Bumblebee queens take days off

"Without queens, there's no colony. And without colonies, we lose essential pollinators. These breaks may be the very reason colonies succeed."

Jules Bernstein - UC Riverside • futurity
June 17, 2025 ~6 min

Precise measurement standards have revolutionized museum science, helping nail down where artifacts are from

Measurement standards underlie most fields of science – without them, researchers couldn’t compare the results of different studies.

Thomas Lam, Physical Scientist, Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution • conversation
June 17, 2025 ~11 min


AI ‘reanimations’: Making facsimiles of the dead raises ethical quandaries

AI avatars of dead people are teaching courses and testifying in court. Even with the best of intentions, the emerging practice of AI ‘reanimations’ is an ethical quagmire.

Daniel J. Feldman, Senior Research Fellow, Applied Ethics Center, UMass Boston • conversation
June 17, 2025 ~9 min

Closing in on superconducting semiconductors

Plasma Science and Fusion Center researchers created a superconducting circuit that could one day replace semiconductor components in quantum and high-performance computing systems.

Julianna Mullen | Plasma Science and Fusion Center • mit
June 17, 2025 ~5 min

Working memory is more complicated than we thought

A new study reveals working memory is an orchestra rather than a solo act—with multiple brain regions contributing to help us maintain info.

James Devitt-NYU • futurity
June 16, 2025 ~6 min

Laser beams power soft robotic arm for complex tasks

Researchers have developed a soft robotic arm capable of performing complex tasks such as navigating around an obstacle or hitting a ball.

Silvia Cernea Clark-Rice • futurity
June 16, 2025 ~7 min

Watch: 1 trick makes the biggest splash in a pool

Forget the bellyflop and the cannonball. Researchers say one trick from New Zealand will make the biggest splash in the pool this summer.

Georgia Tech • futurity
June 16, 2025 ~4 min

Flamingoes use mini tornado traps to catch their next meal

"They create swirling vortices with their beaks and stomp out whirlpools with their feet to trap prey, all while feeding upside down..."

Georgia Tech • futurity
June 16, 2025 ~4 min


Curiosity app suggests you can tweak your personality traits

With a curiosity-building app, researchers explore how personality can shift through small daily actions.

Debra Herrick-UC Santa Barbara • futurity
June 16, 2025 ~6 min

Will AI take your job? The answer could hinge on the 4 S’s of the technology’s advantages over humans

AI’s advantage over humans comes down to 4 dimensions: speed, scale, scope and sophistication. Whether AI can replace you depends on how much one or more of the S’s matter in what you do.

Nathan Sanders, Affiliate, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, Harvard University • conversation
June 16, 2025 ~10 min

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