Deep beneath the French-Swiss border, the world's largest scientific instrument has fallen silent. After years of smashing protons together at nearly the speed of light, CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has stopped operations and entered a long shutdown.
A new review in Limnology and Oceanography led by scientists at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography warns that the rapid loss of oxygen from the ocean and other aquatic ecosystems is pushing Earth toward an "unsafe space," with consequences that could be
Just as careful blending of eye shadow can make a difference to our looks, a recent study has shown how flowers go to considerable trouble to fine-tune their shades. In the relentless competition to attract bees, a slight edge can make the difference between life and death for
A rare CO chondrite meteorite was the probable impacter that struck Earth 66 million years ago, wiping out 75% of Earth's species, including nonavian dinosaurs. These findings are published in Science Advances. Researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Paris,
Alberto Borges, oceanographer at the University of Liège, has conducted a comparative study in Belgium and Africa on the microbial oxidation of methane in rivers, a natural process in which certain bacteria consume this powerful greenhouse gas before it is released into the
Dense wildfire smoke billowing down from Canada set off unhealthy air quality alerts across the United States again on Friday, stirring concern over the weekend's World Cup final outside New York.
These weren’t your traditional Disney princesses The post The Warrior Life of Ancient Egyptian Princesses appeared first on Nautilus .
How do wildfires grow into catastrophic events? By tracing the earliest detectable origins of the devastating 2015 equatorial Southeast Asian fires, researchers found that most large fires had multiple origin points and identified the ecological, climatic and human factors
Researchers in Thailand have developed a prototype high-performance bicycle tire that replaces conventional nylon fabric reinforcement with natural silk. The team combined laboratory-scale material testing with pilot-scale tire manufacturing. Natural rubber composites were
Cells are like metropolises, home to millions of molecular residents. If one were to stand atop a high-rise, trying to identify most of its inhabitants would seem an impossible task. Even with the sophisticated imaging tools currently available to scientists, it is challenging
Framing environmental risks in terms of how much time is left, rather than a future date, makes them feel more urgent and increases public engagement.
Despite burning hundreds of miles away, Canadian wildfires have become a familiar source of disruption in New York state.
Scientists have made many advances using traditional CRISPR technology, especially in medicine, but they are now seeking ways to create genuinely new gene-editing enzymes with properties that have not already evolved naturally. A new study, published in Science, describes a new
Wildfire smoke may be as much as 10 times more dangerous than other forms of air pollution, research suggests
In the mid-19th century, the remote island of St. Helena, located about 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) off the southwestern coast of Africa, became a receiving point for thousands of enslaved Africans rescued from illegal slave ships by the British Royal Navy. Tragically, about
As sulfur becomes increasingly scarce in soils worldwide, scientists are studying how plants decide whether to invest limited resources in growth or defense.
A new study identifying the ecological conditions needed for biodiversity offsetting to achieve conservation goals could provide important guidance for governments and industries as they expand biodiversity net gain (BNG) and nature restoration policies. The research is
Long before dinosaurs ruled the continents and modern crocodiles first appeared, their ancestors were already going through a decisive phase in their evolutionary history. It was in this ancient world, shortly after the greatest mass extinction in Earth's history, that a new
It’s a harrowing tale of deadly winters in Berlin captivity The post What Became of the Chimps Who Revolutionized Our Understanding of Animal Behavior? appeared first on Nautilus .
The lab-made cells open a window into what’s possible for synthetic life, researchers say.
Smoke from wildfires—which are burning more of the Northern Hemisphere as Earth warms—attacks nearly every system in the human body, killing tens of thousands of people a year, numerous medical studies show.
Electrical interconnects may very well be the unsung heroes of modern microchips. These tiny wires—typically made of copper due to its high conductivity—string together the billions of transistors that drive our computers and electronic devices. But as the technology advances
A recent study examined a transparent material used in high-impact applications such as helicopter windshields at the molecular level to measure its toughness. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of California, Irvine, followed a crack
Researchers at Uppsala University have calculated that the sun contains 55% more silver than previously estimated. The results are based on more realistic modeling of the sun's atmosphere and resolve a long-standing problem of missing silver in the solar system.
Cosmic rays are made primarily of protons with a few electrons sprinkled in, and they can reach energies even higher than what human-made accelerators can produce. Considering human-made accelerators, such as the Large Hadron Collider on the border of Switzerland and France,
Technological advances in autonomous truck technology are poised to have significant economic ripple effects on U.S. interstate commerce, highway infrastructure and labor costs, according to new research co-written by a team of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign economists.
Erosion, salinization and shrinking numbers of organisms such as worms and beneficial fungi can have a devastating effect on soil fertility, and so many parts of the world have passed laws to curb these processes. A study by the University of Bonn has now shown that these
For communities worried about PFAS contamination, waiting for test results can mean days of uncertainty. A University of Tasmania trial has used a mobile laboratory equipped with portable liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) technology to test soil and water on site
The biologist’s bold “energetic view of life” looks to the body’s strangest organelles as the link between cells, health, and mind and the foundation of our experience of being alive. The post Martin Picard’s Mitochondrial Theory of Mind first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Researchers in the U.S. have carried out the most stringent tests to date of the idea that an ultraviolet glow in the atmospheres of giant planets could partly arise through the indirect interaction between dark matter and ordinary matter. Led by Carlos Blanco at Princeton
Epigenetic clocks are important tools in modern aging research. Typically, they use characteristic DNA methylation patterns in the genome to precisely predict a person's age and infer conclusions about the individual's biological aging processes. However, why this works so well
A Western diet is bad for us and bad for the planet The post How Eating Healthier Could Reshape Agriculture appeared first on Nautilus .
Ticks that survive less-than-lethal doses of pesticide are able to withstand dangerous cold, which could help them spread tick-borne diseases farther north, a UC study has found. Biologists with the University of Cincinnati and the U.S. Department of Agriculture examined the
As sea levels rise due to climate change, encroaching seawater will likely make freshwater environments saltier. In a new study, MIT researchers have shown how that increase in salinity might affect microbial ecosystems found in environments such as rivers and estuaries.
Biological anthropologist Fatimah Jackson is leading an effort to prevent history from repeating.
Extreme heat is not only making cities less livable; it is also reshaping who can afford to live where. The highest levels of vulnerability to climate gentrification are no longer found in the urban core, but in the metropolitan periphery. To help anticipate this process,
Human activities are fundamentally altering the chemical makeup of coral reefs, according to a study led by the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa and published in Nature Communications. The research team discovered that 25 contaminants from agricultural, industrial and
Research carried out three years after installation at the Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm in the North Sea has found that distinct marine communities have developed inside offshore wind turbine foundations equipped with water replenishment holes. The foundations include
Quantum computers, systems that process information using the principles of quantum mechanics, could solve some problems that cannot be tackled by the classical computers currently used worldwide. Despite their potential, verifying that these computers are working correctly and
The Manhattan skyline was obscured by thick haze, and Chicago closed its beaches Thursday as out-of-control Canadian wildfires raged, sending smoke spewing into the United States and exposing millions of people to dangerously unhealthy air.
Seen from the air, Channel Country resembles a vibrant, vast tapestry, with a network of waterways crisscrossing the land. Spread across more than 280,000 square kilometers (108,000 square miles) in outback Australia, it is one of the world's last free-flowing desert river
When you think of carnivorous marsupials, you probably picture the Tasmanian devil or perhaps a spotted-tailed quoll. But these famous predators are only the largest members of a remarkable family of marsupials called dasyurids.
Private companies are reshaping India's space ambitions, building rockets and satellites as the country pushes to capture a bigger share of the global space economy.
Neil the Seal became a social media sensation almost overnight. Neil is a 5-year-old male southern elephant seal who weighs roughly 1 metric ton (1.1 tons). He was born on the Tasman Peninsula in October 2020 and has made an annual trip to Tasmania since. This is because many
Consumers have been quick to reject problematic sexual content since the #MeToo movement began in 2018, and new research from the University of Arizona concludes that sentiment has affected their wallets. When small changes can shift millions of dollars at the box office, is it
With high input costs and volatile crop markets affecting profitability, many Tennessee row crop producers are looking to diversify their farming operations in coming years. Canola, a cool-season crop, could serve as an alternative to winter wheat and offer access to new
Solve the math puzzle from our August 2026 issue, in which a family investigates an odd happening.
New, never-before-seen images provide a glimpse into the secretive lives of a clouded leopard species found in the dense rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra
A YSE-led study published in Environmental Research Letters found that current federal rules regulating American ginseng harvest—based on plant age and leaf count—poorly predict the biological traits that matter most for conservation.
Conceived by famed sociologist Paula England in the mid-1990s, occupational devaluation theory helps explain why workers in occupations with more women get paid less than workers in occupations with more men.
