Science

In March 1974, Stephen Hawking published the paper that made his name. It contained the revelation that black holes – gravitational giants from which nothing, not even light, can escape – don’t grow and grow until the end of time, but instead slowly shrink as they release particles in a phenomenon now called Hawking radiation. The implications were mystifying. Hawking’s calculations showed that the radiation should be random, offering no way to predict what types of particles will emerge. The problem was that anything that falls into a black hole contains information – what sorts of particles it is made of, their configurations, their quantum states – and if what comes back out is random, that information is lost forever as soon as the object is sucked in. But physics...

The scientists at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory have been on the forefront of groundbreaking research in the Earth sciences for the past 75 years, raising awareness of humanity’s growing impact on the natural world—and in turn the natural world’s impact on humanity.   Founded in 1949 as the Lamont Geological Observatory, Lamont has consistently served as an international leader in scientific scholarship. Whether charting the ocean floor, measuring ocean carbon, recording global earthquakes, tracking glacier retreat or counting and decoding tree rings for clues to our planet’s climate history, Lamont researchers are continuing their search for a deeper understanding of our planet. Below are just a few of the historic discoveries from the past seven-and-a-half decades at Lamont-Doh...

This fluorescent technique can precisely measure minuscule distancesSteffen J. Sahl / Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences The tiniest “ruler” ever is so precise that it can measure the width of a single atom within a protein. Proteins and other large molecules, or macromolecules, sometimes fold into the wrong shape, and this can affect the way they function. Some structural changes even play a role in conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. To understand this process, it is important to determine the exact distance between atoms – and clusters of atoms – within these macromolecules, says Steffen Sahl at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Germany. “We wanted to go from a microscope that maps positions of macromolecules relative ...

Climber on Torre Egger in the Chaltén Massif, Patagonia. Photo: Rolando Garibotti Mountaineers contend with the prospect of death during their climbing excursions in the Patagonian Andes, and have created a sporting culture attuned to the risks they face. Climate change, however, has begun to transform the conditions that mountaineers confront, raising questions about adaptation amidst efforts to limit injuries and fatalities. During the 19th century, mountaineering emerged as a competitive sport in Europe, but faced significant social criticisms related to its risk-taking behavior. Climbers justified their sport by highlighting its contributions to national glory, imperial competition and the advancement of scientific knowledge in geology, physiology and glaciology. Rather than acc...

John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton share the 2024 Nobel prize in physicsChristine Olsson/TT/Shutterstock The 2024 Nobel prize in physics has been awarded to John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton for their work on artificial neural networks and the fundamental algorithms that let machines learn, which are key to today’s large language models like ChatGPT. “I’m flabbergasted, I had no idea this would happen,” Hinton told the Nobel committee upon hearing the prize announcement. “I’m very surprised.” Hinton, who has been vocal about his fears around the development of artificial intelligence, also reiterated that he regretted the work he had done. “In the same circumstances, I would do the same again, but I am worried that the overall consequences of this might be systems more ...