Science

Several science and educational institutions in eastern North Carolina have received funding through the North Carolina Science Museums Grant Program, state officials announced Tuesday.The program, administered by the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, awarded a total of $2.4 million to 58 institutions statewide to support science, technology, engineering and mathematics education access. Officials said the grants are intended to expand informal science learning opportunities, particularly in underserved communities.Local recipients include:Time for Science (Pitt County) — $75,000Aurora Fossil Museum (Beaufort County) — $75,000North Carolina Estuarium (Beaufort County) — $75,000Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center (Carteret County) — $47,592.69Cowan Museum of H...

Samsung’s 2025 was filled with new foldables, an ultra-thin new form factor and the launch of Google's XR platform. After making some announcements at CES 2026, the company has just announced its first Galaxy Unpacked of the year will take place on February 25, where it is expected to introduce the Galaxy S26 lineup. Official invites have just been shared, but actual information on what devices are arriving then is still unknown. But as usual, we know a lot about what’s expected at Unpacked.Engadget will be covering Galaxy Unpacked live, and we'll most likely have hands-on coverage of Samsung's new smartphones soon after they're announced. While we wait for the full details, here's everything we expect Samsung will introduce at the first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2026.When is Unpacked 2026 ...

On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Gabriel Colodro’s reporting shines a light on a stubborn reality inside Israeli academia: women enter scientific fields in strong numbers but steadily fade from senior ranks. At many institutions, women make up about 50% of doctoral students, yet representation at the faculty level can fall to roughly 15%, revealing a gap that widens as careers move forward. At the Weizmann Institute of Science, Prof. Idit Shahar says the pipeline isn’t broken at the beginning. The real challenge emerges later, when academic advancement often demands years abroad as a postdoctoral researcher. “In order to become an academic staff member, you need to go abroad,” she explains, describing a decision that can carry heavier personal costs for women balanci...

After many years of waiting, 2XKO finally hit its full release last month, and while the launch seems to have been softer than Riot Games was hoping for, there is at least one bright spot to look at for the game's initial performance. Sony recently dropped their top game download charts for January 2026 where 2XKO actually managed to rank quite highly. You won't find the ...

ASTANA – Today marks the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, established by the UN General Assembly to highlight the importance of equal opportunities in science and to inspire a new generation of girls to pursue careers in research. To mark the occasion, the Kazakh Ministry of Science and Higher Education released updated statistics highlighting the significant role of women in the country’s scientific community. Photo credit: gov.kz “Women play a key role in shaping Kazakhstan’s scientific potential. The country has 120,896 individuals with postgraduate education – including master’s degrees, PhDs, doctorates in relevant fields, candidates of science, and doctors of science. More than half of them – 62,433, or 51.6% – are women, reflecting their strong presence in scientific...

With Android 16 QPR3 taking another beta step closer to its release, Google has started preparing for its next beta cycle. Following the release of Android 16 QPR3 Beta 2.1, the company announced that the first beta of Android 17 is right around the corner. In the last few years, Google has typically released Developer Preview builds of a major new Android release first before starting a public beta channel. But with cutting-edge Android Canary builds now available, it seems the company has changed its approach, directly jumping to public beta testing of Android 17. While the company did not provide a concrete release date, based on the announcement, the first Android 17 beta could go live on or around February 18, the same day the Pixel 10a goes up for pre-order. The stable bui...

A computer illustration of dopaminergic neuron, specialized brain cells that synthesize and release the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is a key factor of love at first sight, as it activates the brain's reward system, creating intense feelings of pleasure and euphoria.KATERYNA KON, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARYWhy are we able to fall so fast?The ability to experience love at first sight rests on a cognitive skill you might not even realize you have: Humans are incredibly good at quickly assessing other people. “In less than seven seconds, we can form impressions that are actually fairly accurate,” says Wendi Gardner, a social psychologist at Northwestern University.By that, she means “they're accurate in terms of they're likely to be widely shared by other members of our culture.” The human b...

But most people might not realise that TikTok holds data about them even if they have never used the social media platform.An invisible trackerTracking pixels are nothing new. For years, companies that run advertising networks – including Google, Meta and hundreds of others – have used them to eavesdrop on what people do across the web. They're an invisible image the size of one pixel of your screen that loads in the background of a website, full of data-harvesting tech. They're everywhere, and they're constantly watching you.Here's how it works. TikTok, for example, encourages companies to put pixels on their websites to help the social media giant harvest more data. Let's say I have an online shoe store. If I use a pixel, it lets TikTok collect lots of data about my customers in order to...

To mark International Women and Girls in Science Day, Olivia Friett, editor of the FemTech section of Med-Tech Insights, spoke with women working across women’s health about their journeys to becoming leaders in their fields. Dr. Emily Fitch, chief medical officer, Viospex What first sparked your interest in science, and was there a moment when you realised this could be a career for you? My interest in science began early, rooted in curiosity. As a child, I spent a lot of time exploring the woods I grew up around, observing plants and animals and asking questions about how the natural world worked. A chemistry kit my family gave me became an early outlet for experimentation, allowing creativity and curiosity to grow side by side.   My path to a career in medicine emerged later...

Update [Wed 11th Feb 2026, 5:45am]:The official word from Chinese dev Game Science on Black Myth: Zhong Kui is that it will release on “PC and all mainstream console platforms”. That obviously suggests PS5, but doesn’t confirm it. However, a Sony upload of the latest Lunar New Year trailer, along with a ‘PS5 Games’ label in the title, suggests the sequel is very much in development for the device. It’s notable that PlayStation didn’t upload Zhong Kui’s original reveal trailer, so we’d now consider this confirmation in a roundabout way. Original Story: Lunar New Year is almost here, and Black Myth: Wukong maker Game Science is here to remind us it’s cooking up something special. While not technically announced for consoles just yet, we’d be shocked if the dev’s next project, Black Myth: Zho...