The Caribbean US territory of Puerto Rico, likened to a "floating island of garbage" at a Republican rally in New York, on Wednesday announced the creation of a new marine reserve to protect manatees and other species. ⌘ Read more
The Caribbean US territory of Puerto Rico, likened to a "floating island of garbage" at a Republican rally in New York, on Wednesday announced the creation of a new marine reserve to protect manatees and other species. ⌘ Read more
Compared with just before the COVID-19 pandemic, people are spending nearly an hour less a day doing activities outside the home, behavior that researchers say is a lasting consequence of the pandemic. ⌘ Read more
Researchers have developed a new ultrafast laser platform that generates ultra-broadband ultraviolet (UV) frequency combs with an unprecedented one million comb lines, providing exceptional spectral resolution. The new approach, which also produces extremely accurate and stable frequencies, could enhance high-resolution atomic and molecular spectroscopy. ⌘ Read more
Two-photon laser direct writing lithography or TPL is a cutting-edge technique used for creating nanoscale structures. It works by leveraging specific materials known as photoresists, which change their chemical properties when exposed to light. These materials absorb laser light in a unique way, enabling precise control during exposure to laser beams. ⌘ Read more
Typhoons, with their severe winds, rain, storm surges, and secondary disasters, have long been a key focus for local governments, meteorological departments, and research institutions, with all parties applying maximum effort in exploring more efficient ways to ensure public safety. ⌘ Read more
What keeps you up at night? Bank account woes? An impending work presentation? Analyzing that embarrassing thing you said in the seventh grade? ⌘ Read more
In space exploration, long-distance optical links can now be used to transmit images, films and data from space probes to Earth using light. But in order for the signals to reach all the way and not be disturbed along the way, hypersensitive receivers and noise-free amplifiers are required. ⌘ Read more
An international team of archaeologists, led by Antonis Bartsiokas with Democritus University of Thrace, in Greece, has uncovered evidence that a tunic found in one of the Royal Tombs at Vergina once belonged to Alexander the Great. ⌘ Read more
Claudio Pellegrini, a professor of thermal and fluid sciences at the Federal University of São João del-Rei in Brazil, has calculated the optimal shape for a beer glass to keep the beer cold for as long as possible. He has written a paper describing his analysis of beer glass shapes and posted it on the arXiv preprint server. ⌘ Read more
By analyzing the data from the Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey (DECaLS), astronomers have discovered a new tidal tail likely associated with the galaxy NGC 3785. The newly detected tidal tail is extremely extended and faint. The finding was reported in a research paper published October 24 on the preprint server arXiv. ⌘ Read more
Sustainable lifestyles, green-tech innovation, and government-led transformation each offer promising routes to make significant progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). ⌘ Read more
Botanists have come to understand the channels and transporters involved in the uptake and transport of nutrients, yet how are they positioned where they need to be? ⌘ Read more
Researchers at the University of South Florida have released findings from a nationwide survey that measures attitudes related to several key election issues. The survey, sponsored by Cyber Florida at USF, addresses how Americans feel about topics including the economy, election fairness and political-related stress. ⌘ Read more
Astrophysical explosions are, to give a few examples, driven by the collapse of the iron core of a massive star (known as a core-collapse supernova), the consumption of spaghettified stellar remains by a massive black hole (known as a tidal disruption event), and runaway nuclear fusion on the surface of a white dwarf (known as a type 1A supernova). Such explosions occur frequently, but most often in distant gala ... ⌘ Read more
Glycans are chains of sugars that attach to cells through proteins or lipids, changing their chemical characteristics. Glycans can be incredibly complex and branched in structure, contributing to the stability of the extracellular domain of cells and proteins. Exactly how and why proteins and lipids are glycosylated, or modified with glycans after synthesis, remains largely unknown. ⌘ Read more
Our solar system dwells in a low-density environment called the Local Hot Bubble (LHB), filled by a tenuous, million-degree hot gas emitting dominantly in soft X-rays. A team led by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) used the eROSITA All-Sky Survey data and found a large-scale temperature gradient in this bubble, possibly linked with past supernova explosions that e ... ⌘ Read more
Montana State University and Universidad de los Andes researchers have detected a significant imbalance in the distribution of tetrapod reference genomes. They find a disproportionate concentration of studies in high-latitude regions compared to where global biodiversity is most concentrated. ⌘ Read more
Nature protection, conservation and restoration is "not a trivial matter but key to human survival," according to scientists quoted in a 2005 UN report. To demonstrate this, they developed the concept of "ecosystem services"—the benefits that people derive from nature. Over the next 20 years, this concept has been in constant development to reflect our growing understanding of how ecosystems work and how we benefit from them. ⌘ Read more
Have you ever asked a teacher whether something will be on an upcoming test to decide whether to closely pay attention to a particular lesson? Taken the long way back from a lunch break to get enough exercise to meet a goal monitored by a fitness app? Logged on to a virtual meeting to be seen showing up, even as you worked on other tasks? ⌘ Read more
Besides helping to collect samples or spot butterflies for research projects—non-professionals can now conduct actual laboratory work alongside professional researchers. Together with Danish high schools, the University of Copenhagen has shown that "extreme citizen science" doesn't just strengthen student motivation for science, but also provides a unique contribution to the moni ... ⌘ Read more
Plastic pollution, particularly the presence of microplastics in living organisms, poses a growing threat to ecosystems and human health. A recent study introduces mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) as a cutting-edge method for detecting and quantifying microplastics in biological samples, offering critical insights into their distribution and potential impacts. ⌘ Read more
The TRAPPIST-1 system is a science-fiction writer's dream. Seven Earth-sized worlds orbit a red dwarf star just 40 light-years away. Three of those worlds are within the habitable zone of the star. The system spans a distance less than 25 times that of the distance from the Earth to the moon. Oh, what epic tales a TRAPPIST civilization would have. That is, if life in such a system is even possible. ⌘ Read more
The odds are good that we are not alone in the universe. We have found thousands of exoplanets so far, and there are likely billions of potentially habitable planets in our galaxy alone. But finding evidence of extraterrestrial life is challenging, and even the most powerful telescopes we currently have may not produce definitive proof. ⌘ Read more
For the first time, state-of-the-art biomechanics technology has allowed us to scientifically measure just how deadly are two iconic Aboriginal weapons. ⌘ Read more
There are more than 250 species of spiders found in Florida and more than 40,000 worldwide. ⌘ Read more
Every rainy season for the past 12 years, floods have swept through 67-year-old Idris Egbunu's house in central Nigeria. ⌘ Read more
In 2022, U.S. high school students Calcea Johnson and Ne'Kiya Jackson astonished teachers when they discovered a new way to prove Pythagoras' theorem using trigonometry after entering a competition at their local high school. As a result, both students were awarded keys to the city of New Orleans, and even received personal praise from Michelle Obama. ⌘ Read more
Abortion is on the agenda not just in the United States but worldwide. ⌘ Read more
Mary, Queen of Scots spent almost 20 years in captivity. She was held in various locations across Britain from 1568 until her execution on February 8, 1587. As I explain in my new book, Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots, during this period she relied upon letters to maintain her support back in Scotland, encourage international allies to join her cause and foster allegiances in England. ⌘ Read more
The warming climate in polar regions may significantly disrupt ocean circulation patterns, a new study indicates. Scientists discovered that in the distant past, growing inflows of freshwater from melting Arctic sea-ice into the Nordic Seas likely significantly affected ocean circulation, sending temperatures plummeting across northern Europe. ⌘ Read more
A team of chemists and materials scientists at the National University of Singapore, working with colleagues from Manchester University, in the U.K., and Guangdong University of Technology, in China, has developed a type of sponge made of graphene oxide and chitosan, that can be used to extract gold from electronic waste. ⌘ Read more
This week, physicists suggested that quantum entanglement may be really, really fast rather than instantaneous, and could be measured at an attosecond scale. Paleontologists discovered a fossilized mammal in Colorado that may have lived alongside dinosaurs in the Late Cretaceous. And scientists with the U.S. Geologic Survey reported that up to 95 million people may be relying ... ⌘ Read more
At one point or another, you may have gone online looking for a specific bit of information and found yourself "going down the Wiki rabbit hole" as you discover wholly new, ever-more fascinating related topics—some trivial, some relevant—and you may have gone so far down the hole it's difficult to piece together what brought you there to begin with. ⌘ Read more
There is a growing demand for non-invasive insights into the complex three-dimensional subcellular dynamics within living tissues at the frontier of biological research. Professor Xi Peng's group at Peking University has developed a novel imaging technique known as multi-confocal image scanning microscopy (MC-ISM), which enhances spatial resolution, imaging depth, and minimizes phototoxicity in biolo ... ⌘ Read more
Heating a plasma for fusion research requires megawatts of power. One approach that research tokamaks use to achieve the necessary power input is neutral beam injection (NBI). With NBI, fast neutral particles are generated in a device called a beam source and then injected into the plasma. ⌘ Read more
A research team led by Assistant Professor Makoto Miyoshi of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) has independently re-analyzed observation data of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy obtained and published by the international joint observation project Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). They found that the structure is slightly elongated in the east-west direction. ⌘ Read more
A team of Australian researchers is calling for urgent reforms to the nation's environmental laws to meet its ambitious nature-positive commitments. ⌘ Read more
The Attosecond Science group at the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science has developed a novel light source capable of producing extremely short pulses for the investigation of UV-induced molecular dynamics with unprecedented temporal resolution. Scientists from the University of Hamburg and from DESY describe their unique observations in an article published in Nature Communications. ⌘ Read more
Preliminary results from an ongoing long-term survey conducted by researchers at William & Mary's Batten School & VIMS suggest that a poor year class of young-of-year striped bass was produced in the Virginia tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay in 2024. The 2024-year class, representing fish hatched this spring, will reach fishable sizes in three to four years. ⌘ Read more
Four astronauts returned to Earth on Friday after a nearly eight-month space station stay extended by Boeing's capsule trouble and Hurricane Milton. ⌘ Read more
As night descended, a rumble of frogs filled the air in this park outside the central Mexican city of Queretaro. In the sky, tiny stars appeared one by one, aligning into constellations. ⌘ Read more
New York, New Jersey and Delaware were accused in federal lawsuits Thursday of improperly allowing Atlantic sturgeon to be killed by commercial fishing operations even as the prehistoric fish is on the brink of disappearing. ⌘ Read more
In November, Colorado voters will decide whether the state's constitution should be amended to specify a right to school choice. ⌘ Read more
A group of plant pathologists within Texas A&M AgriLife Research has created a surprisingly simple approach to studying the complex interactions between plants and viruses. They hope the breakthrough will make improving plant resilience quicker and easier, as well as shed light on the evolutionary arms race between plants and their viruses. ⌘ Read more
We live in a golden age for learning about the universe. Our most powerful telescopes have revealed that the cosmos is surprisingly simple on the largest visible scales. Likewise, our most powerful "microscope," the Large Hadron Collider, has found no deviations from known physics on the tiniest scales. ⌘ Read more
A method of quickly determining surface air quality during Alaska's sometimes intense wildfire season will benefit urban and rural communities, especially those in Interior Alaska where boreal forest fires often rage. ⌘ Read more
Coffee is a drink that punctuates many of our lives. Millions of us depend on this dark liquid to start the morning, or to break up the day. ⌘ Read more
The native banksias, with their colorful flowering spikes, were long thought to have been pollinated by honeyeater birds and marsupials, which are rewarded with large quantities of nectar. ⌘ Read more
A study published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters, has revealed a staggering $79 billion in annual climate-related costs from the production of common materials in the United States. These costs, which stem from greenhouse gas emissions, are not reflected in current market prices, effectively creating a massive subsidy for carbon-intensive industries. ⌘ Read more
Teaching must be made more attractive to a wider pool of graduates to tackle shortages in the profession, according to new international research comparing 18 countries. ⌘ Read more
Rising numbers of houses and flats listed as short-term lets on Airbnb are associated with higher rates of crimes such as burglaries and street robberies right across London, according to the most detailed study of its kind. ⌘ Read more
The next president of the United States could be the first in that office to accept a phone call from the moon and hear a woman's voice on the line. To do so, they'll first need to make a series of strategic space policy decisions. They'll also need a little luck. ⌘ Read more
Using the Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO), Chinese astronomers have observed a mid-infrared interstellar bubble known as N59. They detected multiple cloud-cloud collisions that may be behind star formation processes in this bubble. The findings were published October 17 on the pre-print server arXiv. ⌘ Read more
Acrid clouds engulfed India's capital on Wednesday as air pollution fueled by fireworks and farm stubble burning was ranked "hazardous" by monitors for the first time this winter. ⌘ Read more
Philippine rescuers waded through chest-deep floodwaters Wednesday to reach residents trapped by Tropical Storm Trami, which has killed seven people and forced thousands to evacuate as it barrels toward the east coast. ⌘ Read more
Long term exposure to arsenic in water may increase cardiovascular disease and especially heart disease risk even at exposure levels below the federal regulatory limit (10µg/L) according to a study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. ⌘ Read more
Gardens offer a steady and reliable source of nectar all year round, helping to keep pollinators fed when farmland sources are limited, researchers have discovered. This consistency means that even small patches of gardens in rural areas can sustain pollinators, particularly in early spring and late summer when nectar is scarce. ⌘ Read more
As interest grows in geoengineering as a strategy for tackling global warming, the world's largest association of Earth and space scientists has launched an ethical framework as a guide to responsible decision-making and inclusive dialogue. ⌘ Read more
General-election presidential debates offer high-profile opportunities for citizens to learn about the candidates' positions and temperaments, since the matchups draw coverage across diverse media, including broadcast and cable television, newspapers, digital news sites, podcasts, and social media. ⌘ Read more
Antibiotic resistance is a growing public health problem globally. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that some bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics have the ability to spread that resistance to other bacteria via secretion systems. A new thesis from Umeå University analyzes how special proteins are used in this process where antibiotic resistance spreads. ⌘ Read more
Against the backdrop of the energy transition and the fight against climate change, a study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition offers a key to understanding how to improve the efficiency of processes that convert greenhouse gases into energy resources while reducing the impact of methane and CO2, two greenhouse gases responsible for global w ... ⌘ Read more
The movement of electron density is a subject of interest for chemists worldwide, as substances interact through electrons. These processes are ultrafast and traditionally require time-resolved experiments at the attosecond level to study and describe. However, there are alternative methods. ⌘ Read more
On the night of 16 June 2023, about 1.2 million cubic meters of rock rumbled down into the valley near Brienz (GR). A team from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL and ETH Zurich tracked the event using an unusual method: they detected the shock waves on underground internet fiber optic cables. ⌘ Read more
Every year, 7.6 million tons of food is lost or wasted in Australia. When we think about this, we might picture moldy fruit, stale bread and overly full fridges. But in fact, almost half of this waste happens before food ever gets to us. Waste is common in food production, processing and transportation. ⌘ Read more
The leather gloves, embroidered at the wrists, rest on a tufted pillow of red satin in a glassed wooden box, a fitting place for artifacts that have a history tied to the English-speaking world's most-famous playwright. ⌘ Read more
The efficient conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2)—one of the main compounds contributing to climate change—into useful fuels and chemicals is a long sought-after research goal. Recent studies have introduced various catalysts that could be used to initiate the so-called electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction in electrolyzers (i.e., devices that drive specific chemical reactions using elec ... ⌘ Read more
The Mediterranean Sea is a paradise. Pristine waters and an incredible coastline spanning multiple continents are renowned the world over. Below those picturesque, and sometimes crowded, waters swims a legendary creature facing a treacherous and uncertain future: the white shark. ⌘ Read more
A new genomic study of the endangered Oriental stork reveals that the population's genetic health is still surprisingly strong, with high genetic diversity and low levels of inbreeding. This is an uncommon finding in most endangered species populations, which makes it more difficult to rescue those species from extinction. ⌘ Read more
Recent hurricanes hitting the Southeastern United States have again robbed people of their homes, businesses and lives. Hurricane Helen, in late September, was followed up last week by Hurricane Milton, collapsing seemingly robust building structures and submerging communities across Florida in high waters. Many who are now confronted with the expenses of rebuilding are either not insured or are finding ... ⌘ Read more
In a massive research project spanning five years and stretching the length of the Northeast seaboard, a Wellesley College professor is examining how various fishing communities can change their fishing habits in order to adapt to climate change. ⌘ Read more
Observing sites like the Amazon basin from space has underscored the capability of satellites to better detect signs of drought, according to a new study. ⌘ Read more
Invasive insect species bring a host of health, social, ecological and economic consequences, including crop damage, food insecurity, biodiversity loss, ecosystem disruption, human disease transmission and rising allergy rates. ⌘ Read more
What happens to ibuprofen after it eases your throbbing headache? Like many pharmaceuticals, it can remain in an active form when our bodies flush it out. That's a problem, because although wastewater treatment plants are good at reducing nutrient pollutants in water, they aren't designed to remove pharmaceuticals and personal care products. So antibiotics, hormones, and other drugs are sent back int ... ⌘ Read more
In the Arctic, landslide-like features known as mega retrogressive thaw slumps are threatening infrastructure, altering regional biogeochemistry, and emitting carbon. ⌘ Read more
During the late middle Pleistocene, between 300 and 400 thousand years ago, at least three ancient elephant relatives died near a river in the Kashmir Valley of South Asia. Not long after, they were covered in sediment and preserved along with 87 stone tools made by the ancestors of modern humans. ⌘ Read more
We've all been there—caught outside without an umbrella as the sky opens up. Whether it's a light drizzle or a heavy downpour, instinct tells us that running will minimize how wet we get. But is that really true? Let's take a scientific look at this common dilemma. ⌘ Read more
Less than two months after the removal of dams restored a free-flowing Klamath River, salmon have made their way upstream to begin spawning and have been spotted in Oregon for the first time in more than a century. ⌘ Read more
The world's biggest nature protection conference opens in Colombia Monday with the United Nations chief calling for countries to "convert words into action" and fatten a fund seeking to address biodiversity loss. ⌘ Read more
You can't walk very far through a forest in this part of the United States without stumbling upon a mushroom, an eruption from a vast fungal kingdom that all life depends on, but about which we know very little. ⌘ Read more
In stalk-eyed flies, longer eyestalks attract the ladies. Females prefer males with longer eyestalks, and other males are less likely to fight them for access to females. But some males have a copy of the X chromosome which always causes short eyestalks. ⌘ Read more
Texas A&M University researchers are collaborating on a new project that studies how ultrasound and light can treat melanomas in pigs. ⌘ Read more
The world's pledges to halt humankind's destruction of nature will be put to the test when the 16th UN conference on biodiversity opens Monday in Colombia. ⌘ Read more
It's lately been considered good business for companies to show they are responsible corporate citizens. Google touts its solar-powered data centers. Apple talks about its use of recycled materials. Walmart describes its support for local communities. ⌘ Read more
This year's Nobel memorial prize in economics has gone to Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and James Robinson of the University of Chicago for their work on why there are such vast differences in prosperity between nations. ⌘ Read more
The sight of a fireball streaking across the sky brings wonder and excitement to children and adults alike. It's a reminder that Earth is part of a much larger and incredibly dynamic system. ⌘ Read more
Think of flood prevention and you might imagine huge concrete dams, levees or the shiny Thames barrier. But some of the most powerful tools for reducing flood risk are far more natural and widely recognizable: woodlands and green spaces. Trees offer much more than beauty and oxygen. Here's how trees help to protect us from floods. ⌘ Read more
California law requires counties to remove racially restrictive language—constitutionally unenforceable since 1948—from property deeds. Researchers trained a large language model to help. ⌘ Read more
American lobsters along Maine's coast have relocated to new habitats, while the population simultaneously shrunk in abundance and grew older, according to a new study by University of Maine researchers. ⌘ Read more
A team at Kumamoto University has made a discovery that could help promote healthy aging. As the world's population ages, Japan's aging population in particular is growing at an unprecedented rate, making it crucial to extend healthy lifespans rather than just lifespans. ⌘ Read more
A innovative molecular "cut and sew" process by University of Dundee scientists has allowed the design of a research tool that will accelerate drug design for diseases for which no other options exist, including cancer. ⌘ Read more
Colorimetric sensors detect environmental changes by intuitively shifting colors, easily visible to the naked eye without the need for additional equipment. Furthermore, they operate with zero power consumption. By shifting color visibly, without any need for additional equipment, these sensors have the potential to play critical roles in applications like food packaging and ancient artifact preservation, where o ... ⌘ Read more
A team of Australian researchers has described a new species of now-extinct sawfly from an extremely well-preserved fossil found in central NSW. ⌘ Read more
The migration of the monarch butterfly is one of the wonders of the natural world. Each autumn, a new generation of monarch butterflies is born in the northern United States and southern Canada. Hundreds of millions of these butterflies then fly to the mountains of Central Mexico, between 4,000km and 4,800km away. There, they overwinter in forests of the sacred fir Abies religiosa at high altitudes ... ⌘ Read more
Scroll through your Facebook feed, and you'll get pelted by advertisements begging for a click. Like any other type of post, these ads allow you to react. Often, you'll notice that one or more of your friends has already "liked" them. ⌘ Read more
The summer holidays are ending, which for many concludes with a long drive home and reliance on GPS devices to get safely home. But every now and then, GPS devices can suggest strange directions or get briefly confused about your location. But until now, no one knew for sure when the satellites were in a good enough position for the GPS system to give reliable direction. ⌘ Read more
Astronomers have performed photometric observations of a young globular cluster known as NGC 1851. The new observational campaign provides more insights into the variable star population of this cluster and validates the membership of these variables. The findings were published August 20 on the pre-print server arXiv. ⌘ Read more
Humans must regulate blood sugar concentrations to stay healthy and to fuel our cells. Too little or too much can cause serious health complications, and high blood sugar is a hallmark of the metabolic condition, diabetes. New research from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research may enable potential solutions to metabolic disease by turning to evolution and to bats. ⌘ Read more
Imperial College London research has found limits to how quickly we can scale up technology to store gigatonnes of carbon dioxide under Earth's surface. ⌘ Read more
Since their release, AI tools like ChatGPT have had a huge impact on content creation. In schools and universities, a debate about whether these tools should be allowed or prohibited is ongoing. ⌘ Read more
Understanding species distribution, differentiation and the factors affecting genetic diversity is important for sustainable conservation and effective management, as well as the rational utilization of species germplasm. ⌘ Read more