The strongest solar flare in half a decade just launched off the sun from the same sunspot group that triggered dazzling auroras last weekend. But don't expect northern lights this time around. ... Read full Story
The same massive sunspot that gave Earth multiple nights of stunning aurora displays has now produced the largest flare of the current solar cycle ... Read full Story
Robots revolutionized the manufacturing industry by automating assembly lines. Now, more and more, they are being used to expedite the pace of scientific discovery. ... Read full Story
ChatGPT's latest upgrade means the voice assistant can now respond to audio, text and visual inputs in real time. The new chatbot, named ChatGPT-4o, will be rolled out to alpha testers in the coming weeks. ... Read full Story
Using a clever laser technique, scientists have squished pairs of atoms closer together than ever before, revealing some truly mind-boggling quantum effects. ... Read full Story
Japan has announced plans to add fin whales — the second-largest animal on Earth — to its list of commercial whaling species, which currently includes Bryde's, sei and minke whales. ... Read full Story
Tree rings suggest the Northern Hemisphere summer of 2023 was the hottest in 2,000 years, with temperatures exceeding those of the coldest summer in the same period by 7 degrees Fahrenheit (3.9 Celsius). ... Read full Story
Scientific discovery doesn't always require a high-tech laboratory or a hefty budget. Many people have a first-rate lab right in their own homes—their kitchen. ... Read full Story
A team of physicists from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the Advanced Propulsion Laboratory at Applied Physics, in New York, has developed a model that shows it might be possible to create a subluminal warp drive. ... Read full Story
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 14, 2024 is:
caveat \KAV-ee-aht\ noun
A caveat is an explanation or warning that should be remembered when you are doing or thinking about something. In legal contexts, caveat refers to a notice to a court or judicial officer to suspend a proceeding until the opposition can be heard.
// All investment advice should come with a caveat: the stock market is impossible to predict with absolute accuracy.
"The report details the percentage of students who graduate within four years from when they first enroll in ninth grade. Still, there are caveats to the numbers. For one, students who leave the district after their freshman year to be home-schooled or enroll in private schools aren't included in the calculation." — Sommer Brugal, The Treasure Coast News (Palm Beach, Florida), 7 Jan. 2021
Did you know?
You may be familiar with the old saying caveat emptor, nowadays loosely translated as "let the buyer beware." In the 16th century, this adage was imparted as a safeguard for the seller: allow the buyer to examine the item (for example, a horse) before the sale is completed so that the seller can't be blamed if the item turns out to be unsatisfactory. Caveat in Latin means "let him beware" and comes from the verb cavēre, meaning "to be on guard." Perhaps you've also heard the phrase caveat lector; translated as "let the reader beware," it's a warning to take what one reads with a grain of salt. English retained caveat itself as a noun for something that serves to warn, explain, or caution. The word caution, by the way (no salt needed), is also a descendant of cavēre.