The Terrell-Penrose effect states that the relativistic Lorentz contraction of fast-moving objects cannot be seen in a photograph, but it has never been verified due to the requirement of relativistic speeds of the moving object. Using femtosecond laser pulses and ultrafast photography, and virtually reducing the speed of light, the authors demonstrate the accuracy of this statement.
If you think about it, physics has always advanced because of strange little clues that didn’t seem to fit. Mercury’s orbit was off by a tiny fraction; that small mismatch eventually gave us Einstein’s theory of relativity.
The ultraviolet catastrophe in blackbody radiation didn’t make sense because the crisis opened the door to quantum mechanics. So whenever something doesn’t quite add up, it’s worth paying attention. Extra dimensions enter the story because of exactly this kind of mismatch.
If extra dimensions are real, then the forces of nature might not be as separate as they look. Gravity might only appear weak because it’s spread across hidden dimensions, while the other forces are stuck to the space we can see. That would mean unification: the dream of combining all forces under one theory isn’t just possible, but natural.
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Timestamps.
0:00 Extra Dimensions.
“This raises a disturbing prospect—a Kardashev Type III metasociety may annihilate planetary systems as it expands to stabilize their megaswarms, leaving everything within its ‘bubble’ barren of planets. If those megaswarms then are destroyed anyway, no planets will remain on which to restart life,” the paper explains.
“Furthermore, in most early-type galaxies, there will be no star formation to ever replace them. Thus, the megaswarms portend doom, and leave behind a permanently sterilized galaxy in their wake.”
Maybe we don’t want to detect one after all.
Not exactly a brain chip per se by a bit of nanotech.
While companies like Elon Musk’s Neuralink are hard at work on brain-computer interfaces that require surgery to cut open the skull and insert a complex array of wires into a person’s head, a team of researchers at MIT have been researching a wireless electronic brain implant that they say could provide a non-invasive alternative that makes the technology far easier to access.
They describe the system, called Circulatronics, as more of a treatment platform than a one-off brain chip. Working with researchers from Wellesley College and Harvard University, the MIT team recently released a paper on the new technology, which they describe as an autonomous bioelectronic implant.
As New Atlas points out, the Circulatronics platform starts with an injectable swarm of sub-cellular sized wireless electronic devices, or “SWEDs,” which can travel into inflamed regions of the patient’s brain after being injected into the bloodstream. They do so by fusing with living immune cells, called monocytes, forming a sort of cellular cyborg.
Researchers work at a control room of the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) in Jiangmen, south China’s Guangdong Province, Aug. 26, 2025. The world’s largest transparent spherical detector began operation in China on Tuesday, making it the world’s first operational ultra-large scientific facility dedicated to neutrino research with ultra-high precision. Having completed the filling of its 20,000-tonne liquid scintillator detector, JUNO in Guangdong began taking data after more than a decade of preparation and construction. (Photo by Liu Yuexiang/Xinhua)
Ever wondered what ancient languages sounded like?
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infected and reprogrammed autoreactive B cells in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) to become activated antigen-presenting cells. EBV-infected B cells in patients with SLE showed increased antigen-presenting capabilities, unlike those in healthy control individuals, and may serve as drivers of systemic autoimmune responses.
Epstein-Barr virus reprograms autoreactive B cells, possibly contributing to systemic lupus erythematosus, with infected B cells in patients showing high antigen-presenting capabilities.
Two recently published studies led by Brazilian scientists reveal the key roles of multifunctional proteins, STIP1 and Maspin, in vital cellular processes.
The results demonstrate new protein functions that help clarify how cells maintain their shape, communicate, and renew themselves. These findings contribute to new studies on cancer, embryogenesis, and potential applications in regenerative medicine.
According to one of the studies, STIP1 plays a central role in embryonic development and maintaining pluripotency, or the ability of cells to multiply and give rise to other cell types.
The ratio of two dominant groups of microbes in the human gut was higher across all three disorder groups than was typically seen in the control group.
A new, small study suggests children with autism, ADHD, and anorexia share similarly disrupted gut microbiomes, which, by some measures, have more in common with each other than with their healthy, neurotypical peers.
Led by researchers from Comenius University in Slovakia, the study used stool samples to assess the gut microbiomes of 117 children.
The exploratory study included 30 boys with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 21 girls with anorexia nervosa, and 14 children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The remaining samples were from age-and sex-matched healthy and neurotypical children, providing a control group.