Quantum entanglement was supposed to need precisely controlled laser light
A sunlight-pumped crystal produced photon pairs with 93.9% Bell-state fidelity. The result is real, but its efficiency comparison needs a bandwidth footnote.
Aug 15, 2026
Deeper reporting,
thinking made visible.
Longer essays and features from Science Blog. Pieces here go through additional research and review.
Space
Einstein added a cosmological constant to his equations in 1917, later regarded it as one of his great mistakes, and physicists resurrected…
The Dark Energy Survey's final multi-probe analysis finds a 2.2 to 3.0 sigma preference for evolving dark energy, intriguing but well short of discovery.
Aug 15, 2026
The brain's waste-clearance system becomes especially active during sleep, helping remove proteins linked to Alzheimer's disease
MRI scans of 23 experienced meditators found focused attention altered CSF backflow and slow fluid oscillations, but the study did not measure protein clearance.
Aug 14, 2026
More than 80% of Tibetans carry a high-altitude adaptation inherited from Denisovans—an extinct human lineage first identified from DNA in…
A Denisovan-derived EPAS1 haplotype rose to roughly 80–86% frequency in Tibetan samples, but interbreeding and selection were probably separated by millennia.
Aug 14, 2026
For decades, runner's high was blamed on endorphins, even though circulating endorphins have difficulty crossing the blood-brain barrier
Human opioid-blockade and mouse receptor experiments have shifted the runner’s-high case toward endocannabinoids, while leaving room for several interacting systems.
Aug 14, 2026
Research distinguishes secure self-esteem from fragile high self-esteem that can become defensive when challenged
Research distinguishes secure from fragile high self-esteem. Defensive reactions can be associated with fragile self-esteem, but outward confidence alone cannot reveal a person's inner state.
By Kiran Journals · Aug 14, 2026
In 1956, one watt of solar capacity cost about $1,865 in today's money
Solar's fall from a space-age niche to the cheapest new electricity came from efficiency gains, manufacturing scale, policy and decades of accumulated learning.
Aug 14, 2026
NASA's Curiosity rover has detected methane on Mars dozens of times since 2012, including a spike of 21 parts per billion in 2019. Europe's…
Curiosity's near-surface methane readings and TGO's orbital non-detections sample different air, but methane's expected lifetime keeps the contradiction open.
Aug 14, 2026
Japanese women have ranked first in global life expectancy for 41 consecutive years, reaching 87.33 years in 2025. Japanese men live nearly…
Japan's 2025 life table puts women at 87.33 years and men at 81.35, but the international ranks combine different reference years and methods.
Aug 14, 2026