NASA moves its Artemis II moon rocket off the launch pad for more repairs
NASA moved its grounded Artemis moon rocket from the launch pad back to its hangar Wednesday for more repairs.
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New study highlights significant costs in large-scale mechanical thinning of forests
There is a long history of the mechanical thinning of forests in standard forestry operations. Thinning typically involves removing some 30–50% of the standing volume of trees with commercially valued logs removed via tracked or wheeled machinery. More recently, thinning has
Humanity's oldest geometries, engraved on ostrich eggs
At several archaeological sites in southern Africa, hundreds of highly unusual fragments of ostrich eggs have been found. Dating back more than 60,000 years, the shells were engraved by groups of Homo sapiens who lived in that region.
Modern science catches up with native knowledge with discovery of Clerodendrum kelli
The indigenous Bugkalot people of Nueva Ecija call it "kelli": a plant with white, starburst-like flowers and oval-shaped leaves that are traditionally mashed and mixed with food to treat ailing dogs. But despite this local familiarity, science has only now been able to
Just two days of oatmeal cut bad cholesterol by 10%
Eating nothing but oatmeal for just two days might sound extreme, but it delivered a striking payoff in a new clinical trial. People with metabolic syndrome who followed a short, calorie-reduced oat-based plan saw their harmful LDL cholesterol drop by 10%, along with modest
Smarter shelf strategy can boost retail profits and cut food waste by more than 20%, study finds
Grocery retailers may not need new technology—or behavior change from shoppers—to meaningfully reduce food waste. New research in the journal Management Science finds that small operational decisions already under a retailer's control, including how perishable items are
Climate change could threaten monarch mass migration
Suitable milkweed habitat in Mexico may shift south, fracturing existing migration routes and possibly pushing some butterflies to stay put.
The Man Who Stole Infinity
In an 1874 paper, Georg Cantor proved that there are different sizes of infinity and changed math forever. A trove of newly unearthed letters shows that it was also an act of plagiarism. The post The Man Who Stole Infinity first appeared on Quanta Magazine
2D memristors could help solve AI's energy problem
New generations of memristors could reliably store information directly within the molecular structures of graphene-like materials. In a new review published in Nanoenergy Advances, Gennady Panin of the Russian Academy of Sciences shows how these atomically thin materials are
How long could Earth microbes live on Mars?
Searching for past or present life on Mars is the sole driving force behind every mission we send to the red planet, from orbiters to landers to rovers. However, there remains a concern in the scientific community about Earth-based microbes hitching a ride on Mars-bound
New drug target discovered for devastating “brain on fire” disease
Scientists have zeroed in on a critical weak spot behind a rare but devastating brain autoimmune disorder often known as “Brain on Fire.” The disease strikes when the immune system attacks NMDA receptors—key molecules involved in memory and thinking—leading to psychiatric
Viruses reveal shared way to kill bacteria by jamming small transporter MurJ
Biochemists at Caltech have identified how viruses have converged on a method for killing bacteria. The researchers have homed in on an underexplored small transporter called MurJ that is a vital part of the pathway bacteria use to build their chain-mail-like cell wall. An
The physics of sneaker squeaks: High-speed imaging shows how they arise from supersonic detachment pulses
Basketball shoes on a gym floor, bicycle brakes in need of a tune-up, or the squeal of tires are everyday examples of squeaking sounds. Such sounds have long been attributed to stick-slip friction, or a cycle of intermittent sticking and sliding between surfaces. While this
'Tiny' dinosaur, big impact: A 90-million-year-old fossil rewrites history
A team co-led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities researcher Peter Makovicky and Argentinean colleague Sebastian Apesteguía has identified a 90-million-year-old fossil that provides the "missing link" for a mysterious group of prehistoric animals. The study, published in
The surprising new physics of squeaky basketball shoes
A new study explains why basketball shoes make a high-pitched squeaking noise when they rub against the hardwood. The ridges on the sole hold the key
Nobel Prize–winning brain scientist steps down over Epstein ties
Richard Axel resigned from his post co-leading Columbia University’s Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute over his long ties to Jeffrey Epstein
Here’s why sneakers squeak on the basketball court
Tiny, repeating detachments between sole and floor — thousands of times a second — create the distinctive squeak heard on the court, data show.
Researchers create DNA detection tool to stop spread of invasive Asian swamp eels, bullseye snakeheads
In the canals, marshes, and swamps of the Florida Everglades, invasive fish are silently slipping into new waterways. Among them are the Asian swamp eel and the bullseye snakehead, two air-breathing predators that live in the region and pose growing risks to native wildlife and
A giant weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field is now half the size of Europe
Earth’s magnetic shield is shifting in dramatic ways. New data from ESA’s Swarm satellites show that the South Atlantic Anomaly — a vast weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field — has grown by nearly half the size of continental Europe since 2014. Even more striking, a region
ALMA explores giant molecular clouds in nearby galaxy NGC 1387
An international team of astronomers has employed the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to investigate molecular gas in a nearby galaxy known as NGC 1387. Results of the observational campaign, published Feb. 3 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical
Iron and blue LEDs synthesize natural molecules, cutting the need for expensive chiral components
Photocatalysts facilitate chemical reactions by absorbing light. Metal-based photocatalysts are widely used in organic synthesis due to their durability and the ability to tune their function by modifying the ligands attached to the central metal atom. Most metals used in
How a one‑eyed creature gave rise to our modern eyes
There is a tiny cyclops among your oldest ancestors, and humans share these remarkable ancestral roots with all other vertebrates. Researchers from Lund University and University of Sussex have found that all vertebrates evolved from a distant ancestor that had a single eye
Why letting museum visitors smell horse manure might be good for conservation
What does it take to make people genuinely care about endangered cultural heritage? According to a new study from researchers at Nagoya University and Gifu University in Japan, the answer might begin with something unexpected: the smell of horse manure. Their research,
LED-powered e-nose detects multiple hazardous gases at room temperature
The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science has developed a next-generation gas sensor technology that uses low-cost and safe LED light to precisely distinguish multiple hazardous gases. Compared with conventional sensors that operate at high temperatures, the new
Mother's breasts may protect a newborn from the cold—a new perspective on breast evolution
Humans differ from other primates due to their relatively large, permanent breasts, and their development has so far not been conclusively explained. According to a study conducted at the University of Oulu, Finland, the surface temperature of the breasts combined with their
Martu rangers and scientists combine forces to save an endangered marsupial
Deep in the heart of Martu Country lies Karlamilyi National Park. Red rock and red sand stretch as far as the eye can see. Within some of these rocky outcrops, live a small population of wiminyji (northern quolls). But they haven't always been restricted to such a small area.
Hate more common in early article comments, analysis finds
Comments written quickly after an article was published were more likely to contain hate and threats than those posted later. This is shown by a time analysis conducted by researchers at the University of Gothenburg of 38 million reader comments on The Guardian's website. The
NASA study finds ancient life could survive 50 million years in Martian ice
Mars’ frozen ice caps may be time capsules for ancient life. Lab experiments show that key building blocks of proteins can survive tens of millions of years in pure ice, even under relentless cosmic radiation. Ice mixed with Martian-like soil, however, destroys organic material
Women, children bearing brunt of homelessness in New Zealand
More than half of those experiencing homelessness in New Zealand are women, often mothers of young children and living in uninhabitable housing or sharing accommodation, a researcher at the University of Otago, Wellington—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, Pōneke, says. The lead author of a
Researcher warns of structural risks at Grand Renaissance Dam putting property and lives in danger
A new peer-reviewed study led by Dr. Hesham El-Askary, Ph.D., professor of computational and data science at Chapman University, concludes that the saddle dam of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam shows significant vulnerabilities that if breached could threaten downstream
Water supplies in rural Nepal could be cleaned by harnessing the power of the sun, scientists claim
A new method for cleaning household water supplies in rural communities in Nepal is being developed by an international team of scientists. The solution removes harmful bacteria from the water by inserting non-toxic metal catalysts into containers which sit outside residents'
Astronomers spot a young sun blowing bubbles inside the Milky Way
A baby sunlike star blowing a bubble of hot gas called an “astrosphere” was captured for the first time by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory
E-waste chemicals are appearing in dolphins and porpoises
Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are critical components of laptop, television, and smartphone screens. Given their ubiquity in the environment, these compounds are considered persistent pollutants, posing threats to marine life that scientists want to understand. Research
ALMA reveals Milky Way's core in largest-ever mosaic, tracing cold gas filaments
Astronomers have captured the central region of our Milky Way in a striking new image, unveiling a complex network of filaments of cosmic gas in unprecedented detail. Obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), this rich dataset—the largest ALMA image
Breaking encryption with a quantum computer just got 10 times easier
The commonly used RSA encryption algorithm can now be cracked by a quantum computer with only 100,000 qubits, but the technical challenges to building such a machine remain numerous
US childhood literacy rates are lagging. Pediatricians could be part of the solution
For some young children in Columbus, Ohio, reading assessments don't start in the kindergarten classroom—they happen first in the doctor's office.
A protocol to realize near-perfect atom-photon entanglement
Quantum technologies, devices and systems that operate leveraging quantum mechanical effects, could tackle some tasks more reliably and efficiently than any classical technology could. In recent years, some researchers have been trying to realize quantum networks to scale up
Online influencer faces confirmation hearing for surgeon general in U.S. Senate
The U.S. Senate is holding a confirmation hearing today for wellness influencer Casey Means, the Trump administration’s pick for surgeon general
A simple chemical tweak could supercharge quantum computers
Quantum computers need special materials called topological superconductors—but they’ve been notoriously difficult to create. Researchers have now shown they can trigger this exotic state by subtly adjusting the mix of tellurium and selenium in ultra-thin films. That tiny
How polyamory works, according to relationship researchers
Discover what researchers have learned about polyamory, what misconceptions people have about such multipartner relationships and how individuals actually navigate them
Lost fossils reveal sea monsters that took over after Earth’s greatest extinction
A lost cache of 250-million-year-old fossils from Australia has rewritten part of the story of life after Earth’s worst mass extinction. Instead of a single marine amphibian species, researchers uncovered evidence of a surprisingly diverse community of early ocean predators.
New brain stimulation approach could treat depression in just 5 days
A weeklong, high-intensity version of TMS may work nearly as well as the standard six-week treatment for depression. In a UCLA study, patients who received five sessions a day for five days experienced meaningful symptom relief comparable to those on the traditional schedule.
AIs can’t stop recommending nuclear strikes in war game simulations
Leading AIs from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google opted to use nuclear weapons in simulated war games in 95 per cent of cases
Heat relief means higher emissions: How air conditioning complicates 1.5°C goals
While air conditioning protects people from dangerous heat, it also significantly worsens global warming—by 2050, potentially producing more carbon dioxide than the current annual emissions of the United States, a new study reveals.
Ocean warming drives a nearly 20% annual decline in fish biomass, research confirms
According to a new study by the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC) and the National University of Colombia, chronic ocean warming is driving a nearly 20% annual decline in fish biomass. However, the researchers have found that extreme marine heat waves can
Researchers challenge misleading language around plastic waste solutions
Solutions to the plastic waste crisis are often pitched using words that can skew value judgments, new research argues. The paper, authored by the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub at The University of Manchester, explores the consequences of terminology choices on
Chimpanzee pee reveals how our primate cousins are getting drunk on fermented fruit
A urinalysis shows that these apes ingest significant amounts of alcohol, providing new clues to how alcohol influences the animals’ behavior
Baby butterflies use rhythm to fool ants into taking care of them
These caterpillars rely on ants to tend them, and they use a surprisingly complex sense of rhythm to make it happen
Scientists finally solve the mystery of the horse whinny
Horses have a vocal trick no one fully understood until now. Scientists have discovered that when a horse whinnies, it produces two completely different sounds at the same time. One is a deep tone created by vibrating the vocal folds, similar to how humans sing. The other is a
Microplastics found in 90% of prostate cancer tumors, study reveals
Researchers have detected microplastics in nearly all prostate cancer tumors examined in a new study. Tumor tissue contained about 2.5 times more plastic than nearby healthy prostate tissue. Scientists say this is the first Western study to directly measure plastic particles in