With a new lab-based experiment, researchers in the UK and France have recreated the characteristic cascades of energy and angular momentum that underpin key features of Earth's atmosphere. Reporting in Physical Review Letters, a team led by Peter Read at the University of
Suspicion and affection. Apprehension and excitement. Most people have mixed feelings about AI English, whether or not they always recognize it. When reading text generated by AI, people feel it sounds off, or fake. When reading English by a human, people are more likely to
Offshore wind farms are an important pillar of the European Union's strategy for renewable energy—by 2050, the EU aims to increase capacity in the North Sea more than tenfold. A new study by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon shows that the expansion of wind farms can alter the
Through new improvements to existing AI models, researchers in China have created a framework that can methodically identify useful new forms of solid carbon. With their approach, Zhibin Gao and colleagues at Xi'an Jiaotong University hope that numerous new materials could be
Ever woken up to find that a crafty raccoon has overturned your garbage bin and spread the discarded contents of your life across the street? Raccoons—sometimes referred to as "trash pandas"—are renowned as excellent innovators and problem-solvers who can often find their way
Evidence of some of the earliest dogs has been identified at two University of Liverpool/British Institute at Ankara archaeological excavation projects in central Anatolia, Turkey. Shedding new light on the development and spread of early domestic dogs, the findings are
Chemists at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and Utrecht University have developed a new method to produce a promising chemical building block from biomass. This compound can serve as a precursor for useful products such as plastics, pharmaceuticals, and flavor and
In their landmark 1961 paper on the lac operon, Nobel laureates François Jacob and Jacques Monod speculated that RNA might control gene activity in bacteria through base-pairing interactions. But once protein transcription factors were discovered, the idea was tossed aside.
When we think of asteroids, we almost immediately think of giant rocks bouncing around like the iconic chase scene in "The Empire Strikes Back," and we often hear how they are remnants from the birth of the solar system. While the asteroids that comprise the Main Asteroid Belt
Debates about generative AI in higher education have been informed by studies of completed student papers, or self-reported survey data. Research shows that artificial intelligence tools can support learning, but has also raised concerns, including students' overreliance,
Sea ice is sticking to Alaska's northern coast for less time each year, according to 27 years of data analyzed by University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists. Such landfast ice, which stays attached to the shoreline instead of drifting with winds and currents, also has covered
This week, we learned that across the animal kingdom, sperm cells have a short shelf life. A study implicated autoantibodies in the development of long COVID. And among its other drawbacks, the weedkiller glyphosate may foster the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria.
As the demand for cybersecurity professionals continues to rise, new research from the University of South Florida identified a growing interest among higher education institutions to incorporate work-based learning in cybersecurity programs to help close the gap between
A new solar breakthrough may overcome a long-standing efficiency barrier. Researchers used a “spin-flip” metal complex to capture and multiply energy from sunlight through singlet fission. The result reached about 130% efficiency, meaning more energy carriers were produced than
Scientists have created a new kind of carbon material that could make carbon capture much cheaper and more efficient. By carefully controlling how nitrogen atoms are arranged, they found certain structures capture CO2 better and release it using far less heat. One version works
In a development that could shift our basic understanding of fluid mechanics, researchers from Drexel University have reported that, given the right circumstances, it is possible to induce a simple liquid to fracture like a solid object. Recently published in the journal
Superprecise timekeepers based on atomic nuclei could be tested as soon as this year
Exercising self-control doesn’t need to be unpleasant, research shows
For decades, astronomers have been puzzled by strange “zebra stripe” patterns in radio waves from the Crab Pulsar — bright bands separated by complete darkness. Now, new research suggests the answer lies in a cosmic tug-of-war between gravity and plasma. The pulsar’s plasma
A widely used sugar substitute found in everything from keto snacks to diet drinks may not be as harmless as it seems. New research shows that erythritol can disrupt brain blood vessel cells, reducing their ability to relax, increasing harmful oxidative stress, and impairing
A new Stanford University study has helped solve a mystery about dramatic swings in sea ice extent around Antarctica.
Cortical Labs says the stunt points toward a new kind of low-power computing—and perhaps a new way to study neurological drugs
The astronauts set to become the first lunar visitors in more than half a century arrived at their launch site Friday, joining the towering rocket that stands poised to blast off next week and send them around the moon.
Scientists have uncovered how your body actually tells your brain to stop eating when you’re sick. In a new study, researchers found that specialized cells in the gut detect parasites and send signals that ultimately trigger the brain to suppress appetite. This process builds
Scientists have identified a key biological system that helps brown fat burn energy by building the networks it needs to function. A protein called SLIT3 splits into two parts, with each piece guiding the growth of blood vessels and nerves inside brown fat. These structures
A fossil ape discovered in northern Egypt is reshaping the story of human evolution. The species, Masripithecus, lived about 17 to 18 million years ago and may sit very close to the ancestor of all modern apes. This finding challenges the long-standing focus on East Africa.
Today's nearly $70 billion U.S. biofuels economy is powered by two technology toolboxes. Biochemical technologies—used to produce around 17 billion gallons of ethanol annually—leverage microorganisms to convert plant biomass sugars into alcohols, other biofuels, or chemicals.
A massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar in March 2025, but what makes this event extraordinary is what happened next. For the first time, a nearby CCTV camera captured the fault rupture in real time, giving scientists a rare, direct look at how the Earth moves during
The transition from water to land is a question that still intrigues scientists. Those ancient organisms would have needed to adapt to several new challenges to life out of water. So, how did they do it?
Odin was a kelpie. Attentive and protective, with a happy smile and an endless hope for food, he succumbed to a terminal disease late last year. At his death, a deep sense of grief ripped through the household of one of us (Andrew): While Odin was not human, he was an
Clathrate hydrates are crystalline structures formed at the bottom of seafloors, created by water molecules trapping methane, carbon dioxide or other molecules. While these materials are underutilized in technology, a University of Oklahoma researcher is helping scientists
Argonne and Northwestern University scientists teamed up to understand how light interacts with metallic nanoframes, with implications for biosensing, quantum information science and beyond.
Ancestor of humans and other great apes turns up in Egypt The post New Ape Fossil Could Shift Our Evolutionary Origins Northward appeared first on Nautilus .
Museum collections have underpinned scientific research for centuries. But physical specimens in boxes and drawers don't easily lend themselves to the research techniques of the new millennium. "How can we apply these techniques to natural history collections, especially when
Nature and nurture colliding The post The Science Behind Being One of a Kind appeared first on Nautilus .
Understanding gene expression within the body has been a boon for 21st century biology and therapeutics, but most discoveries that use these technologies only focus on one organ or one small area of tissue. At the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering
During their 10-day mission, this four-person crew will swing around the far side of the moon—and potentially travel farther from Earth than anyone in history
It's fairly common for members of the public to ask bug experts if ticks that hitchhike into a house on people or dogs can actually survive indoors for any length of time. A new study provides the first scientific evidence that the answer is yes, showing that two species of
It is not unusual for laboratory monkeys to engage in abnormal repetitive behaviors (ARBs), such as pacing and hair-plucking. Conventional thinking is that these actions are linked to recent stresses or current housing conditions. But a new study published in the journal
A new twist on the placebo effect The post When Fake Supplements Work appeared first on Nautilus .
Can light behave like a whirlwind? It turns out it can—and such "optical tornadoes" have now been created in an extremely small structure by scientists from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw, the Military University of Technology, and the Institut Pascal CNRS
Researchers at the University of Seville's Food Color and Quality Laboratory have studied the effects of different cooking methods used for tomatoes and carrots (in the oven, microwave or air fryer, among others) on the amount of carotenoids that are potentially available for
It’s very much a family affair The post Rare Sperm Whale Birth Caught on Video appeared first on Nautilus .
For many people, "protein" is the key element of a food order. However, beyond the preferred choice of meats or plant-based alternatives, proteins encompass a large class of complex biomolecules whose chemical structure is encoded in our genes. Proteins have critical functions
A new study finds that commercial satellite imagery data often outperforms public data sets when identifying surface water, but that public data sets may be better at detecting water hidden by forest cover. Satellite imagery is a powerful tool for mapping surface water, from
The astronaut who prompted NASA's first medical evacuation earlier this year said Friday that doctors still don't know why he suddenly fell sick at the International Space Station.
