In medieval England, peasants on some estates were entitled to a range of sick, annual and bereavement leave that could rival those of many workers in the UK today.
A Swedish plano-convex ingot once thought to be from the Bronze Age was revealed through chemical and isotopic testing to belong to the Iron Age. Its composition closely matches Iron Age finds from Poland, leading researchers to uncover new evidence of long-distance connections
A pair of snowy owls spotted along a Lake Michigan beach has drawn curious crowds and sparked happy speculation about how long the Arctic birds of prey will call Chicago home.
A tiny wearable sensor designed for thoroughbred racehorses can identify horses at elevated risk of catastrophic injury, according to a new study led by researchers at Washington State University.
The COP30 climate summit has drawn to a close after two weeks in the Amazonian city of Belem where protests, street marches and even a fire caused unexpected moments of drama.
Monk parakeets ease into new friendships, slowly approaching strangers to avoid aggressive encounters. Researchers watched how birds shared space, groomed each other, and escalated to deeper social bonds over time. The results show a clear pattern of cautious exploration
Climate activism takes many forms, but one of the most visible is so-called disruptive protests. These protests are characterized by interruptions to everyday life or specific cultural events. Examples of disruptive protests include blocking construction works, throwing paint
About 4.5 billion years ago, a colossal impact between the young Earth and a mysterious planetary body called Theia changed everything—reshaping Earth, forming the Moon, and scattering clues across space rocks. By examining subtle isotopic fingerprints in Earth and Moon
Researchers have uncovered a surprising way the brain switches pain on, revealing that neurons can release an enzyme outside the cell that activates pain signals without disrupting normal movement or sensation. This enzyme, called VLK, modifies nearby proteins in a way that
A joint research team has made important progress in the field of photoneutron cross section measurement. The team proposed a substitution measurement method that avoids the use of expensive and hard-to-prepare high-purity isotope targets, successfully measuring the
Scientists have created a live-cell DNA sensor that reveals how damage appears and disappears inside living cells, capturing the entire repair sequence as it unfolds. Instead of freezing cells at different points, researchers can now watch damage flare up, track repair proteins
Researchers discovered that raising the protein Sox9 can help the brain’s astrocytes clear out toxic plaque buildup linked to Alzheimer’s. In mouse models that already showed memory problems, activating these cells improved cognitive performance. The treatment also reduced
Ideas about Vikings and Norse mythology come mostly from much later medieval sources, leaving plenty of room for reinterpretation. Over centuries, writers, politicians, and artists reshaped these stories to reflect their own worldviews, from romantic heroism to dangerous
From woolly mammoths to giant sloths, via some lesser-known ice-age beasts like 'killer koalas', the visuals in this documentary are simply astounding
Scientists flew the XL-Calibur telescope on a high-altitude balloon to measure polarized X-rays from Cygnus X-1. These measurements reveal details about the chaotic, superheated material swirling around black holes. The team also captured data from the Crab pulsar and achieved
Researchers have pinpointed a super-Earth in the habitable zone of a nearby M-dwarf star only 18 light-years away. Sophisticated instruments detected the planet’s gentle tug on its star, hinting at a rocky world that could hold liquid water. Future mega-telescopes may be able
A massive solar storm in May 2024 gave scientists an unprecedented look at how Earth’s protective plasma layer collapses under intense space weather. With the Arase satellite in a perfect observing position, researchers watched the plasmasphere shrink to a fraction of its usual
Researchers taught young loggerhead turtles to associate certain magnetic fields with feeding, prompting a distinctive dance when they recognized the signal. After a magnetic pulse briefly disrupted their ability to feel magnetic forces, the turtles no longer performed the
An increasingly strong case is being made to bring inequality into discussions about climate change. The logic behind this has been set out by leading international institutions such as the International Labor Organization, the UN Environmental Program and the Network for
Fifteen years ago, when I started studying the international dating industry, few people took the subject seriously. The term "mail-order bride" was treated as a punch line—something outdated, associated with lonely men and poor women who migrated from Eastern Europe, Asia or
This year's COP30 comes after the international Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) finally acquired the required number of ratification votes by United Nations member states.
For over 200 years, native oysters (Ostrea edulis) have been absent in Dublin Bay. Once abundant along the Irish coast, they thrived in the sheltered estuaries and tidal flats that shaped the city's maritime life.
