Here's a statistical challenge worthy of a grandmaster: How do you create an accurate ranking system when the best players usually don't win? This is the conundrum of elite chess. The stronger the players, the greater the odds of the match ending in a draw.
The charismatic, robust, and impressive North American mountain sheep is losing its habitat to industrial mining, the changing climate, and human activity. And unless action is taken to protect this popular and inherently American species, it could face extinction.
Historical injustices such as slavery and colonialism are not just matters of the past but active forces shaping present-day inequality and development, according to new legal research published in a leading African human rights volume. A new co-authored chapter by Mr. Olusegun
A team of physicists from the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with collaborators, has identified the dominant physical mechanism responsible for energy release in the nuclear isomer molybdenum-93m (Mo-93m). Using high-precision
For people who have been quietly struggling with doubts about their relationship, the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day can feel fraught. As Feb. 14 approaches, questions that were once easy to sidestep often become harder to ignore. In a study that tracked romantic couples
As soon as you drive over the top of the Peak District and down into Sheffield you can see the light pollution—and it's horrible, said a participant in a research project into darkness and light pollution.
When we think about birds, we often picture their colorful plumage: the iridescence of a peacock's tail or the electric blue flash of a kingfisher. Or we might consider how they use voices, from the song of the nightingale to the coo of a dove or the shriek of a jay.
Large blooms of seaweed are increasingly being reported along coastlines globally, from Europe and Asia to the tropics and beyond.
Miriam Menkin didn’t achieve the same fame as her colleague John Rock, but the life-changing procedure wouldn’t be possible without her The post The Woman Who Paved the Way for IVF appeared first on Nautilus .
After major disasters, public debate often treats them as unexpected or unprecedented. This reaction is not necessarily about the absence of warnings. It reflects how societies process shock—and how authorities often explain disruption as unavoidable, rather than the result of
The idea of a "trophy" wife or husband may not sound like a very romantic basis for marriage. It implies one half of a couple brings physical attractiveness to a relationship, while the other half brings status and money.
The combustible sedimentary rock, better known as coal, was not only crucial to the onset of advanced technology here on Earth, but it should also be key to the development of advanced E.T.s residing on any given exoearth. Or so say the authors of a new paper just published in
As glaciers around the world continue to shrink and disappear, they are drawing more visitors than ever, not only for their beauty but for what they have come to represent in an era of climate change. A new study co-authored by Rice University anthropologist Cymene Howe
In nature, molecules often show a strong preference for partnering with other molecules that share the same chirality or handedness. A behavior that is quite evident in the phenomenon known as homochirality-driven entanglement, where molecules that are all left-handed or all
A study by researchers at King's College London and the University of Oslo found that resistance to green levies in the countryside is driven not just by the financial cost, but by a sense of unequal treatment at the hands of government.
A long-term observational study found a link between the amount of tea and caffeinated coffee people drank and the risk of dementia.
In order to build the computers and devices of tomorrow, we have to understand how they use energy today. That's harder than it sounds. Memory storage, information processing, and energy use in these technologies involve constant energy flow—systems never settle into
New research from Abertay University and UHI Perth has uncovered the key factors driving repeat adult missing incidents, warning that weak or inconsistent follow-up support is leaving vulnerable people at continued risk. Published in Psychology, Crime & Law, the new study
Sydney communities may be missing out on crucial tree planting projects intended to combat urban heat, leaving western and eastern parts of Greater Sydney with less protection from extreme heat, a University of Sydney-led study has revealed. In a surprising finding, the
Mathematics, like many other scientific endeavors, is increasingly using artificial intelligence. Of course, math is the backbone of AI, but mathematicians are also turning to these tools for tasks like literature searches and checking manuscripts for errors. But how well can
Pet owners want quick answers when their beloved cat or dog is sick. And if these furry friends are experiencing digestive distress, lethargy and fever, it's important to rapidly rule out serious illnesses like feline panleukopenia (also called feline parvovirus) and canine
Using an advanced machine-learning algorithm, researchers in the UK and Japan have identified several promising candidate locations for the long-lost landing site of the Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft. Publishing their results in npj Space Exploration, the team, led by Lewis Pinault
Modern technologies increasingly rely on light sources that can be reconfigured on demand. Think of microlasers that can quickly switch between different operating states—much like a car shifting gears—so that an optical chip can route signals, perform computations, or adapt to
Using HARPS and HARPS-N spectrographs, astronomers have observed a nearby K-type star designated HD 176986, known to host two super-Earth exoplanets. The observations resulted in the discovery of another planet in the system at least several times more massive than Earth. The
Gas giants are large planets mostly composed of helium and/or hydrogen. Although these planets have dense cores, they don't have hard surfaces. Jupiter and Saturn are the gas giants in our solar system, but there are many other gas giant exoplanets in our galaxy and some are
Most shark fossils are just teeth—their cartilage skeletons usually decay long before they can fossilize. But in northwestern Arkansas, a series of geological sites known as the Fayetteville Shale has preserved dozens of rare, three-dimensional shark skeletons dating back more
A University of Phoenix study examined an introductory environmental science course redesigned for nontraditional adult learners and found that students improved on key course goals and career-aligned skills after artificial intelligence tasks were built into the curriculum.
Two pieces of elk hide connected by a twisted-fiber cord are the earliest evidence of sewing. But what they were used for is still a mystery.
What happens to kids who experience terminal lucidity—and the caregivers who tend to them The post The Dying Children Who Suddenly Wake Up appeared first on Nautilus .
A type of cognitive training that tests people's quick recall seems to reduce the risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease
A new proof solves a long-standing problem about the doughnut-shaped torus
Scientists have discovered that DNA behaves in a surprising way when squeezed through tiny nanopores, overturning a long-held assumption in genetics research. What researchers once thought were knots causing messy electrical signals turn out to be something else entirely:
Paul Erdős was one of the most prolific mathematicians to ever live, known for showing up at the door of others in the field and declaring they should host and feed him while they do maths together. His radical life should be immortalised by Hollywood in a comedy biopic, says
Earthquake swarms can supercharge microbial growth
A long-term study found that women who closely followed a Mediterranean diet had a much lower risk of stroke. The strongest benefits were seen in women who ate more plant-based foods, fish, and olive oil while cutting back on red meat and saturated fats. Their risk dropped
Scientists have discovered why ovarian cancer spreads so rapidly through the abdomen. Cancer cells enlist normally protective abdominal cells, forming mixed groups that work together to invade new tissue. These helper cells lead the way, allowing cancer to spread faster and
How do figure skaters like Ilia Malinin keep landing harder and harder jumps?
One type of friction can waste energy even when two perfectly smooth surfaces move against each other, but researchers are getting a handle on how to attenuate or stop it completely
Babies show innate rhythm as NASA’s Artemis II mission hits delays, a major solar flare erupts and concerns grow over PFAS “forever chemicals”
Volcanic activity is not unique to Earth: traces of volcanic activity, such as lava tubes, have been found on Mars and the moon. Now, the University of Trento has demonstrated the existence of an empty lava tube even in the depths of Venus, a planet whose surface and geology
Humans might have been sailing the sea between Greenland and Canada as long as it’s been unfrozen, archaeological evidence suggests
SpaceX is putting its longstanding focus of sending humans to Mars on the back burner to prioritize establishing a settlement on the moon, founder Elon Musk said Sunday.
When the next mission to the International Space Station blasts off from Florida next week, a special keepsake will be hitching a ride: a small stuffed rabbit.
A centuries-old Chinese medicinal root is getting new scientific attention as a potential game-changer for common hair loss. Polygonum multiflorum, long believed to restore dark, healthy hair, appears to work on multiple fronts at once—blocking hair-shrinking hormones,
Forests around the world are quietly transforming, and not for the better. A massive global analysis of more than 31,000 tree species reveals that forests are becoming more uniform, increasingly dominated by fast-growing “sprinter” trees, while slow-growing, long-lived species
A common iron mineral hiding in soil turns out to be far better at trapping carbon than scientists realized. Its surface isn’t uniform — it’s a nanoscale patchwork of positive and negative charges that can grab many different organic molecules. Instead of relying on a single
A legendary golden fabric once worn only by emperors has made an astonishing comeback. Korean scientists have successfully recreated ancient sea silk—a rare, shimmering fiber prized since Roman times—using a humble clam farmed in modern coastal waters. Beyond reviving its
Baker’s yeast isn’t just useful in the kitchen — it may also be built for space. Researchers found that yeast cells can survive intense shock waves and toxic chemicals similar to those on Mars. The cells protect themselves by forming special stress-response structures that help
A new international study points to a specific brain network as the core driver of Parkinson’s disease. Scientists found that this network becomes overly connected, disrupting not just movement but also thinking and other bodily functions. When researchers targeted it with
The 25th Winter Olympic Games are upon us, with Italy set to host the Games for the fourth time. The schedule at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics is set to look similar to previous iterations of the event: a mix of snow and ice sports held on what is meant to be
