A new El Niño index that provides a more climate-robust measure of the strength of El Niño signals has been released by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). With the World Meteorological Organization's recent update indicating an 80% likelihood of an
At least 15 people drowned in open water in the UK's recent heat wave, mostly children and teenagers. The public response is understandably urgent: warnings are issued, parents are told to talk to their children, and young people are reminded that rivers, lakes, reservoirs and
Astronauts on long space missions may one day use plants to produce fresh stocks of medicines on demand, thanks to new research by engineers at the University of California San Diego. The team developed a simple method to grow and repeatedly harvest pharmaceuticals from plants
The fixed idea that DNA is only a molecule that stores genetic information is being challenged. KAIST researchers have developed a technology that controls the chemical environment around catalysts at the nanometer scale by designing DNA sequences—the arrangement of A, T, G and
Sesame seeds are rich in lipid-soluble lignans such as sesamin, which are widely known as health-promoting phytochemicals. While these compounds rapidly decrease during germination and are converted into water-soluble glucosides, the molecular mechanism underlying this
A three-year study has cracked open the hidden biology behind coral reproduction, revealing hormone cycles that echo those of humans and other animals, and a new way to detect reef distress before it's too late.
Few would have predicted Morocco's success at the 2022 Fifa World Cup. Heading into the tournament, they were ranked 22nd in the world and had never progressed beyond the round of 16.
Two-dimensional (2D) materials, which are significantly thinner than a single sheet of paper, have long drawn attention for their exceptional performance. However, they have faced a critical limitation: Their performance degrades significantly when multiple layers are stacked.
A holy grail of environmental policy is an economy that delivers prosperity without requiring the ever-increasing consumption of raw materials.
Research led by the University of Alabama found that widespread wildfires during one of Earth's ancient environmental crises did not trigger an ocean collapse but were a consequence of it.
How do bacteria regulate the production of their proteins? Researchers at the University of Hamburg, in collaboration with international partners, have now demonstrated how small protein building blocks, known as peptides, specifically influence bacterial protein production.
Along with researchers from James Madison University, three collaborators in the Office of the Provost recently published in Research & Practice in Assessment. Jaime Miller, Stuart Miller and Rachel Whitman Rotch began gathering data in the summer of 2025, investigating
Researchers have demonstrated the ability to use van der Waals forces to tune the physical and electronic properties of ferroelectric thin films. The work opens the door to new techniques for engineering materials for use in smaller, more energy efficient electronic devices.
Oceans are in a "deepening crisis" that demands urgent global action, a major U.N. report warned Monday, with seas warming and rising faster, ice cover shrinking, and marine ecosystems under mounting strain.
Nature-based solutions have become central to global climate strategies. From tropical forests to wetlands, restoring nature means trees and plants can capture carbon dioxide, reduce global warming, and regenerate biodiversity.
Using a novel simulation model based on machine learning, an international research team at GSI/FAIR has succeeded in gaining a deeper understanding of element formation in stellar events such as neutron star mergers. For the first time, the scientists used deep learning with a
Florida State University physicists are part of a team that has discovered unusual superconducting states in parts of graphene, with the potential to drive unexpected quantum technologies.
Sleep-deprived? Spit here. The post Your Saliva Knows How Sleepy You Are appeared first on Nautilus .
Quantum mechanics, unlike classical physics, allows objects to exist in more than one state at the same time. This idea is often illustrated by Schrödinger's cat, imagined as being both alive and dead until it is observed. In the laboratory, physicists can create less dramatic
Texting while driving. Bullying people on social media. Buying into the latest conspiracy theory. Passing off AI-generated work as your own.
Maize (Zea mays L.) plays an important role in global food security. During 9,000 years of maize domestication and breeding, however, protein content was not a major breeding target. Consequently, many beneficial gene variants associated with higher protein content were
Agriculture today is a massive, globally interconnected industry. That interconnectivity has brought jobs and varied foods to people who might not otherwise be able to access them.
Assistant Professor Haocun Yu is something of a scientific diplomat. In a recent Physical Review Letters publication, she and her colleagues show how a tabletop experiment can bring together two bedrock physics theories that have never been fully reconciled.
Anthropic has warned that recursive-self-improving AI could be on the horizon, but the truth is the company is more immediately concerned with marketing itself for a blockbuster initial public offering on the stock market, says Matthew Sparkes
The out-of-Africa migration, in which ancient humans went on to inhabit every other continent except Antarctica, may not have been one moment in time, but a long and slow process. Columnist Michael Marshall examines how archaeologists are rethinking this critical part of our
Lapses in memory are a normal part of ageing but can also be signs of dementia. Here’s how to distinguish between typical brain ageing and cognitive decline
A diverse range of bird species has been recorded at a solar park on rewetted peatland in Germany, suggesting that combining energy generation with habitat restoration could benefit biodiversity, the climate and the economy
A new study by Mannheim Business Administration professor Hartmut Höhle examines the reactions of actual victims of the Cambridge Analytica scandal on Facebook over a longer period. Its key finding is that, despite being affected by data fraud, users remain on the platform.
Dozens of human skeletons, lying apparently randomly on and next to each other, with their skulls missing, present a terrifying sight at first glance. Since 2022, this is what researchers have been excavating in a 7,000-year-old settlement near the present-day town of Vráble in
Earthquakes usually occur along fracture zones in Earth's crust, where large tectonic plates slide past one another and become locked. Stress builds up over long periods and is suddenly released in the form of an earthquake. In Southern California, the San Andreas and San
Indonesia is home to the world's largest and most biodiverse coral reef system, spanning more than 32,000 square kilometers across the archipelago. Just like what is happening globally, these reefs are now bearing the brunt of a warming ocean.
Researchers in China recently uncovered a quantum-inspired rule governing how sound is scattered by certain physical properties of a material. Their research, published in Physical Review Letters, may lead to the ability to design materials with optimal, broadband sound blocking.
Accounting is usually associated with corporations. "In accounting, we traditionally think more about the firm and less about the household," says Fabian Nagel, an assistant professor of accounting at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Raman optical activity, long thought to require chiral molecules or magnetic order, has been demonstrated in an achiral, nonmagnetic crystal by researchers at the Institute of Science Tokyo. The effect arises through ferroaxial order, a coordinated rotation of atoms within the
Scientists in Japan have developed a rat-mouse hybrid embryo from a single frozen rat chromosome transplanted into a mouse egg cell. The achievement is proof that genetic material can sometimes remain functional after cryopreservation and be expressed inside the cells of a
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned tech firms, including Apple and Google, that they must voluntarily implement tools to stop children sharing explicit images, but experts warn this is easier said than done
A new study combining NASA satellite observations, ocean surveys and genetic testing of marine microorganisms found evidence that warming ocean waters may be limiting nutrient availability across much of the global ocean. The researchers report that this nutrient stress affects
Big Talks for Little People, an innovative child mental health support program, has helped alleviate bullying that had been reported by students in Out of School Hours Care (OSHC), according to a new study conducted by Flinders University researchers.
A new analysis of a 120-million-year-old fossil suggests at least one pterosaur species shimmered in iridescent greens and magentas.
Mobile money can help people without bank accounts take part in the economy, but trust and fairness will ultimately determine whether it succeeds, a new study has found.
Building useful quantum technologies—from sensors to computers—requires generating highly complex entangled states, in which the properties of particles are deeply intertwined. Producing such states has traditionally required complex tools and carefully engineered setups with
The magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit the Philippines happened at a subduction zone. Such places are capable of producing the largest earthquakes possible
Amid growing public concern about the radicalization of young people, there is a widespread misconception that radicalization logically and inevitably progresses to violence.
A light, flexible polymer material developed at the University of Waterloo could replace the lead in heavy X-ray aprons, providing the same protection from harmful radiation while reducing their weight by almost 90%.
For plants, light is an important environmental factor not only as a source of energy for photosynthesis, but also as a signal for capturing environmental information. Light signals are sensed by photoreceptor proteins called phytochromes. The amino acids that make up proteins
Erich Mercker (1891–1973), a painter from Munich, was quite successful in his day. Between 1933 and 1945, he painted works containing Nazi symbolism, including "Die Stätte des 9. November," which depicts the Feldherrnhalle monument in Munich commemorating the NSDAP's failed
Ultra-processed foods and cigarettes share parent companies and sales tactics The post How Big Tobacco Marketing Made it into Our Lunch Boxes appeared first on Nautilus .
Hiroshima University researchers say a newly proposed three-step "detour" pathway for making dolichol, a molecule cells need to properly process proteins, may be more universal than scientists realized. Experiments in yeast suggest eukaryotes may rely on overlapping biochemical
A study, published in the journal Development, is the first to precisely map endogenous UTY occupancy across the human genome and demonstrate that UTY remains functionally involved in transcriptional regulation during early human development.
Most sharks and rays inhabit the oceans, but a small proportion thrive in freshwater. Approximately 4% to 5% of all shark and ray species live in tropical and subtropical rivers around the world. Two main ecological strategies can be distinguished among freshwater sharks and
