MIT’s robotic optics lab built a working laser cavity in 50 maneuvers and under 30 minutes; when researchers moved components, it realigned them automatically with micron-scale precision

Representative Image (AI-generated) A robot has assembled a working tabletop laser cavity in less than 30 minutes, handling the precise alignment usually done manually. Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT’s) researchers have developed a reconfigurable robotic optics laboratory that can pick up and position mirrors, lenses and other components, fine-tune them with micron-scale precision and even…

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Three Harvard students built a low-cost headset that can screen athletes for concussions in about 60 seconds |

Radhika Saran, Cleo Pontone and Sophia DeVito, three students at Harvard University, have built Rumble Rims, a low-cost infrared eye-tracking headset that helps schools screen for possible concussions on the sideline in about 60 seconds. The system is designed to give coaches more objective information during sideline checks. The project has already earned the team…

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Scientists used 2,430 fake caterpillars to study predators, but animals attacked even shapes that looked nothing like prey |

Representative Image of diverse plasticine models resembling prey, under scrutiny by researchers assessing animal interactions (AI Generated Image) For years, ecologists have used soft plasticine models shaped like caterpillars, fruit, bird eggs, snakes and frogs to study interactions between predators and their potential prey. The idea is simple: leave the models in a natural habitat,…

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High school teacher searching for fossils discovers four footprints later confirmed as the first reported T. rex trackway dating back 66.5 million years |

Image: ABC News/ Kent Hups A high school science teacher exploring a fossil-rich region of North Dakota made a discovery that could change what scientists know about how adult Tyrannosaurus rex moved. In 2025, Kent Hups spotted unusual impressions while volunteering on a fossil dig in the Hell Creek Formation. What initially appeared to be…

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Greenland and Antarctica have lost 11,309 billion tonnes of ice between 1979 and 2023, raising sea levels by 31.4 mm; glaciers drive 84% of loss, surface melting 16%

Greenland and Antarctica have lost 11,309 billion tonnes of ice since 1979. (Photo: SWNS) Greenland and Antarctica have lost a combined 11.3 billion tonnes of ice since the late 1970s, contributing more than 3 centimetres to global sea level rise, according to a new international assessment by polar scientists.As per SWNS, the comprehensive study, led…

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Rowan Atkinson bought an Oxfordshire property in 2006; 16 years later, he finally moved into the Richard Meier-designed glass house |

Rowan Atkinson, Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons In 2006, Rowan Atkinson bought Handsmooth House, a 1930s property set on about 16 acres in Ipsden, Oxfordshire, for a reported £2.6 million. Rather than preserve the existing house, Atkinson wanted to replace it with a completely different kind of home. He eventually commissioned American architect Richard Meier, whose…

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Melinda French Gates puts $1 billion behind women’s power; her investments back overlooked women tackling climate change |

Melinda French Gates is committing $1 billion through 2026 to advance women’s power and influence, while her investment platform is backing women-led funds working on climate solutions. Through Pivotal Ventures, Gates has invested in Planeteer Capital, a climate-tech fund led by Sophie Purdom that backs early-stage companies developing solutions to climate change. The investment comes…

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In 2012, Tasmania moved 15 devils to Maria Island to protect the species from facial-tumour disease; after 28 were released by 2013, a 3,000-pair penguin colony disappeared

The facial tumour had severely affected devil populations in many parts of Tasmania In 2012, 28 Tasmanian devils were brought to Maria Island off Tasmania’s east coast as an “insurance population” when facial tumour disease was severely affecting the species. The devils have since thrived, with their numbers reaching up to 90. But their success…

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From 1870 to 1988, California stocked mountain lakes with trout for anglers; the fish helped push yellow-legged frogs from 92% of their historic Sierra Nevada range

For more than a century, California’s high mountain lakes were stocked with trout to make remote wilderness more attractive to anglers. Between 1870 and 1988, fish were carried or flown into lakes and streams that had historically been fishless, creating new opportunities for recreation but also changing the balance of life in the Sierra Nevada….

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