Private spacecraft falls back to Earth after failing to rescue aging NASA telescope
The robotic spacecraft that failed to rescue an aging NASA telescope plunged back to Earth on Friday less than three months after launching on the bold mission.
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Personal experience trumps public reputation when people judge others' refusals
A research team led by Professor Hitoshi Yamamoto of Rissho University experimentally examined how people evaluate others when a person's public reputation conflicts with their own experience with that person. The study was published Sept. 14, 2026, in the journal Evolution and
Molecular switch-up: Bacteria remodel a peptide to take on new role
Remodeling may bring to mind construction crews and scaffolding, but the process is far from unique to buildings. Even molecules can be remodeled. Pandorachelins, newly discovered molecules produced by Pandoraea bacteria, are one example.
The Uprising: The real medieval revolt that inspired Andrew Garfield's new film
The Uprising, a medieval drama directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Andrew Garfield, is set to hit theaters this fall. The film draws its inspiration from the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 in England.
Targeted nanoparticles reduce tumor scarring and enable immunotherapy response in mice
Many liver and lung cancers arise in tissue that's already been scarred by chronic disease, such as hepatitis, cirrhosis or long-term lung damage. That scarring creates an environment that suppresses nearby immune cells, so by the time a tumor takes hold, it's often already
How the Pro‑Nicotine “Wellness” Movement Rebranded an Addictive Drug
The movement is focused on the idea of “clean” nicotine use, such as pouches, which don’t contain tobacco The post How the Pro‑Nicotine “Wellness” Movement Rebranded an Addictive Drug appeared first on Nautilus .
Researchers track emerging pathogens at Arctic bird gathering
Every year, birds migrate north and gather in a single location in the Arctic, and a team of University of Kentucky researchers is collaborating with Alaska Native communities to study how diseases spread and evolve at this gathering before they reach human populations.
African elephants and medicinal plants: Possible self-medication documented through local ecological knowledge
Wild African elephants living in the Mount Elgon region of Kenya appear to seek out specific plants when unwell. Local experts also reported mothers administering plant-based "medicine" to their offspring.
Trade tensions, high prices and interest rates drive slip in consumers' outlook
Consumer sentiment fell by less than four index points in September, reaching its lowest reading in four months and down 15% from January 2026, according to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.
Two ancient burial sites may explain mystery of Göbeklitepe's scattered human bones
Since 1995, archaeologists have excavated hundreds of human bones from Göbeklitepe, an archaeological site in southeastern Türkiye. The ancient remains are around 10,000 years old and date to a time when humans were beginning to settle into permanent farming communities.
Gen Z communicates differently in the workplace, but older colleagues can still decode them
For all the talk about generational differences at work, some of the biggest differences show up in surprisingly ordinary moments.
3D images reveal how bacterial cells coordinate protein production and transport across the membrane
Scientists have often thought of cells as small, bustling cities with parts that resemble factories, power grids and shipping systems. While past research has illuminated the individual components of these cell cities, scientists haven't had the tools to probe more deeply into
These are the first feathers ever found in fossilized dinosaur poop
The rare fossil hints that differences in plumage may explain why some Cretaceous-era birds survived an asteroid impact but others died.
Teen loneliness may follow young people into the workplace
What happens when loneliness follows a young person from the school hallway into the workplace? New research suggests that feeling lonely during adolescence may be linked to a greater risk of unstable or less secure employment in young adulthood.
Modification of magnetic nanoparticles improves RNA isolation
The COVID-19 pandemic clearly demonstrated the importance of rapid and reliable diagnostic methods for detecting and monitoring infectious diseases. Nucleic acids, including RNA, are key biomarkers used in the detection, monitoring and treatment of a wide range of diseases.
Climate overshoot will leave lasting impacts even after global temperatures fall
Returning global temperatures to a climate target does not necessarily undo the damage caused by exceeding it, new Concordia-led research published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment finds.
Age, not feed additives, affects antimicrobial resistance genes in chickens
For many years, antibiotics have been added to animal feed to help control harmful bacteria and improve growth. But amid concerns about antibiotic resistance—when bacteria adapt to survive treatments that would normally kill them—poultry producers are trying alternatives,
Satellite data expose an escalating 'boom-and-bust' dynamic in greening drylands
Dryland ecosystems cover 40% of the Earth's land surface and support more than 2 billion people. According to a new study published in Nature Climate Change, they're becoming increasingly unstable.
Why is This Octopus Hitching a Ride on a Dolphin?
A quirky little climate change story The post Why is This Octopus Hitching a Ride on a Dolphin? appeared first on Nautilus .
What we evaluate, not just what we see, shapes pupil responses
Our pupils become smaller under brighter conditions and larger under darker conditions. In addition to responding to changes in light, pupil size is influenced by attention, emotion and how visual objects are perceived.
New type of human 'jumping gene' found in a poxvirus
Scientists at Cornell University have found a human genetic element in a poxvirus and discovered that it is both an important gene for brain function and a jumping gene capable of moving and inserting itself into genomes. A study published in Science reports that the gene,
This “rare” autism-linked genetic disorder may be far more common than scientists thought
A major analysis suggests Phelan-McDermid syndrome, a genetic disorder closely linked to autism, may affect about 1 in 7,300 people and more than 45,000 Americans. Researchers warn that thousands of cases may remain hidden because genetic testing is often not performed, even as
Strategically placed garden plants offer a low-cost way to cool homes in summer
Climate change is bringing extreme summer heat to many more countries, but using the right plants in your garden could help keep your home a bit cooler next summer.
New form of flexible boron is 10 million times more electrically conductive
The atoms of the 5th element of the periodic table often find themselves in the company of each other, forming allotropes with a rich variety of structural motifs, each carrying a unique set of chemical and physical properties. Despite the long catalog, most boron allotropes do
CRISPR could help doctors attack blood cancer without destroying healthy cells
Researchers used CRISPR to remove CD33 from donor stem cells, potentially giving doctors a way to attack aggressive blood cancers without destroying the healthy cells patients need after a transplant. In a 30-patient trial, the edited cells successfully took hold and appeared
CERN has begun disconnecting the Large Hadron Collider
CERN has started replacing some of the Large Hadron Collider’s most important magnets as part of its High-Luminosity upgrade. The new superconducting magnets will produce fields about 40% stronger, allowing particle beams to be squeezed more tightly before they collide. That
Rare quantum state reveals particles with quarter-electron charge
An electron's charge is normally fixed, like a coin you can't break into pieces. But if electrons are cooled close to absolute zero and trapped in a two-dimensional layer under a powerful magnetic field, they organize into a collective state of "quasiparticles" that seem to
Ancient virus hunters: How we discovered sheeppox DNA hidden in medieval gospels
Humans and domesticated animals have lived together for millennia, and this relationship has shaped their destinies in countless ways. Animals offered people food, companionship, traction (pulling plows), clothing and transportation.
See the secret to DNA hookups
A record player-like microscope and computer simulations solve a longtime mystery, showing that metal ions bridge DNA strands that would normally repel.
Quantum computing’s “dark horse” just proved it can go universal
Researchers have shown that exotic quantum particles called non-Abelian anyons can perform the full range of operations needed for universal quantum computing. Using 54 qubits on Quantinuum’s H2 processor, they combined braiding and fusion to unlock capabilities that braiding
September's ozone hole was the biggest in 20 years
The area covered by the Antarctic ozone hole peaked at more than 27 million square kilometers (10.4 million square miles) in September, the second-largest area ever observed for this time of year.
Earth is tearing apart beneath the Pacific Northwest
Scientists have captured a subduction zone off Vancouver Island in the process of tearing itself apart, revealing that these massive tectonic systems may die piece by piece rather than all at once. The discovery could help explain ancient plate fragments, volcanic activity, and
Nigeria faces world's highest projected heat death toll from super El Niño
Researchers at the University of Chicago's Climate Impact Lab combined temperature forecasts with research on how heat affects death rates in more than 24,000 regions worldwide and found that the super El Niño could cause an estimated 451,000 additional heat-related deaths
Think you know how long you'll wait? Research says think again.
From coffee shops to customer service call centers, most people believe they have a good sense of how long a service will take. But new research from the University of Florida Warrington College of Business shows that customers often underestimate how much service times can
Random access quantum memory lets one processor select among seven storage cells
Classical computers can temporarily store the information required to perform specific tasks in a short-term memory component known as RAM (random access memory). This component allows computer processors to retrieve information from a chosen location without searching through
Behold, Crawzilla, the Not-Quite-Biggest Crayfish Ever Caught
And what it can teach us about body size The post Behold, Crawzilla, the Not-Quite-Biggest Crayfish Ever Caught appeared first on Nautilus .
Today's urban inequality goes far beyond legacy of 'redlining,' study shows
The use of racially discriminatory housing maps in the 1930s, a practice known as "redlining," perpetuated multigenerational cycles of poverty and segregation that continue today. While redlining shaped cities, its legacy does not fully explain current urban patterns of
Curious kids: Does music affect how plants grow?
"How does the type of music affect plant growth?"—Thomas, 14, Auckland, New Zealand
Study finds alpine peaks are greening in the Northeast U.S., Canada
In northeastern North America, a stretch of mountains runs 500 miles (800 kilometers) from the Adirondacks in New York to the Gaspé Peninsula in eastern Quebec. Nearly 70 million people live within a day's drive of one of the alpine zones, the areas above the tree line where
400-year-old shipwreck found during pipeline survey in Germany's Bay of Greifswald
In 2023, in preparation for the construction of an underwater gas pipeline, divers were sent to clear a cluster of anomalies in the Bay of Greifswald, a sheltered lagoon in northern Germany. But as they dove deeper into the murky depths, they discovered things they had not
High-tech canopy maps reveal how tropical birds use Amazon forests
Tropical forests may look like a uniform sea of green from above, but new research shows that carefully measured differences in forest structure and function can help explain how birds use existing habitats, how they respond to threats and which communities may be most at risk
New tool closes gap in harnessing untapped potential of phages
A new tool to mutate bacteriophages—viruses that infect bacteria—provides a "big leap" forward in our understanding of how they function and our ability to harness their full potential.
Bacteria suspected in deaths of hundreds of baby whales off Argentina
A bacterial infection is suspected of killing hundreds of baby whales in the southern Argentine region of Patagonia, a marine mammal expert told AFP on Thursday.
It's been an intense hurricane season in the Pacific and there's still a long way to go
It's already been an intense hurricane season in the Pacific Ocean—and there's still quite a ways to go.
Cosmic lockdown: How the environment can isolate quantum fields
A simplified cosmological model suggests that decoherence can suppress quantum tunneling, effectively locking fields into the vacuum state they have reached.
Scientists gave worms magnetic bacteria. They lived 43% longer
A magnet-producing bacterium extended the average lifespan of C. elegans worms by more than 43% while helping protect their neurological and intestinal health. Researchers traced much of the effect to suppression of ferroptosis, a damaging form of cell death linked to iron
“We found something never seen before” – A dead star is producing a shock wave that shouldn’t exist
A dead white dwarf with no detectable disk has somehow produced a powerful shock wave that appears to have persisted for at least 1,000 years. Its magnetic field may be partly responsible, but astronomers say an unexplained “mystery engine” may also be at work.
Ancient meteorites reveal a powerful force that helped build the Solar System
Ancient grains inside one of the oldest known meteorites reveal that a surprisingly strong magnetic field existed during the solar system’s first 200,000 years. The discovery suggests magnetism worked alongside gravity to help transform a vast cloud of gas and dust into the sun
Tracking the movement of plants
The flora of the Alps is changing: Species are moving to higher elevations, new plants are appearing and others are disappearing.
Age-adjusted suicide rate increased from 2014 to 2017 and then plateaued
The age-adjusted suicide rate increased from 2014 to 2017 and then did not change significantly from 2017 through 2024, according to a September data brief published by the National Center for Health Statistics.
