In the vast tapestry of the universe, most galaxies shine brightly across cosmic time and space. Yet a rare class of galaxies remains nearly invisible—low-surface-brightness galaxies dominated by dark matter and containing only a sparse scattering of faint stars.
The recent Potomac River disaster follows centuries of pollution—but things are looking up The post The Long, Dirty History of Our Capitol’s Waters appeared first on Nautilus .
A new study from the School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics reveals a surprising insight into the operation of the ancestral brain: the visual cortex of turtles is capable of detecting unexpected visual stimuli in a way that is independent of their position on the
Living cells are highly organized, yet they are not assembled using rigid blueprints or by following a predetermined plan. Instead, order emerges on its own from countless interactions between molecules that are constantly moving and rearranging. One of the most striking
Proteins often function in pairs or groups, concealing their internal connection points and making it difficult for scientists to study their individual units without altering their natural structure. In a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society,
Scientists are proposing to build a laser in a crater on the moon to help future lunar missions land safely in the dark and find their way around. This ultra-stable light source could also help us keep time more accurately, as they explain in a paper available on the arXiv
The Antarctic ice sheet does not behave as one single tipping element, but as a set of interacting basins with different critical thresholds. This is the finding of a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Max Planck Institute of
Radioactive cesium ions, due to their high-water solubility, pose a serious threat to human health and the environment. Conventional adsorbents such as Prussian blue (PB), although effective for cesium removal, often involve complex fabrication and high operational costs.
About 56 million years ago, Europe and North America began pulling apart to form what became the ever-expanding North Atlantic Ocean. Vast amounts of molten rock from Earth's mantle reached the ocean floor as the crust stretched and thinned, creating a volcanic, rifted margin
A new study finds entrepreneurs become more committed to their business ventures when they are told they will fail, increasing their efforts to make those businesses successful. "Most entrepreneurs—people who start their own businesses—actually identify with the business
In the whole history of Earth's climate, few events are as extreme as those that geologists call "Snowball Earth."
What if Homo erectus (H. erectus), the direct ancestor of modern humans, arrived in China much earlier than we thought? Research published in Science Advances may rewrite our understanding of early human dispersal in that area.
Scientists have identified a further 12 dog breeds as being at risk of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome—a condition that can cause serious breathing problems—including the Pekingese, Shih Tzu, Boston terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier, Cavalier King Charles spaniel,
The most high-risk conditions for fires are increasingly happening across countries at the same time, making resulting wildfires even more challenging to tackle, new research reveals.
Certain markers of high status may more strongly boost attitudes toward women versus men, and low status markers may more strongly worsen attitudes toward men versus women—with both findings more pronounced in countries with more conservative gender norms. Marie Isabelle
Research reveals more short-snouted dogs besides pugs and bulldogs that struggle with breathing. Pekingese and Japanese Chins topped the study's list.
This stilt-legged reptile stalked the grasslands of Triassic Britain The post Newly Discovered Prehistoric Crocodilian Had Legs That Went All the Way Up appeared first on Nautilus .
New research shows a single year of warmer-than-average Arctic temperatures can cause malnutrition in Arctic seals, intensifying risks to Inuit food security and northern ecosystems already under pressure from environmental toxins, warn Simon Fraser University researchers.
For his Engineering Doctorate (EngD) program, ITC researcher Rodrigoandrés Morales developed a so-called digital twin: a digital model that analyzes and predicts the groundwater level in Enschede. With these predictions, the system can respond in time to imminent flooding or
Imagine you're all alone, driving along in a rocky, unforgiving desert with no roads, no map, no GPS, and no more than one phone call a day for someone to inform you exactly where you are. That's what NASA's Perseverance rover has been experiencing since landing on Mars five
When scientists want to study aging and how to slow it down, they often turn to microscopic worms or lab mice among other models. The former are too different from humans, while the latter are expensive and take too long to study. But there's a new model in town that can
After weeks of relentless rain and flooding, and even more forecast, 2025's droughts and hosepipe bans feel like ancient history. But they shouldn't.
A new study from Bar-Ilan University is shedding light on a long-overlooked social group in archaeology: the elderly. While research on women and children has flourished in recent decades, older adults have remained largely invisible, their lives reconstructed primarily through
For anyone who relies on coffee to start their day, coffee wilt disease may be the most important disease you've never heard of. This fungal disease has repeatedly reshaped the global coffee supply over the past century, with consequences that reach from African farms to cafe
The CMS Collaboration has shown, for the first time, that machine learning can be used to fully reconstruct particle collisions at the LHC. This new approach can reconstruct collisions more quickly and precisely than traditional methods, helping physicists better understand LHC
The findings strengthen the case that regeneration is an old trait, offering insights into how complex tissues rebuild themselves.
Researchers in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences have devised a new way to make some of the smallest, smoothest mirrors ever created for controlling single particles of light, known as photons.
River deltas are among the most complex and productive environments on Earth. Yet, they face serious threats from upstream industrialization and climate change, which alter supplies of water, sediment and contaminants. Even deltas distant from densely populated and
Every year, millions of workers are injured or die on the job, imposing enormous human and economic costs. The socio-economic impact of workplace safety is hard to avoid and presents governments and organizations with a major challenge.
During Australia's unprecedented heat wave in late January, air temperatures reached 50°C in inland South Australia.
The carbon footprint of the Olympic Games remains substantial, despite reforms by the International Olympic Committee. A new study by the University of Lausanne shows that the Olympic model needs further reform to comply with the Paris Agreement and outlines possible courses of
On January 30, 2026, SpaceX filed an application with the US Federal Communications Commission for a megaconstellation of up to 1 million satellites to power data centers in space.
Corals living in coastal bays with strongly fluctuating temperatures and environmental conditions are better able to withstand heat and other stressors than their counterparts on more stable reefs. This is shown by research conducted by marine biologist Sarah Solomon, whose
New research in African striped mice found that the caregiving instinct may be rooted in a specific gene
Some time around 1683, amateur Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek scraped the plaque from between his teeth and peered at it through a home-made microscope.
Setting sail from the busy port of Plymouth in Devon, the tall ship Pelican of London takes young people to sea, often for the first time.
A University of Alberta research team has identified a new drug target to treat harmful E. coli bacteria—which cause nearly 250,000 deaths a year from urinary tract infections (UTI) and are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics. Their recently published research in
Who says that butterflies in the stomach are only for the young? A new study by psychologist Iris Wahring from the University of Vienna and her international team shows that when people over 50 enter into a new relationship and seal it by moving in together, their life
Octave Chanute’s engineering prowess laid the foundation for powered planes The post The Retiree Who Inspired the Wright Brothers to Take Flight appeared first on Nautilus .
Researchers at the University of Osaka have developed a highly transparent material made entirely from natural wood without adding plastic and uncovered why some wood becomes clearer than others. Their study reveals that transparency depends not only on chemical treatment but
To stay in the air when hovering over a flower, bumble bees continually flap their wings rapidly, a metabolic process that generates a massive amount of internal heat. Their flight muscles work so intensely that they can raise the insect's body temperature by 30°C to 35°C above
Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi have uncovered new clues about how energy moves through the sun's outer atmosphere, using one of nature's rarest events as their window: total solar eclipses. Drawing on more than a decade of eclipse observations, a team led by Shadia
A new Perspective article from an SDSU researcher advocates improving wheat and other staple foods through agricultural techniques, making the food people love to eat healthier. Ali Parsaeimehr, assistant research professor in South Dakota State University's Department of
Innovations in imaging and genetic engineering are coming together to probe the biophysics of cytoplasm inside living animals. The post The Biophysical World Inside a Jam-Packed Cell first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Climate change is not just reshaping the planet, it's already affecting how people feel about their lives, their health and their financial security, according to a new study from the Universities of Portsmouth and Dundee. The research shows that prolonged changes in weather
A fossil on display at Montana State University's Museum of the Rockies reveals how dinosaurs in the Tyrannosaurus genus may have subdued prey, and the specimen is the focus of a new collaborative research publication between scientists at MSU and the University of Alberta in
Plants don't just respond to light and water, they also run on an internal daily timekeeper known as the circadian clock. Researchers have now discovered that the plant circadian clock can regulate electrochemical signals in specific cells that help determine whether growth is
New research has identified optimal design for artificial habitats to support restoration of oyster reefs, based on a detailed understanding of natural oyster reef geometry. Published in the global journal Nature, the Sydney-based study shows the complex shapes of natural
Male caregiving is rare. Of the nearly 6,000 mammalian species, fewer than 5% of fathers stick around to raise their own young. Most are even instinctively hostile. Even among the mammals that pitch in with caregiving duties, including humans and a handful of rodents, there's
The most widely accepted scientific explanation for the arrival of all complex life on Earth has had an unsolved mystery at its heart. According to the theory, all plants, animals and fungi, known collectively as eukaryotes, are thought to have evolved after two very different
