Art illuminates the beauty of science – and could inspire the next generation of scientists young and old

Scientists have been using art to illuminate and share their research with the public for centuries. And art could be one way to bolster K-12 science education and scientific literacy in the public.

Chris Curran, Professor and Director Neuroscience Program, Northern Kentucky University • conversation
Nov. 23, 2021 ~10 min

X-rays may save Henry VIII’s revered ship, the Mary Rose

Bacteria and chemicals are eating away at the crown jewel of Henry VIII's 16th century fleet, the Mary Rose. A new X-ray method may help save her.

Michael Skov Jensen-Copenhagen • futurity
Nov. 16, 2021 ~6 min


50 years ago, the first CT scan let doctors see inside a living skull – thanks to an eccentric engineer at the Beatles' record company

On Oct. 1, 1971, Godfrey Hounsfield’s invention took its first pictures of a human brain, using X-rays and an ingenious algorithm to identify a woman’s tumor from outside of her skull.

Edmund S. Higgins, Affiliate Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Family Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina • conversation
Sept. 30, 2021 ~10 min

Using AI and old reports to understand new medical images

Scientists employ an underused resource — radiology reports that accompany medical images — to improve the interpretive abilities of machine learning algorithms.

Rachel Gordon | MIT CSAIL • mit
Sept. 27, 2021 ~4 min

Light from a black hole’s far side proves Einstein right

Researchers have detected, for the first time, light from the back side of a black hole. The finding fulfills a prediction from Einstein's work.

Taylor Kubota-Stanford • futurity
July 29, 2021 ~7 min

Physicists uncover secrets of world’s thinnest superconductor

First experimental evidence of spin excitations in an atomically thin material helps answer 30-year-old questions, could lead to better medical diagnostics and more.

Elizabeth A. Thomson | Materials Research Laboratory • mit
June 21, 2021 ~9 min

Mysterious X-rays may be first sign of ‘ghost particles’

Researchers may have found the first evidence axions, hypothetical particles that could unravel some of the universe's mysteries.

Morgan Sherburne-Florida • futurity
Jan. 28, 2021 ~7 min

CT scans and X-rays may up testicular cancer risk

Early and repeated exposure to X-rays and CT scans may increase the chance of testicular cancer. The findings support the use of more testicular shielding.

Steve Graff-Pennsylvania • futurity
Nov. 19, 2020 ~5 min


Black holes need the right ingredients to fire stuff into space

New research may provide clues to the mystery of why some supermassive black holes launch jets of material out into space while others don't.

Sam Sholtis-Penn State • futurity
Oct. 16, 2020 ~7 min

Fossilised teeth reveal first mammals were far from warm blooded

New study used X-rays of the teeth of early mammals' to show they were more like cold blooded reptiles.

Pam Gill, Senior Research Associate in Palaeontology, University of Bristol • conversation
Oct. 13, 2020 ~5 min

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