Latest articles by Ben Turner
'The dystopian possibilities seem endless': How attempts to merge human brains with machines could go disastrously wrong
After Philip Seargeant's grandmother suffered a stroke, she lost the ability to speak for several days. The experience made him reflect on brain-computer interfaces — a technology with both positive and dystopian implications.
NASA reveals images of enormous, snowman-shaped asteroid 2024 ON after its ultra-close approach to Earth
New close-up images reveal the surprising snowman shape of "potentially hazardous" asteroid 2024 ON, which tumbled safely past our planet on Sept. 17.
Biggest black hole jets ever seen are as long as 140 Milky Ways
The largest-ever black hole jets ever seen hint that these cosmic monsters may play an even more significant role in shaping galaxies than previously thought.
Earth once wore a Saturn-like ring, study of ancient craters suggests
The ring could be responsible for a prolonged drop in temperatures millions of years ago.
Earth's new 'mini-moon' will orbit our planet for the next 2 months
A tiny asteroid will orbit around our planet for 53 days from the end of September.
Monster black hole is starving its host galaxy to death, James Webb telescope reveals
New observations with JWST have confirmed that supermassive black holes have the power to quench star formation across their surrounding galaxies.
Mysterious 9-day seismic event was caused by a mega tsunami bouncing around inside a fjord, study reveals
In September, a strange nine-day signal rocked our planet and baffled scientists. Now they have finally found the cause.
Physicists unveil 1D gas made of pure light
Physicists have created a one dimensional gas out of light particles for the first time. Studying how the photon gas behaves could help researchers discover some yet-unknown quantum optical effects.
'Potentially hazardous' asteroid the size of a skyscraper to skim past Earth on Tuesday
The gigantic asteroid 2024 ON, about the size of a skyscraper, will fly close to Earth next Tuesday, missing our planet by 2.6 times the distance between Earth and the moon.
The Milky Way's supermassive black hole is spinning incredibly fast and at the wrong angle. Scientists may finally know why.
Observations from the Event Horizon Telescope may reveal a secret merger in our supermassive black hole's past, potentially explaining the cosmic monster's unusual spin.
One of the universe's biggest paradoxes could be even weirder than we thought, James Webb telescope study reveals
New James Webb Space Telescope results have revealed that there may not be a Hubble tension after all. But contradictions within the findings point to a deeper mystery.
A dancing stoat, a jaguar's skull-shattering bite and a spider that looks like David Bowie are among the stunning images from this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition
The photos will be displayed in October at London's Natural History Museum.
NASA discovers planet-wide electric field around Earth that's shooting bits of our atmosphere into space
NASA scientists have discovered a planet-wide electric field surrounding Earth, confirming a 60-year-old hypothesis. Studying the field could yield some vital information about how our planet's atmosphere has evolved.
Scientists confirm that most of the universe is 'darkness and nothing more'
Finding the universe's brightness is essential for confirming our theories of what makes up the universe. But to do so, scientists had to send a spacecraft far away from our sun.
AI uncovers the universe's 'settings' with unprecedented precision, and it could help to resolve the Hubble tension
The new AI system can estimate cosmological parameters with stunning precision, and it could help astronomers unpick one of the thorniest problems in the field.
James Webb telescope spots 6 enormous 'rogue planets' tumbling through space without a star
The James Webb Space Telescope has uncovered six "rogue planets" careening through space without a star. The objects are believed to have formed directly from gas collapse, blurring the lines between planets and stars.
Boeing Starliner will return from space without a crew, NASA announces in long-awaited decision
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams will not return to Earth on the troubled Boeing Starliner spacecraft. Instead, NASA will bring them home in February 2025 aboard a SpaceX vehicle, while Starliner falls to Earth uncrewed.
World's fastest microscope can see electrons moving
Scientists have created the world's fastest microscope, which they hope will answer fundamental questions about how electrons behave.
Heaviest antimatter particle ever discovered could hold secrets to our universe's origins
The newly found antiparticle, called antihyperhydrogen-4, could have a potential imbalance with its matter counterpart that may help scientists understand how our universe came to be.
AI can predict 'tipping points' for future disasters like pandemics or ecological collapse, scientists say
Predicting dangerous tipping points in complex systems has proven to be a headache for scientists. Now, a new AI system could be poised to do the job for them.
Physicists find superconductor behavior at temperatures once thought 'impossible'
Scientists have observed an unexpected new behavior in a superconducting material. If physicists can figure out the cause, it could help them to find room-temperature superconductors.
Catastrophic collision between Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies may not happen after all, new study hints
Astronomers have long predicted that a collision between our galaxy and nearby Andromeda could be inevitable, but new calculations suggest this may be an over exaggeration.
ChatGPT is truly awful at diagnosing medical conditions
The large language model gets medical calls wrong more often than not.
NASA delays Boeing Starliner return flight again amid 'major discussion' about astronaut safety
NASA has once again pushed back the deadline for when the troubled Boeing Starliner spacecraft must leave the International Space Station. The agency expects to be ready to conduct a flight readiness review as soon as the end of next week.
