Picture a bright red apple. Most people can do this easily. They imagine the apple's shape, color and shine. But for others, the image is vague and blurry or they "see" nothing at all. This is known as aphantasia—a "blind mind's eye."
Researchers have found an ingenious way to make soft robots and wearable technology more than three times more powerful by harnessing the surface tension of a tiny liquid metal droplet smaller than a raindrop.
If you stand on one of Australia's southern shorelines at this time of year, you might be lucky enough to spot a southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) swimming in the shallow waters. These ocean giants have migrated from the Southern Ocean and Antarctica to breed, give
A major transition in evolution is the shift from asexual to sexual reproduction in early organisms. But why would a yeast cell, which usually reproduces asexually, choose to mate with a very different partner in times of stress?
When massive stars die, they unleash some of the most powerful explosions in the universe. Yet not all supernovae are created equal. Some continue to shine brightly for months or even years as their expanding debris crashes into dense clouds of gas surrounding the star. These
New research from Monash University has provided the first comprehensive assessment of the Pilbara barking gecko (Underwoodisaurus seorsus) and revealed the species is facing a heightened risk of extinction under a rapidly warming climate.
Arguably one of the most curious ancient human relatives is Homo floresiensis, a 3-foot-tall species that lived on the Indonesian island of Flores and has been nicknamed "hobbit" for its diminutive stature. Even though they had small brains, scientists had thought they were
New research has revealed that water behaves differently when confined to spaces just one molecule thick. For the first time, scientists have directly measured the vibrational signatures of truly two-dimensional water. In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers
Nitrenes are the ghosts of synthetic chemistry, formed in an instant and gone just as quickly, rearranging into something entirely different. These highly reactive intermediates are widely used in synthesis, yet remain notoriously difficult to study because they rapidly
Researchers at Tohoku University have discovered a promising strategy that converts harmful carbon dioxide into valuable fuels and chemicals by precisely altering nanoclusters made of copper.
Homo floresiensis may have scavenged Komodo dragon leftovers instead of hunting small elephant relatives.
Researchers from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) at NUS have developed a new method that allows scientists to better understand how DNA is organized and regulated inside cells. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications on May 26, 2026,
Everyone could contribute dramatically more to scientific knowledge if given better recognition, administrative support and funding stability, new research has found. An international collaboration of 16 organizations used surveys and group discussions to identify key
Food scientists at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have used machine learning to sift through more than 2,300 scent molecules from aromatic plants and identify compounds with sleep-promoting potential, an approach that could accelerate the discovery of natural sleep
Viscosity is one of the most fundamental physical properties used to describe how materials flow. It governs the movement of liquids, molten rocks and even slowly deforming regions deep inside the Earth. While scientists have long studied materials with low or moderate
Astronomers have used the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) to study the composition of 3I/ATLAS, the brightest interstellar object ever seen, in detail. By measuring specific chemical fingerprints—the first observations of this kind for a comet
A TED talk and then a film, William Kamkwamba’s story of how he worked to provide his rural Malawian village with electricity has now been turned into a musical – and it mostly works, says Bethan Ackerley
Influencers who frequently switch between emotions during livestreams may attract more likes and comments, but they are likely to sell fewer products, according to new research from QUT. Published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the research analyzed more
The fate of the Atlantic Ocean current that keeps Europe’s climate warm depends on our carbon emissions and the rate of ice melt from Greenland, but there is a chance that a shutdown is already inevitable
Sheep farmers could soon be able to estimate their flock's live weight and fleece weight in real time, without the need for labor-intensive handling. The new system, being developed by CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, will capture measurements in real time as animals
The shape of biological structures, ranging from flower petals to the limbs or organs of animals, is often naturally best suited for performing specific functions. Biological structures also often present curved surfaces with specific functional advantages, such as facilitating
Zoraptera, also known as angel insects or ground lice, are tiny termite-like insects generally found underneath bark or in decaying wood. The Zoraptera group includes a few dozen known insect species that closely resemble each other.
Research from the University of St. Andrews is challenging conventional assumptions about the relationship between politics and entrepreneurship. The study explored whether the political environment in which people live influences their likelihood of starting a business, and
A new article by scholars Jennifer L. James, Ph.D., Karen Myers, DNP, and Olivia Miller, M.A., in the Journal of Educators Online, titled "Studying Faculty Perceptions of Rigor in Online College Courses: Compromising or Accommodating?" examines how faculty perceive academic
Social enterprises help communities thrive, but founder well-being is critical to sustaining their impact, UC research finds. Social enterprises create jobs, encourage ethical consumption, and address social and environmental challenges.
Researchers from the Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University examined the Ministry of Economy's flagship "Israel's Basket" initiative and found that although it substantially reduced the prices of the 100 products included in the program, these reductions were
Our brains are large compared with other animals, so it is tempting to assume there was an evolutionary advantage to them – but that may not be true at all
Some IVF clinics are using AI to perform tasks such as sperm and embryo selection, but some fertility experts question whether the technology will lead to more live births
A new study suggests that apoB, a blood test that measures harmful cholesterol particles, is better than standard LDL cholesterol testing for deciding who needs more intensive treatment. Researchers found it could prevent more heart attacks and strokes while remaining
Some marathon runners and other athletes swear by beetroot juice shots, but is there evidence they really do anything for our bodies? Columnist Alice Klein investigates
Water is the most abundant liquid on Earth's surface, and it is highly anomalous compared with other liquids because it expands upon freezing. The anomalies in water have been linked to how its microscopic structure changes with temperature and pressure. However, there is no
Researchers are sharing lessons from the unprecedented Stanley Park coyote attacks from 2020 to 2021 to help people better coexist with urban wildlife.
The formation of supramolecular polymers within living cells is an emerging strategy for regulating cellular functions, and lipid droplets (LDs) are promising environments for such processes. LDs are cellular organelles composed mainly of neutral lipids, such as
Researchers discovered that artificial streetlights can trap thousands of woodlice in mesmerizing circular "death spirals" never before seen in the wild. The surprising finding suggests that light pollution may be unintentionally altering the behavior of even the smallest
A "super typhoon" with the force of a Category 5 hurricane tore through the U.S. Pacific territories of the Northern Marianas and Guam on Monday, with authorities saying they had received reports of "major" damage on the small island of Rota.
China's Tianwen-2 space probe, which is set to bring back samples from an asteroid for research, has reached its target after traveling 1 billion kilometers (620 million miles) over more than a year, the Chinese space agency said Monday.
A strange "chirping" signal from a distant supernova has revealed the birth of a magnetar, confirming that these incredibly magnetic neutron stars can power the universe's brightest stellar explosions. The discovery also marks the first time Einstein's general relativity has
Wildfires raged across Southern Europe on Monday, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes and prompting officials to ban spectators from a stage of the storied Tour de France cycling race.
The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope has discovered 31 of the most ancient quasars ever found. Two of these giant and dazzling galaxy cores, powered by gargantuan black holes, are the earliest quasars yet observed in cosmic history. They shone with the light of a
AI companies are hiring philosophy graduates to help them understand the nature of consciousness, whether it can be replicated and how their systems can be made better and more reliable
The world's oceans are the hottest on record for June, pushing past records set during the 2023–24 El Niño years.
Researchers have identified a previously overlooked mechanism of brain cell death that appears to play a major role in Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. The finding could lead to new treatments aimed at slowing neuron loss by interrupting the process before cells
Scientists discovered ancient wolves on a tiny Baltic island where they could only have been brought by humans, suggesting an unexpectedly close relationship between people and wolves thousands of years ago. Evidence indicates the wolves were fed, possibly cared for, and may
Where would you go to watch a star being born? Probably not the heart of the Milky Way, which is about the most violent neighborhood our galaxy has to offer, a maelstrom of gas churning so fast and so chaotically that you would think nothing could ever settle there long enough
A rat first frees a cagemate rat and then shares food with it. Is this animal just as empathetic as humans? In an American study from 2011, researchers observed that rats first freed their fellow rats from a cage and then shared food with them instead of leaving them in the
The warblers—those harbingers of spring in the U.K.—have an unappreciated talent of a different sort. Common U.K. birds, including chiffchaffs and blackcaps, are playing a real role in the pollination of plants, according to new research in the Journal of Ecology.
Scientists have uncovered a hidden weakness beneath the Pacific Ocean that helps explain why Japan’s catastrophic 2011 earthquake and tsunami became so devastating. By drilling deeper into the seafloor than ever before, researchers discovered a thin, slippery layer of ancient
A stunning fossil discovery shows that ancient bees used the empty tooth sockets of mammal bones as tiny nests after owls scattered the bones across a cave floor 20,000 years ago. It's the first known evidence of bees nesting inside animal bones, revealing an astonishingly
Comets have played an interesting role in the history of astronomy. Since antiquity, many cultures saw them as omens or spirits, portending good or bad news for kings, queens and emperors. Over the past few hundred years, however, astronomers have studied them intently to
Quantum mechanics has journeyed from a strange and controversial idea to the foundation of some of humanity’s most advanced technologies. Now researchers are pushing its boundaries even further, with potential breakthroughs in energy, medicine, computing, and our understanding