A global analysis of more than 2,300 seawater samples from more than 20 field studies around the globe indicates that human-made chemicals make up a significant portion of organic matter in coastal oceans. The international study, led by biochemists Jarmo Kalinski and Daniel
Gamma-ray bursts are the most violent explosions in the universe. In a fraction of a second, they can release more energy than the sun will emit across its entire 10-billion-year lifetime. Most are over before you've had time to register them, gone in seconds, minutes at most.
Bats are reservoirs for several zoonotic viruses, such as Ebola and coronaviruses. These pathogens can spread to humans through direct contact with the flying mammals or their bodily fluids, or indirectly through contaminated food and water or through intermediate animal hosts.
A new computational tool infers changes occurring at the ends of the chromosomes housing our DNA. It does so by detecting structural alterations in cells and tissues captured in images taken of routine medical biopsies, according to findings published in Cell Reports Methods.
It seems improbable that a satellite designed to monitor polar ice sheets and floating sea ice could accurately measure a disturbance in Earth's magnetic field. But that is just what ESA's CryoSat mission did earlier this year. This is a story of unique innovation in satellite
Heat and humidity now severely limit light physical activity for millions of people around the world, with older adults facing the greatest burden.
When floods, coastal erosion or sea-level rise threaten settlements or infrastructure, European countries turn to managed retreat more often than previously assumed. Managed retreat refers to the planned, government-supported relocation of people, homes or infrastructure away
A haunting whale song discovered on decades-old audio equipment could open up a new understanding of how the huge animals communicate, according to researchers who say it's the oldest such recording known.
Using data from the Magellan Clay telescope and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), astronomers have investigated a galactic globular cluster known as NGC 5824. Results of the new study, available in a paper published March 5 on the arXiv pre-print server, suggest that
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is alarmed by the threat to ground-based astronomy posed by proposals put forward by Elon Musk's SpaceX and Reflect Orbital. SpaceX has applied to launch one million satellites to act as data centers to power artificial intelligence, but
The central limit theorem started as a bar trick for 18th-century gamblers. Now scientists rely on it every day. The post The Math That Explains Why Bell Curves Are Everywhere first appeared on Quanta Magazine
A colony of African vervets in Dania Beach raises big questions about how humans can and should manage nonnative species.
Timing is critical in diagnosing diseases such as cancer. Researchers within The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign used a historically underappreciated tiny powerhouse to detect diseases sooner.
Ancient DNA reveals that the Goths of eastern Europe, some of whom would ultimately sack the city of Rome, may have been a mix of peoples from three continents
Patches of the sun's surface often show strong magnetic fields. These fields can emerge within a matter of hours, and can decay slowly or quickly, sometimes over days, weeks, or even months. Thanks to a new study about these long-lived active regions, we now know much more
A clinical trial found that listening to specially designed music with auditory beat stimulation can significantly reduce anxiety. Among several listening lengths tested, a 24-minute session delivered the biggest benefits, easing both mental and physical symptoms of anxiety.
New research shows that sourdough fermentation does more than make bread rise—it transforms wheat fibers in unexpected ways. Scientists found that enzymes already present in wheat, activated by the sourdough’s acidic environment, break down key fibres called arabinoxylans. This
Heat shields are designed to protect the surface and cargo of a spacecraft as it enters an atmosphere. Aerospace engineers in The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign recently observed a violently destructive difference in how heat
The distinctive smell of ancient mummies is helping scientists decode the secrets of Egyptian mummification. By analyzing tiny traces of chemicals in the air around mummy samples, researchers identified dozens of compounds linked to oils, resins, beeswax, and bitumen used
One physicist is on a mission to get scientists to look into Louis de Broglie’s pilot wave theory
Physicists at UC Santa Barbara have uncovered a new way to manipulate unusual magnetic states by exploiting “frustration” inside a crystal’s atomic structure. The team discovered a rare system where two different kinds of frustration—magnetic and electronic bond
A drug to treat Parkinson's disease can be made from waste plastic bottles using a pioneering method, a study shows. The approach harnesses the power of bacteria to transform post-consumer plastic into L-DOPA, a frontline medication for the neurological disorder. It is the
A study led by the University of Oxford has identified a new type of planet beyond our solar system—one that stores large amounts of sulfur deep within a permanent ocean of magma. The findings have been published in Nature Astronomy.
An international research team used multiple global agroeconomic models and found that climate mitigation consistent with the 1.5 °C target could raise global hunger risk in 2050 by 17% (56 million people) compared with a baseline scenario that assumes today's climate and air
From emergency oil reserves to nuclear scrutiny, bigger hail, and research on a connection between the aging gut and the brain
Dimensions beyond the four we’re familiar with could solve a host of problems in physics and cosmology. Columnist Leah Crane explores what a higher-dimensional universe might be like – and how we could find out if we live in one
Scientists have developed a powerful new computational method that could accelerate the search for next-generation materials capable of turning sunlight into useful chemical energy. The work focuses on polyheptazine imides, a promising class of carbon nitride materials that
Scientists have discovered that cells can sense far beyond the surfaces they touch. While individual cancer cells can probe about 10 microns ahead by tugging on surrounding collagen fibers, clusters of normal epithelial cells can combine forces to detect layers as far as 100
Researchers have developed a tiny antibody that can find a common cancer protein and make tumors light up during PET scans. In tests with mice, tumors containing the protein EphA2 glowed clearly when the antibody was used. This could help doctors quickly identify patients who
Scientists at MIT have discovered that a little-known protein called intelectin-2 plays a powerful double role in defending the gut. The protein strengthens the mucus layer that lines the gastrointestinal tract while also trapping and disabling harmful bacteria that try to
Artificial intelligence is often portrayed as a tool that replaces human work, but new research from Swansea University suggests a far more exciting role: creative collaborator. In a large study with more than 800 participants designing virtual cars, researchers found that
A new AI framework called THOR is transforming how scientists calculate the behavior of atoms inside materials. Instead of relying on slow simulations that take weeks of supercomputer time, the system uses tensor network mathematics and machine-learning models to solve the
Analysis and reconstruction of a warp-weighted loom from the second millennium BC site of Cabezo Redondo, Spain, provides an unprecedented glimpse into the development of textile technology in the Bronze Age western Mediterranean.
A new detection method called “Jerk” could dramatically improve how scientists forecast volcanic eruptions. By using a single broadband seismometer, the system can detect extremely subtle ground movements caused by magma pushing underground—often hours before an eruption
Pesticides used in pet flea treatments occur widely in Welsh rivers and were detected in over three quarters of river water samples, finds new research by Cardiff University and Natural Resources Wales. The study found that two pesticides from flea treatments, imidacloprid and
In April 2012, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle was found on Graham Island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago off the coast of British Columbia. It belonged to Ikuo Yokoyama, a survivor of the earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan a year earlier, in March 2011. Yokoyama
Birds that live and breed in vegetated coastal areas, such as dunes and small islands, not only build nests but also—unintentionally—shape their own surroundings. This was discovered by Utrecht-based Earth scientist Floris van Rees. He studied five uninhabited islands in the
Electrons are tiny and constantly in motion. How they behave in a crystal lattice determines key material properties: electrical conductivity, magnetism, or novel quantum effects. Anyone aiming to develop the information technologies of tomorrow must understand what electrons
The findings of a new paper show governance and preparedness rather than hazard magnitude determine whether avalanches become mass-casualty events. With large ice-rock avalanches growing in frequency as steep slopes in the Himalaya become unstable due to rapid glacier retreat,
The future of one of Antarctica's most iconic glaciers could be far more dramatic than scientists previously thought. Using satellite calibrated ice sheet models, a team of researchers from the University of Edinburgh found that the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica could be
We're starting to see just how exceptional our own solar system and its history is, as more exoplanets are discovered. A fourth exoplanet discovery in the LHS 1903 system made by ESA's CHEOPS mission places a rocky world right where it shouldn't be. This "inside-out system"
