There is a place in northern Chile, 3,500 meters above sea level in the Andean Altiplano, where almost nothing survives. The Salar de Pajonales is a salt flat of savage extremes temperatures swinging from −23°C to 26°C, solar radiation among the highest measured anywhere on
Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of astronomers has discovered an extrasolar planet orbiting TOI-4616—a nearby M-dwarf star. The newfound alien world, which received designation TOI-4616 b, is slightly larger than Earth. The
Neanderthals split into distinct regional groups that developed genetic differences far sooner than modern human populations typically did, according to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. These findings were based on the analysis of a newly
Hair damaged by dyes, bleaching or harsh sunlight has just got special treatment. Green chemistry researchers at Flinders University are experimenting with plant-based oils to develop a promising new structural keratin-type repair application to reduce breakage and improve hair
The world is struggling to deal with ever-growing quantities of waste. A new World Bank Group report, What a Waste 3.0, shows that more than 2.6 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (which includes rubbish from households, businesses and street cleaning) were generated in
Quantum computers, systems that process information leveraging quantum mechanical effects, could outperform classical computers on some computationally demanding tasks. Despite their potential, as the size of quantum computers increases, reliably describing and measuring the
Some of the most ancient fossils collected to date were traced back to the Ediacaran period. This is the time interval ranging from around 635 to 541 million years ago, shortly before the time when scientists predict that a wide range of animals started appearing.
NASA is targeting April 1 to launch a crew of four astronauts on a journey around the moon that will set the tone for the agency’s lunar exploration ambitions
Neptune is the solar system's most distant planet, a cold, blue ice giant sitting nearly 30 times further from the sun than Earth. At that remote distance, temperatures plunge to nearly minus 200 degrees Celsius and a single year lasts 165 Earth years. Yet despite its
Quantum technologies, devices that can process, store, or detect information leveraging quantum mechanical effects, could outperform classical devices in some tasks or scenarios. Despite their potential, verifying that these devices work correctly and truly realize desired
More than 10,000 Starlink satellites currently orbit Earth. We see them crawling across dark skies, no matter how remote our location, and streaking through images from research telescopes.
Seals are carnivorous marine mammals that are well adapted to hunting for fish underwater, where visibility is poor. In such conditions, seals rely on their highly sensitive whiskers to detect tiny water movements left behind by swimming fish. Like rats and cats, seals also
One of the things astronomers find when they look around at galaxies is a correlation between a galaxy's mass and the mass of its supermassive black hole. Contrary to popular belief, these SMBH don't anchor their galaxies; they make up only a small portion of a galaxy's mass.
Scientists have finally found a hidden “critical point” in supercooled water that explains why it behaves so strangely. At this point, two different liquid forms of water merge, triggering powerful fluctuations that affect water even at normal temperatures. The breakthrough was
A team of physicists set out to test some of the most exciting claims in quantum computing—and found a very different story. Instead of confirming breakthroughs, their careful replication studies revealed that signals once hailed as major advances could actually be explained in
Waterloo scientists have developed a new way to understand how the universe began, and it could change what we know about the Big Bang and the earliest moments of cosmic history. Their work suggests that the universe's rapid early expansion could have arisen naturally from a
General relativity stands as one of the bedrock theories in modern physics. Its strange view of relative time and space has been confirmed by countless experimental and observational tests, from rotational frame dragging to the radiation of gravitational waves. But there is
Every spring, Canadian beekeepers await the arrival of queen bees crucial to their industry. The queens that populate Canadian bee colonies through the season largely do not come from Canada at all.
In recent years, residents of Spain, France and the UK have looked up to see an eerie sight: deep orange sunrises and skies thick with a yellowish haze. These hazy skies often deposit "blood rain," rust-colored precipitation that leaves a fine grit on cars and windows.
Parks are vital public spaces. This is especially true if you're a parent with energetic children, or an office worker searching for a peaceful lunch spot.
Scientists have discovered that the ocean’s “missing” plastic hasn’t vanished—it has broken down into trillions of invisible nanoplastics now spread through water, air, and living organisms. These tiny particles may be everywhere, including inside our bodies, raising serious
A stranded humpback whale in Germany 's Baltic Sea looks weaker, and experts fear it won't be able to find its way back to the Atlantic despite several attempts at its rescue this week.
When an invisible entity making up 85% of the universe's mass stumps the greatest scientific minds of our time, awe is an understandable response.
As artificial intelligence (AI) tools become more common across government, new research from the University at Albany's Center for Technology in Government (CTG UAlbany) examines how agencies are using chatbots and what those tools are actually changing in practice.
Both winds and tides inject energy into the ocean. Much of that energy is then transported up to thousands of miles by internal waves: large-scale underwater waves that can travel between ocean basins. Quantifying the amount of energy transported by internal waves and assessing
This familiar phenomenon has puzzled researchers for centuries, but experiments are finally making sense of its unruly behaviors
After a stroke, the brain may do something surprisingly hopeful—it can “refresh” parts of itself. Researchers analyzing brain scans from over 500 stroke survivors found that while the damaged side of the brain appears to age faster, the opposite, unaffected side can actually
A major new U.S. cholesterol guideline is shifting the focus toward earlier, more personalized prevention of heart disease. It urges people to start screening sooner—sometimes even in childhood—and highlights the importance of tracking not just LDL (“bad”) cholesterol but also
What teens eat might matter more for their mental health than previously thought. A sweeping review of nearly 20 studies found that healthier diets are often linked to fewer depressive symptoms, while poor eating habits may go hand in hand with greater psychological distress.
Nicotine e-cigarettes may be one of the most effective tools yet for quitting smoking, according to a sweeping review of global research. By analyzing findings from 14 major reviews spanning nearly a decade, researchers found consistent, high-quality evidence showing that
Scientists have created a microscopic QR code so tiny it can only be seen with an electron microscope—smaller than most bacteria and now officially a world record. But this isn’t just about size; it’s about durability. By engraving data into ultra-stable ceramic materials, the
A new holographic storage technique uses light in three dimensions to dramatically increase how much data can be stored. It encodes information throughout a material using amplitude, phase, and polarization, rather than just on a surface. An AI model then reconstructs the data
Scientists have developed a new gene therapy that quiets pain at its source in the brain—without the addictive risks of opioids. Using AI to map how pain is processed, they created a targeted “off switch” that mimics morphine’s benefits but skips its dangerous side effects. In
A research team led by Prof. Boseok Kang at Sungkyunkwan University has uncovered the origin of polarity inversion, a long-standing phenomenon in polymer semiconductors that occurs only in certain materials. The team, in collaboration with Prof. Yun-Hi Kim (Gyeongsang National
Digital Planet, the research center at the forefront of researching the AI transformation at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, today released the American AI Jobs Risk Index. It is a first-of-its-kind data-driven framework that maps the potential of AI-driven job
A new study from the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), in collaboration with Uppsala University (Sweden) and AstraZeneca, shows how computational chemistry and supercomputers can help scientists better understand the fundamental mechanisms of life, specifically those of
Households with high incomes are the main beneficiaries of subsidy programs supporting the clean energy transition. A team of researchers from the University of Freiburg, Stanford University, Indiana University and the University of Pennsylvania has analyzed why this is the
The bond between humans and dogs is one of nature's most enduring partnerships, but exactly when it began has long been a mystery. Now, a new study has turned back the clock. The study, titled "Dogs were widely distributed in Western Eurasia during the Palaeolithic," is
Billed as the first comprehensive report on the state of U.S. lands, water, and wildlife, the Nature Record National Assessment includes the decline of butterfly populations and other species to the remarkable comeback of the bald eagle.
Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi have discovered new large-scale waves moving deep inside the sun, driven by magnetic fields far below the surface. These waves provide a window into parts of the sun that are otherwise inaccessible, giving scientists a new tool to study how its
New LiDAR analysis suggests Raknehaugen may have been built in response to a devastating landslide, not to honor a high-status individual. The study by Dr. Lars Gustavsen, published in the European Journal of Archaeology, challenges the long-held assumption that Scandinavia's
Imagine a man wants to buy a new shirt for work that he plans to wear once a week for at least the next five years. When browsing for options, he finds one shirt from a lower-quality brand priced at £20 and one shirt from a high-quality brand for £50. Which one should he buy?
