A new study suggests the brain begins making decisions much earlier than scientists previously thought. Researchers found that even primary sensory regions are influenced by higher brain areas through rapid feedback loops, rather than simply passing information forward. This more dynamic view of brain function could help engineers design future AI systems that think more like biological brains while using far less power.

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A new study suggests spacecraft exhaust could quickly contaminate the moon's most scientifically valuable regions, potentially masking ancient clues about how life began on Earth. Researchers say future lunar missions should consider new ways to reduce and monitor this pollution before it becomes widespread.

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Researchers have recreated the physics of extracting energy from a spinning black hole using a stationary device that produces synthetic ultrafast rotation. The achievement transforms a long-standing theoretical idea into a practical experiment and could inspire new advances in optics, wireless communications, and quantum science.

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Gold may have a secret self-defense system that helps it resist tarnishing. Researchers discovered that atoms on gold surfaces reorganize themselves into patterns that block oxygen from reacting with the metal, suppressing oxidation by up to a trillion-fold. Beyond explaining why gold jewelry stays bright for generations, the finding could help scientists create more powerful gold-based catalysts for manufacturing and clean energy.

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Researchers discovered that electricity can dramatically reshape how heat flows through certain ceramic materials, increasing heat conduction by almost threefold in a preferred direction. The unexpected result could lead to much more efficient cooling technologies and energy-saving devices.

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Scientists have identified new clues that could help astronomers spot one of the most famous hypothetical alien megastructures: a Dyson sphere. The study finds that red dwarfs and white dwarfs are the most promising stars to examine, since advanced civilizations could potentially build energy-harvesting swarms around them more easily. These objects would stand out by glowing in infrared light instead of visible light, lacking the dusty signatures of ordinary stars, and possibly flickering in unusual ways.

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What if time doesn't actually exist until something changes? Scientists at the University of Birmingham created a tiny "mini universe" using 24,000 ultracold atoms and showed that the flow of time can emerge naturally from changes inside a quantum system, without relying on any external clock.

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