A study published in Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa sheds new light on the westward spread of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) agriculture in prehistoric West Africa. A recent survey documented its earliest known occurrence in the Lac de Guiers basin of Northern
Rapid ocean warming is likely to make tropical cyclone rainfall more intense and longer lasting, increasing flood risks in parts of the North Atlantic region. A new study led by Newcastle University using satellite data shows that tropical cyclones and their post-tropical
Thirty-four years after Cornell University scientists first conceived it, the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST) now rises above the Atacama Desert, near the summit of Cerro Chajnantor in Chile. FYST will help answer some of the most important questions in astronomy,
Researchers from the Monash University School of Physics and Astronomy have flipped a long-held assumption in optics, showing that deliberately introducing controlled disorder into ultra-thin optical devices can dramatically increase their power and versatility, without making
Artemis II was one small step in another giant leap The post What Comes After Artemis II appeared first on Nautilus .
When we watch videos or ask AI questions, enormous amounts of data are constantly moving inside computers. In particular, data centers that support AI must process and transfer vast amounts of data at very high speeds. However, current computers have a fundamental limitation:
Roman painters commissioned at the end of the 1st century to decorate the walls of the Domus of Salvius in present-day Cartagena could hardly have imagined that their technical expertise would still attract attention twenty centuries later. Analysis of wall paintings from one
As the Orion spacecraft hurtles home, friction caused by reentry into Earth's atmosphere will drastically decrease its speed from a potential 25,000 miles per hour (40,000 kilometers per hour).
Cases of Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) are extremely rare in humans, but in those who develop disease, the outcome is severe, almost always resulting in fatal encephalitis or inflammation in the brain. This zoonotic virus belongs to the order Mononegavirales, which includes
Intracellular transport is a vital process that allows cells to move proteins and other molecules to specific locations. This process is especially important in neurons, which have highly polarized structures with long extensions such as axons and dendrites. For neurons to
From the Wright brothers' first flight to the speedy development of COVID-19 vaccines, collaboration has been key to innovation. Paradoxically, even competitors can benefit from collaboration—when they hold different pieces of the same puzzle.
Most polychaete species spend their lives in burrows in the seabed. However, adult individuals of two species, Alitta succinea and Platynereis dumerilii, leave their burrows to spawn during warm summer nights around the full moon.
Millions of students nationwide use text-supplemented audiobooks, learning tools that are thought to help those who struggle with reading keep up in the classroom. A new study by scientists at MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research finds that many students do benefit from
A lot of research goes into determining how to best predict the next eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano. Part of this involves pinning down how the magma migration system functions and evolves over time. The exact mechanism driving Yellowstone's volcanism and how magma
A new type of radiofrequency trap can capture particles with extremely different requirements and could theoretically hold both types of particles at the same time. Researchers in the group of Professor Dmitry Budker from the PRISMA++ Cluster of Excellence and the Helmholtz
Inspired by the collective dynamics of bacteria like E. coli and Bacillus subtilis, researchers at the University of Twente asked a simple but fundamental question: what happens when artificial swimmers are made rod-shaped rather than spherical, and how does shape control how
Restoring forests, wetlands and peatlands could help defend national borders as well as tackle climate change, according to new research from the University of East London (UEL). The study introduces the concept of "defensive rewilding"—the intentional, pre- or mid-conflict
Supereruptions are extremely large volcanic eruptions that eject more than 1,000 cubic kilometers of magma, rock and ash. They are among the most hazardous geological events on Earth and have profound impacts on the environment, climate, and human society. For this reason,
Their dramatic grand finale fast approaching, Artemis II's astronauts aimed for a splashdown in the Pacific on Friday to close out humanity's first voyage to the moon in more than half a century.
Researchers at DTU have developed a new method that can reduce the time needed to find new bacteria for fermentation. They have now identified a bacterium that can be used both for acidification and to increase the vitamin B2 content of soya drinks.
Do our norms around sex presentation uphold a constrictive gender regime? In a new article in Ethics, Ophelia Vedder writes that the abolition of hegemonic gender roles must involve the elimination of "compulsory sex-marking," or the coercive social practice of signaling sexual
Award winning duo James S. A. Corey show humanity’s struggle with staggering alien power in their latest installment of the Captive’s War series
Evolution works over millennia. Climate change is moving far faster. That mismatch is killing some of the planet's most vital ecosystems, from California's towering redwoods to the seagrass meadows along its coast, both of which store vast amounts of carbon and support complex
The real climate risks to Ireland from changes to the Atlantic currents that sustain its mild climate are obscured by exaggerated claims in media headlines and movies, according to Dr. Gerard McCarthy, a Maynooth University (MU) oceanographer at the Irish Climate Analysis and
All processes such as wound healing, hair growth, and the replacement of old cells with new ones depend on cell division. During this process, chromosomes inside the cell must be evenly divided between two daughter cells. Even slight errors can lead to cellular abnormalities. A
A new calculation helps narrow down the mass of the W boson, one of the heaviest fundamental particles in the universe
On Friday these four astronauts and their Orion spacecraft will splash down in the Pacific Ocean after a 10-day mission around the moon
New research by an interdisciplinary team in Lithuania has revealed a promising and unconventional approach to cartilage regeneration. Using extracellular vesicles derived from menstrual blood stromal cells, the researchers demonstrated their potential to stimulate cartilage
Two back-to-back droughts in 2023 and 2024 caused the most severe decline in forest moisture and biomass (the total mass of living vegetation such as leaves, trunks and branches) in the Amazon since 1992, according to a study published in the journal PNAS. And many of the
Recent seismic imaging off Vancouver Island has revealed something extraordinary: a tear in the subducting oceanic plate beneath the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The finding briefly raised the public's hopes that Cascadia might be "shutting down," potentially lowering earthquake
Astronomers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have employed the Lijiang 2.4-m telescope to perform optical photometric and spectroscopic observations of a core-collapse Type IIP supernova designated SN 2024abfl. Results of the observational campaign, published April 2
Coral reefs are important in many ways, but they also play a major role in protecting much of the world's coastlines from erosion by blocking up to 90% of incoming wave energy. During a tropical cyclone, the waves breaking on reefs can be much larger than normal. This can
After looping around the moon, the Artemis II crew — and their capsule’s heat shield — are preparing for the mission’s final major test: coming home.
Geoscientists have long relied on different forms of lead to understand Earth's geological history and how it was created over billions of years. However, there is a mystery that has been puzzling scientists for decades: Earth is missing a massive amount of lead that ought to
Our tales of AI developing the will to survive, commandeer resources, and manipulate people say more about us than they do about language models. The post Why Do We Tell Ourselves Scary Stories About AI? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
In a three-year project, researchers at NIBIO have tested how biochar affects potato yields and soil quality under Norwegian conditions. The results show that biochar has little effect on yield, but that it may offer other benefits.
Earth's glaciers are continuing to shrink at alarming rates, with new international research revealing that 2025 was among the worst years on record for global ice loss. Published in the Climate Chronicles collection of Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, the study provides the
Alzheimer’s isn’t just one problem—it’s a tangled mix of biology, aging, and overall health. That’s why drugs targeting a single factor have fallen short, even as new treatments show modest benefits. Scientists are now pushing toward multi-pronged strategies, from gene editing
The European Space Agency has achieved a European first with Celeste, successfully transmitting a navigation signal from low Earth orbit, following the launch of the mission's first satellites on March 28.
Southern California is home to a flying black-and-yellow treasure. While commercial honeybee hives nationwide are collapsing under attack from deadly parasites, a unique hybrid bee found only in this part of the state has demonstrated the ability to survive.
Shock waves from tiny black holes in the early universe could explain how antimatter became so rare while matter is common.
A common eye-health nutrient, zeaxanthin, may also help the body fight cancer more effectively. Scientists discovered it strengthens T cells and enhances the impact of immunotherapy treatments. Found in everyday vegetables and supplements, it’s safe, accessible, and shows
Scientists have proposed a surprising new way to detect gravitational waves—by observing how they change the light emitted by atoms. These waves can subtly shift photon frequencies in different directions, leaving behind a detectable signature. The effect doesn’t change how
As drought conditions intensify across the American West and the impact of climate change accelerates, cities such as Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas may face a sobering reality. While it certainly helps, water conservation may no longer be enough.
Deep underground in a Canadian mine, a refrigerator nearly 1,000 times colder than outer space has just reached its target temperature—a milestone that brings scientists one step closer to potentially detecting dark matter, the invisible material thought to make up most of the
A strange new kind of superconductivity has been uncovered in uranium ditelluride (UTe2), where electricity flows with zero resistance—but only under extremely strong magnetic fields that should normally destroy it. Even more surprising, the superconductivity disappears at
The acquisition of the radio frequency signal from the Artemis II crewed mission to the moon by NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) is indicated by the peak in the data signal shown on the top computer screen.
Researchers have documented several cases of spatial orientation in tarantulas living both in trees and in underground burrows. Spatial orientation refers to the ability of an animal to understand where it is in three-dimensional space and how to navigate purposefully within
After a 10-day mission around the moon, the Artemis II astronauts will have traveled nearly 700,000 miles
Perovskite solar cells shouldn’t work as well as they do—but they do. Scientists have now discovered that defects inside the material actually help, creating networks that separate and guide electric charges efficiently. Using a novel imaging method, they revealed hidden