galaxies, new discoveries, radio waves

The Sun’s Activity Cycle Is Reaching Its Peak Early

Our Sun is a steady and everlasting companion. Reliable like a clock, its apparent passage across the sky allows us to measure time. The Sun and its path is also the source of Earth’s seasons. But in many respects, our Sun is far from calm and unchanging. Close up, the Sun shows extensive variation and ...

Troy Oakes

Image of the Sun releasing a solar flare, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

We Built a ‘Brain’ From Tiny Silver Wires That Learns in Real Time

The world is infatuated with artificial intelligence (AI), and for good reason. AI systems can process vast quantities of data in a seemingly superhuman way similar to your brain. However, current AI systems rely on computers running complex algorithms based on artificial neural networks. These use huge amounts of energy, and use even more energy ...

Troy Oakes

A circuit board.

Holes in Baby Dinosaur Bones Show How Football-Sized Hatchlings Grew to 3-Ton Teens

Despite their public image as torpid, lumbering creatures, many dinosaurs were evidently warm-blooded, highly active animals, capable of prolonged and strenuous aerobic exercise. In new research, my colleagues and I determined how much energy minibus-sized dinosaurs called Maiasaura used while growing to adulthood. Our results, published in the journal Paleobiology, show Maiasaura was capable of ...

Troy Oakes

Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops dinosaurs.