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
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
Researchers from the Institute of Metal Research (IMR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a new ferroelectric ultraviolet photodetector material that overcomes the long-standing performance limitations of conventional photodetectors.
Researchers from the Institute of Metal Research (IMR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have stretched a chain of gold atoms by a record-breaking 46%, providing direct evidence of how fundamental metal bonds behave under extreme deformation. This study also reveals how
A research team led by Prof. Wang Hongzhi from the Hefei Institute of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a dual-functional sensor chip called PlasmoBridge, which bridges plasmonic nanoparticles using aptamer molecules. This innovative chip enables
In the world of modern medicine, most people focus on the active pharmaceutical ingredients, which are the chemicals that specifically fight a disease's symptoms or causes. However, the unsung heroes of pharmacy are excipients—substances formulated alongside the active
A team of NASA scientists deployed on an international mission designed to better understand severe winter storms. The North American Upstream Feature-Resolving and Tropopause Uncertainty Reconnaissance Experiment, or NURTURE, is an airborne campaign that uses a suite of remote
Deforestation is having a more devastating effect on the Amazon rainforest than earlier data suggested. While cutting down large swaths of trees destroys vital habitats, it also harms the region's ability to generate its own rainfall. According to a new study published in the
Some types of memories may not be stored as differently as we thought The post New Study Throws a Wrench in Our Understanding of Memory appeared first on Nautilus .
Scientists have unveiled a new approach to powering quantum computers using quantum batteries—a breakthrough that could make future computers faster, more reliable, and more energy efficient.
A new analysis of 471 U.S. counties has found that, for everyday travel, people from counties with particularly strong political leanings—whether liberal or conservative—are more likely to visit like-minded destinations. Zhengyi Liang and Jaeho Cho of the University of
A third of fish living in the remote coastal waters of the Pacific Island Countries and Territories are contaminated with microplastics, with especially high rates in Fiji, according to an analysis published in PLOS One by Jasha Dehm at the University of the South Pacific and
The cycling of water within Earth's interior regulates plate tectonics, volcanism, ocean volume, and climate stability, making it central to the planet's long-term evolution and habitability and a key scientific question. While subducting slabs are known to transport water into
In a small study, dogs experienced both stabilization and destabilization of their balance upon hearing angry or happy human voices, but angry voices were linked to the biggest destabilizing effects. Nadja Affenzeller and colleagues at the University of Veterinary Medicine,
It was a burning question at the World Economic Forum last week The post Can We Protect Science? appeared first on Nautilus .
For the first time, researchers have directly visualized how newly formed cellular organelles leave the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and transition onto microtubule tracks inside living cells. This new finding reveals that the ER plays an active and dynamic role in steering
Gaetano Ferrera had just a few minutes to grab belongings from his home, one of hundreds evacuated after a landslide in Sicily that experts warn could worsen due to heavy rainfall.
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has topped itself once again, delivering on its promise to push the boundaries of the observable universe closer to cosmic dawn with the confirmation of a bright galaxy that existed 280 million years after the Big Bang.
Winter's brutal grip on the U.S. East is not letting up, with coming days bringing subfreezing temperatures that will plunge deep into what had been a toasty Florida peninsula and a powerful blizzard forecast that may strike the Atlantic coast.
Almost a hundred new animal species that survived a mass extinction event half a billion years ago have been discovered in a small quarry in China, scientists revealed Wednesday.
Google unveiled an artificial intelligence tool Wednesday that its scientists said would help unravel the mysteries of the human genome—and could one day lead to new treatments for diseases.
Interlocking directorates—the practice of the same director sitting on the boards of competing companies—have long been identified with backroom deals and corporate collusion. In 1914, when antitrust laws began cracking down on the practice, future Supreme Court Justice Louis
BepiColombo is slowly uncovering more and more fun facts about Mercury as it continues its preliminary mission. One of the more interesting things found so far is a magnetic "chorus" that appears similar to a phenomenon found in Earth's much larger magnetic field. A new paper
Pneumocystis is an unwieldy genus of fungal pathogens that cause severe pneumonia, particularly in immunocompromised people like those with HIV/AIDs or who have received organ transplants. However, the mechanisms by which it infects a host organism—and how it acquires
Specialized whale-bone harpoons from southern Brazil dating back 5,000 years suggest that Indigenous groups in the area were whalers.
Polluted air causes an estimated 7 million deaths worldwide each year, according to the World Health Organization. Much of the mortality comes from PM2.5, particulate pollution smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter that can enter the lungs and bloodstream and cause
A new University of Virginia study led by environmental scientist Justin Richardson shows that phosphorus pollution driving algae blooms in Virginia's Lake Anna may come from residential areas as well as farms, but a more significant source of these toxins are legacy mines that
Astronomers at The University of Manchester have played a leading role in the discovery of a new cosmic object that is much larger than anything astronomers have seen before in the distant universe. This new discovery captures the cosmic moment when a galaxy cluster—among the
A warming climate is disrupting the delicate balance of nature. An international team of scientists led by entomologists from the Biology Center of the Czech Academy of Sciences has found that higher temperatures significantly reduce the success of parasitoids—tiny wasps that
Ordinary matter, when cooled, transitions from a gas into a liquid. Cool it further still, and it freezes into a solid. Quantum matter, however, can behave very differently. In the early 20th century, researchers discovered that when helium is cooled, it transitions from a
Large-scale melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet is irreversible and happening at a rapid rate, and now a new international study is the first to understand why. A University of Waterloo scientist and a team of international collaborators found that airborne mineral dust and
With wildfires growing in size, frequency, and intensity, more and more people are being exposed to their smoke, sometimes thousands of miles from the flames. In the wake of recent historic fires in Canada and the United States, a growing body of research is showing how harmful
Loyalty to homelands leave them in the path of danger The post How War Is Hell for Birds, Too appeared first on Nautilus .
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology today announced the release of a new online tool for studying biodiversity and the evolutionary relationships among birds: the illustrated Birds of the World Phylogeny Explorer. Available on Birds of the World, the Phylogeny Explorer offers a
An international team including Cornell researcher Jake Turner has developed a novel analysis method capable of uncovering previously undetectable stellar and exoplanetary signals hidden within archival radio-astronomical data. Thanks to this innovation, scientists have
Researchers at the University of Hamburg, the University of Toulouse, and the DESY and ESRF research institutes have observed for the first time in real time how iron-sulfur nanostructures form in solutions. Using time-resolved X-ray methods, the researchers were able to
The dazzling lights of the aurora are created when high-energy particles from space collide with Earth's atmosphere. While scientists have long understood this process, one big mystery remained: What powers the electric fields that accelerate these particles in the first place?
A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, and that’s why last weekend’s winter storm dumped more snow, sleet and freezing rain than similar weather systems might have in the past
A new study led by a University of Massachusetts Amherst economist shows that shrinking package sizes at U.S. grocery stores have played a hidden but important role in food inflation—though not in the way many consumers may think.
For many decades, the method to obtain atomic-level descriptions of chemical compounds and materials—be it a drug, a catalyst, or a commodity chemical—has been X-ray crystallography. This method has a known weakness: it requires one single, high-quality and large enough crystal
Trees play a central role in life on Earth. They store CO₂, provide habitats for animals, fungi, and insects, stabilize soils, regulate water cycles, and supply resources that humans rely on—from timber and food to recreation and shade on a hot day.
A recent review of over 312 studies has identified dozens of unique uses of roadkill in scientific research. The review, published in Biology Letters, discusses the advantages of using roadkill instead of live wildlife and encourages researchers to consider this option more
