In a groundbreaking achievement, scientists have successfully measured the weak gravitational pull on a particle weighing just half the mass of a grain of sand. This remarkable feat, representing the most precise measurement of its kind, holds significant implications for delving into the quantum realm and potentially unraveling the mysteries of a Theory of Everything.

Gravity, one of the universe’s four fundamental forces, remains the least understood within the framework of the Standard Model of particle physics. Unlike other forces, such as electromagnetism, gravity’s behavior cannot be adequately explained by the existing model. A Theory of Everything, a long-sought-after goal in the scientific community, would require incorporating gravity at the quantum level.

Researchers have successfully gene-edited chickens to enhance their resistance to bird flu, presenting a potential strategy for safeguarding poultry flocks against future outbreaks. Amid a severe avian flu outbreak since 2021, scientists at the University of Edinburgh explored the use of CRISPR technology to modify genes in chicken cells, specifically targeting the ANP32A protein used by all subtypes of the bird flu virus for replication.

The researchers altered two amino acids in ANP32A, preventing the virus from replicating in the edited chicken cells. Embryos were then gene-edited, resulting in ten chickens with the modified form of ANP32A. When exposed to the H9N2 subtype of bird flu, known for causing milder illness than H5N1, only one gene-edited chicken out of ten became infected, compared to all non-edited chickens.

Physicists have achieved a groundbreaking feat by measuring the smallest gravitational pull ever recorded, using a minuscule particle suspended in a magnetic trap. Led by physicist Tim Fuchs from Leiden University and the University of Southampton, the team successfully measured gravitational signals at an unprecedented scale, approaching the quantum realm. This achievement holds the promise of shedding light on the intricate interplay between classical physics and quantum mechanics that has perplexed scientists for a century.

The challenge lies in reconciling the disparities between classical physics, primarily governed by gravity, and the quantum mechanics that dominates at atomic and subatomic scales. While each framework explains different scales effectively, a unified understanding is yet to be realized. To tackle this dilemma, the researchers employed a superconducting magnetic trap—a tantalum chamber cooled to a critical temperature of 4.48 Kelvin.

In the realm of robotics, designing insect-like bots has been a formidable challenge due to their small size. These miniature robots hold potential applications in environmental pollination, search and rescue missions, and beyond. Drawing inspiration from nature, researchers at Washington State University recently unveiled remarkable progress in this field at the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society’s International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

Presenting two groundbreaking creations—a mini-bug weighing a mere eight milligrams and a water strider tipping the scales at 55 milligrams—the researchers showcased robots that can move at an impressive six millimeters per second. While this speed might seem modest, it marks a significant milestone and positions these robots as some of the fastest of their kind.