Sunday Special: Scientists crack time travel (well, theoretically)

Put in your PTO—your next vacation could be to the future. Scientists may have found the key to time travel (but only theoretically). Also: a new chicken-sized dinosaur just made its debut and challenged our assumptions about where dinosaurs originally came from.

SCIENCE SUNDAY

The most interesting scientific discoveries and breakthroughs this week

Sunken Worlds: Scientists just uncovered ancient pieces of tectonic plates buried deep in the Earth’s mantle that may date back to Earth’s early days. Using cutting-edge seismic modeling, they were able to locate these plates in surprising locations—beneath other continental plates, far from the tectonic boundaries where you’d expect them to be.

Blood Hack: In 1972, doctors were stumped at a strange case of a woman missing a common molecule in her blood. Fast forward 50 years, and scientists have finally cracked the case, discovering a brand-new human blood group system. It adds to the list of lesser-known blood groups and could improve care for rare blood transfusion cases.

Back to the Future: Your next trip may just be to 2125. Physicist Lorenzo Gavassino’s latest research suggests time travel could sidestep cosmic puzzles like the “grandfather paradox” by tapping into quantum mechanics, general relativity, and thermodynamics. It’s all theoretical at this point, but it gives physicists new ways to think about the fabric of space-time.

Dino Discovery: There’s a new dino on the block, and it’s flipped the script on the species’ origin story. Scientists just uncovered a chicken-sized dinosaur in North America, dating back around 230 million years. This discovery challenges the idea that dinosaurs first appeared in the southern hemisphere and pushes back the timeline for their spread.

Quantum Leap: For years, quantum mechanics has maintained that particles could only exist as either bosons or fermions. Now, physicists at Rice University have challenged that assumption, revealing the theoretical possibility of a third type of particle—paraparticles—that challenges traditional categories and reshapes our understanding of particle physics.

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NEW TECH

Our favorite new tech gadgets this week

1. Effidry S3: This portable clothes dryer claims to be the world’s fastest, and can complete cycles in 9 minutes flat. It’s got seven versatile modes, including Baby Care, Silk, and UV.

2. Elvie Rise: An all-in-one smart bouncer that can transform into a lie-flat bassinet, and is integrated with an app to track your baby’s sleep and control the bassinet’s bounce.

3. Brisk It Origin 580: This smart BBQ grill uses gen AI and Wi-Fi connectivity to automate cooking and create personalized recipes, and is integrated with an app that lets you adjust settings remotely.

4. Dreame X50 Ultra: Dreame just dropped the X50 Ultra, a robot vacuum that seamlessly navigates your home and can even climb up the stairs—all with a simple voice command.

SOCIAL SIGNALS

What’s trending in Tech on socials this week

Shine Shift: A study just blew up on X, revealing that jewelry with lab-grown diamonds saw a 12.5% sales spike in 2024 and prices fell 75%.

Neon Nights: A video of bioluminescence in the beach sand has got folks on Reddit smashing the like button. It looks like something straight out of a sci-fi movie.

Jailbreak Jackpot: Turns out the "gramma jailbreak" still works on ChatGPT, even after two years. Users have figured out that asking the bot to pretend it’s their grandma lets them bypass its training rules.

Brain Drain: A new study suggests that lead poisoning may have led to a drop in people’s IQs in ancient Rome. It may also be one of the reasons behind the city’s fall.

Wick-ed Web: A Reddit user searched for the release date for ‘John Wick: Chapter 5’ and was shocked to find a webpage packed with fake, AI-generated info about a movie that hasn’t even hit screens yet.

ONLY GOOD NEWS

A healthy dose of optimism to kickstart your week

Cosmic Parade: Mark your calendars for the 28th of Feb—for the first time in decades, seven planets in the Solar System will align in a perfect row in the night sky. In fact, you may not even have to wait till Feb for a cosmic show. Comet ATLAS (C/2024 G3) is expected to shine brighter than Venus and streak across the night sky tomorrow.

Test Triumph: A blood test for endometriosis just passed clinical trials and is expected to launch in Australia later this year. It has an impressive 99.7% accuracy in spotting severe cases, and could potentially replace surgery, providing a much simpler alternative for patients, with fewer misdiagnoses.

Print Fix: Scientists have 3D-printed their way past invasive surgery. They’ve developed a unique method where liquid "sono-ink" is injected into the body and then solidified with deep ultrasound waves. This lets surgeons create implants directly inside the body, successfully repairing heart tissue and bones, and even delivering chemotherapy drugs.

Magnet Magic: Researchers may have found a non-invasive way to treat neurological disorders like Parkinson’s. Unlike traditional methods, which involve implanting electrodes in the brain through surgery, they’re now using metallic discs that generate electricity when exposed to a magnetic field, offering a less-invasive, more accessible treatment.

MEME OF THE WEEK

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