Star formation across the universe has fallen dramatically over the past 4.5 billion years, but astronomers have uncovered a surprising twist: the supply of neutral hydrogen, a key ingredient for making stars, has barely declined. Using China’s FAST radio telescope and data
September’s sky features brilliant Venus, the Milky Way’s hazy center, and the seasonal turning point of the equinox. The month ends with a glowing Harvest Moon rising near Saturn and faint Neptune.
For children born with cleft lip and palate, repairing gaps in the jawbone often means waiting until they are 10 to 12 years old before undergoing invasive bone graft surgery. University of Sydney researchers have developed a biodegradable "nanobone" material that allows the
A new report from the American Psychological Association warns that student engagement with educational technology is not the same as learning—and that generative AI tools pose particular risks by improving students' immediate performance without building their underlying
Elephant Butte Reservoir, New Mexico’s largest reservoir, plunged to just 1.4 percent capacity in July 2026 after years of extreme drought and record early snowmelt. The dramatic decline exposed long-submerged debris and underscored the growing strain on Rio Grande water
Some of the attention patterns that make ADHD challenging may also help spark creativity by allowing the brain to explore more ideas and unexpected connections. Researchers think creative activities could potentially channel this “defocused attention” while helping strengthen
An updated analysis of U.S. homicide data has found that intimate partner violence (IPV) often precipitates mass homicide and is also frequently associated with multi-victim and single-victim deaths. The study categorizes homicides into single-victim, multi-victim (2–3 victims)
Sitting for long, uninterrupted stretches may carry greater health risks than sitting the same amount of time in shorter bouts. Researchers found that each extra hour of prolonged sedentary behavior was associated with a 9% higher risk of cancer death. Breaking up sitting with
A 50% decline in the Gulf of Carpentaria dugong population estimate is a wake-up call for urgent action to protect dugongs in the Gulf, based on surveys undertaken by researchers from James Cook University, Charles Darwin University and Indigenous Ranger groups.
The Pacific islands will face food shortages, and drinking water will be affected by rising seas, scientists said Wednesday, as a U.N. report found the world would fail to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is usually discussed as something the world needs to get rid of. Activities such as the burning of fossil fuels for daily use, including electricity and transportation, and industrial applications release significant amounts of CO₂, and the gas enters the
As proteins are made in a cell, they are folded into the 3D structure that allows them to work, but sometimes this process can go wrong. When it does, the misfolded proteins lose some or all of their function and usually get tagged by the cell's quality assurance and
In a quiet summer garden, a caterpillar perches on a branch, munching serenely on leaves. A moment later, it freezes. It senses danger—and just in time. From behind, a wasp approaches, sizing up its prey.
A research team from INRAE and the University Clermont Auvergne has shown that trees are capable of correcting a curvature they detect in their stems through a specific biological process. In the study, young trees with bent stems were placed in an experimental set-up that
Using an engineered metasurface that traps light, Cornell researchers have demonstrated a new way to generate strong static magnetic fields without using external magnets or magnetic materials—an approach that could advance spintronics, quantum and photonic computing, and data
Copper roofs lose their reddish color over time because a pale green layer of copper oxide forms on their surface, protecting the roof from further corrosion for many years. But what exactly happens during the first steps of this process? Might it even be possible to stop it?
Nearly half of people living in Europe on an average income can only afford to buy the equivalent of a one-bedroom apartment or studio apartment, while 39% of Europeans cannot afford to rent a property this size.
RNA-based therapeutics use RNA as a blueprint that enables cells to produce specific proteins—including proteins that can precisely modify genes. For this to work, the RNA must reach the inside of the cell intact. Delivery systems currently used for this purpose include
The plot of "Finding Nemo," a film that features an overprotective single father fish taking on dangers at sea to care for his son, may be more reflective of actual fish dad behavior than was previously known. A new study led by a scientist at Penn State found that baby
What happens when a superconductor becomes so thin that electrons can no longer behave as if they were moving through an ordinary three-dimensional piece of metal? This question has been at the center of my recent work on quantum confinement in metallic films. Over the past few
Some of Europe's most well-known historic manuscripts, including the York Gospels, have proven to be biological time capsules for uncovering the 3,500-year history of the sheeppox virus (SPPV).
Meet Glyptotherium deuterophractum The post New Species of Giant Armadillo Has Convoluted History appeared first on Nautilus .
One of the major challenges in the quest to beat cancer is developing treatments that can selectively destroy cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed. With this in mind, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) have devised a gold
Inside some fusion energy systems, particles hotter than the core of the sun can become unruly in a few thousandths of a second, far faster than any human operator can react. A new software framework developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton
New York City's public schools will temporarily ban elementary and middle school students from using artificial intelligence tools during the upcoming school year, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Wednesday.
Is a kiss just a kiss? Or is it a sign of love, affection, a biological urge, a contract or even an assault? Law, history, evolution and anthropology show that it can be all those things.
Recent observations with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have revealed a giant, evolving, 10-sided atmospheric wave encircling Saturn's south pole. This discovery marks the first time a large, regular-sided jet pattern has been observed in the planet's southern hemisphere. The
In grasslands across the American West, four-legged fire prevention crews are busy at work, helping keep wildfire risk under control. These cattle, goats and sheep stomp down tall grasses as they munch their way through plants that could otherwise burn, lowering the risk of
It's a small, simple ring made of copper alloy and engraved with a handful of Greek letters and the image of a pottery vessel. But its unremarkable appearance belies a remarkable history: The signet was likely connected in some way to the New Testament figure Pontius Pilate,
We often think of microbes as organisms that live around us, like the Salmonella bacteria and flu viruses that cause illness. But some of our most intimate relationships are with the microbes living inside us.
Bacterial promoters are DNA sequences that recruit RNA polymerase to initiate transcription, primarily through two elements called −10 and −35. However, the contributions of these elements to promoter evolution and regulation have remained unclear.
The world is set to blow past the Paris Agreement’s longtime threshold “within the next few years,” according to a new report
Two powerful hurricanes and a strengthening tropical storm on Wednesday were churning through the Pacific Ocean, where waters were being warmed by a historically strong El Niño climate episode.
In the ocean, plastic waste collects to form large garbage patches that endanger marine life. This is partly because the synthetic plastic polymers used today can only be broken down biologically—that is, by microorganisms—at a very slow rate. Instead, the physical
The Cluster mission danced its final dance as Tango reentered the atmosphere Sept. 1 at 11:30:31 p.m. CEST. The end of the Cluster mission in 2024 marked the start of the reentry data-collection campaign. After four targeted reentries, this is now a proven method of safe
Climate change is altering patterns of wildfire activity in Alaska, making fires larger and more common in some areas with historically low fire activity. Wildfires can be difficult to predict because they are affected by intricate interactions among factors including climate,
The United Nations considers well-developed and safe roads an important part of infrastructure in its Sustainable Development Goals. Until now, however, there has been no benchmark for the condition and state of road networks worldwide. Researchers at the Institute of Geography
Global temperature rise is set to cross 1.5°C, likely within the next few years, pushing climate risks and impacts to increasingly dangerous heights. But it is still possible to bring temperatures down and achieve the global goals of the Paris Agreement, according to a new UN
The Antarctic coastal zone is not simply the edge of the continent. It is a tightly coupled system where ice from the ice sheet extends over the seabed, initially resting on it and farther out floating as ice shelves. Here, mass, heat and nutrients are exchanged with the ocean
The United Nations said Wednesday the 1.5°C target would be missed and outlined how global temperatures might be brought back down in a first-of-its-kind assessment met with dismay in climate-vulnerable nations.
Common global narratives about political polarization are skewed because of an overreliance on literature about the U.S., leaving governments unprepared to tackle the problem at home. In new research led by King's College London and published in Nature Communications, experts
Imagine a construction site where the bricks are individual molecules and the "cranes" are microscopic needles so sharp they can feel a single atom. For decades, building at this scale was a laborious, time-consuming task where a single human error could damage the delicate
Venues that become entwined in the cultural fabric of a community can be as enticing as the events they hold, according to University of the Sunshine Coast research.
High above Earth, thin veils of metallic haze drift through the edge of space. Known as sporadic E layers, these high-altitude "clouds" form from the vaporized dust of burned-up meteors, earning their name from the unpredictable way they emerge and then dissipate. Now, new
Researchers at the Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures have, for the first time, identified a model cell line for a rare form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). "The KOPM-88 cell line is, to date, the first and only known cell line
A new study led by Francesca Storici, a professor in the School of Biological Sciences and faculty member of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, has uncovered an unexpected feature of human DNA linked to gene activity and the physical organization
An international team including Nobel Prize-winning physicist Professor Sir Roger Penrose has observed a long-predicted effect of gravity on a falling quantum object for the first time. The result shows that a fundamental principle at the heart of Einstein's theory of gravity
What makes someone decide to take—or skip—the bus on a cold, rainy, hot or smoky day?
As populations expanded in medieval England, key changes occurred in the uses of cattle and sheep to produce food and materials, according to a study published Sept. 2, 2026, in the journal PLOS One by Matilda Holmes of the University of Leicester, United Kingdom, David Orton
Skull bone marrow has become an exciting research topic The post The Secret of Chronic Pain Could Lie in the Skull appeared first on Nautilus .
