The Digital Press

Why it matters: Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are mysterious cosmic flashes of radio waves, and understanding how their brightness and distance change over time helps scientists learn about their origins and how they evolve in the universe.

The big picture: Researchers carefully corrected for biases caused by the limits of what telescopes can detect and uncertainties in measuring distances to FRBs. They analyzed three versions of their data—using lower, average, and upper estimates of FRB distances—and found consistent results.

Key findings: They found strong evidence that FRBs become brighter or dimmer as the universe evolves, and that the number of FRBs changes in a way that doesn’t follow the general formation of stars in the cosmos. Instead, the pattern matches better with events like short gamma-ray bursts, which come from merging dense stars.

The stakes: This similarity supports the idea that FRBs might come from magnetars, which are highly magnetic neutron stars formed in processes delayed after star formation, such as mergers of compact stars.

What’s new: By applying advanced statistical methods that avoid common biases and handle uncertain distance measurements, this study provides a clearer picture of FRB evolution and their likely origins.