Identified as the most complete Australopithecus fossil discovered to date, "Little Foot" was buried in sediments whose movement and weight caused fractures and deformations, making analysis of its skull—and more particularly its face—difficult. This anatomical region, which is
In 2021, a technology developed at the University of Michigan, called Seq-Scope, revolutionized the ability to map gene activity within intact tissue at microscopic resolution, enabling researchers to measure all expressed mRNA molecules and determine precisely where they are
Children who received Early Intervention (EI) services before age 3 were more likely to meet third-grade academic standards in math and English language arts (ELA), according to a study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the New York City
Adaptation is essential for survival. Across species, it occurs over many generations through evolution and natural selection. Individual animals, however, can also adapt within their own lifetimes—through learning. For many species, humans included, this process is vital.
Although plastic particles in the air are increasingly coming into focus, knowledge about their distribution and effects is still limited. Chemical analyses from Leipzig now provide details from Germany for the first time: Around 4% of the particulate matter consists of
Researchers at Arizona State University have uncovered a key scientific principle that governs how what's coated on the surfaces of engineered nanoparticles may ultimately control how they work in our bodies. In a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of
A comprehensive 30-year study led by University of California, Irvine glaciologists has produced a circumpolar ice grounding line migration map of Antarctica. An amalgamation of three decades of satellite data compiled and analyzed by the researchers revealed that while most of
Members of the arachnid class—think spiders, scorpions and harvestmen (daddy long legs)—are often the targets of revulsion, disgust and fear. Yet, they are crucial for ecosystems to thrive. Given the crash in worldwide biodiversity, including what some call the "insect
The robot pioneer who gets under our skin The post How Human Is Human? appeared first on Nautilus .
In the forests of the southeastern United States, dense tree cover dominates most landscapes. That's why the Appalachian Trail is sometimes nicknamed "The Green Tunnel." But avid hikers know that often in the Southeast, they'll emerge from the green tunnel.
A new article introduces a science-based operational framework developed by researchers from several universities and the Danish Biodiversity Council. The framework can help countries assess their genuine national contributions to protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030. When
A study of changes to the habitats of more than 700 species reveals massive biodiversity loss—but also possibilities for restoration. "There is a lot of talk about deforestation and biodiversity loss in the Amazon, but even here in Colombia there is much less said about the
Whether it's a sudden dash across the garage or silhouette in a backyard web, spiders evoke fear in many people. But researchers don't have a clear picture of why, exactly, this phobia is so common. An interdisciplinary team at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln is using
The glacier located near Sunlight Peak, Wyo., has been its icy self since the Yellowstone region's last major glaciation occurred some 20,000 years ago. The bulk of Sunlight's ice has remained ensconced in its northern Rocky Mountain keep for many thousands of years. But that
Plants are fast-tracking their own evolution by "plugging in" genetic code stolen from their neighbors, according to new research that reveals the secret to their own successful genetic engineering. The study, led by Catherine Collins, Dr. Luke Dunning and Dr. Lara Pereira from
A new interdisciplinary study published in Nature Communications provides the first detailed insights, from a biomolecular and archaeological perspective, into the lives of people living in Central Europe during the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1300–800 BCE), the so-called Urnfield
The WHO warned countries in the Northern Hemisphere to be prepared to fight flu viruses H1N1, H3N2 and the B/Victoria lineage
More than four out of every five dead black vultures examined by University of Georgia researchers tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, according to a new study published in Scientific Reports. The actual toll of the virus on the integral species is likely
A new accounting of nitrogen pollution in the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) reveals a significant decline in recent decades, suggesting positive momentum for water quality goals in local watersheds and the Gulf of Mexico. Surprisingly, the University of Illinois
"Sunlight" beams off a partly cloudy Atlantic Ocean just after sunrise as the International Space Station orbited 263 miles above on March 5, 2025. This is an example of sunglint, an optical phenomenon that occurs when sunlight reflects off the surface of water at the same
A provocative new international study published in Austral Ecology warns the massive "broadcast baiting" campaign currently used to combat Red Imported Fire Ants (RIFA) in south-east Queensland may be doing more harm than good.
While sifting through the extensive data collected by NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft over the last decade, scientists discovered a familiar type of electromagnetic signal commonly caused by lightning. This rare find represents the first direct
Shed antlers offer a valuable mineral supplement for moms The post The Surprising Reason Female Caribou Grow Antlers appeared first on Nautilus .
A “digital gut” predicted which probiotics and high‑fiber diets would take hold in people's guts and produce healthier outcomes.
It's been about eight months since the Vera Rubin Observatory (VRO) saw first light. Now the telescope is scanning the night sky to detect transient changes and sending alerts to astronomers and observatories around the world so they can perform follow-up observations. This
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the hottest place on Earth for the briefest of moments during an experiment. Now, it can be one of the brightest places thanks to the Advanced Radiographic Capability (ARC), NIF's laser-within-a-laser.
The deep sea is a dark, cold place. It's just a few degrees above freezing, subject to immense pressure, and beyond the reach of the sunlight needed for photosynthesis. The life that does survive in such a hostile place must find a different way to thrive.
If you gathered every American with a prison record into one contiguous territory and admitted it to the union, you would create the 12th-largest state. It would be home to at least 7 million to 8 million people and hold a dozen votes in the Electoral College.
The house sparrow is a highly invasive pest in North Carolina, and bluebird enthusiasts frequently throw their eggs out and remove their nests to keep them from overtaking the nestboxes that bluebirds call home. A new study puts those discarded eggs to use in detecting heavy
Known as “ La Calima, ” this desert dust plume could hit Spain, Portugal and France, bringing with it grit-laden, rust-colored rainfall
On a hazy day in June 2023, doctoral students Trifosa Simamora and Timothy Boycott noticed that the birds at their field site had gone quiet. Now in a study published in Biological Conservation, they show that the culprit was smoke from that summer's record-breaking Canadian
Melting ice is an emblem of climate change. For sea ice, the Arctic has been grabbing most of the headlines for its truly alarming rate of decline. But recently Antarctica has followed suit.
A Dutch lock is closed for the spring, and its employees want you to tell them when migrating fish come knocking by ringing a digital doorbell
Teens need eight to 10 hours of sleep each night. A large majority get less than that, according to a national survey of U.S. high school students.
An international team of astronomers has carried out photometric and spectroscopic observations of SN 2024abvb—a recently discovered supernova of a rare Type Icn. The new observational campaign yields important information regarding the properties and nature of this supernova.
Across the U.S., hundreds of sites on land or in lakes and rivers are heavily contaminated with hazardous waste produced by human activity. Many of these places, designated as Superfund sites by the Environmental Protection Agency, can be found in Houston, Texas, the city where
“Little Foot” is the most complete Australopithecus fossil ever found. And now we finally have an idea of what this group of ancient hominins looked like
Deep into the Panamanian night, the forest hums with sound. Chirping insects form a steady backdrop, rain softly trickles from leaves. Somewhere above a stream, frogs call into the darkness. But I am not there to see this scene. It's already passed. What I hold now is a small,
Physicists are scrambling to understand why dark energy is weakening. In a surprising twist, we must now reconsider the possibility that our reality contains extra dimensions
Last year, our most detailed map of the universe yet suggested our understanding of dark energy has been wrong for decades. The shock result is reigniting the search for a better cosmic story
Black holes that turn matter into energy could explain dark energy and answer two other cosmic questions. Now, the challenge is to find them
This is a New Scientist special package about shock results that have upended cosmology. What do they mean for our models of the universe, and what are the alternative explanations?
The Eleusinian Mysteries were secret religious rites in ancient Greece honoring the goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone, and aimed to remove the fear of death. The ceremonies included days of fasting, rituals and the drinking of kykeon, a concoction associated with
As part of a golden age of exploration and discovery, NASA announced Friday the agency is increasing its cadence of missions under the Artemis program to achieve the national objective of returning American astronauts to the moon and establishing an enduring presence. This
Homo sapiens were grooving on geometry in the Stone Age The post 60,000-Year-Old Ostrich Eggshells Depict Ancient Human Thoughts appeared first on Nautilus .
New York state farmers who signed large-scale solar leases were three times more likely to say they'll use the revenue from solar to invest in their farms than to reduce operations, according to a new study. Nearly half of the farmers with leases said they did not plan to
Anglers along the Gulf Coast have long prized the hard-fighting, mild-tasting gag grouper (Mycteroperca microlepis), but some may have been surprised over the past few years by shortened seasons for this desirable reef fish. Due to concerns about the population of the species,
Hair regrowth treatment may soon take a major leap forward, as researchers in a recent study have successfully grown complete, fully functional hair follicles outside of the living body, in a dish. This was made possible by the discovery of a previously unknown third cell type,
Imagine trying to reconstruct the history of a city by studying only its oldest surviving buildings. You can't watch it being built, you can't interview the architects, all you have are the structures themselves, their materials, their arrangement, the subtle clues locked into
Researchers in Hong Kong and the UK have revealed how one species of self-propelling microbes can actively change the path of their swimming motions, depending on how much light they receive. Reporting in Physical Review Letters, a team led by Zhao Wang at the University of
