This sci‑fi twist on Moby-Dick will blow your mind
Alexis Hall reimagines Melville’s classic with space whales, AI intrigue and a bold queer twist that launches Moby-Dick into an entirely new sci‑fi universe
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Could your housemates be changing your gut bacteria? An island bird study suggests so
Living with friends may quietly be altering your gut bacteria, according to a new study from the University of East Anglia. Research on a colony of tiny island birds reveals they share more of their gut bacteria with the birds they spend the most time with. And the team says
Medieval aurora poetry provided clues to historic solar storms
Medieval poets, including a Japanese noble, provided key descriptions to track down solar events
After reaching speeds of 10,657 meters per second, Artemis II hurtles home for make-or-break splashdown
The Artemis II astronauts conducted a historic lunar flyby, gathered invaluable data and took in unprecedented moon views, but one of the most crucial moments of their 10-day mission is still to come: Friday's splashdown.
Artemis astronauts to shed light on space health risks
While the Artemis II astronauts have been protected from the icy vacuum of space on their journey, their bodies have nonetheless been left exposed to possibly high levels of radiation—a danger of space travel that NASA is anxiously waiting to study.
Medieval Japanese poetry and buried trees help elucidate volatile space weather
On Earth, extreme solar activity often appears as beautiful, benign auroras. But venturing beyond the safety of the Earth's magnetic field, one faces the full brunt of a temperamental star that can suddenly erupt with flares and coronal mass ejections.
Bridging AI- and experimental-led materials discovery with better database architecture
Materials databases lie at the heart of future data-driven discovery in energy-related fields, say researchers from Tohoku University. In an article published in the journal Precision Chemistry, they have examined how different types of databases, both computational and
Work attitudes barely shifted after the 2008 crisis across 19 European countries
An analysis of survey data on 77,567 people in 19 European countries, including the U.K., by Raphaël Piters, of Sorbonne University, France, found little change in attitudes to work between 1999 and 2017. The researcher analyzed answers to a series of questions about work asked
Sexist attitudes account for up to 13% of Gen Z's gender voting gap
Generation Z men are less likely to vote for left-wing parties than women, and their political preferences can be linked to their sexist attitudes, a large-scale study has found. Research on 15,122 people in the UK and 23 other European countries found that politics is
Plastic bags to gasoline: Molten salts crack polyethylene into real fuels
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a method to convert a commonly discarded hydrocarbon polymer into gasoline- and diesel-like fuels. The team has applied for a patent for the discovery, which treats polyethylene—the stuff of white
New research shows how forests can prevent floods of all sizes
As large floods occur more frequently worldwide, many wonder what led to such devastating events. Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, improper land management and forest removal increase flood frequencies and severity.
Spatiotemporal correlation-based AI developed for bias correction of atmospheric and oceanic variables
Daily travel plans and early warnings for extreme weather all rely on traditional numerical weather prediction. However, both traditional numerical weather prediction and AI forecasting large models have long suffered from systematic biases, which compromise forecast accuracy.
AI-designed proteins built from scratch can recognize specific compounds
Professor Gyu Rie Lee of the Department of Biological Sciences successfully designed artificial proteins that selectively recognize specific compounds using AI through joint research with Professor David Baker. The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, is
Less than half of parents say schools are ready for nudification AI abuse
Less than half of parents are confident that their children's school is well prepared if their students become victims of "nudification AI" apps, a survey has found. The survey found that just 47% were confident or very confident that their child's school was ready to respond
Street green space can help cool cities, but it will not be enough on its own
A new IIASA-led study finds that expanding street green space can reduce urban heat stress in cities worldwide, but even ambitious greening efforts are unlikely to offset a significant share of the additional heat expected under climate change. Instead, the research shows that
Hat wars of early modern England reveal how manners make the rebel
From refusing to doff hats in court to resisting hat-snatching highway robbers, England's relationship with hats goes far deeper than fashion, new research shows.
Skills overtake age as economic driver in China, analysis finds
As the global aging population advances and countries face shrinking workforces, a new study focusing on China by IIASA researchers and colleagues from Nanjing University reveals how economic growth can persist despite these changes in age structures. Drawing on detailed data
Survival of the Wittiest
How verbal humor arose and how it protects us The post Survival of the Wittiest appeared first on Nautilus .
Non-producing oil and gas wells may emit microbial methane at rates 1,000 times higher than previously estimated
Microbial methane leaking from non-producing oil and gas wells is being emitted at rates about 1,000 times higher than previously estimated, according to a new study led by McGill University researchers. "Origins of Subsurface Methane Leaking from Nonproducing Oil and Gas Wells
Quit tobacco, climb the ladder: 20.5 million Indian households could rise
Quitting tobacco could give a major economic uplift to the incomes of more than 20 million households in India, suggests an economic analysis published in the open access journal BMJ Global Health.
Megawatt structured light arrives with 3,070 optical vortices in one array
Optical vortices—light beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM)—are characterized by helical wavefronts and phase singularities. While they have been widely studied in recent decades, two fundamental limitations have restricted their broader impact: generating large
Turning uncertainty into a design tool for AI-engineered molecules
While precision seems critical for science, researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Texas A&M University are embracing uncertainty, using it to fine-tune artificial intelligence (AI)-based molecular design models. The resulting
Artemis II astronauts describe their lunar voyage as surreal and profound ahead of Earth return
Drawing ever closer to Earth, the Artemis II astronauts tidied up their lunar cruiser for the upcoming "fireball" return and reflected on their historic journey around the moon, describing it as surreal and profound.
Unlocking the hidden metabolism of algae to advance the promise of renewable fuels and sustainable biomass
Researchers at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have solved a long-standing mystery of how a model green microalga reorganizes its central metabolism to supercharge growth when given access to both light and a carbon source—a finding with broad implications for
Integrative experiment design reveals hidden patterns in decades-old social science research
Research from MIT Sloan School of Management has demonstrated a new way of designing social science experiments that can uncover patterns invisible to common approaches. In their paper titled "Integrative experiments identify how punishment affects welfare in public goods
Antidepressants build up in winter wastewater, raising risks for fish
Every time we flush the toilet, wastewater containing more than tens of thousands of unknown substances, some of which may be toxic to animals and plants, runs into streams and the marine environment. In a study published in Science of The Total Environment, a team of
Nickel catalyst enables precision mirror-image assembly for key drug scaffolds
A research team led by Prof. Sangwon Seo of the Department of Physics and Chemistry at DGIST has developed a catalytic technology that can easily and elaborately assemble key structural frameworks that serve as the scaffold of bioactive compounds. Using an abundantly available
White House budget puts 54 NASA science missions on the chopping block
Experts found that the White House budget request for the upcoming fiscal year could defund 54 NASA science missions, including a spacecraft currently studying Jupiter and two planned Venus missions
Simple vineyard growing practice impacts soil microbiome deep below surface
Pennsylvania is the fourth-largest wine producer in the United States, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. The industry supports nearly 11,000 jobs and directly contributes $1.77 billion to the state economy annually. In an effort to produce more and better
The Biological Basis of Imagination
Probing the mind’s eye The post The Biological Basis of Imagination appeared first on Nautilus .
African swine fever: A novel model assesses transmission between domestic pigs and wild boar
African swine fever (ASF) is one of the most devastating diseases affecting domestic pigs and wild boars worldwide. Since its introduction into Europe, this deadly virus has spread widely, threatening pig production and causing significant economic losses. Understanding the
How NASA's Artemis II mission rediscovered the majesty and mystery of the moon
On April 10, Artemis II—humanity's first mission to the moon in more than half a century—will draw to a close when the Orion capsule carrying four crew members detaches from its service module.
Hidden ocean feedback loop could accelerate climate change
The world's oceans may be quietly amplifying climate change in ways scientists are only beginning to understand. In a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Rochester scientists—including Thomas Weber, an associate professor in the
AI diffusion models tailor drug molecules to custom-fit protein targets, speeding drug development and evaluation
University of Virginia School of Medicine scientists have developed a bold new approach to drug development and discovery that could dramatically accelerate the creation of new medicines. UVA's Nikolay V. Dokholyan, Ph.D., and colleagues have developed a suite of artificial
Could we actually terraform Mars? A new scientific roadmap lays out the blueprint—and the risks
Reading the "Mars Trilogy" by Kim Stanley Robinson brings the benefits and pitfalls of efforts to terraform the red planet into sharp relief. Since the 1970s, when Carl Sagan first suggested the possibility that we could make Mars more Earth-like, that process has been a staple
NASA’s Artemis II moon mission is on track for Friday splashdown
After a hectic eight days in space, the Artemis II crew—and the many NASA personnel supporting their journey—are ready for the mission’s final milestone
How an internal plant 'thermostat' guides root growth in unpredictable temperatures
Plants can't move to escape the heat like humans can; they are forced to adapt. As temperatures fluctuate, one key survival strategy is the ability of roots to keep growing, allowing plants to access water and nutrients farther away in the soil. But how do plants sense
Designing cities: Should we build from scratch or keep history alive?
Cities are often described as living archives of human memory. Walk through an old neighborhood in an Islamic city like Fez in Morocco or Cairo in Egypt, and you can see layers of history in its streets and buildings. Traces of the past remain visible in everyday life.
Outside academia, people aren't well informed about Ph.D. research, and that's a problem
Around 1% of the global population has a Ph.D. It's the highest academic qualification, the result of years spent on original research. But—and this is a question that many Ph.D. students will have faced, at some time or another—what's the point?
Carbon nanotube fiber sensors achieve record measurement error below 0.1%
Skoltech scientists, in collaboration with colleagues from China and Iran, have taken a major step toward creating highly precise carbon nanotube fiber (CNTF)-based sensors. In a paper published in the iScience journal, the authors, for the first time, quantitatively assessed
Liquid-like histone H1 'glues' nucleosomes, reshaping how DNA compacts
DNA inside the nucleus is not packed as a rigid regular fiber—linker histone H1 dynamically binds and loosely "glues" nucleosomes together, creating a dynamic, fluid organization that can still support essential genome functions.
The good life requires two things, self‑knowledge and friends. You can't have one without the other
Friends can help us with all kinds of things in life. How could I forget moving that piano for friends in Chicago? Fortunately, none of us ended up in the ER.
How Nicotine Disrupts the “Lung-Brain Axis”—And Could Lead to Dementia
Vaping might be just as bad The post How Nicotine Disrupts the “Lung-Brain Axis”—And Could Lead to Dementia appeared first on Nautilus .
It's OK to love all the bees (the honey bees, too)
North America's bee populations are in trouble, but don't blame the honey bees. While some people argue that an overabundance of managed honey bees—those raised to help pollinate crops and produce honey—is causing native bees to disappear, the evidence doesn't support the claim.
Hydroxyl radicals in UV-exposed water reveal surprising reaction pathway
How do radicals form in aqueous solutions when exposed to UV light? This question is important for health research and environmental protection. For example, with regard to the overfertilization of water bodies by intensive agriculture. A team at BESSY II has now developed a
How AI's language barrier limits climate disaster responses
A message appears online during heavy flooding: "This rain no be small o, everywhere don red." Someone unfamiliar with the phrasing might hesitate. But for people in Nigeria, this message is immediate and clear: the flooding is severe and worsening.
Chimpanzee group's violent rupture hints at evolutionary roots of war
Researchers who observed a murderous conflict unfolding in a once-unified group of wild chimpanzees say there are parallels with civil wars in human societies
Study of Tommy Robinson's social media reveals how online influencers mobilize supporters without direct calls to action
New research from the University of Bath reveals that online influencers can mobilize followers and legitimize harmful behaviors without ever issuing explicit instructions, offering fresh insight into how digital platforms shape public attitudes, emotions and decision-making.
A smarter way to build vaccines: Scientists harness AI to target emerging alphaviruses
A team of scientists at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), led by Nikos Vasilakis, Ph.D., and Peter McCaffrey, MD, has developed a new computational pipeline that could dramatically accelerate the development of vaccines against a group of mosquito-borne viruses
Timeline of the Artemis II moon mission’s return to Earth
On Friday, the four astronauts on board the Orion space capsule will begin their final descent to Earth. Here’s the plan, including the final, most nail-biting 13 minutes of the journey