Weather experts are warning that this year's Atlantic hurricane season, which officially began June 1, could be among the most active on record. Hurricanes annually cause millions of dollars in damage to households and public infrastructure, but also to businesses. ⌘ Read more
Weather experts are warning that this year's Atlantic hurricane season, which officially began June 1, could be among the most active on record. Hurricanes annually cause millions of dollars in damage to households and public infrastructure, but also to businesses. ⌘ Read more
Beta(β)-type titanium (Ti) alloys are renowned for their strength, formability and resistance to harsh environments. This, along with their excellent biocompatibility, has made them adequately suited for implants and prosthetics, from joint replacement to stents. ⌘ Read more
Feed costs for producing broiler chickens accounts for 60% to 70% of total production costs, and stump waste from the production of button mushrooms comprises nearly 30% of total mushroom weight. Marrying the two has the potential to reduce both cost and waste, especially in Pennsylvania, which is a national leader in the production of broiler chickens and button mushrooms. ⌘ Read more
Engineers who received public welfare responsibility training in classes are more likely to consider the societal impact of technologies they design and to take action when concerns arise, according to a study by University of Michigan researchers published in The Journal of Engineering Education. ⌘ Read more
The accelerated expansion of the present universe, believed to be driven by a mysterious dark energy, is one of the greatest puzzles in our understanding of the cosmos. The standard model of cosmology called Lambda-CDM, explains this expansion as a cosmological constant in Einstein's field equations. However, the cosmological constant itself lacks a complete theoretical understanding, par ... ⌘ Read more
Researchers at Harvard University, Sabanci University, and Peking University recently gathered findings that could shed light on the origin of the high-temperature absorption peaks observed in strange metals, a class of materials exhibiting unusual electronic properties that do not conform to the conventional theory of metals. ⌘ Read more
Using the Five-Hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), astronomers from the Guizhou University in China and elsewhere have discovered eight new millisecond pulsars in the globular cluster NGC 6517. The finding was reported in a research paper published May 28 on the pre-print server arXiv. ⌘ Read more
Droughts continue to overburden the systems and infrastructure that bring water to citizens and businesses. This is especially true in places like the western United States, where water resources are scarce, and the rules that determine who gets water mean that farmers and other landowners who use water for irrigation often have first priority. ⌘ Read more
Two young brothers and their cousin were wandering through a fossil-rich stretch of the North Dakota badlands when they made a discovery that left them "completely speechless": a T. rex bone poking out of the ground. ⌘ Read more
Optical waves propagating through air or multi-mode fiber can be patterned or decomposed using orthogonal spatial modes, with far-ranging applications in imaging, communication, and directed energy. Yet the systems that perform these wavefront manipulations are cumbersome and large, restricting their utilization to high-end applications. ⌘ Read more
New research from the University of South Australia (UniSA) and Curtin University finds that up to 36% of young people leaving out-of-home care (OHC) in Australia wind up homeless—compared to less than 10% of the general youth population. ⌘ Read more
A study conducted by researcher Juan Du's research group at the Karolinska Institutet sheds light on the capabilities of our gut microbes and their metabolites. The findings reveal potent inhibitory effects on the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and suggest interactions and signaling between gut microbes and pathogens. ⌘ Read more
Research is showing that many of our contemporary problems, such as the rising prevalence of mental health issues, are emerging from rapid technological advancement and modernisation. A theory that can help explain why we respond poorly to modern conditions, despite the choices, safety and other benefits they bring, is evolutionary mismatch. ⌘ Read more
Autophagy, which literally means "self-eating," is a cellular cleaning-out process that maintains our bodies in good order, but excessive autophagy can be too much of a good thing. ⌘ Read more
Earthquakes early Monday again struck Japan's north-central region of Ishikawa, still recovering from the destruction left by a powerful quake on Jan. 1, but the latest shaking caused no major damage. ⌘ Read more
As South Africa reflects on 30 years of democracy, it's important to ask whether its cities have changed for the better when it comes to racial mixing. ⌘ Read more
A small, seemingly unremarkable fern that only grows on a remote Pacific island was on Friday crowned the Guinness World Record holder for having the largest genome of any organism on Earth. ⌘ Read more
California firefighters aided by aircraft battled a wind-driven wildfire burning Saturday in an area straddling the San Francisco Bay Area and central California, authorities said. ⌘ Read more
Flash floods, mudslides and falling trees have killed at least 14 people in Sri Lanka as the island nation is battered by monsoon storms, the country's disaster center said Sunday. ⌘ Read more
A research team led by Prof. Huang Xingjiu from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences constructed a highly stable solid contact calcium ion-selective electrode. They used synchrotron radiation technique to reveal the transduction mechanism by which the solid contact layer participated in the potential response. ⌘ Read more
After its "birth" in the Big Bang, the universe consisted mainly of hydrogen and a few helium atoms. These are the lightest elements in the periodic table. More-or-less all elements heavier than helium were produced in the 13.8 billion years between the Big Bang and the present day. ⌘ Read more
Troubled aerospace giant Boeing will try once more to fly its first crew to the International Space Station aboard a Starliner spaceship on Saturday, after the last attempt was scrubbed hours before liftoff. ⌘ Read more
A North Carolina aquarium that said it had a pregnant stingray with no male companion now says the fish has a rare reproductive disease. ⌘ Read more
A plant that hasn't been seen in Vermont since 1916 was just rediscovered by accident, the state's Fish and Wildlife Department said. ⌘ Read more
Globally recognized companies—from oil and gas majors to the banking sector and tech—are contributing to greenwashing by snapping up vast quantities of "likely junk" carbon offsets, a watchdog warned Thursday. ⌘ Read more
Trout living in rivers polluted by metal from old mines across the British Isles are genetically "isolated" from other trout, new research shows. The work appears in Diversity and Distributions. ⌘ Read more
Researchers have discovered a new distinctive and secretive snake species in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia. ⌘ Read more
RIKEN chemists have demonstrated a gold-nanocluster system that carries two components of a drug in a controlled ratio for maximum cancer-cell killing effect. The active drug remains safely masked until red light triggers its release, minimizing collateral damage to healthy cells near the tumor. The study is published in Chemical Science. ⌘ Read more
Lake Mead's five-year outlook is slightly better after two wet winters, according to projections released May 29 by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. ⌘ Read more
Antibiotics prevent snails from forming new memories by disrupting their gut microbiome—the community of beneficial bacteria found in their guts. ⌘ Read more
An analysis of civilian injuries resulting from interactions with police in Illinois found that residents of all races and ethnicities are more likely to sustain injuries if they live in economically under-resourced areas. The risk of injury decreases as communities become more racially diverse, the researchers found. ⌘ Read more
Aditya Prabhu loved eating the peaches off the tree in the backyard of his mom's house. The only problem was the plant produced only a few fruits a year because Japanese beetles in the hundreds would eat at the leaves, depleting the plant's energy to make peaches. ⌘ Read more
A widely found gene in plants has been newly identified as a key transporter of a hormone that influences the size of corn. The discovery offers plant breeders a new tool to develop desirable dwarf varieties that could enhance the crop's resilience and profitability. ⌘ Read more
The American Lung Association's latest State of the Air report concludes that even though Americans have changed their ways significantly over the last 50-plus years, the struggle to provide cleaner air is far from being won. ⌘ Read more
From ancient texts we know that—for their times—the ancient Egyptians were exceptionally skilled at medicine. For example, they could identify, describe, and treat diseases and traumatic injuries, build protheses, and put in dental fillings. Other conditions, like cancer, they couldn't treat—but they might have tried. ⌘ Read more
According to a new modeling study, 62% of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) designated to protect rare migratory fish species are outside of their core habitats. The findings are published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. ⌘ Read more
A new paper published in The Quarterly Review of Biology examines the question of what Darwinism is and how its nonscientific uses relate to the scientific theory of evolution. ⌘ Read more
An interdisciplinary collaboration has designed a way to "cloak" proteins so that they can be captured by lipid nanoparticles, which are akin to tiny bubbles of fat. These bubbles are small enough to sneak their hidden cargo into living cells, where the proteins uncloak and exert their therapeutic effect. ⌘ Read more
Bangladesh forest experts warned Tuesday a key tiger habitat hit by a deadly cyclone had been submerged by seawater deeper and longer than ever before, raising fears for endangered wildlife. ⌘ Read more
Transistors are the basis for microchips and the whole electronic industry. The invention of transistors, by Bardeen and Brattain in 1947, awarded with a Nobel prize, is regarded as one of the most important discoveries of the 20th century. ⌘ Read more
Optical analysis and machine learning techniques can now readily detect microplastics in marine and freshwater environments using inexpensive porous metal substrates. Details of the method, developed by researchers at Nagoya University with collaborators at the National Institute for Materials Sciences in Japan and others, are published in the journal Nature Communications. ⌘ Read more
Scientists have come a step closer to identifying the mysterious origins of the "slow" solar wind, using data collected during the Solar Orbiter spacecraft's first close journey to the sun. ⌘ Read more
Switching food and drink purchases to very similar but more environmentally friendly alternatives could reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from household groceries by more than a quarter (26%), according to a new Australian study from The George Institute for Global Health and Imperial College London published today in Nature Food. ⌘ Read more
A new paper in the Quarterly Journal of Economics finds that replacing certain judicial decision-making functions with algorithms could improve outcomes for defendants by eliminating some of the systemic biases of judges. ⌘ Read more
A new study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology demonstrates how the diversity and abundance of arthropods decrease when hedgerows and field margins covered by wild grass and flowers are removed. ⌘ Read more
The Earth's liquid molten outer core, composed mostly of iron and nickel, exerts an electromagnetic field extending from the north and south pole that protects the planet from harmful solar particle radiation. ⌘ Read more
A team of researchers created a new method of modeling to estimate the population of free-ranging animals and in doing so discovered that there were far fewer numbers of an Old World monkey, the macaque, than expected. ⌘ Read more
A small team of social media analysts at Indiana University has found that a major portion of tweets spreading disinformation are sent by a surprisingly small percentage of a given userbase. ⌘ Read more
The awe-inspiring aurorae seen on Earth, known as the Northern and Southern Lights, have been a source of fascination for centuries. Between May 10 and 12, 2024, the most powerful aurora event in 21 years reminded us of the stunning beauty of these celestial light shows. ⌘ Read more
An intense cyclone smashed into the low-lying coast of Bangladesh on Sunday, with nearly a million people fleeing inland for concrete storm shelters away from howling gales and crashing waves. ⌘ Read more
Life-changing events like the birth of a child, the purchase of a new home, or a lottery win could threaten the survival of a new business venture, research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found. The work is published in the International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. ⌘ Read more
Using observations by NASA's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) and many other facilities, two international teams of astronomers have discovered a planet between the sizes of Earth and Venus only 40 light-years away. Multiple factors make it a candidate well-suited for further study using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. ⌘ Read more
Although the grizzly is featured prominently on the California state flag, the golden bear has been extinct in the wild since the 1920s. ⌘ Read more
An international team led by researchers at Oxford University Physics have proved Einstein was correct about a key prediction concerning black holes. Using X-ray data to test Einstein's theory of gravity, their study gives the first observational proof that a "plunging-region" exists around black holes: an area where matter stops circling the hole and instead falls straight in. Furthermore, the team found that this region exerts ... ⌘ Read more
Sometimes, science requires traveling into hazardous environments; sometimes it requires a vast influx of state capital and an army of researchers and technicians. But sometimes, science has to call in the Marines. We reported on that this week, along with news about a new cathode for electric batteries made from an Earth-abundant element that will stun you into silence ... ⌘ Read more
Mexico has registered 48 deaths in a series of heat waves since March, the government said Friday, as scientists warned that new temperature records could be coming. ⌘ Read more
A massive landslide struck remote villages in Papua New Guinea's highlands Friday, with many homes buried and scores of residents feared dead. ⌘ Read more
The Berrio family moves around their home on raised planks, upon which their beds and furniture have been raised, to avoid the knee-high, murky waters that have invaded their modest brick house. ⌘ Read more
A new study that examined voting in the 2022 United States congressional elections shows that views on abortion were central to shifting votes in the midterm elections. Despite severe inflation and grave concerns about deteriorating economic conditions, economic perceptions did not change votes. ⌘ Read more
In a comprehensive analysis by Dr. Sofía Collignon, Senior Lecturer in Comparative Politics at Queen Mary University of London, new light has been shed on the persistent gender disparities in the selection of parliamentary candidates by the U.K.'s Conservative and Labor parties. ⌘ Read more
Bioenergy sorghum is an important resource for the production of biofuels and bioproducts and a critical component of a sustainable agricultural future. Researchers have been working hard to make this tall, drought-tolerant plant even more productive and resilient to harsh environmental conditions. But those efforts are hampered by a lack of knowledge about the inner working of plant cells, ... ⌘ Read more
The El Niño weather pattern did not have "any influence" on widespread flooding that killed hundreds in East Africa this year, an expert group of scientists said Friday. ⌘ Read more
Point defects (e.g. missing, extra or swapped atoms) in crystalline materials often determine the actual electronic and optical response of a given material. For example, controlled substitutions in semiconductors like silicon are the backbone of modern technology. Despite their importance, point defects are notoriously difficult to simulate and characterize, particularly across wide regions of the periodic tabl ... ⌘ Read more
Preparations for the launch of the new Earth observation satellite EarthCARE (Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer) at the end of May are in full swing. The joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will measure clouds, aerosol and radiation more accurately than ever before. This will be made possible by linking four state-of-the- ... ⌘ Read more
Having meaningful connections in the workplace is essential for personal and organizational success. Most of us form these bonds naturally, as we spend a significant amount of our lifetimes at work. ⌘ Read more
At least one of Colorado's 11 wild wolves entered the watershed surrounding Vail in the last month, according to a new map showing where the canines traveled recently. ⌘ Read more
A large iceberg (380 km2), about the size of the Isle of Wight, has broken off the 150m-thick Brunt Ice Shelf. It broke off after a crack suddenly appeared in the ice shelf a few weeks ago. The final break happened in the early hours of Monday, 20 May. ⌘ Read more
In a paper published in Mycology, Professor Yan Wang's team found that in both nematode and murine infection models, the lack of MIR1 gene, which encodes mitochondrial phosphate carrier, can lead to severe virulence defects in Candida albicans. ⌘ Read more
Spontaneous coagulation casting (SCC), a new type of colloidal forming process, has garnered significant attention since 2011 due to various advantages of a high bulk density and non-toxicity, as well as the ability to achieve dispersion and coagulation with very low additions (< 1 wt%) of copolymers of isobutylene and maleic anhydride (PIBM). ⌘ Read more
In 2016, observers in the wetlands of Louisiana's Bird's Foot Delta began to note dying stands of Phragmites australis, locally known as Roseau cane. By 2021, nothing but mud flats remained in some areas where the reeds once stood. ⌘ Read more
Discoveries and progress in materials science often lay the foundation for technological breakthroughs that reshape many industrial and commercial fields, including medicine, consumer electronics, and energy generation, to name a few. ⌘ Read more
Quantum computers, computing devices that leverage the principles of quantum mechanics, could outperform classical computing on some complex optimization and processing tasks. In quantum computers, classical units of information (bits), which can either have a value of 1 or 0, are substituted by quantum bits or qubits, which can be in a mixture of both 0 and 1 simultaneously. ⌘ Read more
Half of the world's mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse due to climate change, deforestation and pollution, according to a study published Wednesday. ⌘ Read more
Volunteers are rushing to hoist food and water up into trees in sweltering southern Mexico, but help came too late for the howler monkeys whose lifeless bodies lay still on the ground. ⌘ Read more
Thanks to human ingenuity and zero gravity, we reap important benefits from science in space. Consider smart phones with built-in navigation systems and cameras. ⌘ Read more
Floods in Kenya in April/May 2024 led to the deaths of over 250 people and caused damage estimated at 4 billion Kenya shillings (US$35 million). ⌘ Read more
Starting in July 2024, California will be the first state to charge an excise tax on guns and ammunition. The new tax—an 11% levy on each sale—will come on top of federal excise taxes of 10% or 11% for firearms and California's 6% sales tax. ⌘ Read more
How often do you check your local weather forecast? How about your local climate projections for 2050? For many farmers, the answer to the first question is all the time. But the answer to the second is almost certainly less than that, even though this information is crucial for understanding climate-related risks and opportunities on their patch. ⌘ Read more
Using the Keck II telescope in Hawaii, astronomers have observed a nearby brown dwarf known as HD 33632 Ab. Results of the observational campaign, presented in a paper published May 14 on the pre-print server arXiv, provide more insights into the properties of this substellar object and its atmosphere. ⌘ Read more
Like Charles Darwin did in 1831, a group of scientists and environmentalists last year set sail from the English port of Plymouth, headed for the Galapagos islands off the coast of Ecuador. ⌘ Read more
Indian authorities in the capital have ordered schools shut early for the summer holiday, after temperatures hit 47.4 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit) with Delhi gripped by a "severe heat wave". ⌘ Read more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's method of detecting methane leaks at landfills is flawed, and emissions of this powerful heat-trapping gas are likely much higher than what is being reported, according to a new study analyzing landfills in Illinois and seven other states. ⌘ Read more
A team of researchers from The University of Queensland has found employees experience more stress at work when interrupted with requests for unnecessary or unreasonable tasks. ⌘ Read more
New data analysis indicates that NASA and its partners could have more cost-effective methods for dealing with the growing issue of orbital debris than previously thought. ⌘ Read more
Scientists have discovered that a "single atomic defect" in a layered 2D material can hold onto quantum information for microseconds at room temperature, underscoring the potential of 2D materials in advancing quantum technologies. ⌘ Read more
The NA64 experiment started operations at CERN's SPS North Area in 2016. Its aim is to search for unknown particles from a hypothetical "dark sector." For these searches, NA64 directs an electron beam onto a fixed target. Researchers then look for unknown dark sector particles produced by collisions between the beam's electrons and the target's atomic nuclei. ⌘ Read more
Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have found that the record-low levels of sea ice around Antarctica in 2023 were extremely unlikely to happen without the influence of climate change. This low was a one-in-a-2000-year event without climate change and four times more likely under its effects. The results are published (20 May) in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, in a paper titled "CMIP6 ... ⌘ Read more
Research has provided new insight into the tectonic plate shifts that create some of the Earth's largest earthquakes and tsunamis. ⌘ Read more
Raphael Brandao beams with pride as he describes the high-end Brazilian coffee he produces with beans sourced exclusively from Black farmers in a country where many still associate the product with slavery. ⌘ Read more
The past decade has seen an explosion of new research into some of the most fascinating sounds in the sea: the vocalizations of whales and dolphins. ⌘ Read more
After a nearly two-year hiatus, Blue Origin flew adventurers to space on Sunday, including a former Air Force pilot who was denied the chance to be the United States' first Black astronaut decades ago. ⌘ Read more
Cities across Aotearoa New Zealand are trying to solve a housing crisis, with increasing residential density a key solution. But not everyone is happy about the resulting loss of natural habitats and biodiversity. ⌘ Read more
The UK government has released new plans for relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in primary and secondary schools in England. This would see age parameters introduced for key issues in sex education, with no education on sex at all for children under the age of 9. ⌘ Read more
Scientists once thought of dinosaurs as sluggish, cold-blooded creatures. Then research suggested that some could control their body temperature, but when and how that shift came about remained a mystery. ⌘ Read more
Our family dog used to have a rather noticeable extra eyelid that became especially apparent when he dozed off, usually upturned on the rug. This is the fleshy curtain seen at the corner of each eye, closest to the nose. It's also commonly called the nictitating (literally "blinking") membrane. ⌘ Read more
In a May 15 paper released in the journal Physical Review Letters, Virginia Tech physicists revealed a microscopic phenomenon that could greatly improve the performance of soft devices, such as agile flexible robots or microscopic capsules for drug delivery. ⌘ Read more
The first crewed launch of Boeing's Starliner to the International Space Station has been delayed again due to a technical issue, NASA said Friday. ⌘ Read more
The death toll from severe weather that lashed the Texas city of Houston has risen to seven, authorities said Friday. ⌘ Read more
Tourists normally have to pay big money and brave cold climates for a chance to see an aurora, but last weekend many people around the world simply had to look up to see these colorful displays dance across the sky. ⌘ Read more
In the fast-paced world of modern business, technology plays a crucial role in shaping how companies operate. One area where this impact is particularly significant is in the organization of production chains—specifically the way goods are made and distributed. ⌘ Read more