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Science 3 min read Oct 8

Chemistry Nobel Honors Reactions That Choose One Molecular Hand

Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai won the 2026 Chemistry Nobel for showing how reactions can favour and amplify one molecular mirror image. Their work reshaped asymmetric synthesis and drug-making, but the prize honours decades-old foundational discoveries rather than a newly released medicine.

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How Can a Chemical Reaction Amplify One Molecular Hand?

Some chiral reactions let their products catalyse the creation of more molecules with the same handedness. This feedback can magnify a tiny initial imbalance, offering chemists a model for molecular selection without claiming to reproduce the origin of life.

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How Could a Planet Form Around a Dead Star?

A companion may trap gas expelled by an ageing star, allowing a new disc and possibly a second generation of planets to form around the remaining white dwarf. Chemical fingerprints and orbital signals can test the idea.

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How Does IceCube Detect Neutrinos Inside Antarctic Ice?

IceCube uses thousands of buried optical sensors to measure Cherenkov light from rare neutrino interactions, then reconstructs each event's direction and energy while filtering a much larger atmospheric background.

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How Does Optogenetics Control Neurons With Light?

Optogenetics gives selected cells light-sensitive proteins, then uses precisely timed illumination to alter their electrical activity. The method can test causal links between neural circuits and behaviour, but its accuracy depends on gene targeting, light delivery and rigorous experimental controls.

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Three common lithium-ion battery cell formats: cylindrical, prismatic and pouch.

Technology History 7 milestones Ongoing

The Battery That Electrified Everything: From Lithium Chemistry to Electric Cars

Diagram showing how an mRNA vaccine instructs cells to produce an antigen and trigger immunity.

Technology History 8 milestones Ongoing

The mRNA Journey: From Fragile Molecule to Programmable Medicine

Honda's ASIMO humanoid robot performs for students and U.S. President Barack Obama at Miraikan in Tokyo.

Technology History 9 milestones Ongoing

The Long Road to Humanoid Robots: From Walking Machines to AI Workers

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Skull Fractures Strengthen the Case for Sacrifice in Early Egypt

Science

Oct 5•3 min

Skull Fractures Strengthen the Case for Sacrifice in Early Egypt

A forensic review found potentially lethal trauma in 18 of 46 skulls from subsidiary graves beside First Dynasty royal burials at Abydos. The result strengthens the case for retainer sacrifice, but the small, incomplete sample cannot establish how every person in the cemetery died.

Health

Oct 3•3 min

AI Read Short Stress Stories to Separate Two Healthcare-Worker Profiles

A six-week study used recorded stress narratives from healthcare workers to distinguish two self-report-derived stress profiles with an AUROC of 0.75. The result is a proof of concept, not a clinical diagnosis, and has not been validated outside the study cohort.