May 19, 2026 2:13 PM
This week, an "impossible" crystal formed during a historic nuclear blast, 8000-year-old technology "lost to history," and radical approches to solving consciousness questions are in the news.
(Image Source: Adobe Stock Image)This week in stories we're covering at The Debrief... scientists looked inside an "impossible" crystal formed during a historic nuclear blast, and found something nobody expected. Elsewhere, a discovery at an archaeological site has revealed "a technology lost to history" that proves Neolithic people had mastered an ancient Roman engineering feat an astounding 8,000 years earlier. And finally, scientists argue a radical new approach may be needed to unravel the mystery of consciousness.
Meanwhile, here's a quick look at other science and technology news we're covering right now:
- Convicted Harvard Scientist Rebuilds Career in China Through Controversial Brain-Computer Interface Lab A former Harvard professor convicted of concealing ties to a Chinese talent program now leads a state-backed brain-computer interface lab in China.
- James Webb Space Telescope Spots an Early Galaxy with an Odd Feature That’s Defying Expectations James Webb Space Telescope data have led to the surprising discovery that an early, distant galaxy is not rotating as expected.
- 3000-Year-Old Evidence of “Anomalous” Iron Production Suggests Bronze Age Metalsmiths Launched a Technological Revolution by Accident Long before the discovery of iron reshaped civilizations, Bronze Age metalworkers may discovered it by accident, new research suggests.
- “Different Flows of Time All Exist at the Same Moment”: Scientists Claim Trapped-Ion Atomic Clocks Can Observe “Quantum Superposition of Time” Scientists claim they can improve the sensitivity of atomic clocks to measure the quantum superposition of time and possibly explain gravity.
- DNA From a Decades-Old Museum Specimen Reveals the Hidden Lineage of a Tiny Underwater Predator While most fruit flies are commonly known for their attraction to fermenting fruit, one species has evolved to hunt in the fast-moving streams of Africa, taking on the role of a predator.
- NASA Researchers Have Discovered Something Unexpected in These Haunting New Maps of Earth’s Artificial Light Subtle changes are occurring in the nighttime world on our planet, according to NASA scientists who say an unexpected pattern has surfaced in new maps of the world’s artificial light.
- “For Years We Couldn’t Understand It”: What’s the Massive Anomaly Lurking in the Clouds Over Venus? A mysterious weather anomaly on Venus has finally been explained, providing new insight into the weather volatility of other planets.
- Dream-Like Mental States Can Occur While Awake, Study Finds Shifting mental experiences we usually associate with dreaming can also occur while we are awake, a new study says.
- Mars Express Reveals A Chaotic Feature Carved into the Martian Surface By Ancient Waters Martian chaos created by craters, lava, and water was observed by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express in the Shalbatana Vallis.
- Satellites May Be Driving a Concerning New Form of Atmospheric Pollution, Experts Warn Experts say satellites are driving climate concerns by producing atmospheric carbon with an impact 500 times that of ground-based emissions.
- NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is Unveiling the Secrets of the ‘Cosmic Web,’ Offering New Clues to Galactic Evolution James Webb Space Telescope data has allowed researchers to map the cosmic web in the greatest detail ever achieved.
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