News: Research

UChicago scientists offer new way to read atmospheric data on a vast class of 'sub-Neptune' worlds.

Molten-salt method from UChicago and Argonne could unlock durable materials for printed electronics, flexible devices.

To study molecules with complex structures, UChicago and IBM combined forces to develop a new method that takes advantage of today’s quantum computers.

Artificial intelligence-powered robotics are reshaping how experiments are designed, run and refined.

What University of Chicago scientists call an artificial leaf that mimics photosynthesis could be useful for wireless medical implants and other technologies.

The search for exoplanets—or worlds orbiting other stars—is astronomy’s great Easter egg hunt. For astronomers looking for extraterrestrial life, the true jackpot planet would be Earth-like: smallish and rocky, with an atmosphere, orbiting its parent star in the so-called habitable zone, that sweet thermal spot that is not too hot and not too cold, allowing water to exist in liquid form. In the 34 years exoplanets have been studied, no world that checks all of those boxes has ever been spotted—until now. 

Scientists say marine cloud brightening could weaken El Niño by cooling key Pacific waters, but major questions remain about feasibility, risks, and global oversight.

New benchmark shows specialized guardrails score near-random when content policies change.

Could the James Webb Space Telescope be missing hidden water on distant worlds? A new study suggests the answer may be yes.

The discovery marks a major milestone in the search for life on planets beyond our solar system. Incoming UChicago postdoc Collin Cherubim and current UChicago postdoc Michael Zhang participated in the research.

University mathematician recognized for cracking 125-year-old challenge to ground physics in mathematics.
 

As Fermilab commemorates 70 years since the discovery of the neutrino at the Savannah River Site in the United States, the lab also celebrates its multiple generations of pioneering neutrino research. Today, Fermilab is building the next era of neutrino discovery through the development of the world-leading Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment.

Researchers used computer models to see what would have happened had scientists caused marine cloud brightening in the face of strong past El Niños.

The frequency of extreme weather events can be predicted more accurately than presently possible by combining artificial intelligence (AI) with physical climate modelling, using a protocol called rare-event sampling. Researchers used the approach to model extreme heat events such as the one currently roasting Europe, but they believe it could also be applicable to many other extreme events in climate science.

A few million years after the Big Bang, a nearly pure star formed within the ancient gas clouds of the Large Magellanic Cloud. This satellite galaxy currently orbits the Milky Way. The star formed primarily from primordial hydrogen and helium gas before early supernova explosions could enrich the local universe with heavier metallic elements. Billions of years later, ten undergraduate students at the University of Chicago identified the rare celestial object within an astronomical data archive.