Scientists designed a soft robot made of silicone that was able to withstand the extreme pressure of the Marianas Trench and the findings, published in Nature, may lead to the next generation of submersibles. The robot, which resembles a manta ray, was inspired by snailfishes, which are able to survive in the deepest part of the ocean thanks to their soft bodies.

Scientists have virtually opened an intricately folded letter dating back to the Renaissance, using a technique described in Nature Communications. Researchers scanned the letter using an ultrasensitive X-ray microtomography scanner, reconstructed it in 3D, then used an algorithm to figure out the way the pages were folded, all while preserving the letter as it was found.

The Department of Energy has awarded a $2.1 million grant to the University of Minnesota Duluth's Natural Resources Research Institute to study iron ore pellets and make production more efficient. Researchers will focus on the pellets' chemical composition.

Some career and technical education students in a Georgia district will be eligible to pursue a new technical certificate in bus maintenance and manufacturing. The new program, offered in partnership with Blue Bird, will help prepare students for entry-level jobs after graduation.

SAGE Magnet Academy students may be learning from home, but they're still building rockets and rovers. Middle-school science teacher Rod Banahan says hands-on projects help engage students as well as connect what they learn in class to real-world careers at NASA or the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, such as watching Perseverance rover's landing on Mars.

A majority of job applications were on mobile devices last year, according to data analyzed by Appcast. Independent contractor, or "gig," positions were among the industries most likely to receive mobile applications.

The oxygen in Earth's atmosphere will be all but gone in a billion years, according to findings published in Nature Geoscience. Researchers say the main reason for the dramatic drop is because the sun is getting hotter as it ages, causing a drop in the atmosphere's carbon dioxide levels, leading to the demise of organisms that produce oxygen, which will occur alongside a jump in methane levels.

Researchers have examined fossils that appear to be about 65.9 million years old and believe they belong to a newly identified species of rat-sized primate, according to findings reported in Royal Society Open Science. The fossils date back to just after the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs, suggesting their ancestors may have lived alongside the massive creatures.

Researchers at Washington State University have received more than $2 million in funding to study quinoa starting at the soil level and moving through to how it nutritionally benefits people. The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research gave the study a $1 million grant which was matched by the university and Lundberg Family Farms, with additional funds given by area businesses.

Nabholz Construction, a construction company completing work on a high school in Missouri, recently met with high-schoolers to talk with them about careers in the construction industry. Interested students can apply for apprenticeships with the firm.