roman times and other influences. Since the 16th century, the Iroquois Confederacy, a group of Six Nations, has been governed by its principals. The tribes included the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. In the past, the tribes lived across New York and Canada. The Tree of PeaceAfter warring with each other for decades, the Six Nations came together to live in harmony between 1570 and 1600. An Oneida story called The Tree of Peace discussed how the leaders put their weapons aside under a giant White Pine tree. Afterward, a governing Great Council of chiefs began meeting together in a longhouse. By oral tradition, the leaders planted a white pine after founding the Great Law of Peace. Today, this practice of planting peace trees continues. For example, in 1988, Jake Swamp, a Mohawk chief of the Iroquois Grand Council, planted a pine that stands near the First Bank of the United States in Philadelphia. At the ceremony, Chief Swamp said:
The Chief called for a return to humanity’s roots, for “when the creator made the world, he intended people to always live at peace with one another.” Recommended: Scientists Catching Up to Ancient Beliefs in Remote Viewing Benjamin Franklin and the IroquoisMuch earlier, at the Albany Congress between June 19 and July 9, 1754, Benjamin Franklin presented his Plan of Union, a federation of 13 British colonies and alliance with the Six Nations chiefs. It was the first official attempt to “develop inter-colonial cooperation among the colonies,” notes American History Central. Franklin hoped to secure the Iroquois alliance for trade, treaties, and land purchases and unite the colonies against French imperial forces and their Native American allies. In attendance, representatives of the Indian nations and colonies listened as he discussed the Iroquois. Franklin chided the colonists, who often wrongly considered Native Americans as ignorant savages.
After Franklin introduced the plan, commissioners who attended the Congress adopted the final version on July 10. However, King George II and the colonial governments rejected it. Nevertheless, the document would later influence portions of the Constitution. Peace Turns to WarOver two decades later, the Continental Congress attempted to make peace with the Iroquois, claiming to want peace. According to the National Park Service:
Unfortunately, as we all know, there would be no alliance or peace. Soon, the colonists claimed Iroquois land and many were killed and forced to depart for British Canada to survive. Nevertheless, the ancestors of the tribe continue to teach about living in peace and harmony with each other and nature. Resolution to Recognize Iroquois ContributionsIn 1987, at the 200th anniversary of its Constitution, Resolution 331 was introduced in the House of Representatives. The resolution formally recognized the Iroquois contributions to democracy.
Notably, the resolution states clearly that the Iroquois’s democratic principles became part of the Constitution.
Congress approved the resolution introduced by Representative Morris K. Udall in October 1988. The Sky Woman and North AmericaIn Iroquois culture, women have long enjoyed equal status to men, owing to beliefs such as the Sky Woman. One version of the Iroquois creation story tells of a floating world where the immortal Sky People lived. A luminous tree gave light to the island. As the story goes, the Sky Woman’s husband became enraged when she told him she would give birth to twins. In his rage, he ripped out the tree, creating a hole. Sky Woman fell to Earth through the hole but was rescued by animals. A Little Toad gathered mud in its mouth, which the other animals spread across the land. On the blue planet, creatures of the seas already existed, and birds rescued Sky Woman, who stepped onto North America, which appeared like a giant turtle. From there, she created the stars, Moon, and Sun. Giorgio A. Tsoukalos explores Sky Woman’s story on the In Search of Aliens, “The Founding of America.” A question asked is how the Native Americans could have known that North America resembled a turtle before the outline was known. Creation and DestructionLater, Sky Woman’s twins, Sapling and Flint, began creating other lifeforms on the planet. The twins had a rivalry, and Flint tried to conquer all of Sapling’s creations. While Sapling created nurturing, beneficial life for humans, Flint was destructive. Thus, he created everything harsh: winter, thorns, and monsters, which Sapling drove underground. In the end, Sapling and thus life on Earth won out. Defeated, an angry Flint went to live in a volcano on Big Turtle’s back. Without the animals, Sky Woman may have perished, and today the Iroquois hold respect for all living things. It’s a way of life that modern society is finally beginning to recognize and appreciate. Notably, Sky Woman’s story bears similarities to other creation stories, such as the Cosmic Tree of Life and World Turtle. Today, many indigenous tribes still call North America Turtle Island, and the White Pine is the symbol for the Iroquois Constitution. Below is another version of the story via New World Histories: Women’s Equality and the IroquoisIn the Six Nations Confederacy, women had an equal say to men in government and family life. If men were disrespectful to their marriages, they could be divorced, and the woman could keep her property and children. Furthermore, Iroquois women had equal responsibilities in spiritual ceremonies and controlled the land, which they cultivated. Moreover, the Clan Mother led the women in choosing the tribe’s Chief (sachem) to represent them on the Grand Council. In matters of war, the women had an equal say and could withhold food to men who went against their wishes. Women’s rights suffragettes like Susan B. Anthony were amazed to learn about the equality that Iroquois women held. Suffragette Matilda Joslyn Gage wrote articles about the Haudenosaunee in the New York Evening Post and other New York papers. Thus, they inspired a generation of people to strive for women’s equality. Below, Brenda LaForme, Cultural Interpreter at the Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave, NY, discusses women’s roles in the Haudenosaunee culture. As she notes, if a Chief abused women, the women in the tribe could remove him from power, an act called “dehorning” the leader. Today, women in the tribe help ensure survival and cultural ways, always upholding the Tree of Peace. Image by Annaser via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) and by dbking via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) YouTube Video Here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/nqoqxA8p_AM?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1
 Scientists have learned that venomous humans could one day become real. The headline elicits the response, “Aren’t they already venomous?” For example, watching politicians talk, one gets the idea that malevolent reptilians may be in government positions today. At this point, who would be surprised? But seriously, it goes back to our ancient past, when humans and reptiles shared a common ancestor. Today, there are thousands of venomous animals, both reptiles and a few mammals. For example, shrews and some moles are venomous. Unlike many venomous snakes, mammals have venom that is watery, dilute, and profuse.
After the scientists studied thousands of genes associated with venom production, they discovered that the same genes and physical mechanisms were at work in saliva glands and venom glands. So, while humans currently don’t secrete venomous proteins, in time, we could do so. However, snakes are far more highly evolved in that regard, with potent venom used sparingly. Related: Researchers Find A 100-Million-Year-Old Baby Snake Preserved In Amber Human Bites – Already DangerousEven without venom, a human bite is dangerous, as you may have learned the hard way as a child. The Mayo Clinic states a human bite may be more dangerous than an animal bite due to bacteria and viruses always present in our mouths. Often, people bitten by a person will require a tetanus shot. So, the need to evolve venom seems a redundant step. On the other hand, there are ample ancient stories of human-snake hybrids, and the word “venom” may be derived from Venus, the Roman goddess of love. (Greek Aphrodite) Her charms to arouse became synonymous with poison. The Latin venemum, meaning “magical charm, potent drug,” later became “deadly substance, poison.”
As we all know well, some may already be poisonous in the art of love. Venomous Humans That HibernateRecently, scientists also learned that humans might have the capacity for hibernation as well. In the distant past, early human beings probably hibernated, according to research into their fossilized remains. It all goes back to our mammalian ancestry. Thus, Neanderthals once hibernated alongside cave bears to avoid harsh winters. However, that doesn’t mean they were particularly good at hibernation, as evidence by signs of seasonal malnutrition and disease. Today, doctors can induce a state of torpor while patients undergo surgery. In the future, our capacity to hibernate may make it possible for our species to escape Earth on long voyages into space. It’s a subject of 1968’s Sci-Fi classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey, that recently drew attention due to monoliths appearing all over the place. We Owe Our Spines to Ancient Mud GulpersWhen you consider how humans are distantly related to other species, it makes you wonder what other traits we could evolve? After all, we have many distant relatives. Going back further, we trace our ancestry to creatures lurking in the oceans. Some people owe their spines to these creatures, while other people are apparently still working on it. You just know it’s the spineless folks who are more likely to become venomous. Millions of years ago, creatures that looked like the Roomba of the seas moved about on the seafloors. Armored bottom-dwelling fish called osteostracans (meaning “bony shields”) gulped mud with no jaws some 400 million years ago. Inside, they had a primitive bony internal endoskeleton. Thanks to those humble beginnings, scientists think we developed bones and vertebrae, serving like batteries of energy that made it possible to slither onto land awkwardly. Moving about in shallow waters where ocean waves crashed, bones possibly helped them withstand the surf. As an added benefit, the resulting energy reserves allowed them to explore and eventually move to land. From there, evolution led to amphibians, reptiles, birds, and venomous mammals. See the osteostracans from PBS Eons below Earliest Distant RelativesGoing back even further, you can see a simulation of what may be one of our earliest recognizable ancestors, Pikaia gracilens, an extinct small chordate animal from the Middle Cambrian period, “time of ancient life.” It looks like a gliding eel with a primitive forerunner of the backbone called a notochord, a flexible supportive rod. The period from over 500 million years ago marked a burst of evolutionary changes called the “Cambrian Explosion.” It’s all a bit humbling but also a critical lesson in how all species are very much interconnected and dependent entirely on each other. May we learn this lesson before we evolve into venomous humans. Featured image by SarahRichterArt via Pixabay, Pixabay License |
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