Every year, Australia experiences a summer monsoon characterized by the reversal of winds, heavy rainfall, and flooding. In 2024–2025, however, the Australian summer monsoon (ASM) was the latest on record since measurements began in 1957. The monsoon's timely arrival is
No matter where you live in the United States, you have likely seen headlines about PFAS being detected in everything from drinking water to fish to milk to human bodies.
Around the world, governments and businesses are talking more and more about the need to move from today's "take, make, waste" economy to a circular one, where products are designed to last, materials stay in use, and waste is dramatically reduced. On paper, the case is
The Trump administration, with the support of many congressional Republicans, is looking to boost deep-sea mining as a way to counter Chinese dominance of critical minerals supply chains.
In the days since last week's fatal landslides at Mount Maunganui, there has been widespread discussion about what may have caused the slopes above the campground to fail, including the possible role of recent tree removal on Mauao.
In the drylands of Benin, West Africa, livestock farming is under growing pressure. These vast, hot landscapes cover roughly 70% of the country's land area. Their sparse pastures and scattered trees sustain around six million grazing animals, including 2.5 million cattle, one
California marked a milestone this month with the return of an uninterrupted Highway 1 through the perilous yet spectacular cliffs of Big Sur. The famed coastal road had been closed for more than three years after two major landslides buried the two-lane highway, and it took
Parts of India, including the capital Delhi, were once again covered in thick smog recently as toxic pollution from industry and crop-burning engulfed the region. Even though India's National Clean Air Program has advanced clean air action, air pollution remains a reoccurring
A new report from Penn State's Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) highlights the role colleges and universities can play in improving student outcomes by identifying financial insecurity early, and building coordinated support systems across counseling centers, academic
Last year, astronomers were fascinated by a runaway asteroid passing through our solar system from somewhere far beyond. It was moving at around 68 kilometers per second, just over double Earth's speed around the sun.
New research shows that the mere smell of predators is enough to change deer behavior and limit browsing damage to tree saplings. The findings, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, offer a potential tool for forest recovery and highlight the important role large
Some species wield natural antifreeze to survive brutal temperatures The post These Animals Are Expertly Adapted to the Cold appeared first on Nautilus .
Welcome to the real midlife crisis in the US The post Why Middle-Aged Americans Can’t Find Happiness appeared first on Nautilus .
Fungi are the hidden architects of our ecosystems, acting as everything from helpful partners for plants to aggressive decomposers that recycle dead wood. However, many fungi don't stick to just one job; they can switch lifestyles depending on their environment. Understanding
An unusual natural phenomenon appeared on Lake Lipno in South Bohemia, the Czech Republic, at the end of 2025. Large amounts of accumulated cyanobacteria in the water caused the ice to turn green. The phenomenon was thoroughly documented by hydrobiologists from the Biology
A new study using advanced artificial intelligence (AI) has revealed that the asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago caused only a modest decline in shark and ray species. The findings, published in the journal Current Biology, challenge previous
A team of engineers and scientists has shown for the first time that a hard-X-ray cavity can provide net X-ray gain, with X-ray pulses being circulated between crystal mirrors and amplified in the process, much like happens with an optical laser. The result of the
Cells organize their molecules into distinct functional areas. While textbooks usually refer to membrane-bound organelles such as mitochondria and cell nuclei, recent studies have also revealed organelles without membranes. These include stress granules and proteasome storage
Legal efforts to tackle excessive personal information collection by social media giants could transcend international boundaries if nations moved away from a focus on assessing competition using the value of data, a new study says.
In Finland, the average age of passenger cars is among the highest in Europe, and the majority of traffic-related particle emissions are produced by ICE vehicles that are more than 15 years old. The worst polluters are old diesel cars without a diesel particulate filter.
Researchers from the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), in collaboration with the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC), have led the most extensive observational study to
No ears, no problem. The tobacco hornworm caterpillar, a common garden pest, can actually detect airborne sound via microscopic hairs on its body, according to a team of faculty and graduate students at Binghamton University. The research could have implications for improving
A relatively simple statistical analysis method can more accurately predict the risk of landslides caused by heavy rain, according to a study coordinated by Brazilian researchers affiliated with the Institute of Mathematical and Computer Sciences at the University of São Paulo
Thyme, rosemary, and lavender have long been associated with natural medicine. Today, however, these aromatic plants are increasingly being studied by researchers. "In an era of ever-increasing microbial resistance to antibiotics, there is a growing emphasis on the need to
Switching to biodegradable plastics could slash toxic pollution by more than a third and dramatically reduce global waste by mid-century, but only if cities and companies invest in the right disposal systems, a Yale School of the Environment study found. Without proper
In a critical advance for climate resilience, researchers from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed an AI model that can predict dangerous convective storms—including Black Rainstorms, thunderstorms and extreme heavy rainfall like those that
Researchers at the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA published a step-by-step framework for determining the three-dimensional positions and elemental identities of atoms in amorphous materials. These solids, such as glass, lack the repeating atomic patterns seen in a
The pastoralist lifestyle is often depicted as an unchanging dietary reliance on herd animals and mobility. This is particularly the case in eastern Africa, where a dedicated focus on herds, meat and dairy, alongside extreme mobility, is seen as the perfect adaptation to
A new study published in Communications Biology reveals a critical, yet previously overlooked, environmental consequence of man-made dams constructed across rivers and streams. By investigating a key indicator species of ecosystem health, the brown trout (Salmo trutta),
In the early 1990s, Keith Willmott and a friend, both undergraduate students from the United Kingdom, arrived in Ecuador with impressionable minds and big aspirations. Willmott initially imagined there might be 20 to 30 butterfly species in the region that had yet to be
Building things so small that they are smaller than the width of a human hair was previously achieved by using a method called two-photon polymerization, also known as 2PP—today's state-of-the-art in 3D micro- and nanofabrication. Tiny sculptures such as a miniature replica of
Being in "holiday mode" makes tourists less environmentally responsible, according to a recent University of Queensland study. Researchers found that while tourists' core environmental values don't change, traveling can activate a "vacation place identity" which makes people
NASA's Artemis II mission will transport four astronauts around the moon, bringing the agency one step closer to sending the first astronauts to Mars. Throughout Artemis II, astronaut voices, images, video, and vital mission data must traverse thousands of miles, carried on
SpaceX is targeting a mid-June initial public offering that would coincide with a rare planetary alignment and founder Elon Musk's birthday, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, as the billionaire entrepreneur seeks to raise a record $50 billion.
Cheers rose from a bundled-up crowd as a loggerhead sea turtle that survived a likely shark attack trundled back into the ocean after months of rehabilitation in Florida, carrying a satellite tracker to see how she fares with only three flippers.
Small RNAs are short RNA molecules that help determine which genes in a cell are switched on or off. Until now, it was assumed that the small RNAs necessary for pollen development originate in the pollen itself and in the directly surrounding maternal tissue. However, a new
Changes to land use can directly heighten the risk of diseases spreading from animals to humans, new University of Stirling–led research has shown. The study, led by Dr. Adam Fell of the University's Faculty of Natural Sciences, shows that deforestation, farming, fast-growing
With a new electrochemical synthesis via an electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), achieving carbon-free ammonia production is closer to reality through work from Drs. Abdoulaye Djire and Perla Balbuena, chemical engineering professors at Texas A&M University, and
Microscopic airborne particles known as PM2.5 contribute to 100,000 premature deaths in the United States each year. A new University of Notre Dame study finds that 40% of these deaths can be attributed to pollution that crosses state lines, highlighting the impact of the
Sleep is essential for much of the animal kingdom. During the night, neuron and tissue repair mechanisms are activated to aid recovery from daily activity. This is risky: organisms that sleep are more vulnerable to predators. However, the phenomenon extends from mammals to
SpaceX has launched its latest national security mission, yet another GPS satellite that was originally to have been launched by United Launch Alliance. A Falcon 9 that was delayed from Monday because of weather lifted off Tuesday night on the GPS III-9 mission to bring the
The famed physicist’s persistence led him to uncover shocking failures The post How Richard Feynman Found the Root of the Challenger Disaster appeared first on Nautilus .
Seventy percent of soils in Europe are contaminated with pesticides. A Europe-wide study co-led by researchers of the University of Zurich now shows that their effects on soil life are substantial, as pesticides suppress various beneficial soil organisms. To protect soil
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations Agreement on the High Seas (BBNJ) and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) have demonstrated strong commitment by governments and international organizations in recent years to social and environmental
Who grows our food? This seemingly simple question is getting harder to answer in a world where our food crosses borders to get to our plate.
A major challenge in thermal-management and thermal-insulation technologies, across multiple industries, is the lack of materials that simultaneously offer low thermal conductivity, mechanical robustness, and scalable fabrication routes.
Australian and New Zealand scientists have unearthed the remains of ancient wildlife in a cave near Waitomo on Aotearoa's North Island, the first time a large number of million-year-old fossils have been found—including an ancestor of the large flightless Kākāpō parrot.
Every time a cell divides, it must copy its entire genome so that each daughter cell inherits a complete set of DNA. During that process, enzymes known as polymerases race along the DNA to copy its code and build new strands. To prevent these machines from detaching mid-copy, a
After decades of growth, the use of antimicrobials—including antibiotics—in livestock peaked in 2013 and then dropped by nearly a third by 2020, finds a major new study led by UCL researchers. The decline is positive, as overusing antimicrobials in animals can create
The cochlea is the spiral-shaped structure within the inner ear responsible for our sense of hearing. To fully understand hearing functions and open the door to new hearing loss treatments, scientists require intricately detailed views of hair cells within the cochlea that
