Microorganisms are increasingly being engineered to manufacture valuable compounds ranging from medicines and food ingredients to biofuels and industrial chemicals. However, turning microbes into efficient production platforms requires extensive strain optimization. Finding the
Plants do not wait hours to respond to intense sunlight—they react within minutes. Researchers at Bielefeld University and the Australian National University have discovered a new signaling pathway that enables plants to directly adjust their protein production before genes in
Two types of carbohydrates are important to plants—structural carbohydrates (which form cell walls) and nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs). The latter group represents plants' stored energy reserves, which can be used to survive cold or drought; regrow after damage; recover
A research team led by Seil Kim of the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) Energy & Environmental Materials Research Division has developed an Ag–PTFE composite plating technology that produces silver coatings with greater hardness and wear resistance than conventional
Climate change is transforming livestock farming—and at a faster rate than many anticipate. More frequent and intense heat waves place a heavy physiological strain on dairy cows.
Researchers have demonstrated a novel AI model that can predict which DNA molecules bind with other DNA molecules. A more thorough understanding of these hypercomplex binding relationships has utility in applications ranging from biomedical diagnostic tools to DNA computing.
Female farm managers are hidden in plain sight in ancient Roman texts, mentioned in laws, literature and grave inscriptions across five centuries. Modern historians have generally assumed they were housekeepers, in charge of domestic tasks and household meals, and segregated
Women who identify as involuntary celibates have high levels of sexual anxiety and depression, a new study suggests. The term "incel"—for involuntarily celibate—is most often associated with men, but some women describe a similar experience in online forums, where they use
The population of the 27-nation European Union will peak in 2029 before falling in the coming decades, according to a report published Tuesday that spotlights the major challenges the bloc faces from an aging population.
Choosing friends may involve more than clicking with others who share our interests or outlooks. According to new research, people may select friends based on traits that made them valuable survival partners in our evolutionary past.
A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton nicknamed "Gus" sold Tuesday for $50.1 million at Sotheby's in New York, making it the most valuable dinosaur fossil bought at auction after a 10-minute battle between seven bidders.
Researchers at Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) have developed the world's first achromatic lens for neutron imaging. The lens overcomes a longstanding obstacle in the field: focusing neutrons of different wavelengths well enough to form a sharp, magnified image. With the lens,
An international team of researchers has announced the discovery of a new species of harvester ant, officially named Messor odrysarum. The discovery was made by researchers Albena Lapeva-Gjonova of Sofia University in Bulgaria and Lech Borowiec of the University of Wrocław in
The interactions between microscopic algal cells and bacteria in the oceans play a pivotal role in the global carbon cycle. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now taken an important step toward deciphering the chemical language that brokers these interactions.
There are parts of the universe that are extremely hard to see, even for our most advanced telescopes. Gas and dust don't emit light and are visible only by the light they block from stars and galaxies. Magnetic fields are even harder to detect because ordinary light typically
A technique for judging whether a common mineral formed through biological activity could aid the search for ancient life on Earth and Mars. Apatite is a ubiquitous phosphate mineral found in terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments. It is a major component of teeth and
Researchers at RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau have achieved a key experimental breakthrough: For the first time, the spontaneous macroscopic coherence of magnons—the quantized excitations of magnetic materials—has been directly observed. These experiments confirm a
In what's been hailed as a "massive breakthrough," a chlamydia vaccine implant has been administered to a wild koala for the first time. This is the only koala chlamydia vaccine that uses two doses. Now, thanks to the implant, it can be applied in one examination.
Mathematics has always been at the core of securing information. From online banking to government communications, modern society relies on cryptography, in which complex mathematical algorithms transform readable information into an unreadable form to keep it secure. But as
Who hasn't dreamed of flying like a bird? But do birds actually enjoy flying as much as we imagine? A new study by researchers at Utrecht University shows that galahs, Australian cockatoos, almost always choose to fly when given the opportunity. And after several days of
Astronomers are closer to solving the mystery of how supermassive black holes feed themselves thanks to new images from the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST. The images provide the clearest view ever seen of gaseous filaments connecting a galaxy's hot atmosphere to the
When playing the classic game "20 Questions," one may begin with the common opener: "Animal, vegetable, or mineral?"
New research from Adelaide University has found customers can be an overlooked source of workplace discrimination, leaving gay and bisexual men feeling they must choose between being authentic or protecting themselves from prejudice.
Are giant sinkholes in China's karst mountains havens or traps for the rare plants that inhabit them? A new study finds they are both—offering refuge from heat and drought while gradually eroding the evolutionary potential of an endangered tree.
The SpudCell certainly resembles a living cell, but a key structure inside the cell falls short of the real thing
Atmospheric rivers bring heavy rain and floods, but if they don’t come around, it could mean drought. A new global map reveals little-known pathways.
Future quantum computing will require correlations between distant modules—a feature known as distributed entanglement. Traditionally, such entanglement has relied on active control and repeated measurements. Now, physicists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria
A new study led by our Psychology Department has revealed that children play a much bigger role in shaping human culture than previously thought. The research, published in the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences, shows that children are not just learning from adults but also
Many parts of Western Europe are currently wilting under a heat wave. These blistering spells can last for a week or more, and although they are common in most summers, it is difficult to predict how long they will last.
Tissue engineers are finding ways to grow living organs and tissues from cells, with the aim of replacing diseased and damaged counterparts in the body. Scientists have successfully grown artificial muscles, livers, kidneys, skin and other tissues. But there's been no reliable
Modern slavery persists because the way global supply chains are designed allows it to remain hidden, according to new research led by Professor Glenn Parry from the University of Surrey and Dr. Mike Rogerson at the University of Sussex.
A new study tracking soil microbial communities across six years of experimental drought in a tallgrass prairie finds that prolonged water stress diminishes biodiversity, pushing communities toward less predictable, harder-to-reverse configurations.
From precision medicine to personalized job training, customizing interventions for individuals is often assumed to produce better outcomes than a one-size-fits-all approach. But personalization also comes with costs: it can be more expensive, harder to implement reliably and
At Archbold Biological Station, decades of field observations are helping scientists better understand one of nature's oldest relationship strategies: long-term monogamy.
When neutron stars merge, they create a powerful explosion called a kilonova that flings out neutron-rich material, some of which decays into heavy elements through a process called the r-process. Recent observations of kilonovae revealed unexpected signatures that could not be
Law enforcement agents misused crowd-control weapons during protests against the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operations in 412 verified incidents across 16 U.S. cities from when immigration enforcement protests escalated in Los Angeles in June 2025 through
A major review found that people who consumed the most chili peppers had a substantially higher risk of esophageal cancer, though the evidence was less clear for stomach and colorectal cancers. Researchers emphasize that the findings show an association, not proof of cause and
This summer, Subaru Telescope will welcome a new near-infrared spectrograph, NINJA, for its first on-sky engineering observations. NINJA is a new spectrograph designed for time-critical observations of rapidly evolving cosmic events, such as the electromagnetic counterparts of
The properties of ultrathin magnets can be specifically altered by a slight twist between two atomic monolayers. This is the conclusion reached by an international research team led by TU Darmstadt in a study published in Nature Communications. The findings open new prospects
Domestic fisheries catches in the Chagos Archipelago are 25 times higher than official statistics show, according to a recent study by Sea Around Us—Indian Ocean and Sea Around Us researchers.
K2-18b is one of the most promising worlds for the search for extraterrestrial life, so astronomers conducted an unusually powerful radio survey using both the VLA and MeerKAT telescopes. Advanced software analyzed millions of signals, filtering out Earth-based interference and
Researchers at City College of New York physicist Vinod M. Menon's Laboratory for Nano and Micro Photonics (LaNMP) have outlined an emerging frontier in quantum materials: atomically thin systems in which light, magnetism and electric charge are strongly intertwined. This
The Euclid space telescope discovery could help researchers understand how black holes grew so massive so quickly in the early universe.
A Florida State University paleoclimatologist led the creation of a global database hosting thousands of seawater isotope measurements collected over almost 50 years that will aid scientists in generating more accurate climate reconstructions and predictions.
As computer chips become more powerful and compact, the materials that protect them must perform better than ever. In advanced chip packaging, liquid epoxy is widely used because it can flow into tiny spaces before curing into a solid protective layer. To be effective, the
What’s the secret to prompting an AI to solve math problems that have left humans stumped? Tell it to believe in itself
New research shows that improvements in tree, shrub and grass plantings along city streets in Queensland can substantially improve pedestrians' thermal comfort.
Marine scientists at UC Santa Barbara have found that disturbances to giant kelp forests have a major influence on their net primary productivity (NPP)—an indicator of an ecosystem's health and its ability to support its community—even more so than the availability of the
Contrary to conventional geological thinking, the Hawaiian mantle plume has gotten hotter by about 250°C (480°F) over the past 47 million years. This discovery, led by Earth scientists at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, reverses the long-held idea that hotspots start out
When residents of two coastal communities along the Sea of Japan reported observing dolphins in nearby waters, it caught the attention of some scientists. The marine environment has been changing rapidly in the Sea of Japan, which is partially enclosed by the Japanese
