China has become one of Africa's largest development financiers. Since 2000, Chinese and other state-backed institutions have committed more than US$180 billion in loans to African countries. The money has been used to finance roads, railways, power stations, ports, water
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has uncovered evidence that a 245-foot-thick (75-meter-thick) stack of ancient rock on the rim of Jezero Crater was built by repeated asteroid impacts. Referred to as the "Broom Point member" by the rover's science team, this sequence of layered
LMU researchers demonstrate that oxygenic photosynthesis can occur with only a single photosystem, overturning a fundamental principle of biology.
A sweeping new Cal Poly study of North American birds reveals that environmental change does not affect all species equally and that a bird's traits can explain whether populations rise or fall as local conditions change.
In science, researchers often focus their entire careers on the pursuit of one primary field.
Researchers at the College of Design and Engineering at the National University of Singapore have identified a key design principle for building reliable electronics from materials only one atomic layer thick, giving engineers a clearer way to control unwanted electrical
Oryzias latipes, commonly known as medaka, is a small fish measuring about 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 inches) in length that exhibits highly active spawning behavior during the breeding season. Previous research by an Osaka Metropolitan University research team showed that males can spawn
Ancient DNA can be a powerful tool for helping us reconstruct the long-dead past. Most surviving genetic material comes from the bones and teeth of animals that lived in cold environments, where freezing temperatures help prevent decay. While hotter climates are seen as hostile
Occasionally, the sun unleashes powerful flares and coronal mass ejections, which hurl plasma and energetic particles into space. On the infant Earth, this solar activity drove cascades of atmospheric chemical reactions that may have helped form the building blocks of life.
Australia's largest gliding marsupial may not be the country's best glider after all, according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU) that challenges a decades-old belief about how far southern greater gliders can travel through the forest canopy.
On a summer day in Nashville, one person escapes the heat in an air-conditioned office while another delivers packages in a metal truck that absorbs heat or labors outdoors for hours under the sun.
Hyperiid amphipods are a small but anatomically diverse group of shrimp-like crustaceans with remarkable adaptations for life in the ocean's twilight zone. A team of researchers from MBARI, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, GEOMAR, the University of Western
A new study reveals that two widely studied ultrathin superconducting materials are more sophisticated than they appear. Although they seem to behave like simple superconductors with a single energy gap, they actually contain two strongly interacting superconducting states that
A new study finds that companies are increasingly disclosing climate data—yet coverage of value chains and social factors remains patchy. Using an AI-powered method, a team from LMU Munich and the University of Cologne analyzed 2.9 million sustainability indicators from 10
Today’s computers need safeguards against random energy fluctuations. Thermodynamic computers would put those fluctuations to use. The post Thermodynamic Computers Go With the (Energy) Flow first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Driving an electric current through a molecule can create a magnetic field. Yet in practice, such fields are often too weak to be detected experimentally. Through theoretical modeling, researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) show how quantum
A new study by Caroline Ganglo and Stefan Karlowsky from the Leibniz Institute for Horticultural Sciences (IGZ) investigated whether human excreta-derived fertilizers are suitable for replacing mineral fertilizer in kohlrabi production and how they affect plant N uptake and
Typically, astronomers identify comets by their distinct atmospheres, or comae, and their tails, which are created as the sun vaporizes a comet's ice. These features emit a glow when sunlight bounces off dust and water droplets. As gas escapes the body of the comet, it also
Quantum materials could transform technologies ranging from powerful computers and ultrasecure communications to advanced energy systems. But there has always been one major obstacle.
An international team led by Dr. Gary Lewin, group leader of the Molecular Physiology of Somatosensory Perception lab at the Max Delbrück Center in Berlin, has discovered that the queens of naked mole-rat colonies release a volatile compound called isopropyl myristate, which
While particulate matter air pollution from human activity in transportation, households and industry is decreasing in Europe, thanks to strict regulations, another source is developing in the opposite direction: desert dust.
Wetlands have shaped human life in Europe since ancient times. These ecosystems provided essential resources and safe havens for plants and animals, and in many regions they also held spiritual and ritual significance. For millennia, wetlands covered vast parts of the European
There is a clear need to shift toward healthier and more sustainable food systems. According to the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission Report, global adoption of a flexitarian Planetary Health Diet could prevent around 15 million premature adult deaths per year.
The effects of extreme space weather may be larger than previously thought, research in the journal Nature reveals. The paper, titled "Regression to the mean can explain saturation of geomagnetic storms," is led by Dr. Nithin Sivadas of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and
The White House nominated Erica Schwartz, a former deputy surgeon general, to head the nation’s top public health agency
Most people in the U.K. don't fully understand dog laws in the country and often believe stronger protections exist than actually exist, according to a new University of Stirling study. The research, led by psychologist Sarah Weir of the University's Faculty of Natural Sciences
Plastic has become a ubiquitous part of modern life—in water bottles, shopping bags and car dashboards. But once discarded, it is among the hardest materials on Earth to recycle. Most recycling processes require plastics to be sorted by type first, a step that is both
New Antarctic research shows the deepest layer of the Southern Ocean is shrinking faster than scientists realized, with the rate of change accelerating over the past decade. This is of worldwide significance because as it sinks and fills up to 40% of the global ocean volume,
Australia's ocean territory is vast and covers an area more than 1.5 times the nation's landmass. Within these waters is a diversity of resources, marine species and habitats. And they're deep. Excluding Antarctic waters, 70% of Australia's ocean territory is deeper than 1,000
Researchers have discovered that a microscopic skeleton inside neurons does much more than hold cells together. It acts as a gatekeeper that controls what brain cells absorb and when they absorb it. When this protective structure weakens, neurons rapidly take in harmful
Pancreatic cancer is considered one of the deadliest cancers because it is often diagnosed late and is difficult to treat. However, a South Korean research team has developed "smart nanoparticles" that remain hidden in normal tissue but shed their protective coating and release
The problem isn’t entirely health-related The post What’s Causing The Rise in Rural Mortality? appeared first on Nautilus .
The secret of how seals can hear in air and water has been revealed, thanks to pioneering research led by Natural History Museum scientists.
The European Space Agency's Mars Express has spotted a swath of metallic-looking waves filling Mars's large Kaiser Crater—an ancient and otherworldly dune field sculpted by wind.
European astronomers have conducted optical and radio observations of an enigmatic radio source designated GRS 0917+75. As a result, they found that GRS 0917+75 is a giant radio galaxy and determined its properties. The new findings were published July 3 on the preprint server
Archaeological work conducted at the Coves del Fem (Ulldemolins, Priorat)—located within the Serra de Montsant Natural Park—between May 30 and June 28, 2026, has yielded important new evidence for understanding the prehistory of the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. The campaign
Indonesia is building a new capital city in the heart of Borneo to replace sinking Jakarta. As construction transforms one of the world's most biodiverse rainforests, scientists and their indigenous collaborators are racing to record the sounds of the forest—and preserve
In sci-fi, AI can navigate the unknowns and — ideally — keep human travelers safe. But it’s not intelligent enough to do that yet.
An unusual leopard gecko that naturally develops aggressive tumors may become an important new model for cancer research. Scientists found its tumors share key genetic changes with human cancers, offering a rare opportunity to study the disease as it develops naturally.
Quantum computers promise to solve problems that would take even the fastest conventional supercomputers a vast amount of time, but the quantum information they store and process is extremely sensitive to even tiny disturbances from their surroundings. To keep these systems
When Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck in 2024, the storms not only left behind a trail of destruction but also exposed an often-overlooked challenge for local emergency responders: how hurricanes can disrupt the food system and make it harder for residents to access it when
NASA's PACE satellite captured the Black Sea glowing turquoise during its annual phytoplankton bloom. The vivid color comes from massive numbers of coccolithophores, microscopic organisms whose reflective shells brighten the water enough to be seen from space. An astronaut
Fats and oils are essential to life. They provide energy, support the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, contribute to the structure of cell membranes, and give foods their flavor, texture and mouthfeel. Yet the way fats are produced, processed and consumed is changing. Food
For more than 150 years, fossils of Jurassic fish scattered across Europe's museums were studied and drawn by generations of scientists. However, when a paleontologist decided to shine an ultraviolet light on them, a hidden world lit up.
Equipping spacecraft with x-ray machines could boost safety for long-duration spaceflights—like a crewed mission to Mars
Every day, billions of people travel from their homes to work, schools, health care facilities, restaurants, public venues and other destinations. The complex patterns that shape how people move between these different locations are broadly referred to as "human mobility."
A 1,600-year-old mummy discovered in Egypt has revealed something archaeologists had never seen before: a fragment of Homer’s Iliad used during embalming. The papyrus was identified as part of the famous "Catalogue of Ships," one of the best-known sections of the ancient epic.
A team of astronomers has discovered a third planet orbiting the star Beta Pictoris. The new planet, Beta Pictoris d, is 100 times fainter than Beta Pictoris b—the first planet discovered in the same system—and is among the lightest exoplanets ever imaged from the ground. After
Beta Pictoris d is more than twice the size of Jupiter, but it is a baby compared to its humongous neighbors
A cave in the interior of Paraná state in Brazil contains a "climate archive" that enabled Brazilian researchers to reconstruct the history of extreme rainfall in Brazil's South Region over the past 7,500 years. Their findings revealed that the frequency of these events in the
