In the mid-1960s, inside a research laboratory run by DuPont, Stephanie Kwolek was searching for something fairly practical. The company wanted lightweight yet durable fibres that could eventually replace steel in vehicle tyres and reduce fuel consumption. Synthetic materials were already common in industry by then, but the challenge was finding one that could survive…
For a long time, astronomers treated the early universe as a place where galaxies were still finding their footing, small systems forming stars rapidly, while the larger cosmic structures familiar today had not yet settled into existence. Galaxy clusters, the sprawling cities of the cosmos, were thought to become influential much later. Yet fresh observations…
A technology that could propel crewed missions to Mars and robotic spacecraft throughout the solar system was recently put to the test at NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The result was a milestone that engineers and space scientists have been working toward for decades, and one that brings the prospect of humans setting…
At several hundred metres below the surface, the limestone caves around Minamidaito Island are mostly untouched by sunlight, currents, and routine marine surveys. The landscape is narrow, uneven, and difficult to navigate even with modern submersibles. During one of those deep exploratory dives last year, a remotely operated vehicle passed close to a colony of…
Walking through an airport terminal these days, it is hard not to notice how much of the journey now depends on being connected before the aircraft even leaves the gate. People board with phones already loaded, laptops half-open, expecting the same internet they had in the lounge or at home. American Airlines has now put…
For most of the twentieth century, the story of how humans arrived in North America felt settled. They came from Siberia, crossed a land bridge called Beringia, moved south as the ice sheets retreated, and by around 13,000 years ago had given rise to the Clovis culture, the earliest widely accepted evidence of human presence…
North Korea on Wednesday tested a mix of tactical ballistic missiles, artillery rockets and AI-guided precision cruise missiles designed for modern warfare, according to state news agency KCNA.The tests came a day after South Korea’s military said it had detected the launch of multiple projectiles, including a ballistic missile. The projectiles reportedly travelled around 80…
The rivalry between Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk has officially reached the Moon. NASA announced on Tuesday that it had selected Bezos’s Blue Origin to carry out the first in a planned series of three uncrewed lunar missions aimed at preparing for a future Moon base, handing the company a contract worth about $230M. The…
In what is said to be the biggest renewable energy plan ever proposed by any nation, China is making plans to develop the most extensive clean energy plant outside its shores. From reports about this plan, it appears that China aims to develop 1,000 wind turbines along with millions of solar panels, which will be…
TOI correspondent from Washington: For Republican politicians in Donald Trump’s America, there are now only two career paths: obedience or obituary.On Tuesday night in Texas, the political undertaker came for Senator John Cornyn — a four-term Republican heavyweight, former Senate whip, longtime conservative stalwart, and co-chair of the Senate India Caucus — who was steamrolled…