Using cargo recovered from one of Australia's most infamous shipwrecks, new Curtin University-led research has revealed how surprisingly sophisticated global supply chains helped source and transport construction materials in the 17th century.
In a world searching for more sustainable ways to manage waste, the promise of turning "trash into treasure" is hard to ignore. Take nitrate pollution, for example. Every year, nitrogen fertilizers help feed billions of people. But not all of that nitrogen stays where it is
The wildfire that engulfed Spain's Ávila region, northwest of the capital, Madrid, is now considered the largest in the country's modern history, with around 50,000 hectares (193 square miles) burned, the government said this week.
For most theories in physics, the order of operations has little impact on the result. When setting a dial to a certain position, for example, it doesn't matter whether it's turned clockwise or counterclockwise—the result will always be the same. Yet for non-Abelian gauge
Feeding wild animals is a popular activity at tourist destinations. While these interactions often appear harmless, scientists are recognizing how supplemental feeding of wild animals can alter ecosystems in unexpected ways.
Winters in Antarctica's Ross Sea have become stormier in recent decades, affecting sea-ice conditions and field operations, new University of Otago—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka research shows.
Scientists at Imperial College London and the University of Manchester have developed a promising new way to create safer and more effective treatments for life-threatening fungal infections. The research, published today in Nature, describes a new family of antifungal agents
The vast majority of proteins in our bodies contain regions that are in a constant state of wiggling, shape-shifting every few nanoseconds to completely change how they look. Information on how these shape-shifting proteins work is critical to understanding health and disease
Historians have for decades chronicled instances of discriminatory practices under Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Administration mortgage programs, but the extent of these biases has been unknown. The first national-level analysis of early FHA and VA lending
The octopus is a biological oddity. It can use tools, open jars, and its complex nervous system supports as many neurons as a small primate. Now Harvard biologists have discovered a mysterious distinction in octopuses' core biology: Some octopuses have an unusual adaptation in
Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine have developed an artificial intelligence framework that can redesign proteins on a scale previously seen only in natural evolution. The tool can create shorter, longer and highly modified versions of proteins while preserving
A remarkably preserved fossil from Mongolia's Gobi Desert is reshaping scientists' understanding of mammal evolution during the age of dinosaurs.
Researchers at Colorado State University have developed a process to transform naturally occurring, highly stable carbon dioxide into recyclable, high-performance materials that could replace today's plastics in many situations. Their catalytic process, described in the journal
Many of these structures date to around C.E. 100–300, during the time of the Aquiry civilization, and may have been used for ceremonial purposes
A newly discovered change in ribosomal RNA makes protein production more precise, potentially safeguarding these cephalopods’ complex nervous systems
Electronic motion sets the stage for virtually every light-induced process in nature, from the first step of a chemical reaction to the flow of charge in a solid. Yet these processes unfold so rapidly that they can be observed only with flashes of light lasting a few hundred
In November 2025, NASA's Mars-bound ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral with special cargo on board: two camera systems designed and built by faculty and students at NAU, with support from the University of
A team of researchers has discovered that winds generated by supermassive black holes are 100 times more powerful than previously thought, carrying energy across distances of approximately 300,000 light-years. The discovery demonstrates that these explosive winds affect the
Why do some people who embrace conspiracy theories simply hold those beliefs, while others act on them? A new study published in the British Journal of Social Psychology identifies three characteristics that help determine when conspiracy beliefs are most likely to shape
Many viruses can infect both humans and animals, including hepatitis E virus. This virus is often transmitted to humans via contaminated meat products, such as by ingesting raw or undercooked pork or wild game. However, mouse liver cells are not a suitable host for hepatitis E
A new study reignites the global firestorm debate The post Dinosaurs May Have Been Literally Charbroiled After the Asteroid Impact appeared first on Nautilus .
Giant black holes adrift in deep space are normally invisible—unless they’re dining on stars
At picnics and World Cup watch parties across the United States this summer, people have been reaching for bowls of chips and guacamole. Most of that guacamole is made from avocados grown in Mexico—on orchards that, in what might come as a surprise, contribute less water
Astronomers have built the first three-dimensional map of gas temperature in the space surrounding our solar system, revealing a far messier and more dynamic picture than current models predict. The study was submitted to the arXiv preprint server on July 16.
For the first time, a research team from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology and Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany, has demonstrated that insects can mimic floral scents to manipulate pollinators.
Researchers at the University of Warwick and spinout company Verdel Instruments have successfully demonstrated two-dimensional mass spectrometry (2DMS) on a benchtop instrument, making this powerful technique practical and affordable for everyday laboratory use.
A private spacecraft launched to boost the decaying orbit of NASA’s Swift Observatory is now suffering from potentially mission-ending malfunctions
New research has found that 6.5 million Americans live in homes on or near landslide-prone slopes. With a single map, local governments and residents can now see landslide hazard hotspots at the regional, state and county levels to ensure they are aware of and prepared for an
Ancient single-celled red algae that thrive in scalding, acidic waters are emerging as far more than specialized survivors.
Scientists have found a genetic switch that could shave years off avocado breeding by allowing researchers to identify one of a young tree's most important traits long before it flowers.
Ethanol is an alcohol used in a vast number of industrial and household applications. When dehydrogenated—in this case, stripped of some of its hydrogen atoms—it yields another important compound: acetaldehyde, which is used to make resins, dyes, perfumes and synthetic flavors,
A liquid brushed onto cavities in seconds may spare many young children from pain, infection, and surgery. A major U.S. trial found that silver diamine fluoride stopped decay in more than half of treated baby teeth. The treatment requires no drilling, shots, or sedation,
Signals traveling from the gut to the brain may help turn meals into lasting memories. Rats showed stronger memory activity after consuming nutritious foods, but not after drinking sweet liquids with little or no nutritional value. Blocking the vagus nerve erased this effect
If you've ever tried to read a scientific paper, you've almost certainly run into a p-value. And if you found it confusing, you're in good company: Plenty of working scientists misunderstand it too.
Quantum technologies are devices and systems that exploit the laws of quantum mechanics and could perform tasks that are difficult or impossible to tackle using their classical counterparts. These technologies process and store information using qubits (i.e., quantum bits),
Bumblebees naturally have short lives, but extreme heat and human activity are making survival harder. Pesticides can poison bees or destroy the flowers they depend on, while habitat loss leaves them with fewer safe places to live and feed. Protecting native plants and using
The infrared-sensitive James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has conducted multiple surveys of the very distant universe, digging into what was happening in the first billion years after the Big Bang. As part of these deep surveys, its sensors have been picking up mysterious
Just a passing visit, but a dramatic one The post This Time-Lapse Video from the Psyche Spacecraft Shows Mars As You’ve Never Seen It Before appeared first on Nautilus .
Rice University chemists have found a new way to make neodymium, a rare-earth metal, interact with oxygen. Using a specially designed molecular structure described as a “basket,” the team positioned the atoms so they could form a bond once thought unlikely. The breakthrough
Paris Hilton's mother, Kathy Hilton, recently tried the "Jell-O diet" to lose weight. She believed other celebrities—Oprah Winfrey, Doctor Oz, Michelle Obama and Kelly Clarkson—had endorsed it. But the diet was fake, and so were the endorsements. Both had been generated by
More than 4 in 5 physicians and dentists believe applicants who disclose a history of substance use on medical or dental school applications risk hurting their chances of admission, according to a new study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
When Congress passed the Deborah Sampson Act of 2020—named for a woman who served in the Revolutionary War disguised as a man—the goal was to broaden access to government-provided medical care for female military veterans.
When brands spend millions every year to transport Super Bowl audiences back in time during commercials, what happens if they choose the wrong era? Knowing who prefers which part of history is valuable marketing knowledge, and a new tool developed at the University of Arizona
Smell can bring back vivid childhood memories—the so-called “Proust’s madeleine” phenomenon—and neuroscientists now think they know why
New work explains how avocado trees coordinate a complex reproductive strategy, switching every day between male and female
A new cooking method could make French fries crispier in less time while significantly limiting how much oil they absorb. Researchers propose combining microwave heating, which keeps oil out, with conventional frying, which provides the crunch consumers expect.
SciAm books editor Bri Kane shares her favorite science books for every summer mood
A shape that captured worldwide attention for solving a decades-old mathematical puzzle has returned to the spotlight. While the shape's properties allowed it to solve previous puzzles, little is known about its other associated properties, creating opportunities for further
From planning transportation networks to organizing massive datasets, many of society's most important challenges boil down to an optimization problem: finding the best solution among an enormous number of possibilities. As these problems increase in size and scope, however,
Discovered by an amateur mathematician in 2022, this strange construct can tile an infinite surface without repeating. But can it be useful in the real world?