A long-standing law of thermodynamics turns out to have a loophole at the smallest scales. Researchers have shown that quantum engines made of correlated particles can exceed the traditional efficiency limit set by Carnot nearly 200 years ago. By tapping into quantum
Fungal infections are becoming deadlier as drug resistance spreads and treatment options stall. Researchers at McMaster University discovered that a molecule called butyrolactol A can dramatically weaken dangerous fungi, allowing existing antifungal drugs to work again. Instead
New research suggests that consistent aerobic exercise can help keep your brain biologically younger. Adults who exercised regularly for a year showed brains that appeared nearly a year younger than those who didn’t change their habits. The study focused on midlife, a critical
The asteroid that struck the Earth 66 million years ago devastated life across the planet, wiping out the dinosaurs and other organisms in a hail of fire and catastrophic climate change. But new research shows that it also set the stage for life to rebound astonishingly quickly.
Researchers from the University of Cape Town (UCT), working with international collaborators, have shown that people in northern Mozambique use regionally distinct "dialects" when communicating with honeyguide birds, revealing a striking parallel to the way human languages
Scientists are learning how to temporarily reshape materials by nudging their internal quantum rhythms instead of blasting them with extreme lasers. By harnessing excitons, short-lived energy pairs that naturally form inside semiconductors, researchers can alter how electrons
When quantum spins interact, they can produce collective behaviors that defy long-standing expectations. Researchers have now shown that the Kondo effect behaves very differently depending on spin size. In systems with small spins, it suppresses magnetism, but when spins are
Global average temperature increases could pass the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold outlined in the Paris Agreement by the end of the decade, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, putting the world at greater risk of never-seen-before extreme weather events.
Nine months ago, President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum instructing his administration to "achieve maximum speed and efficiency" in moving to block invasive Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes.
A new list of threatened mammals in South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini shows that 11 more species have edged closer to extinction since 2016. Those that have joined the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's regional Red List for mammals at risk are: Lesueur's
We might soon see a revival of these beloved, brisk aircraft in the US The post When Passenger Planes Surpassed the Speed of Sound appeared first on Nautilus .
NASA announced Tuesday the selection of three new science investigations that will strengthen humanity's understanding and exploration of the moon. As part of the agency's CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, American companies will deliver
A striking shot of biting flies on the head of a crocodile is among the winning entries in the British Ecological Society’s annual Capturing Ecology photography competition
Complex thought may be organized by connection, not anatomy The post The Brain Might Not Function Like We Thought It Did appeared first on Nautilus .
For Roy Maimon, hitting the bar stage and working in the scientific laboratory have never been separate worlds. During his Ph.D., the new NYU Tandon biomedical engineering assistant professor would spend his days pipetting samples and his nights playing drums in punk rock bands
Women using frozen embryos as part of their IVF treatment can either choose to use a medicated cycle or their natural one to prepare their uterus for a pregnancy. Now, scientists have found that the latter option seems to carry fewer risks
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, promises many benefits in all domains, and rocketry is no different. The European Space Agency's Future Launchers Preparatory Program (FLPP) is investigating the use of AI to develop better processes and even whole new shapes in materials that
Snow is a defining feature of mountain ranges, and of winter itself for much of the world. But beyond its scenic value, snow plays a vital role in mountain ecosystems, as well as a range of human socioeconomic activity, and it is one of the climatic elements most sensitive to
They start small and end huge The post Detailed View of Solar Flare Birth Caught for the First Time appeared first on Nautilus .
Carbon dioxide removal technologies are becoming increasingly important for climate action, but their differing storage times matter for policy design. A new study published in Environmental and Resource Economics by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)
Sweeping winds of vaporized metals have been found in a massive cloud that dimmed the light of a star for nearly nine months. This discovery, made with the Gemini South telescope in Chile, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, offers a rare glimpse into the chaotic
Under the lead of the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW) the influence of parasitic fungi on the physiology and survival of cyanobacteria in the Baltic Sea was investigated. Such infections are known from lakes. Due to the high nutrient load in the
A new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, its Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that an enzyme involved in protein translation is essential for circulating immune
A peek into their private lives reveals mate-switching from season to season The post The Promiscuous Lives of Beluga Whales appeared first on Nautilus .
Scientists have collaborated to develop a new class of highly precise filtration membranes. The research, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could significantly reduce energy consumption and enable large-scale water reuse in industry. The team includes
Oregon State University researchers have painted a clearer picture of the coastal marten, a secretive, ferret-sized forest carnivore renowned for its cuteness but nearly driven to extinction by human activity in the 20th century.
Researchers at the University of Oulu, Finland, have developed a pine-bark–based water-treatment medium that efficiently removes antibiotics as well as residues of blood-pressure and antidepressant medicines from wastewater treatment plant effluent. A new doctoral thesis
Researchers at Tohoku University have developed a new technique to identify the initiation sites of a destructive process called pitting corrosion, which occurs when aluminum (Al) alloys are exposed to sodium chloride solutions. This advancement is expected to accelerate the
Research in the lab of UC Santa Barbara materials professor Stephen Wilson is focused on understanding the fundamental physics behind unusual states of matter and developing materials that can host the kinds of properties needed for quantum functionalities.
As part of its ongoing efforts to combat brucellosis, a serious and often neglected disease endemic to many low- and middle-income countries around the world, a team of researchers from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) has identified
Existing algorithms can partially reconstruct the shape of a single tree from a clean point-cloud dataset acquired by laser-scanning technologies. Doing the same with forest data has proven far more difficult. But now a team from Purdue University's Department of Computer
For many years, cesium atomic clocks have been reliably keeping time around the world. But the future belongs to even more accurate clocks: optical atomic clocks. In a few years' time, they could change the definition of the base unit second in the International System of Units
Researchers from CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, have unlocked the most detailed genetic blueprint yet of a major soil-borne crop pathogen—an advance that paves the way for better crop disease management in Australian agriculture.
Here's a novel pathway to a more sustainable planet: carbo-loading for the public good. In a new study published in Nature Synthesis, chemists at Yale and the University of California-Berkeley have developed a two-step process that removes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and
A winter storm bringing very cold temperatures is expected to slam a massive stretch of the United States this week with more than 175 million people facing the prospect of power outages and travel disruptions.
Imagine computer hardware that is blazing fast and stores more data in less space. That's the promise of antiferromagnets, magnetic materials that do not interfere with each other and can switch states at high speed, opening the door to advanced computing and quantum
Light and matter can remain at separate temperatures even while interacting with each other for long periods, according to new research that could help scale up an emerging quantum computing approach in which photons and atoms play a central role.
A new CIIMAR study demonstrates that natural peptides produced by cyanobacteria are capable of replacing toxic biocides that dominate the market for anti-fouling paints used in the maritime industry. The use of these peptides as an active component brings direct benefits to the
At a press conference, former ISS commander Mike Fincke said Crew-11’s evacuation of the space station left him feeling more confident about human space exploration
A six-year analysis of marine microbes in coastal California waters has overturned long-held assumptions about how the ocean's smallest organisms interact.
Nearly three decades ago, scientists found that a pair of molecules in rye pollen exhibited an unusual ability to slow tumor growth in animal models of cancer. But progress stalled for one seemingly simple reason: No one knew exactly what the molecules looked like.
In a recent paper, SFI Professor David Wolpert, SFI Fractal Faculty member Carlo Rovelli, and physicist Jordan Scharnhorst examine a longstanding, paradoxical thought experiment in statistical physics and cosmology known as the "Boltzmann brain" hypothesis—the possibility that
A new type of catalyst that uses five times less platinum than usual could help make hydrogen production more affordable in the future.
The interaction of silver materials with light is well-known as the basis of film photography. But, there are much more sophisticated interactions when we consider very, very small particles of silver that could have applications in a wide range of technologies.
Alicja Ostrowska's doctoral thesis "Life and AI at NASA" examines how artificial intelligence is transforming the way science is conducted within some of the world's most ambitious space projects. The study investigates how AI is used in NASA's missions exploring the conditions
Astronomers have long sought evidence to explain why comets at the outskirts of our own solar system contain crystalline silicates, since crystals require intense heat to form and these "dirty snowballs" spend most of their time in the ultracold Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud. Now,
Psychological safety—the belief that it is safe to speak up with concerns, questions or mistakes—is widely recognized as essential for organizational learning, innovation and workplace safety.
A remarkable prehistoric hammer made from elephant bone, dating back nearly half a million years ago, has been uncovered in southern England and analyzed by archaeologists from UCL and the Natural History Museum, London.
In the Kenyan savanna, lions and livestock essentially live in shifts: Cattle graze during the day and are enclosed at night when lions are active.
So-called forever chemicals or PFAS compounds are a growing environmental problem. An innovative approach to treating PFAS‐contaminated water and soil now comes from accelerator physics: high‐energy electrons can break down PFAS molecules into harmless components through a
