The endangered Black Sea harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena relicta) is facing a critical fight for survival. As Europe's smallest marine mammal, this isolated population is being pushed toward extinction by bycatch—the unintentional entanglement in fishing gear. The crisis is
Scientists at Stanford University have discovered that DRT3, a unique defense system found in bacteria, creates DNA to protect against viral infections. DRT3 is made up of two different enzymes called reverse transcriptases, Drt3a and Drt3b, and a piece of noncoding RNA
Whether it's robotic rovers heading to Mars or, one day, a crew of astronauts, a round-trip journey is an incredibly long one. But there may be a way to find a shortcut. A new study published in the journal Acta Astronautica suggests that hundreds of days could be shaved off a
At least 10 million Americans lost their homes during the 2008–09 global financial crisis. In the aftermath, Congress passed the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which was intended to promote financial stability, protect consumers from predatory financial practices, and prevent
The Center for Coastal Climate Resilience (CCCR) at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has partnered with The Nature Conservancy to develop a new tool for funding wetland conservation and restoration projects through verifiable "Coastal Resilience Assets." The value of
At first glance, the white plastic box with a bright orange floor looks like something for storing children's toys. However, the box isn't used to store Lego bricks; it contains real mice—with the aim of minimizing their suffering. "This box allows laboratory animals to be
Fast-food workers in California may be earning more money, but their employers are cutting their hours to make up for the cost of higher pay. That's from a new study published in Applied Economic Letters in early March. Northeastern University postdoctoral research fellow
Coincident with the rise of the dinosaurs, a large landmass filled most of the Arctic circle, potentially contributing to global cooling that advantaged the famous reptiles
Dolphins are famous for their speed and agility in the water, but what exactly allows them to swim so effectively? Scientists have been asking this question for years, hoping to learn how to optimize propulsion in fluids from these elegant creatures.
A conversation with a “pseudoscience” researcher about how infrasound could be linked to ghosts The post The Science of Spooky Sounds appeared first on Nautilus .
Finding planets used to be a painstaking business. Astronomers would fix their gaze on a handful of carefully chosen stars, watch and wait, and hope to catch the faint dip in starlight that signals a world passing in front of its host. It worked. It worked brilliantly. But it
Scientists at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, CSIRO Darwin Laboratories and La Trobe University have identified key ecological needs of Caladenia formosa (elegant spider-orchid) for the first time, to improve conservation
A new study reveals how a remarkable group of plants on the Galápagos Islands developed their diverse leaf shapes—offering unique insight into evolution at the genetic level. A large international team of researchers has studied evolution in the plant group Scalesia, also known
Scientists at Ames National Laboratory developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that accelerates discovery of materials needed for next-generation fusion energy systems. The tool, DuctGPT, combines advanced AI with physics-based modeling to help researchers predict
A growing body of research suggests that GLP-1 drugs do more than control appetite and blood sugar. They could also fight inflammation
A major new study finds that living in pesticide-heavy environments could raise cancer risk by up to 150%, even when the chemicals are considered “safe” on their own. The research suggests these mixtures may silently damage cells years before cancer appears.
NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has been searching for exoplanets since its launch in 2018, and it turns out it may have found plenty more of them than we had thought
What NASA’s Curiosity Rover found on Mars, how youth suicides dropped after the launch of the 988 crisis line, and what people think of AI voice clones
Smartwatches commonly use heart rate variability to monitor stress. Columnist Helen Thomson explores what this metric actually tells us, and whether it could also predict and diagnose depression – and help improve your mental health more generally
MIT researchers discovered a paradoxical phenomenon in optical physics that could enable a new bioimaging method that's faster and higher-resolution than existing technology. They discovered that, under the right conditions, a chaotic mess of laser light can spontaneously
A host of positive "tipping points" can spark rapid nature recovery, a leading expert says. Action to protect and restore nature must accelerate radically to meet global goals for 2030 and beyond. Writing in the journal Nature Sustainability, Professor Tim Lenton says positive
The Fe Kα line, or iron Kα line, is often used in astronomical research to understand the physical composition of astronomical objects. This line is produced when a K-shell electron of an iron ion in the photosphere—the gas on the stellar surface—is ejected by an external
A bizarre, cyclops-like creature from nearly 600 million years ago may hold the key to how your eyes—and even your sleep cycle—evolved. Scientists have discovered that all vertebrates, including humans, trace their vision back to a single light-sensitive “median eye” perched
Physicists have long assumed that the universe is uniform at very large scales, but evidence is emerging this is wrong and suggests a way to resolve some of the biggest cosmological mysteries
A Sumatran orangutan has been filmed for the first time crossing a man-made canopy bridge constructed to help the endangered animals bypass a tarred road on the Indonesian island, an NGO said Sunday.
Mixing up your workouts might be the real secret to a longer life. Long-term research tracking over 100,000 people for more than three decades suggests that doing a variety of physical activities—rather than just more of the same—can significantly lower the risk of death.
In a comprehensive analysis of state and local sanctuary and anti-sanctuary policies, researchers have mapped the rapidly evolving legal immigration landscape in the US from 2000 to 2021. The dataset sheds light on trends in immigration legislation including "punitive"
Researchers from Koç University and international collaborators have developed a new algorithm that enables faster and more equitable distribution of disaster relief supplies. By integrating fairness directly into logistics planning, the model reduces inequality in unmet demand
Biodegradable plastics hold potential for reducing marine plastic pollution, but degrade too quickly, limiting their practical use. Researchers from Gunma University now show that crab shell by-products can reduce the breakdown rate of biodegradable plastics in seawater by
"Dogs at Chernobyl are now genetically distinct … thanks to years of exposure to ionizing radiation, study finds."
Members of the National Science Board, which the US Congress founded in 1950, were given no explanation for their termination
Until a few years ago, no one had heard of bixonimania. Then, in 2024, a group of scientists posted findings online announcing the condition, which they claimed affected the eyes after computer use. However, the scientists had made it up—not just the work, but the authors'
Through the air we breathe and the food we eat, we can't help but inhale and ingest tiny bits of plastic every day.
Using artificial intelligence, engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new way to watch the inner workings of living cells in real time. The process both captures images that are twice as sharp as conventional microscopes and is fast enough to play
Astronomers, using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), have confirmed the existence of a close quasar pair housed in a pair of merging galaxies seen when the universe was less than a billion years old, at a redshift of 5.7. The system, designated
Human languages are known to have grown and changed considerably over the course of history, often reflecting technological, cultural, and societal shifts. Studying the evolution of languages can thus offer valuable insight into how human societies and cultures have transformed
You've typed it, deleted it and typed it again. You need to let your colleague know there's a problem with a project at work. Should you use a grinning face—😄—in that Slack message to soften the blow, or an angry face—😠—to show your distress?
For the first time, researchers have mapped how the boundaries of magnetic nanostructures behave on extremely short timescales. The work of physicist Johan Mentink of Radboud University shows that these boundaries are much more stable than previously thought. This insight will
It takes a moment for the eyes to adjust. A faint spark appears in the darkness; then another, brighter one. Soon, stars, planets and entire constellations emerge. Before long, a whole galaxy stretches across the sky, visible to the naked eye.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed college writing. As paper drafts are increasingly co-written with AI, professors are left wondering not whether students are using AI, but how. A 2025 AI in Education trend report found that 90% of college students use AI
Ammonia has been feeding the world for decades as a fertilizer and is now rapidly emerging as a carbon-free fuel for shipping and industry. But if we focus only on CO₂ emissions, we risk creating new nitrogen problems, warns nitrogen expert Jan Willem Erisman in an article
