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Predicting jumping genes' roles in changing genome size

A genome contains all of the DNA of every living organism, but its contents don't stop there—most of these structures also contain snippets of DNA that can copy and paste themselves to "infect" a genome, expanding its size. Precisely why that happens remains a mystery.

Martian polar crater ice shifts with seasonal frost

Mars shares many landforms and weather patterns with Earth, including changing seasons, volcanoes, canyons, dust storms, dust devils and water ice. Another feature that Earth and Mars share is polar ice caps. These are among each planet's striking features, but the major

CubeSat achieves challenging laser link to ground

Despite the complexity of the operation, ERMIS-3, an 8U CubeSat developed by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, has established a link with an optical ground station, marking an important step in validating optical communications on small satellites. The

An unusual sexual bond between a bull and a male donkey

Sex between animals of the same sex is widespread in nature. But researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology on Nov. 2 describe an unusual partnership involving an ongoing sexual relationship between a bull and a male donkey living on an Ethiopian plateau.

Is There Anything Left in the Dream of Cold Fusion?

Dig a little deeper and you’ll find a thriving research program with exotic atoms that won’t solve the energy crisis but stretches the boundaries of physics. The post Is There Anything Left in the Dream of Cold Fusion? first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Community input strengthens urban flood adaptation model

Urban flooding causes significant social, environmental and economic losses every year. In Baltimore, those losses have increased in frequency and intensity since flooding records began in 1748 and are expected to continue doing so as the climate changes. Traditional flood

New avocado cultivation methods not environmentally costly

A University of Queensland study has disproved the assumption that laboratory-based propagation of avocado carries an intrinsic environmental cost. The study led by researchers from the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation with industry partners provides the

Q&A: Hey AI, who should I vote for this year?

People are peppering artificial intelligence chatbots every day with questions, but when it comes to politics and the looming 2026 U.S. midterm elections, what role are AI platforms playing? Could an AI chatbot sway a voter to switch parties or reexamine their political beliefs?