OceanXplorer: a 'one-stop shop' for marine research
This month, AFP reported from OceanXplorer, a high-tech marine research vessel owned by billionaire-backed nonprofit OceanX, as it studied seamounts off Indonesia.
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'So little we know': In submersibles revealing the deep sea
A dome-fronted submersible sinks beneath the waves off Indonesia, heading down nearly 1,000 meters in search of new species, plastic-eating microbes and compounds that could one day make medicines.
Historic winter storm kills at least 10 across US
A monster storm barreling across swaths of the United States has killed at least 10 people and prompted warnings to stay off the roads, mass flight cancellations and power outages, as freezing conditions persisted into Monday.
To reach net-zero, reverse current policy and protect the largest trees in the Amazon, say scientists
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2015, countries around the world committed to striving towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of the 21st century. But achieving this goal is difficult, even for countries boasting extensive forests that could,
Vanishing birds across Norway's agricultural landscape may signal deeper changes
In Europe, it is well documented that bird species associated with agricultural landscapes have experienced a sharp decline over several decades. Since 1980, populations have been reduced by around 60%. New Norwegian figures show that the same negative trend is also evident in
Banal but brutal: Career anxiety as a driving force behind authoritarianism
Career pressure—not ideology—causes military officers to protect or overthrow dictators. New research from the Department of Political Science shows that ambition and anxiety can transform "ordinary men" into the regime's ruthless henchmen—or into those who bury the regime.
Innovative catalyst enables CO₂-free production of hydrogen and formate from waste byproduct glycerol
Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have developed a method that gives access to the valuable raw materials formate and hydrogen from the waste product glycerol. Formates are the salts of formic acid and are widely used in the chemical industry, while
Arctic Weather Satellite paves way for constellation observation
Already recognized for its excellence and even adopted for operational weather forecasting, the European Space Agency's Arctic Weather Satellite has now fulfilled its most important role. This small prototype mission has succeeded in paving the way for a new constellation of
Period pain and heavy bleeding cost the Australian economy billions every year in lost productivity
While period pain and heavy menstrual bleeding are common, they're often dealt with privately. Yet they take a profound toll on a person's health—and finances.
Chandra catalog now contains 1.3 million X-ray detections across the sky
Like a recording artist who has had a long career, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has a "back catalog" of cosmic recordings that is impossible to replicate. To access these X-ray tracks, or observations, the ultimate compendium has been developed: the Chandra Source Catalog
CEO accents play role in everyday investors' decision-making, but not professionals, study finds
Within the S&P 500, only a small fraction of chief executive officers speak with an accent or come from foreign backgrounds. The figure hovers around 10%. However, their share of the market is substantial.
We interviewed Australian women who sexually abused children—this is what we learned
Child sexual abuse cases involving female perpetrators are confronting and distressing. When these cases make the news, they often provoke shock and outrage.
Breakthrough laser technique holds quantum matter in stable packets
For the first time, physicists have generated and observed stable bright matter-wave solitons with attractive interactions within a grid of laser light.
South African San rock art reveals trance dances and initiation ceremonies
In a study published in Telestes, Dr. Joshua Kumbani and Dr. Margarita Díaz-Andreu categorized the various dance scenes depicted in South African rock art, drawing on ethnographic sources, published studies, and the comprehensive SARADA database to identify dance scenes, thus
A new study of lunar rocks suggests Earth's water might not have come from meteorites
For a long time, scientists assumed that Earth's water was delivered by asteroids and comets billions of years ago. This coincided with the Late Heavy Bombardment (ca. 4.1 to 3.8 billion years ago), a period when planets and bodies in the solar system experienced a much higher
Bacteria use wrapping flagella to tunnel through microscopic passages, research reveals
Researchers have discovered how bacteria break through spaces barely larger than themselves, by wrapping their flagella around their bodies and moving forward. Using a microfluidic device that mimics insect gut channels, the team revealed a remarkable "flagellar wrapping"
A new dataset exposes biodiversity loss hidden in global staple food trade
Global food trade is essential for food security, but its ecological consequences often remain unseen. A new data paper published in One Ecosystem introduces a global long-term dataset, quantifying biodiversity loss embodied in the international trade of staple food crops. As
Superconducting nanowire memory array achieves significantly lower error rate
Quantum computers, systems that process information leveraging quantum mechanical effects, will require faster and energy-efficient memory components, which will allow them to perform well on complex tasks. Superconducting memories are promising memory devices that are made
Yes, feral cats and foxes really have driven many Australian mammals to extinction
Millions of years of isolation have shaped Australia's extraordinary mammal fauna into species unlike anywhere else in the world, from platypus to koalas and wombats. Tragically, Australia is the world leader in mammal extinctions.
New DNA analysis rewrites the story of the Beachy Head Woman
A Roman-era skeleton discovered in southern England has finally given up her secrets after more than a decade of debate. Known as the Beachy Head Woman, she was once thought to have roots in sub-Saharan Africa or the Mediterranean—an idea that sparked global attention. But new,
Novel biosensor enables real-time tracking of iron (II) in living cells
Iron is an essential trace element in biological cells. The concentration of the element and its so-called redox state—it can exist either in a doubly ionized state as iron (II) (Fe2+) or a triply ionized state as iron (III) (Fe3+)—play a key role in metabolic processes such as
Researchers tested AI against 100,000 humans on creativity
A massive new study comparing more than 100,000 people with today’s most advanced AI systems delivers a surprising result: generative AI can now beat the average human on certain creativity tests. Models like GPT-4 showed strong performance on tasks designed to measure original
A new look at trends in human deaths due to climate extremes
A new study of climate extremes since 1988 finds that many regions have seen increases in deaths due to floods, storms and extreme temperatures. In human terms, the harm comes not just from deaths, but also from lost labor and property damage. (And this doesn't consider damage
Ancient people carried a wild potato across the American Southwest
Long before farming took hold, ancient Indigenous peoples of the American Southwest were already shaping the future of a wild potato. New evidence shows that this small, hardy plant was deliberately carried across the Four Corners region more than 10,000 years ago, helping it
Scientists twist tiny crystals to control electricity
Researchers have developed a technique that allows them to carve complex three dimensional nanodevices directly from single crystals. To demonstrate its power, they sculpted microscopic helices from a magnetic material and found that the structures behave like switchable
Forty years of forest data reveal a changing Amazon
After analyzing 40 years of tree records across the Andes and Amazon, researchers found that climate change is reshaping tropical forests in uneven ways. Some regions are steadily losing tree species, especially where conditions are hotter and drier, while others are seeing
The Mount Maunganui tragedy reminds us landslides are NZ's deadliest natural hazard
The tragic events in the Bay of Plenty this week are a stark reminder that landslides remain the deadliest of the many natural hazards New Zealand faces. A large landslide swept through the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park at the base of Mauao, triggering a major rescue
Babies who attend daycare share 'good' germs, too
Socializing at a young age helps to develop greater diversity in children’s microbiomes, according to an analysis of baby-to-baby transmission of gut bacteria
Quantum physicists just supersized Schrödinger’s cat
A record-breaking experiment shows that a cluster of thousands of atoms can act like a wave as well as a particle
Want to live longer? The tiniest of lifestyle changes can dramatically boost longevity
New research suggests that getting even just a few more minutes of sleep and exercise and eating an extra cup of vegetables every day can significantly boost longevity
Researchers develop high-performance fluoroborate crystals for deep-ultraviolet lasers
Deep-ultraviolet (DUV, λ < 200 nm) all-solid-state lasers, essential to modern scientific research and industrial manufacturing, are widely applied in fields from material analysis to lithography. Their commercialization depends heavily on high-performance nonlinear optical
Teaching horses to 'speak up' with symbols: Project aims to boost animal welfare
In recent years, revelations of unethical horse handling at elite levels of horsesport have drawn attention to an uncomfortable question: Do we really understand how our horses are feeling? According to Norwegian and Swedish researchers in the project HorseVoice, the answer is
Scientists call for urgent action as dangerous amoebas spread globally
Scientists are warning that a little-known group of microbes called free-living amoebae may pose a growing global health threat. Found in soil and water, some species can survive extreme heat, chlorine, and even modern water systems—conditions that kill most germs. One infamous