Toggle light / dark theme

A ‘cage of cages’ is how scientists have described a new type of porous material, unique in its molecular structure, that could be used to trap carbon dioxide and another, more potent greenhouse gas.

Synthesized in the lab by researchers in the UK and China, the material is made in two steps, with reactions assembling triangular prism building blocks into larger, more symmetrical tetrahedral cages – producing the first molecular structure of its kind, the team claims.

The resulting material, with its abundance of polar molecules, attracts and holds greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide (CO2) with strong affinity. It also showed excellent stability in water, which would be critical for its use in capturing carbon in industrial settings, from wet or humid gas streams.

A 20-second video from inside a Chinese humanoid robot factory is causing some consternation today around social media. It shows a range of highly realistic-looking, partially skinned humanoids under construction.

The video, uploaded by user ‘meimei4515,’ is uncredited, but shows several moving androids with human-like hair and skin – in stark contrast to most of the general-purpose humanoids we’d normally cover, which are designed to look like robots, rather than trying to fool anyone.

Here, there are rows of pretty cyborg-ladies, disembodied heads on stands, fully human-like presenter types wearing shirts and pants, and a surreal tree of humanoid arms, flexing and twirling their white-fingered hands in concert. It looks for all the world like a grittier version of Westworld’s backstage workshop.

The archaeological landscape is rarely static. Discoveries continuously shift our understanding of the past, forcing us to redraw the boundaries of what we thought was possible or likely. A recent find on ancient woodworkings at Kalambo Falls, Zambia, is a prime example – it introduces us to early hominin builders with unexpected skills, operating long before the rise of Homo sapiens.

The unique conditions at Kalambo Falls were instrumental in the extraordinary preservation of ancient woodworking artifacts.

The site’s lush vegetation, sustained by a reliable water source, provided the necessities of life, making it a consistently appealing location for various hominin species across vast stretches of time. This long-term occupation increased the likelihood of artifacts being left behind.