A mission to raise the orbit of NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is poised for launch no earlier than Tuesday, June 30, at 6:23 a.m. EDT (10:23 p.m. UTC+12), from Kwajalein Atoll, part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific Ocean.
Plasma is an ionized gas, often referred to as the fourth state of matter. Plasmas, which are created artificially by applying energy to a gas, are found in the fluorescent tubes that illuminate kitchens. However, they have many other possible applications, such as the
More accurate navigation systems and improved wireless communications may not come from traditional electronics, but rather from atoms. Researchers at Penn State and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new way to build tinier, smarter
The subject of today's NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is an ancient inhabitant of our galaxy. This sparkling scene features a globular cluster: a collection of tens of thousands to millions of stars, all tightly bound together under the influence of gravity. There are
Traces or perforations caused by living organisms after an animal's death can be found on various dinosaur bone remains. These perforations, known as bioerosion structures, provide information that helps us understand relationships between living organisms in the past,
With the North American fire season underway, and a record number of acres already burned nationwide, NASA's Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite's three instruments are observing vegetation precursors to fires, along with plumes of smoke and their
Archaeologists have uncovered an unknown stone circle that dates back at least 4,000 years to the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age and was most likely used for ritual activities.
Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are tiny carbon-based nanomaterials that have attracted increasing attention as environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional heavy-metal quantum dots. They are lightweight, photostable and potentially biocompatible, and their light absorption
Flinders University researchers, in partnership with the River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation, have found evidence that points to 7,000 years of Aboriginal mining of stone at Sugarloaf Hill in South Australia's Riverland. The dating formed part of the first detailed
As drought and water uncertainty put increasing pressure on orchard systems, researchers at the USDA Agricultural Research Service's Appalachian Fruit Research Station in Kearneysville, West Virginia, launched a study in response to strong grower interest in how modern apple
A new study from scientists at Purdue University reports that far-red radiation, in combination with increased carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration, significantly enhances biomass production in young leaf lettuce grown under controlled environments, offering practical guidance
Reliable operation of data centers has become essential to nearly all sectors of modern society, including health care, education, government services, power grid operation, banking, defense and disaster relief. New research published in Scientific Reports, led by University of
New research, published by the Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin), shows that co-workers can have powerful—but opposing—effects on the careers of young workers. While some colleagues foster learning and long-term success, others may hinder career progression through direct
In May 2024, auroras were observed at unusually low latitudes across the globe, lighting up skies that rarely see such displays. Inside Earth's magnetosphere, the region of space surrounding our planet and dominated by its intrinsic magnetic field, something significant was
The newly released images offer hints into the galaxy’s turbulent past The post James Webb Space Telescope Captures the Cigar Galaxy’s Brilliant Stellar Halo in Pristine Detail appeared first on Nautilus .
Imagine a global political summit that shapes the future of our planet, where one of the most populous countries in the world does not have a voice. This may seem unlikely, but currently 1.3 billion disabled people (nearly the population of China) do not have formal
Almost every material expands when heated. Well-known examples include railroad tracks and concrete roadways, which feature visible expansion gaps to accommodate this effect. However, thermal expansion poses a far more acute challenge for extremely precise technologies, such as
How do you teach someone to look at the moon? Not glance at it, the way we all have on a clear night, but truly read it, the way a geologist reads a hillside. That was the challenge NASA set itself before Artemis II, because when Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and
Over recent decades, harmful algal blooms have become increasingly common. These blooms often consist of bacteria called "cyanobacteria" in freshwater ecosystems. They can produce debilitating toxins, suffocate marine life by depleting oxygen in the water, and make water unsafe
Physicists at Paderborn University have, for the first time, experimentally demonstrated the so-called "return" of Rabi oscillations in semiconductor quantum dots. The phenomenon, which was first predicted theoretically in 2007, describes the decrease in the emission intensity
Long-term conservation policies may help restore freshwater ecosystems and prevent extreme species loss, new research suggests.
New AI models are accelerating the game of cat-and-mouse as cybersecurity experts try to keep ahead of would-be hackers. An AI expert explains the risks.
A conversation with writer Richard Louv, who coined the term “nature deficit disorder” The post How Humans Are Like Bloodhounds and Bats appeared first on Nautilus .
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a large-scale screening approach that identifies proteins controlling a fundamental step in gene expression known as alternative polyadenylation (APA). APA determines where an RNA molecule is cut and finished
An international team of astronomers has used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and a natural phenomenon known as gravitational lensing to achieve a definitive characterization of LAP1-B, an ultra-faint galaxy from 13 billion years ago. Expanding upon initial detections,
New research by Brown University geologists confirms that the Aleutian Islands, the archipelago stretching from Alaska to Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, experienced a massive geological uplift between 5 million and 7 million years ago. The researchers conclude that the uplift—a
The discovery of a completely new type of gravitational wave could reveal what happens near a black hole’s event horizon
Astronomers from Germany and Turkey have analyzed available data from various space telescopes to investigate an ultraluminous X-ray source designated X-4, which is located in the nearby galaxy NGC 4631. Results of the new study, published June 22 on the preprint server arXiv,
Shoppers who use shopping carts embedded with digital screens to assist trips to the supermarket spend up to a third more than those who do not, according to new research by Bayes Business School.
Greece is planning "a first historic mission" to send a Greek astronaut to the International Space Station, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' office announced Friday.
The closest thing marine taxonomists have to the Olympics is now underway in San Diego. But instead of racing for medals, leading scientists are spending two weeks working together to catalog the extraordinary diversity of life along the California coast.
If human sperm were a foot long, fruit fly sperm would span three football fields The post How Fruit Flies Manage Their Exceptionally Long Sperm appeared first on Nautilus .
This Silicon Valley-backed venture is unraveling the mangled remains of scrolls ruined by the 79 C.E. eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii
Rice paddy greenhouse gas emissions have doubled during the past 60 years—but practical farm changes could cut methane emissions and support global climate targets without reducing food production, a team led by Boston College scientists reports in the journal Nature Food.
Japan advised more than a million people to leave their homes as two tropical storms swept toward the archipelago Friday, with torrential rain also pounding Taiwan, where at least two people have been killed.
The heat wave battering Europe may have an unlikely partner in crime: a patch of cold ocean water south of Iceland and Greenland that can influence weather patterns over the continent.
Decades ago, Paul Erdős used randomness to illuminate the vast and weird world of networks. Now mathematicians are making his technique even more powerful. The post After 80 Years, Mathematicians Give Famed ‘Erdős Method’ an Upgrade first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Aotearoa New Zealand whitebait can rapidly switch their life cycles in response to sudden environmental changes, new University of Otago—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka research shows. The research is published in the journal Nature Communications.
NOAA and its research partners are forecasting a moderate harmful algal bloom (HAB) in western Lake Erie this summer. This year's bloom is expected to measure 3.5 on the HAB severity index, with a potential range of 3 to 4.5. Experts from NOAA and their government and academic
Europe's heat wave has smashed several temperature records, the U.N.'s weather and climate agency said Friday, adding that it would determine the full impact once the phenomenon has ended.
Researchers have directly visualized a rare type of chemical bond between some of the heaviest elements in the periodic table, providing experimental evidence of how these atoms share electrons in systems where this has been difficult to prove.
A rare variant of a gene called TP53 means Tracy Hutchinson has an extreme risk of developing cancer anywhere in her body, causing endless anxiety and requiring regular whole-body MRIs and other screening
Researchers have conducted a conservation genomics study on two critically endangered island oaks—Quercus bawanglingensis and Quercus pseudosetulosa. They assembled high-quality chromosome-level genomes and revealed how natural selection and demographic history have shaped
The enormous deep-sea cousins of your garden’s pill bugs can go five years without food. A gene they pilfered from bacteria may be part of the secret.
A marine heat wave has undermined the success of seagrass restoration efforts at a site in north Wales, new research has found. More than 1.1 million seagrass seeds were planted at sites in two bays in north Wales between 2023 and 2024 as part of Seagrass Ocean Rescue: North
The eastern tropical Pacific Ocean is known for its large low-oxygen zones that are increasing in size, putting marine life at risk. New research shows that 15 million years ago, the opposite was true.
Sometimes we mistake one kind of object with another to disastrous effect
From June 29 onward, Switzerland's glaciers will have exhausted their snow reserves. Every liter of meltwater now causes them to lose mass—this is Glacier Loss Day. Between the extreme years of 2003 and 2022 alone, 200 square kilometers of ice—an area almost as large as the
When biologists study cooperation in animals, they usually offer just a single task at a time. But what happens when animals can choose among several opportunities to work together? Biologists at Utrecht University discovered that this can make a remarkable difference.
The first empirical evidence of how A-level grading in the pandemic affected university applications corroborates concerns about disproportionate benefits for private schools. Disadvantaged students also benefited, however, and the long-term effects for these groups could
