When oily plastic and glass, as well as rubber, washed onto Florida beaches in 2020, a community group shared the mystery online, attracting scientists' attention. Working together, they linked the black residue-coated debris to a 2019 oil slick along Brazil's coastline. Using
Australian researchers have uncovered how a particular strain of a diarrhea-causing parasite managed to infect more animal species, offering new insights into how parasitic infections emerge and spread to people.
In the aftermath of the giant asteroid that crashed into the Yucatan Peninsula about 66 million years ago, approximately 75% of all species on Earth were wiped out, including the dinosaurs. Among those thought to have perished at this K-Pg (Cretaceous-Paleogene) boundary were
The discovery of thousands more galaxies with stars ringing their main disks could help astronomers study galactic evolution more generally.
On clear days in Hartbeespoort, South Africa, satellite images often reveal a reservoir with shades of deep blue interrupted by drifting patches of vivid green. These shifting features indicate algae blooms, which can affect water quality, ecosystems, and nearby human
Google, SpaceX and Blue Origin are reportedly racing to develop technology for AI data centers in space, but it will likely be years before we see them rocketing into the sky, experts say.
Astronomers from Serbia and Russia have conducted deep optical observations of a cloud of neutral atomic hydrogen, designated FAST J0139+4328. Results of the observational campaign, published December 31 on the arXiv preprint server, provide evidence that FAST J0139+4328 is a
Bariatric surgery far outperformed GLP-1 weight loss drugs in a new real-world comparison of more than 50,000 patients. Two years after treatment, surgery patients lost about 58 pounds on average, while those using semaglutide or tirzepatide lost roughly 12 pounds. Even
Neuroscientists have been trying to understand how the brain processes visual information for over a century. The development of computational models inspired by the brain's layered organization, also known as deep neural networks (DNNs), have recently opened new exciting
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is facing strong public opposition to its proposed plans to extend closure deadlines until October 2031 for 11 coal plants across the country—three of which are in Illinois and one in northwest Indiana.
Baby boomers could be the secret ingredient for corporate sustainability, according to a new Murdoch University study.
Researchers in Japan built a miniature human brain circuit using fused stem-cell–derived organoids, allowing them to watch the thalamus and cortex interact in real time. They found that the thalamus plays a decisive role in maturing the cortex and organizing its neural
Australia's beloved dolphin populations face growing pressures from environmental changes and human activity, increasing the need for reliable, accessible and noninvasive tools to monitor their health and support conservation and management.
Researchers have reconstructed ancient herpesvirus genomes from Iron Age and medieval Europeans, revealing that HHV-6 has been infecting humans for at least 2,500 years. Some people inherited the virus directly in their DNA, passing it down across generations. The study shows
More than two years of war in Gaza have left many Palestinian children too weak to learn or play and convinced they will be "killed for being Gazans," a new report warns. The University of Cambridge-led study also includes the first analysis of education in the West Bank and
Water plays a crucial role in how tiny pieces of plastic enter our environment—and us
A look at how evolving national health policies could reshape the future of kids’ care, from vaccines to essential treatments.
China's government has long made efforts to tempt top scientists from abroad, but researchers say its institutions themselves are increasingly attracting talent thanks to their generous funding and growing prestige.
AI models such as ChatGPT and Gemini fail to give adequate advice for 60 per cent of queries relating to women’s health in a test created by medical professionals
Cells have a remarkable housekeeping system: Proteins that are no longer needed, defective, or potentially harmful are labeled with a molecular "tag" and dismantled in the cellular recycling machinery. This process, known as the ubiquitin-proteasome system, is crucial for
After a dead whale was found on the bow of a container ship docked in New Jersey, authorities were working Tuesday to remove the carcass and determine the endangered animal's cause of death.
Researchers have developed a magnetic nanomaterial that can kill bone cancer cells and support bone regeneration at the same time. The material heats up under a magnetic field to destroy tumors, while its bioactive coating helps it bond to bone and stimulate healing. Tests
Immune cells are most commonly engineered to kill cancers, but now, scientists have shown the technique makes the gut lining of older mice resemble that of younger mice, raising hopes that the same approach could work in people
Global cancer cases have surged dramatically, doubling since 1990 and reaching 18.5 million new diagnoses in 2023. Deaths have also climbed to over 10 million a year, with the steepest increases hitting low- and middle-income countries. Without urgent action, researchers
Scientists have created a new way to watch plants breathe—live and in high definition—while tracking exactly how much carbon and water they exchange with the air. The breakthrough could help unlock crops that grow smarter, stronger, and more drought-resistant.
Scientists have discovered that wildfires release far more air-polluting gases than previously estimated. Many of these hidden emissions can transform into fine particles that are dangerous to breathe. The study shows wildfire pollution rivals human-made emissions in some parts
Teens who sleep in on weekends may be giving their mental health a boost. A new study found that young people who made up for lost weekday sleep had a significantly lower risk of depression. While consistent sleep is still best, weekend catch-up sleep appears to offer
Dogs began diversifying thousands of years earlier than previously believed, with clear differences in size and shape appearing over 11,000 years ago. A massive global analysis of ancient skulls shows that early dogs were already adapting to different roles in human societies.
Earthquakes happen daily, sometimes with devastating consequences, yet predicting them remains out of reach. What scientists can do is map the hidden layers beneath the surface that control how strongly the ground shakes. A new approach speeds up complex seismic simulations by
Lush green fields of alfalfa spread across thousands of acres in a desert valley in western Arizona, where a dairy company from Saudi Arabia grows the thirsty crop by pulling up groundwater from dozens of wells.
A familiar mouth bacterium best known for causing cavities may also be quietly influencing the brain. Scientists found that when this microbe settles in the gut, it produces compounds that can travel through the bloodstream and harm neurons involved in movement. In animal
A research team led by Kuang Guangli and Jiang Donghui at the High Magnetic Field Laboratory of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CHMFL), has developed a "pocket-type" high-temperature superconducting (HTS) coil, achieving a record
Environmentalists are suing the federal government over what they say is a failure to protect the horseshoe crab, a prehistoric-looking species that is important to the survival of shore birds in South Carolina and other coastal states.
Researchers discovered that a poison frog species described decades ago was based on a mix-up involving the wrong museum specimen. The frog tied to the official species name turned out to be brown, not the colorful animal shown in the original photo. After tracing old records
Scientists are learning to engineer light in rich, multidimensional ways that dramatically increase how much information a single photon can carry. This leap could make quantum communication more secure, quantum computers more efficient, and sensors far more sensitive. Recent
When writer Cory Doctorow introduced the term "enshittification" in 2023, he captured a pattern many users had already noticed in their personal lives.
Their symptoms are rare and understudied The post These Women Giggle, Cry, and Sneeze When They Orgasm appeared first on Nautilus .
A distant pulsar’s radio signal flickers as it passes through space, much like stars twinkle in Earth’s atmosphere. By monitoring this effect for 10 months, researchers watched the pattern slowly evolve as gas, Earth, and the pulsar all moved. Those changes create minuscule
Living cells pay a hidden energy price not just to run chemical reactions, but to keep them on track and block all the alternatives. A new thermodynamic framework makes it possible to calculate these overlooked costs and compare different metabolic pathways. When tested on
It’s the most distant supernova recorded to date The post Astronomers Witness Star Exploding at the Edge of the Universe appeared first on Nautilus .
The circumglobal teleconnection pattern (CGT) is a key mode of atmospheric variability during boreal summer, identified by an upper-tropospheric wave train propagating along the subtropical jet. CGT is one of the critical drivers of Northern Hemisphere mid-latitude heat waves.
Generative AI is becoming ubiquitous in everyday life. Large language models like ChatGPT can help answer questions, write email, and solve problems at seemingly lightning speed, pulling from enormous datasets to engage in conversations with their users. Generative AI tools are
The future of urban green space might be written in code, according to research in the International Journal of Reasoning-based Intelligent Systems. The age-old image of the landscape architect, sketchbook in hand, guided by intuition and a feel for the land, is being dug over
Two things are clear from a University of Michigan analysis of nearly 200,000 Twitter posts between 2012 and 2022. One, people are really good at identifying peak pollen season: The largest volume of tweets about pollen often lined up with pollen counters hitting their biggest
Federally funded Indigenous-led conservation programs are delivering highly effective climate and biodiversity outcomes, aligning with national greenhouse gas mitigation and biodiversity goals, according to a new paper led by Concordia researchers.
A new study from Aarhus University shows that star ratings of books are not always accurate. Average ratings on Goodreads can hide both literary classics and highly divided reading experiences—and can therefore be a misleading measure of literary value.
Heinrich Schliemann was a thousand years off the mark—but he did still make meaningful discoveries The post The Amateur Archaeologist Who Found the Wrong Troy appeared first on Nautilus .
Many migratory species such as birds, bats, whales, and fish cross national borders to complete their lifecycle and need internationally coordinated action to protect them. The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) is an environmental treaty
A Rice University-led team has unveiled how tiny molecular structures on industrial catalysts behave during the manufacture of vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), a core ingredient in adhesives, paints, coatings, packaging, textiles and many other products people use every day.
Artificial intelligence is changing how we predict river flow—but a new study led by researchers at the University of British Columbia shows that these models often get the right answers for the wrong reasons.
