Puzzling

Only some animals are known to fathom object permanence – the idea that something still exists even when it's out of sight. Oriental pied hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris) are one of the few with an advanced understanding, a new study confirms. It's a clever skill that comes in handy when nesting females seal themselves out of sight in tree hollows, relying on their mate to bring them food.To lay and tend to their eggs in safety, female Oriental pied hornbills brick themselves into their refuge with dollops of mud,…

Among various acts of alleged forgery, Hough charged that Wright backdated documents to make them seem like precursors to the original 2008 Bitcoin white paper; manipulated email communications in support of his claim to be Nakamoto; inserted material post-factum into his academic papers to imply he conceived of Bitcoin long before its release; and used ChatGPT to help create additional forgeries after experts cast doubt over existing materials. The specific discrepancies identified by Hough included anachronistic use of…

Ever since it opened its giant infrared eye on the cosmos after its December 2021 launch, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has found a shocking surfeit of bright galaxies that stretch back to the very early universe. Their brightness—a proxy for their numbers of stars and hence their mass—is deeply puzzling because galaxies shouldn’t have had enough time to become so bulky in such early cosmic epochs. Imagine visiting a foreign land and finding that many of its toddlers weighed as much as teenagers. You might have…

The image, taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile, shows a high-resolution view of the innermost parts of the Milky Way. In the new study, the researchers examined the dense nuclear star cluster shown in detail here. Credit: ESOThrough the study of detailed data obtained from a powerful ten-meter telescope located in Hawaii, a team of scientists at Lund University in Sweden have made significant discoveries regarding three stars situated in the central region of the Milky Way galaxy. These stars were found to be…

Rice University’s groundbreaking research on a “strange metal” quantum material reveals unconventional electrical flow, defying traditional quasiparticle theory. This discovery, made through detailed shot noise experiments, suggests a novel understanding of charge movement in strange metals and hints at a broader, universal phenomenon in quantum materials.Rice physicists find evidence of exotic charge transport in quantum material.True to form, a “strange metal” quantum material proved strangely quiet in recent quantum…

Astrophysicist Dong Lai theorizes that a quantum electrodynamics (QED) effect called “photon metamorphosis” accounts for unexpected observations of X-ray polarization from a magnetar, a neutron star with an intense magnetic field. Lai’s theory suggests X-ray photons passing through the magnetar’s magnetized atmosphere can temporarily transform into pairs of “virtual” electrons and positrons, leading to differing polarizations for low and high-energy X-rays.A “beautiful effect” predicted by quantum electrodynamics (QED)…

Theoretical physicists from the University of Minnesota have proposed a novel method to detect axions, hypothetical particles that could solve the “Strong CP Problem” in physics. The strategy involves tracing the decay of axions into two muons, opening new possibilities in particle collider experiments.Theoretical physicists help expand the search for new particle — ‘axions’ — that could help answer one of the most puzzling questions in physics.One of the most high-profile mysteries in physics today is what scientists…

A reconstruction with one loop, and a reconstruction with two, and the ways in which Justin Garnett held them, respectively. Credit: University of Kansas When most researchers looked at a puzzling group of artifacts discovered at French archaeological sites, they presumed these to be ornaments or clothing. But Justin Garnett saw something else. …

Wordle 698 answer for May 18: If a confusing word exists, it will eventually feature on Wordle. It is one of the rules of life. And fulfilling that role, today, the game has brought in front of us yet another confusing word. But no matter what challenge the game throws at us, we must find a way to surpass it, especially so close to its 700th word. And if you find yourself at wit's end, then don't worry. We have carefully curated Wordle hints and clues to ensure that you don't fall for its trap. And if somehow you still…

Astronomers observing a mysterious radio halo from the galaxy cluster Abell 1213 have uncovered something unexpected. While the radio signals themselves remain puzzling, they have allowed researchers to unveil the core of the galaxy cluster, right down to the central galaxy contained within.  Even more intriguing about the discovery is that the researchers found evidence of mergers between the galaxies with the cluster. The off-center nature of the radio halo has also provided scientists with quite a puzzle, as…