A hand stencil on the wall of a cave in Indonesia has become the oldest known rock art in the world, exceeding the archaeologists' previous discovery in the same region by 15,000 years or more.
All celestial bodies—planets, suns, even entire galaxies—produce magnetic fields, affecting such cosmic processes as the solar wind, high-energy particle transport, and galaxy formation. Small-scale magnetic fields are generally turbulent and chaotic, yet large-scale fields are
Neural tissue normally dies quickly without oxygen. Yet bird retinas—among the most energy-demanding tissues in the animal kingdom—function permanently without it. This may be relevant in future treatment of stroke patients.
During the last ice age, the Atlantic Ocean's powerful current system remained active and continued to transport warm, salty water from the tropics to the North Atlantic despite extensive ice cover across much of the Northern Hemisphere, finds new research led by UCL scientists.
In a paper published in Nature, a team led by University of Chicago paleoanthropologist Professor Zeresenay Alemseged reports the discovery of the first Paranthropus specimen from the Afar region of Ethiopia, 1,000 km north of the genus' previous northernmost occurrence.
A research team led by the University of Oxford's Department of Engineering Science has shown it is possible to engineer a quantum mechanical process inside proteins, opening the door to a new class of quantum-enabled biological technologies.
Imagine Max, a well-trained border collie, manages to ignore a squirrel in the park when his owner tells him to sit. His owner says, "Max, stop chasing that squirrel and sit down," and Max obeys. Can dogs learn and understand words the way humans do?
The world is now using so much fresh water amid the consequences of climate change that it has entered an era of water bankruptcy, with many regions no longer able to bounce back from frequent water shortages.
To land on the right foot on the Red Planet, European engineers have been dropping a skeleton of the four-legged ExoMars descent module at various speeds and heights on simulated Martian surfaces.
In a multi-institutional study published today in Nature Nanotechnology, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported that engineered bispecific nanobodies successfully strengthened mucosal defenses in the respiratory tract, improving protection
Quantum technologies, systems that process, transfer or store information leveraging quantum mechanical effects, could tackle some real-world problems faster and more effectively than their classical counterparts. In recent years, some engineers have been focusing their efforts
When Neanderthals in Italy were crossing the Alps, it's likely they took refuge in high-altitude bear caves. A new study of stone tools in Caverna Generosa, a cave sitting 1,450 meters up in the mountains, found that these travelers also brought a toolkit with them.
Astronomers from the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG) in Cairo, Egypt, have investigated a young open cluster known as Czernik 38. As a result, they found a new open cluster, which turns out to be a companion to Czernik 38. The discovery was
Researchers recorded the neurons that shape directional navigation as bats explored a remote island off the coast of Tanzania. The post How Animals Build a Sense of Direction first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Flinders University paleontology researchers—with local fossil experts—have discovered how prolific shorebirds, including the Plains-wanderer, once lived across South Australia's South-East during wetter times up to 60,000 years ago.
New research shows that visits to prison museums and other dark heritage sites are shaped less by labels, displays or audio guides, and more by how people experience them together. The findings follow a recent project that explored how people make sense of difficult heritage by
For years, economists have pointed to technology, globalization, and shifting labor markets as primary factors contributing to economic polarization in the U.S. But a new study highlights another driving force that cuts across regions—the housing market.
Dreaming of harvesting peaches, plums, apples or figs from your own backyard? Growing delicious homegrown fruit starts with planting your tree correctly—and at the right time of year.
The Laboratory for Coexistence and Violence Prevention Studies (LAECOVI) at the UCO examines the relationship between moral courage and different forms of defense against bullying in a study involving over 3,700 students ages 10 to 16.
The language used to describe conflicts naturally reflects assumptions about how different forms of violence emerge and develop.
Fast-fashion companies churn out affordable, trendy tops and trousers to meet the tastes of the day, targeting fashion-savvy Gen Zers and young adults on a budget. For years, the Spanish fast-fashion retailer Zara has stood out for delivering wardrobe staples and bold new
Modern cells are complex chemical entities with cytoskeletons, finely regulated internal and external molecules, and genetic material that determines nearly every aspect of their functioning. This complexity allows cells to survive in a wide variety of environments and compete
Neutrinos have kept scientists on their toes in the decades since they were discovered.
Through sand extraction and the disposal of dredged harbor silt, about 200 million tons of sediment are relocated every year in the coastal waters of the North Sea. The Wadden Sea is particularly strongly affected. This is the result of a new study by the Helmholtz Center
Researchers from the University of Konstanz have studied how insect brains take in complex light stimuli and process them in parallel. They are the first to have found evidence that information is processed in different layers of the lamina.
This follow-up to the influential 28 Days Later continues to take the zombie movie franchise in a surprising and thought-provoking direction
How can scientists estimate the pH level of Enceladus' subsurface ocean without landing on its surface? This is what a study recently posted to the arXiv preprint server hopes to address as a team of scientists from Japan investigated new methods for sampling the plumes of
In a recent study, researchers from China have developed a chip-scale LiDAR system that mimics the human eye's foveation by dynamically concentrating high-resolution sensing on regions of interest (ROIs) while maintaining broad awareness across the full field of view.
In honor of the Milan Cortina Olympics, Milan cultural officials are for a brief time only allowing visitors access to a long-hidden wall and ceiling painting by Leonardo da Vinci while restoration work is underway.
Parking lot construction at Colorado's Dinosaur National Monument unearthed new fossils last fall, the first discovery at the monument in more than 100 years, according to the National Park Service.
Buzz Aldrin, the second man and only one of 12 to ever walk on the moon, turns 96 today. He's just one of four living moonwalkers and the oldest remaining astronaut still making trips around the sun.
A European spacecraft caught rare footage of three successive prominences popping off the sun
A study led by a University of Calgary researcher has come up with an AI-based early detection system for river-borne pathogens—including whirling disease in trout and salmon.
A dive into how scientists are trying to understand what consciousness is and where it comes from
The world is entering an era of "global water bankruptcy" with rivers, lakes and aquifers depleting faster than nature can replenish them, a United Nations research institute said on Tuesday.
Even very slight environmental noise, such as microscopic vibrations or magnetic field fluctuations a hundred times smaller than Earth's magnetic field, can be catastrophic for quantum computing experiments with trapped ions.
Before scientists even knew how many Florida scrub millipedes were left in the wild, a quiet breakthrough happened in a University of South Florida lab. The rare, giant millipedes reproduced in captivity.
Climate change is turbocharging heat waves, wildfires, floods and tropical storms, but how deadly have extreme weather events become for people in their path?
A popular idea suggests a link between big brains and a rich social life, but octopuses don't fit the pattern, which suggests something else is going on
Scientists from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and colleagues have developed a new way to fabricate three-dimensional nanoscale devices from single-crystal materials using a focused ion beam instrument. The group used this new method to carve helical-shaped
Children born to mothers who were exposed to smoke in southern California showed increased rates of autism, although the reason why is unclear
NASA's Suni Williams—one of two astronauts stuck for months at the International Space Station—has retired.
Solar Orbiter has captured the clearest evidence yet that a solar flare grows through a cascading “magnetic avalanche.” Small, weak magnetic disturbances rapidly multiplied, triggering stronger and stronger explosions that accelerated particles to extreme speeds. The process
A new building material developed by engineers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute could change how the world builds. Made using an enzyme that turns carbon dioxide into solid minerals, the material cures in hours and locks away carbon instead of releasing it. It’s strong,
Just as avalanches on snowy mountains start with the movement of a small quantity of snow, the ESA-led Solar Orbiter spacecraft has discovered that a solar flare is triggered by initially weak disturbances that quickly become more violent. This rapidly evolving process creates
Scientists have discovered that the human brain understands spoken language in a way that closely resembles how advanced AI language models work. By tracking brain activity as people listened to a long podcast, researchers found that meaning unfolds step by step—much like the
A new study suggests that micro-doses of THC could help counter many long-term side effects of HIV treatment without causing intoxication. In animal models, low-dose THC reduced inflammation, improved gut bacteria, boosted serotonin, and lowered harmful cholesterol and bile
Mountain regions around the world are heating up faster than the lands below them, triggering dramatic shifts in snow, rain, and water supply that could affect over a billion people. A major global review finds that rising temperatures are turning snowfall into rain, shrinking
In the icy waters of Alaska's Bristol Bay, a new study reveals how a small population of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) survive the long haul through a surprising strategy: they mate with multiple partners over several years. The combination of long-term genetics,
Scientists at Stanford Medicine have discovered a treatment that can reverse cartilage loss in aging joints and even prevent arthritis after knee injuries. By blocking a protein linked to aging, the therapy restored healthy, shock-absorbing cartilage in old mice and injured