How does an ecosystem distribute its energy across body sizes? A new study suggests the answer depends on where you are—and how much humans have altered the landscape. Analyzing communities of birds and mammals worldwide, researchers show that larger-bodied species can, on
Asia's last tropical glaciers can be found near Puncak Jaya, Papua, the highest peak in Southeast Asia. But it is unlikely that they will survive until the end of this decade. Over the past 44 years, the peak has lost 97% of its ice and four of its glaciers. Its remaining two
Viruses play a far more active role in Earth's carbon cycle than previously understood, according to new research that reveals how they infect and control microbes responsible for carbon production in some of the planet's largest, darkest ecosystems. The findings are published
Near-infrared light is invisible to humans. And yet, under the right conditions, the human eye can perceive it. Researchers from Poland's International Center for Translational Eye Research (ICTER) have now shown that the efficiency of this phenomenon depends not only on the
Researchers at the São Carlos Institute of Physics at the University of São Paulo (IFSC-USP) in Brazil, led by Paulo Augusto Raymundo-Pereira, have created biodegradable, "wearable" sensors for plants to monitor their health, including the presence of pesticides. The sensors
A study by Cal Poly faculty and scientists has found that building density, not urban trees, was the strongest predictor of whether homes were destroyed during the catastrophic Southern California firestorms of January 2025. The paper is published in the journal Urban Forestry
The genomics of peppermint are not as fresh as their flavor but scientists from the University of California, Davis, have found a way to breathe new genetic variation into the species. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help
Silk threads can be fused into transparent, plastic-like materials that twist terahertz frequencies of light, according to research led by Imperial College London, University of Michigan Engineering and Tufts University. The findings could enable components of 6G networks to be
My underwater dive to discover whether the beautiful ocean organisms are ever coming back The post Coral Reefs Are at a Tipping Point appeared first on Nautilus .
In a “breakthrough,” researchers demonstrate how engineered bacteria held in a jellylike container could help fight infection in mice
Children who grow up in disadvantaged households may receive fewer social benefits from their intelligence in adulthood than those raised in more advantaged environments, according to new research from the University of Bath. A new study by Professor Chris Dawson, published in
Scientists have discovered a galaxy as it was 13 billion years ago, 800 million years after the Big Bang. It contains possible evidence of the universe's first stars and is one of the most chemically primitive galaxies observed to date.
Burrowing shrimp are small marine excavators native to Washington. They make their homes deep in the sediment by digging, turning the ground to Swiss cheese. This presents a problem for shellfish farmers, whose clams and oysters are often smothered under layers of displaced
A mathematical method borrowed from topology can reveal structural properties of visual art that correspond to how people perceive and respond to them, according to a new study published in PLOS Computational Biology by Jacek Rogala of the University of Warsaw, Poland, Shabnam
It was first spotted over the weekend The post Newly Discovered Asteroid to Make Close Pass by Earth appeared first on Nautilus .
Do you have the sense that summers feel different than when you were younger? That they start earlier, arrive quickly and remain intense until the fall? If you live in the mid-latitudes of either the Northern or Southern Hemispheres, chances are you answered yes.
Talk of a "super El Niño" developing in 2026 is gaining momentum, with concerns rising that this climate pattern could bring extreme rainfall, heat, drought and destructive flooding around the world.
AI can predict rainfall intensity better than several widely used forecasting models in tests using historical weather data from India. The new model reported in the International Journal of Mobile Communications shows that combining different forms of AI, along with advanced
A study finds the pungent bulb to be a real turn-off for them The post Garlic: Culinary Staple, Birth Control for Flies appeared first on Nautilus .
The hantavirus cruise outbreak may not have started in a garbage dump in Ushuaia, Argentina, after all
The Psyche spacecraft is bound for a metal-rich asteroid that it will examine up close starting in 2029. But first, it needs to swing past the Red Planet
A NASA spacecraft chasing a rare metal asteroid swings past Mars this week for a gravity boost, snapping thousands of pictures as practice for the main encounter in 2029.
The "Big Three" institutional investors—BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street Global Advisors (SSGA)—have burgeoned into load-bearing pillars of the U.S. economy. With great power comes great responsibility, as well as a risk-averse investment strategy that favors common
Water droplets on soap films orbited and merged like colliding galaxies, a technique that could help scientists study the cosmos.
Combined extreme climate events are likely to become more common in the future if carbon emissions continue to rise, a paper in Nature suggests. The study finds that the frequency of compound events—such as concurrent hot–wet and drought–heat extremes—is linked to cumulative
In addition to serving as biochemical weapons for offense and defense, the venoms produced by ants in the subfamily Formicinae also fulfill additional roles. For example, the ants use it to protect their nests from pathogens. It has long been assumed that the primary
As climate change and human activities continually ramp up, fish are forced to find ways to adapt. As fish move around to find more suitable habitats as ocean conditions shift, regional fish distributions change—which can have huge downstream effects on local ecosystems.
Kaleidocycles are flexible polyhedral structures composed of rigid tetrahedra connected along their edges to form rotating rings. Each tetrahedron is a solid 3D polygon with four triangular faces (like a triangular pyramid), and the hinges connect neighboring units, enabling a
Billions of years ago, a young spiral galaxy began to grow in a crowded part of the universe. It pulled in gas and small companion galaxies, slowly building up the bright central region and sweeping spiral arms we see today.
There's a new space race to the moon, and this time the ambitions are not just to visit but to stay. NASA's Artemis program aims to establish a long-term human presence on the lunar surface in the 2030s. China, India, Japan and a number of private companies all have lunar
If you could take an apple and break it into smaller and smaller parts, you would find molecules, then atoms, followed by subatomic particles like protons and the quarks and gluons that make them up. You might think you hit the bottom, but, according to string theorists, if you
Most Americans tend to think about bats only around Halloween, but the U.S. economy benefits from these furry flying mammals every day.
Many male hoverflies have bigger eyes than females, giving them the advantage of better optics and faster photoreceptors in high-speed pursuits to find a preferred partner to breed.
For decades, researchers have documented an achievement gap between children from higher- and lower-income families. On average, children with more resources perform better in school and on cognitive tests.
A dog trembling during a thunderstorm or backing away from a stranger may seem like an isolated reaction—yet new research suggests these moments are far from rare. In fact, the majority of dogs may experience some level of fear or anxiety more often than their owners, according
The rare isotope helium-3 is one of Earth’s most precious commodities—so precious, in fact, that it might prove profitable to mine from the moon
A new genetic test has revealed that most of the free-roaming canines in Australia, often labeled "wild dogs," carry a significant amount of dingo ancestry. A team of Adelaide University researchers from the Australian Center for Ancient DNA and the Environment Institute
The creaky noise known as vocal fry that people generally associate with young women – and some find irritating – is actually more common in men
Why can eagles soar through the skies while emus are bound to the earth? One secret lies in a skeletal structure called the keel, a blade-like ridge on the breastbone that anchors the flight muscles needed for powered flight. Flying birds have a prominent one, whereas in
Researchers have developed an autonomous system for seeking out and mapping hotspots of biodiversity on coral reefs with unprecedented precision, offering a powerful new tool for studying and protecting some of the ocean's most valuable ecosystems. The work, published in
Technologies, including chatbots, promise to make life easier. But removing the friction, or effort involved in thinking, has costs.
The pleasant, earthy sound of a marimba is a key component in the modern orchestra, but their high prices, ranging from $1,000 to over $25,000, sometimes make them cost-prohibitive for schools and students.
Valleyspeak, uptalk, vocal fry: These are all examples of speech patterns generally assigned to young women and often stereotyped to imply a lack of confidence or intelligence. At least one of these assumed patterns, however, is false.
A daily multivitamin may help slow biological aging, according to researchers studying older adults in a large clinical trial. After two years, participants taking multivitamins showed slower aging in several DNA-based “epigenetic clocks,” with the effect equal to about four
To effectively protect biodiversity in an era of climate change, ecologists first have to know where animal and plant species are located and then be able to predict what habitats will be available to them in the future. To help them in these tasks, the scientists use species
Partially burnt trees still standing after a wildfire are typically felled and burned, but a US start-up claims burying them instead will trap the carbon underground for centuries
It’s more awake and alive to the outside world under anesthesia than we thought The post Your Brain Can Learn Things When You’re Unconscious appeared first on Nautilus .
Scientists studying mysterious ultra-powerful cosmic rays have uncovered a surprising hidden pattern that could finally help explain where these particles come from. Using the DAMPE space telescope, researchers found that cosmic ray particles—from tiny protons to heavy iron
Deep beneath Portugal’s São Jorge Island, a massive surge of magma silently pushed upward from more than 20 kilometers underground in 2022, triggering thousands of earthquakes and briefly raising fears of a volcanic eruption. Scientists discovered that the molten rock climbed
A new analysis of student test scores reveals that American schools were in a "learning recession" for seven years before the COVID-19 pandemic, with student test scores in math and reading on a steady decline since 2013. This reversal ended two decades of progress, according
