Cute, green, and sporting two sprigs of hair on his head, a mischievous baby dinosaur named Dooly is one of the most beloved cartoon characters in South Korea. So, when researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and the Korean Dinosaur Research Center discovered a new
Jurors grappling with complex legal jargon are more likely to vote guilty while coming away less confident in their own performance and the judicial system, according to a new study published in the Journal of Applied Communication Research.
Used in mice, it induces fasting, but by an unusual mechanism The post Is This Metabolic Molecule from Pythons the Next Big Weight-Loss Drug? appeared first on Nautilus .
The United States and Mexico have been in a historic megadrought since the turn of the century. For more than 25 years, the American Southwest has faced the severe social and economic consequences of this megadrought—including a $1.1 billion agricultural loss in California in
Villagers on a remote island in Papua New Guinea have been warned not to eat fish until scientists can identify the cause of thousands of deaths of marine creatures and hundreds of cases of illness.
Heavy social media use contributes to a stark decline in well-being among young people, with the effects particularly worrying in teenage girls in English-speaking countries and Western Europe, according to the World Happiness Report 2026 published Thursday.
We are constantly told to watch out for the health risks of eating ultra-processed food, but should you be worried every time you sit down for a meal? Sam Wong takes a look at the evidence
For years, people with prediabetes have been told the same thing: lose weight or risk developing diabetes. But new research flips that idea on its head, showing that blood sugar can return to normal even without shedding pounds. The key isn’t just how much fat you carry—it’s
Tropical peatlands, some of the planet’s largest underground carbon stores, are now burning at levels never seen in at least 2,000 years. By analyzing charcoal preserved in peat across multiple continents, scientists discovered that fires had actually been declining for more
Scientists recreated a life-size oviraptor nest to understand how these dinosaurs hatched their eggs. Their experiments showed the parent likely couldn’t heat all the eggs directly, meaning sunlight played a key role. This uneven heating could cause eggs in the same nest to
Changing how people shower, report leaks and flush toilets could help close England's projected five billion liter daily water shortfall—but only if the water sector builds the evidence base to make it work, according to a new report led by the University of Surrey. The report
K-12 teachers and students across the country are increasingly using AI in and out of classrooms, whether it is teachers turning to AI to refine lesson plans or students asking AI to help them research a particular topic.
In a new, survey-based study of three kinds of "designer" crossbreed dogs, cockapoos, cavapoos and labradoodles, all three showed more undesirable behaviors than at least one of their purebred progenitor breeds, with cockapoos displaying the most unwanted habits. Gina Bryson of
Why not get a cocker spaniel or poodle instead? The post The Science Is in: No One Likes Your Cockapoo appeared first on Nautilus .
Students who attend schools with smartphone bans report missing sleep to make up for "lost time" on their phones but benefit from more face-to-face socializing in the school day, as a new UK study reveals a mixed picture of how phones affect secondary school students'
The trajectory of base editing has been remarkable, progressing from the laboratory to patient care, treating debilitating or terminal illnesses, in less than a decade. A type of gene editing that makes chemical changes to our DNA, base editing was developed by Alexis Komor,
Panic buying doesn't just respond to shortages—it creates them. And according to a University of the Sunshine Coast behavioral scientist, the lessons learned during COVID-19 remain critical for preventing future buying frenzies.
New analyses of ancient ice from Antarctica and the air contained inside it are extending the history of Earth's climate records and expanding researchers' understanding of how the planet has changed over the last 3 million years.
Scientists have mapped the genetics of cancer in cats for the first time at scale, uncovering major overlaps with human cancers. Key mutations—like those linked to breast cancer—appear in both species, and some human cancer drugs may also work in cats. Because pets share our
Cameras that photograph insects overnight and AI that identifies them are among a new generation of tools that could finally allow scientists to track whether the world's plan to save nature is working for its most overlooked creatures. A global team of scientists has found
Cells in our bodies produce RNA based on genetic information stored in DNA, and RNA serves as a blueprint for making proteins. Researchers at KAIST have discovered a new phenomenon: Removing "circular RNA" that accumulates in cells as we age can slow down aging and extend
These egg-laying oddities are more birdlike than previously thought The post Platypus Anatomy Just Got Weirder appeared first on Nautilus .
For modern residents of the Levant, the "Red Sea Trough" usually brings a brief, dusty transition between seasons. But 127,000 years ago, this same weather pattern may have been the literal key to human history. A new study, led by Ph.D. student Efraim Bril, Prof. Adi Torfstein
Antidepressants and other psychoactive drugs are designed to affect the human brain. But after they enter the water system in excrement or unused drugs flushed down the drain, traces of these compounds can enter the environment in biosolids—the nutrient-rich material left over
As climate change reshapes Arctic food webs, ringed seals will swim into risky polar bear territory if the menu is varied enough. This is the central finding of a new study published in Ecology Letters. UBC researchers tracked 26 ringed seals and 39 polar bears in eastern
Researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, the University of Hamburg, Freie Universität Berlin and the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT show in a recent publication in the journal Nature Climate Change that television in Germany remains one
Researchers at the University of Missouri have discovered certain proteins may be the key to saving plants' lives when multiple stressors hit at the same time. This knowledge may one day lead to crops that are more resistant to harsh conditions brought on by multiple stressors
Cycling might be one of the simplest ways for older adults to stay healthier, longer. A 10-year study in Japan found that seniors who rode bicycles had lower risks of needing long-term care and dying—especially those who didn’t drive. Continuing or even starting cycling later
Glass appears to be a solid, but in theory it sometimes behaves more like an extremely slow liquid. Physicists in Utrecht now show that glass-like structures can also exist in equilibrium, which is something many theories say should be impossible.
Research by Cardiff University has found that playing with Barbie dolls can help reach key milestones in developing empathy and social understanding during childhood. Doll play was found to be beneficial for both boys and girls, and is particularly valuable for those
Researchers at the University of St Andrews have unveiled two breakthrough techniques for chemically recycling and upcycling nitrile‑rubber products, such as disposable gloves, seals, and industrial parts, into new materials that are also capable of capturing carbon dioxide.
A team led by La Trobe University has drawn inspiration from nature to develop a breakthrough sensor that can rapidly track tiny molecular changes in blood, paving the way to real-time, personalized medicine. The discovery overcomes one of the biggest barriers in blood testing:
Entomologists have discovered a new species of mining bee that has an unusually tight relationship with cenizo, the official state shrub of Texas. Silas Bossert, assistant professor in Washington State University's Department of Entomology, worked with colleagues in Texas and
The conversion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into carbon monoxide (CO), an industrial feedstock, has attracted significant attention as a key step for producing synthetic fuels and chemical products. However, because CO₂ is a chemically stable molecule, the reaction typically
Affordable, green energy production has long been promoted as a means to accelerate the decarbonization of sectors such as heavy industry, long-duration energy storage, and transportation, which are difficult to electrify. Such decarbonization would reduce greenhouse gas
The pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) is the most devastating parasite of pine forests across Eurasia. To combat the pinewood nematode, European regulation requires that Member States clear-cut all susceptible tree species within a 500 meter radius of infested
Researchers at UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability have developed the most high-resolution statewide maps of California's kelp forests to date, giving researchers, conservationists and community members unprecedented access to information essential to
A severe drought, powerful Santa Ana winds and a not-fully-extinguished brushfire combined to create the most destructive wildfire in the history of Los Angeles in early 2025. The Palisades Fire, which fully ignited on Jan. 7, destroyed Los Angeles' Pacific Palisades
Hydrological models represent water movement in natural systems, and they are important for water resource planning and management. But the models depend on reliable input data for weather factors, and precipitation can be very difficult to measure and represent accurately. A
Murphy’s Law was in full effect The post The Comedy of Errors That Was the First-Ever Space Walk appeared first on Nautilus .
Utilization of biomass as a chemical resource is a promising strategy for establishing a circular economy. Cellulose, a polymer composed of glucose units, is the most abundant form of biomass, and glucose is a versatile feedstock for chemicals. However, cellulose is a highly
A new study, led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Columbia University, identifies a diverse set of molecules released by marine phytoplankton that fuel microbial life and help drive Earth's carbon cycle. While scientists know that carbon is moved through an
Efforts to prevent pathogenic contaminations such as salmonella in dry food processing facilities will take a step forward through new research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst describing a novel chemical mixture for sanitation in low-moisture environments.
An international team led by University of Alicante (UA) scientists has found that increasing the share of organic farming may improve crop yields and help maintain soil health and biodiversity. Published in the journal Nature Sustainability, the study concludes that landscapes
What will the computers of tomorrow look like? Chances are good that spintronics will play a decisive role in the next generation of computers. In spintronics, the intrinsic angular momentum of an electron (the spin) is used to store, process and transmit data. This technology
Proteins are the tiny machines that keep our cells running, and how long they last in the cell often determines how well they can do their job. One important part of a protein is its tail end, known as the C-terminus. Although this region may seem small, it can vary in many ways.
Researchers at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and collaborating institutions recently built a generative AI model that can recreate molecular structures from the movement of the molecule's ions after they are blasted apart by X-rays, a technique
Brown dwarfs get a bad rap in the stellar world, often labeled as "failed stars" for their inability to sustain nuclear fusion at their cores. The mass of these objects falls between planets and stars, ranging from 13 to 80 times the mass of Jupiter. Because they aren't massive
Dr. Amy Baird, Professor of Biology at the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD), and her colleagues are seeking to change the attitude of biologists toward the meaning of taxonomic categories above the species level with their paper "The 2 Sigma Genus Concept in mammalogy:
An international study shows how climate change is reshaping plant communities across Europe. Published in Nature, the study analyzed a unique database of more than 6,000 vegetation plots across forests, grasslands and mountain summits in Europe, with observations spanning
