In a new Nature Communications study, researchers developed a universal scaling framework for the strength of granular asteroids, showing that their tensile strength can be predicted from the size and shape of their constituent particles.
Animals fulfill a wide range of roles in human society. They provide food, contribute to scientific research, live alongside people as companion animals, and play important roles in education, conservation, research and public engagement through zoos.
Plastic is a wonder material that has molded itself to fit a wide variety of applications. But it comes with a host of drawbacks that aren't fully considered. That's why the United Nations has convened to hammer out a treaty to address plastic pollution.
Symbiotic ammonia-oxidizing archaea in marine sponges are not strict specialists but true "flexitarians." A team led by microbiologists Bettina Glasl and Katharina Kitzinger from the University of Vienna, in collaboration with partners from Australia, has shown that, unlike
Wildfires in the Mediterranean region are becoming drastically more intense. The recent major fires in France, Spain and Greece show that firefighting efforts are reaching their limits.
Star formation in galaxies is closely linked to molecular gas. In the distant past, when galaxy interactions were more common, these encounters compressed molecular gas, causing dense clouds to collapse under their own gravity and form new stars.
Governments across Australia have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars toward women's health services in recent months and years—but having more health services won't help if people don't know they're available or how to access them.
Augmented reality (AR) glasses, lenses thinner than a human hair, and holograms floating above your fingertips may sound like technologies from science fiction. At the heart of these emerging technologies, however, lies a nanoscale optical device known as a "metasurface."
Glassy polymers are those whose chains become immobilized below their glass transition temperature. The immobilized chains make them hard and stiff but also brittle, causing them to fracture when stretched. One promising strategy for overcoming this trade-off is to incorporate
Labor-intensive harvesting and complex processing make macadamias among the most expensive nuts in the world. This makes it all the more important to protect the trees from pests.
Detecting radiation is key to technologies ranging from particle accelerators and scientific instruments to medical imaging and security screening. But current detectors must often make trade-offs, providing signals that are strong but slow or fast but weak. The trade-off
Revealing how proteins and end products of biological activity (metabolites) change within specific tissue functional units during development or in response to environmental factors is beneficial for understanding localized biological processes and the biological roles of
Two massive rock glaciers are creeping down mountain valleys in Alaska's Wrangell–St. Elias National Park. They sit only a few miles apart and formed under the same sky. One moves more than 5 feet (1.5 meters) a year. The other moves at less than half that pace.
For the first time since its dramatic dimming in 2020, a team of astronomers has observed the inner atmosphere of Betelgeuse using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). Led by Bill Dent at the University of Manchester, the team found that the giant star's inner atmosphere
The key to finding more critical minerals may lie in understanding how fluids and chemicals move through rock. As these fluids travel underground, they can dissolve, transport and concentrate valuable minerals in specific places.
The world is set to miss the 1.5°C global warming target, and plans are underway for U.N. climate talks in the Pacific and Turkey.
A record-breaking summer that saw more than 1,000 wildfires has torched some 540,000 hectares (1.3 million acres) of land across the European Union since mid-June, according to official data—an area more than twice the size of Luxembourg.
Hiking a picturesque valley or climbing a craggy gorge are among the most exhilarating experiences in nature. As a geologist, I have hiked and climbed some of the most intense terrain in the world, including in the Andes, Middle Eastern deserts, the Balkans and the Appalachians.
Researchers have been elucidating the structures of complex molecules for more than 100 years using a variety of techniques. Some molecular structures, however, are more difficult to solve than others.
Global biodiversity loss is occurring at a rapid pace, driven by multiple human-caused factors, including overexploitation, pollution, invasive species and climate change. Despite increasing research on the impact of climate change on wildlife, few studies have formally
One Sunday morning, Juliet* woke up to a delivery driver with a large package that she had no recollection of ordering. She was quick to dismiss it as an e-commerce mistake before the card inside helped solve the mystery: "To Sober Juliet, from your friend, Drunk Juliet."
Experts say there is not enough evidence to support broadly screening men for testosterone without any symptoms
A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has overturned decades of assumptions about Miracinonyx trumani, the extinct predator popularly known as the American cheetah. By analyzing nuclear paleogenomes and stable isotopes from fossils found as
The majority of money laundering arrests involve people under 30, a new analysis has found.
Ancient DNA confirms Miracinonyx trumani was more closely related to modern pumas than cheetahs and had a more varied diet than previously thought.
And, unlike African cheetahs, it was a flexible carnivore The post The Extinct “American Cheetah” Wasn’t a Cheetah After All appeared first on Nautilus .
A private spacecraft that was supposed to supply a lifeline to NASA's Swift Observatory managed to get close to the sinking telescope and even snap photos more than a week after the rescue was abandoned.
Patents are far more than legal documents protecting intellectual property. They are a vast source of scientific information about chemicals under development, often years before they appear in products or in the environment. That makes patents a valuable data source for early
Fungi are major degraders of plant biomass, including leaves, stems and roots. Investigating the molecular mechanisms that control this process is essential for identifying ways to degrade and use lignocellulose, a recalcitrant waste-product residue from biofeedstocks and
Some of the most intriguing scientific breakthroughs happen when researchers aren't explicitly looking for them. Take, for example, the pygmy raccoon (Procyon pygmaeus), a critically endangered species that lives only on Cozumel Island, Mexico. Scientists were observing them
Proteins are vital to living systems. They build and repair tissues, act as enzymes to speed chemical reactions, regulate hormones and transport nutrients—all of which are important for developing next-generation bioproducts and advancing bioengineering and biotechnology.
Well before I start collecting coats, keys or shoes, my dog always knows when we're about to leave. By picking up on subtle cues, he anticipates our next movements, reminding me he's smarter than he often shows. But anticipation isn't always about brains. Our new research
While studying the properties of hackmanite, researchers created a new material called davyne that changes color in the near-infrared region. The color change cannot be detected with the human eye, but only with a spectrometer or an infrared-sensitive camera. The researchers
In Victoria, potholes have become a hot issue in the lead-up to the state election in November. According to the National Transport Research Organization, Victoria has the worst pothole problem in Australia.
In the realm of materials science, there is a plethora of datasets and tools at our disposal—the issue is how to effectively use these resources in harmony. Researchers at the Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR), Tohoku University, have identified major
A University of Rochester collaboration is using an AI-powered virtual patient to help dentists strengthen their communication, build trust and better respond to patients' fears and concerns. For many patients, sitting in a dental chair can be stressful long before treatment
Venice really is sinking. Sort of. The home of gondolas, bridges and canals is built across a collection of islands, and the sediments beneath them are gradually compacting, causing the ground to subside. But while the land moves down, climate change is pushing the water
Jeffrey Rosenthal was a young professor at the University of Toronto when he discovered he was born on a Friday—though not just any Friday.
Whether buying a home or opening a local business, affordability is no longer the only question people should be asking, says Kristle Romero Cortes, an associate professor. They should also consider what their property might look like in 10 or 20 years.
Graphene is flat. But that doesn't mean other 2D materials—particularly those containing more than one element—necessarily share the same structure. In the past, researchers have often simplified these materials by modeling them as perfectly flat sheets.
A researcher’s social media post that revealed how to break part of a popular encryption protocol has gone viral. But did he really do it with just “good old paper and pencil”?
For women involved in street sex work who took part in our research, damaged or missing teeth were more than a health problem. They could become visible reminders of lives they were trying to change.
For most mammals, cold suppresses neural activity and diminishes the sense of touch. But the thirteen-lined ground squirrel can detect touch in conditions as low as 4°C (39°F), about as cold as the inside of a refrigerator, finds a new Yale study published in Current Biology.
A substance found in edible sea squirts appeared to reverse several signs of aging in older mice. Plasmalogen supplements improved memory and learning, strengthened connections between brain cells, reduced inflammation, and even helped the mice grow thicker, darker hair.
Prom is one of the most exciting events on the school calendar for many high school seniors.
Puerto Rico’s normally rainy season has instead brought a severe and fast-growing drought. By August 25, three-quarters of the territory was in at least moderate drought, with extreme drought covering 44 percent and some areas receiving less than 20 percent of their usual
Deep beneath parts of Western Australia, injecting CO2-rich water into iron-rich rocks may offer an unexpected opportunity for both clean energy production and carbon storage.
Around 700 years ago, people living on hilltop settlements on the edge of the Kalahari wore beads, bangles and clips made from metal traded across the southern half of the African continent.
And it could stick around for decades The post Astronomers Spot a Strange Atmospheric Wave Above Saturn’s South Pole appeared first on Nautilus .
MIT researchers have created bacterial “transistors” that can be wired together into living circuits capable of performing calculations and directing chemical signals. One day, these biological computers could coat plant roots or leaves, detecting environmental threats and