Headlines

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.

Study rethinks the dropout-crime connection

Dropping out of high school has been linked to higher rates of delinquency and lower socioeconomic status, but thinking of high school dropouts collectively, as one group, is a flawed belief that could be affecting interventions. The paper is published in the journal Emerging

This giant virus just gave up its atomic blueprint

A research group has successfully determined, for the first time in the world, the capsid (outer shell) structure of Melbournevirus—a member of the giant virus family—at a resolution of 4.4 Å using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The work is published in the journal

Four sperm whale strandings point to potential human causes

Four sperm whales that stranded separately on southeastern U.S. coastlines between 2020–22 were emaciated and malnourished, with ingested fishing gear and marine debris found in two of them, according to a new study that compared the four cases. The investigations, intended to

Ant larvae control parental care by using odor signals

In the clonal raider ant (Ooceraea biroi), workers in a colony alternate between caring for larvae and laying eggs in a coordinated cycle. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena have discovered a brood pheromone released by larvae of clonal raider

Twin NASA control rooms support Artemis safety, success

Twin control rooms at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are actively supporting real-time mission operations in lunar orbit as part of the agency's Artemis II mission, helping ensure astronaut safety and mission success as the crew prepares to return

Examining embryo model ethics beyond box-checking

In science, ethical guidelines ensure that research takes place in a way that respects public trust and is conducted responsibly. Traditional ethics approval procedures work well for projects following established practices, but they offer little flexibility when unexpected

Rock bonding changes understanding of earthquake mechanics

When tectonic plates move, they rarely do so smoothly. Sometimes they slide almost imperceptibly; at other times, stress is suddenly released—resulting in an earthquake. What exactly governs this behavior remains one of the key open questions in earthquake research.

Researchers develop AI-driven air quality monitoring system

Johannesburg's air quality has never really been measured systematically. Like many other cities across the globe, scientists have battled to develop cost-effective monitoring systems that provide accurate real-time data on air pollution. This is all about to change, thanks to

New study reveals the depth of children's nuclear anxiety

As geopolitical tensions rise globally, a new study published in Critical Studies on Security warns that the shadow of the "mushroom cloud" is weighing heavily on the next generation. The research paper, titled "Mushrooms, cranes, and the fear of planetary destruction,"