Over 40,000 years ago, our early ancestors were already carving signs into tools and sculptures. According to a new analysis by linguist Christian Bentz at Saarland University and archaeologist Ewa Dutkiewicz at the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte (Museum of Prehistory and
A team of scientists led by the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ), and Leipzig University has developed a new method to track Earth's greenness—a key indicator of vegetation health and activity—by
Volcanoes and wildfires can inject millions of tons of gases and aerosol particles into the air, affecting temperatures on a global scale. But picking out the specific impact of individual events against a background of many contributing factors is like listening for one
Pickup basketball and neighborhood kickball are less common now than for generations past, giving way to more organized and formal youth sports intended to help kids get ahead, a new study suggests.
The deep, murky pigment known as Prussian blue put the "blue" in traditional blueprints, colored Hokusai's "Great Wave off Kanagawa" and today is used for industrial purposes, from laundry to battery components to poison control. Now, research from the University of Chicago
LEDs no wider than a human hair could soon take on work traditionally handled by lasers, from moving data inside server racks to powering next-generation displays. New research co-authored by UC Santa Barbara doctoral student Roark Chao points to a practical path forward. The
Southwest Research Institute was part of an international team that demonstrated how complex organic molecules (COMs), key chemical precursors to life, could have been incorporated into Jupiter's Galilean moons during their formation. The team's findings have resulted in
Plant owners with a so-called green thumb often seem to have a more finely tuned sense of what their plants need than the rest of us. A new "smart lighting" system for indoor vertical farms grants this ability on a facility-wide scale, responsively meeting plants' needs while
When honey bees find a good source of food, they return to their hive and perform a waggle dance. It consists of a series of movements that communicate the direction and distance to nectar, pollen or water relative to the sun. For years, scientists had a vague understanding of
Scientists have observed a new microscopic mechanism enabling precise control of the magneto-optical properties of excitons in alloys of two-dimensional semiconductors. This discovery opens up tangible prospects for technological applications in devices exploiting
Bananas could get wiped out, it’s happened before The post New Gene Discovery Could Postpone the Bananapocalypse appeared first on Nautilus .
A collapsed lava tube detected in 30-year-old radar data from Venus may be part of a much wider network of underground caves.
A researcher's keen eye and spirit of curiosity led to the discovery of a new method for cell engineering—a finding that opens doors to more sustainable sources for everything from fuel to vitamin supplements.
For about six months, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has been exploring a region full of geologic formations called boxwork, low ridges standing roughly 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters) tall with sandy hollows in between. Crisscrossing the surface for miles, the formations suggest
Expert birdwatchers have changes in their brain structure compared with novices, which probably help them better identify birds and may even protect against age-related cognitive decline
An archaeological study reveals how ancient hunter-gatherer groups lived—and survived—more than a thousand years ago in the transition zone between the Pampas and Patagonia in Argentina. The research, carried out by Martínez and colleagues, focuses on the Zoko Andi 1 site
The Incas were known to engage in a sacrificial ritual involving children to appease their gods. Archaeologists have found and analyzed the remains of these human sacrifices, although not all of them have undergone CT scanning, which can reveal additional details. A new study,
New observations of Ganymede reveal a striking similarity between the auroras on the largest moon in the solar system and those on Earth. The international team of astrophysicists, led by researchers from the University of Liège, has produced new results indicating that,
School is out as heavy, wet snow blankets parts of the Northeast. Though it will be a pain to shovel, it makes for perfect snowballs and the most structurally sound snowmen
Light powers everything from communications to sensing, yet even tiny imperfections can scatter it and weaken signals. To address this, a team led by the University of Bath—working with the University of Cambridge and international partners—has developed a new structure that
Plastic contamination in freshwater ecosystems continues to rise, resulting in micro- and nanoparticle accumulation in the aquatic environment. A new study by an aquatic ecology group at the University of Eastern Finland investigated how these tiny plastic particles and their
Digital technologies are widely viewed as drivers of efficiency, growth, and innovation. However, their contribution to climate change is significantly greater than previously understood. A new study published in the journal Communications Sustainability shows that digital
UNSW engineers have tackled a longstanding problem at the heart of global agriculture: how to make urea for fertilizer without the intensity of emissions associated with fossil-fuel-powered factories. The solution is outlined in a study published in Nature Communications.
Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have created a new molecule which carries DNA into biological cells, to treat or vaccinate against illnesses. Many existing options rely on molecules with a strong positive charge, which can cause harmful inflammation. The team
Our solar system hosts almost 900 known moons; more than 400 orbit the eight planets while the remaining orbit dwarf planets, asteroids, and Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs). Of these, only a handful are targets for astrobiology and could potentially support life as we know it,
Imagine trying to design a key for a lock that is constantly changing its shape. That is the exact challenge we face in modern drug discovery when dealing with intrinsically disordered proteins.
The extraction of gas and oil by fracking—large-scale fracturing of underground rocks by injecting water, sand and additives—is generating growing concern in Argentine Patagonia. Neuquén province—home to the country's largest hydrocarbon reserves—has experienced an increase in
New cannabis research shows why we get snacky when we get high The post The Brain Science Behind the Munchies appeared first on Nautilus .
Cornell researchers have uncovered a built-in molecular "gate" that controls the production of the molecule nitric oxide, a crucial signaling molecule throughout biology that in humans helps regulate blood pressure, brain signaling, and immune defenses. But when levels go
Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of astronomers has discovered a new exoplanet orbiting a distant star known as TIC-65910228. The newfound alien world is slightly larger and nearly five times more massive than Jupiter. The
A recently discovered Greek inscription at the base of a column inside the Great Mosque of Homs in Syria has rekindled a longstanding scholarly debate about the exact location of the Temple of the sun, whose high priest ascended to the Roman imperial throne in the third century
A key question in any discussion about climate is "How much rain fell?" But perhaps there is an even more important one. Like any household budget, the global water economy is based on "income," that is, water entering the system as precipitation, and "expenditure"—water
Thick cloud cover can completely obscure the surface of the Earth from satellite view, while thinner haze and shadows distort the image of rural and urban regions. As such, many remote sensing images for monitoring climate, crops, and urban growth are only partially usable.
An economic study calculates the effectiveness of a novel policy instrument: The underlying idea is that you are allowed to release the climate gas CO₂ into the atmosphere—but only if you promise to "clean up" later through carbon removal. The market forces activated by
Love is in the air for the vinegar fly. Drosophila melanogaster has long been a model for understanding how brains translate sensory information into courtship behavior. Male flies perform a multitude of romantic actions—orienting, tapping, chasing and singing—directed toward
Far beneath the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,000 kilometers off Portugal’s coast, lies a colossal underwater canyon system that dwarfs even the Grand Canyon. Known as the King’s Trough Complex, this 500-kilometer stretch of trenches and deep basins formed not from rushing water, but
How we feel about a night’s sleep can have a bigger impact on mood and grogginess than actual hours of rest. Here’s how to change your mindset to feel more energised
An examination of bones has revealed one of the largest prehistoric mass killings known in Europe, with women, adolescents and children making up most of the 77 victims
Temnothorax kinomurai, a parasitic ant species found in Japan, reproduces asexually and all of its young develop into queens that try to take over other ants’ colonies
Inside every cell, thousands of molecular signals collide, overlap, and compensate, obscuring the true drivers of gene expression. Scientists have now developed a way to silence that cellular noise, revealing transcription drivers by reconstructing transcription outside of the
Adelaide University researchers have shown that pairing sniffer dogs with a simple air-sampling device could dramatically improve the detection of illegally trafficked wildlife hidden inside shipping containers.
Horses use their larynx to make two sounds simultaneously, so they are effectively singing and whistling at the same time
Plants have an immune system, like people, and when it is triggered by threats like disease or pests, a plant's defenses are activated. But there's a downside to this protective mechanism: the plant's growth is suppressed when its immune system is turned on. Colorado State
A horse's whinny is an unusually distinctive mix of sounds including both high and low frequencies. Reporting in Current Biology, researchers demonstrate how horses produce high-frequency sounds that defy their large size while simultaneously producing lower tones: they whistle
A land dispute may have led to the massacre 3,000 years ago, suggesting Europe’s transition to farming wasn’t always peaceful.
Biodiversity is changing across the planet, yet governments still lack the robust, consistent data needed to track these changes and guide effective conservation. Now, a new study led by the University of Amsterdam (UvA), the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research
In 2013, farmers in the highlands of Ethiopia began to notice something unsettling: a familiar variety of wheat was failing in an unfamiliar way. Stems weakened, plants collapsed, and fields that had once held firm against disease were suddenly vulnerable. Three years later,
A century after Erwin Schrödinger sketched out a bold vision for how we perceive color, scientists have finally filled in the missing pieces. A Los Alamos team used advanced geometry to show that hue, saturation, and lightness aren’t shaped by culture or experience — they’re
Traumatic experiences can have ripple effects that permeate across many aspects of people's lives. For students, adverse childhood experiences have been shown to impact attention, memory, language development and relational functioning—the exact skills learning relies on.
Can students be on the front lines of conservation? A new Canada-wide study, published in Metabarcoding and Metagenomics, suggests they can. The efforts of some 5,000 students produced data detailed enough to reveal complex ecological networks hidden inside a small PVC and
