Some molecules come in two "handed" forms. This property, called chirality, can influence not only how molecules interact with light but also which electron spins they allow to pass. Researchers at the University of Osaka have developed novel chiral hole-transport materials
Farmers and foresters manage around 80% of Germany's land area. They are therefore key agents of change in protecting biodiversity—and are often accused of not doing enough to protect it.
The COVID vaccine is perhaps the first thing many people think of when they hear about mRNA-based drugs. Small packages of genetic material are sent into the body, prompting cells to produce useful proteins in the fight against the virus. But the list of diseases that can
Candida auris and Candida albicans are microscopic fungi that cause life-threatening human infections, killing almost a million people globally every year. The World Health Organization lists both species among the top four most concerning fungal pathogens in existence, and
More than 150 people are dead and hundreds more are missing after an enormous wave of water, ice, mud and rock cascaded more than 170 kilometers (106 miles) down the Bhote Koshi River valley in Nepal. The valley is the main link between Kathmandu in Nepal and Lhasa in Tibet. At
Why do we remember certain moments while forgetting others? Every day, our minds are bombarded with thousands of pieces of information, yet our brains have a limited capacity to consolidate these experiences into lasting memories. This means we need a way to hold on to what is
Why do humans rely on XY chromosomes to determine sex, while birds use ZW—and many reptiles use neither, letting temperature decide instead? Sex determination is remarkably diverse across the animal kingdom. In genotypic sex determination (GSD), sex is encoded in the genome: XX
As an El Niño of historic proportions is taking shape in the tropical Pacific, a University of Michigan study has found that El Niño events have become nearly 40% stronger in the last 40 years than they were in the preindustrial era.
A study of 70,000 earthquakes finds tiny tremors often precede larger fracking-linked quakes, offering a warning to halt fluid injection.
New research seeks to confirm the identity of tropical lampreys that don’t have the taste for blood The post Meet the Vegan Draculas of Australia appeared first on Nautilus .
Fossilized Galápagos corals show clear evidence that today’s El Niños are much stronger than those in the past
New research by SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Margarita Orlova is providing new insight into how bumblebee queens communicate through chemical signals and how those signals change throughout their lives.
The genome—which contains genes encoded in DNA—acts as the fundamental blueprint of life. But what you might not know is that, in addition to this genetic information, we have something akin to an "instruction manual" for how genes should be handled. This instruction manual is
A new study examining death-related conceptual metaphors employed by neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi in his memoir, "When Breath Becomes Air," sheds light on how he depicted death after being diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer at age 36.
Election rumors, such as unverified accounts of voter fraud, have run rampant in the U.S. in recent years. Powered by the speed of social media and artificial intelligence (AI), it can be hard for people to know what messages to trust. Now, a team led by Caltech researchers is
Many plant species parasitize other plants by latching on and taking the nutrients their hosts need to survive. But sometimes, plants steal more than nutrients; they take genes.
Finding one Higgs boson was hard enough, but physicists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are hunting for something even more elusive: pairs of Higgs bosons. At the recent International Conference on High Energy Physics 2026, the ATLAS and CMS collaborations presented new
The Nepal disaster appears to be a “cascading event,” where one hazard seems to have triggered another, experts say
A new manufacturing method could help move the production of nanoscale sensors from specialized fabrication facilities to conventional semiconductor manufacturing plants.Publishing in Science Advances, researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology liken their technique to
As climate change has led to more frequent extreme-heat events around the world, moist heat metrics such as wet-bulb temperature, which combines temperature and humidity, have become increasingly relevant. Days with both high heat and high humidity are dangerous to human
Ancient Egypt has left us a wealth of artistic treasures, including wall paintings, wooden coffins and limestone reliefs. Many retain their vibrant colors despite the passage of time, a testament to the ingredients used to make the paint mixtures. A new study published in the
Every spring, many monarch butterflies drift back into Florida on orange-and-black wings that have captivated scientists for generations. They arrive quietly, fluttering through fields and roadsides, stopping at nectar plants to feed and lay eggs on patches of milkweed. Soon,
With their charming waddles, heat-conserving huddles and tuxedo-like plumage, emperor penguins are among the world's most recognizable animals. Recent satellite surveys estimate that hundreds of thousands of the flightless birds live in 66 colonies spread around Antarctica's
When an athlete swings upside down atop a 7-meter (23-foot) pendulum, it may seem like a feat of strength, courage or technique. A new study suggests it is something more fundamental: a striking demonstration of how intelligence emerges from the interaction of brain, body and
High-energy nuclear collisions recreate extreme conditions similar to those in the early universe, producing quark–gluon plasma (QGP), a hot state of matter in which quarks and gluons are no longer confined inside protons and neutrons. While large systems such as lead–lead
New research by SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) assistant professor of accounting Dr. Angelica Castro examines how changes to accounting standards have affected the way companies report revenue and the discretion managers have when making financial reporting decisions.
Appalachia is a hotspot of landslides, but many there can’t afford to move away or mitigate the danger, a new study finds. Wealthy urban residents can.
The statue dates back 2,500 years, and offers researchers clues about the culture of the period The post Archaeologists Just Found a Fascinating Ancient Statue—Used as a Paving Stone in a Roman Road appeared first on Nautilus .
In a clinical trial, people with obesity saw clear health benefits on the keto diet that they didn’t see on two other popular eating regimens
In the hunt for one of nature's most elusive substances—dark matter, which makes up 85% of all matter in the universe—scientists are going to extremes. Deep underground and chilled to near absolute zero, the Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (SuperCDMS) SNOLAB—one of the
During the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse over Europe, scientists aimed to study a long-standing mystery: why the sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, is far hotter than its visible surface. Capturing the data they needed meant being in exactly the right place at the right time.
Table tennis professionals are true masters at redirecting fast-moving projectiles. Putting a targeted spin on a serve can make the little white ball fly straight toward the edge of the table but then, at the last moment, take a sharp curve into the left corner. The physical
Smartphone use during the school day dropped significantly across eight Northern Ireland secondary schools. Teachers reported clear behavioral benefits, though pupil well-being showed little meaningful change. Implementation challenges eased as the pilot progressed.
Astronomers are lining up to leverage NASA’s soon-to-launch Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which boasts capabilities unlike any previous off-world observatory
Do you sometimes wish that you had telepathic or other supernormal powers? About 100 years ago, some of the greatest minds in philosophy thought there were people who had such abilities. In fact, they even suggested that perhaps horses and dogs could have them too.
Lights blink on as I enter the Rover Operations Center at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, at 7:30 a.m. I'm the first to arrive, even though I already feel late.
The disaster has claimed hundreds of lives, and at least 1,400 people are missing
Being prepared for an emergency is key to keeping people safe. This means more than just having supplies such as food, water and first-aid kits. Sometimes, the most important preparation is having the right data to help first responders and the community stay safe.
Banning children under 16 from social media was one of Keir Starmer's last acts as prime minister before he stepped down in July 2026. Following Australia's ban on children under 16 in 2025, which turbocharged the debate globally, the UK ban is scheduled for early 2027.
One of the world's favorite sweet treats, chocolate, may have been enjoyed in eastern North America much earlier than previously thought, about 1,000 years ago. New research published in the journal PLOS One suggests that people in the Mississippian city of Etowah were
The latest Swedish-led search for technosignatures in the form of Dyson spheres has again come up empty-handed. The two latest stellar candidates in the hunt for such hypothetical extraterrestrial technology have been eliminated as Dyson spheres.
It depends. Though water consumption by data centers pales in comparison to that of some other industries, it’s a problem in water-stressed regions. Water-saving cooling technologies could help The post How Much of a Problem is AI’s Water Use? appeared first on Nautilus .
NASA’s attempt to save the falling Swift telescope failed, revealing the realities of the burgeoning field of satellite servicing.
Using a new combination of computational tools to analyze ancient DNA, Yale researchers have discovered two ancient, extinct giant tortoise lineages that once lived on the Galapagos Islands.
A new study examining tropical cyclone forecasts in the Atlantic Ocean suggests that artificial intelligence could provide valuable additional guidance for predicting when and where tropical disturbances may develop into tropical storms.
The deadly flash flood in Nepal on Wednesday was likely caused by a huge chunk of a glacier that broke off and temporarily dammed a river, according to preliminary investigations by scientists. That may have led to the backed-up water surging downstream with enormous force a
The capital of any business comes in (at least) two categories. There's the kind that has a price—land, cash holdings, etc.—and a less tangible, priceless kind. Reputational capital falls squarely into the latter category. Try as they might, companies cannot buy positive public
Researchers used AI to search through more than 100 million possible settings for 3D-printing a high-performance NASA alloy. After only 40 experiments, the system identified six successful configurations, including one that worked at a record-low 500 watts. That could allow
While a colleague traveled along the East Coast from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico collecting oysters, Northeastern University bioinformatics graduate student Megha Prasad worked away at her computer. She zeroed in on DNA, the molecule containing instructions for making proteins
Venus appears pale yellow in visible light, but ultraviolet images reveal dramatic dark and bright patterns moving with the planet's upper sulfuric acid clouds. Scientists have known about these markings for roughly a century, yet the chemical identity of the material
