Rice is a staple food for nearly half the global population and an important dietary source of magnesium, a mineral essential for human health, plant growth and energy metabolism. Although magnesium is known to influence grain quality and taste, the biological mechanism
A collaboration of scientists from NASA and Brazilian research institutions has produced a detailed picture of groundwater change across Brazil. The images reveal significant declines in some of the aquifers that are critical to one of the world's largest agricultural producers.
A Canadian deep-sea mining company may become the first to commercially mine the international seabed under a controversial U.S. executive order that bypasses United Nations regulations. A recent legal analysis suggests that this could place Canada in violation of international
Early hominins seemingly first tamed a flame 1.8 million years ago The post Human Ancestors Were Using Fire Earlier Than Previously Thought appeared first on Nautilus .
Are two sets of data genuinely different, or is it because of randomness? This question, known as the two-sample testing problem, becomes notoriously difficult in modern datasets, because they are often high-dimensional, complex, and differences between them can take countless
The last deglaciation (between 11,000 and 20,000 years ago) was a period of dramatic natural warming on Earth. During this time, North America experienced the most extensive ice-sheet melting on the planet, which profoundly reshaped its climate and water cycle. But when
High school students participating in pipeline programs aimed at increasing diversity in STEM fields are more likely to enroll in—and graduate from—elite colleges with a related degree. In addition, such improvements raised their predicted earnings by anywhere from 3% to 15%,
Researchers from the University of Cambridge and GlitterinTech, a startup founded by the same research group, have unveiled a fundamentally new type of optical spectrometer that delivers laboratory-grade precision in a device small enough to be embedded in portable and wearable
An international team led by the Max Born Institute has developed a new type of momentum microscopy to image magnons—the quanta of collectively excited spins—directly in two-dimensional reciprocal space using soft X-rays. Owing to its remarkable sensitivity, simplicity, and
A publication has revealed the first photographic evidence and confirmed sighting of the Cozumel dwarf fox in more than 20 years. Published in the journal Neotropical Biology and Conservation by researchers Travis D. Bayer, Maggie A. McGreal and A. Rafael Chacón D., the short
We don't know whether theorized primordial black holes (PBH) are real. If they are, they formed in the very early universe, when physics was much different. They had no stellar progenitors and were created by the direct collapse of densely packed subatomic matter. Theorists
Researchers from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the Centre for Advanced Semiconductors and Integrated Circuits (CASIC) have achieved a major breakthrough in cryogenic electronics. The
Microplastics (MPs), defined as plastic fragments smaller than 5 mm, have become so pervasive that they are detectable in nearly every environment studied—from remote ocean trenches to urban air, tap water, and human blood. MPs are hardly uniform; they span an enormous size
Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH) have demonstrated that larvae of the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella, are suitable as an alternative infection model for investigating the pathogenicity of bacteria on a larger scale. This could significantly
Sports in the United States look very different than they did when the nation was founded 250 years ago, according to Mark Dyreson, professor of kinesiology and history at Penn State. But one thing has remained constant—sport has played a vital role in shaping and reflecting
Another terrestrial organisms glows with UV light The post Check Out the Newest Fluorescent Amphibian appeared first on Nautilus .
What do iron, lead and nickel have in common? These heavy metals are an indispensable part of many industries. However, they also share a dark reality: They are serious environmental and public health threats. Every day, they find their way into the atmosphere and water bodies
The billion-dollar Labubu phenomenon broke a cardinal rule of retail: Consumers need to know what they're buying before they open their wallet. Most new Labubu sales took the form of "blind boxes," where purchasers found out which type of doll they'd purchased only after the
A new study finds that ancient hominins nearly 800,000 years ago deliberately selected specific basalt sources for different stages of tool production rather than simply using whatever stone was available nearby. By tracing the geochemical "fingerprints" of stone tools to both
A new El Niño index that provides a more climate-robust measure of the strength of El Niño signals has been released by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). With the World Meteorological Organization's recent update indicating an 80% likelihood of an
At least 15 people drowned in open water in the UK's recent heat wave, mostly children and teenagers. The public response is understandably urgent: warnings are issued, parents are told to talk to their children, and young people are reminded that rivers, lakes, reservoirs and
Astronauts on long space missions may one day use plants to produce fresh stocks of medicines on demand, thanks to new research by engineers at the University of California San Diego. The team developed a simple method to grow and repeatedly harvest pharmaceuticals from plants
The fixed idea that DNA is only a molecule that stores genetic information is being challenged. KAIST researchers have developed a technology that controls the chemical environment around catalysts at the nanometer scale by designing DNA sequences—the arrangement of A, T, G and
Sesame seeds are rich in lipid-soluble lignans such as sesamin, which are widely known as health-promoting phytochemicals. While these compounds rapidly decrease during germination and are converted into water-soluble glucosides, the molecular mechanism underlying this
A three-year study has cracked open the hidden biology behind coral reproduction, revealing hormone cycles that echo those of humans and other animals, and a new way to detect reef distress before it's too late.
Few would have predicted Morocco's success at the 2022 Fifa World Cup. Heading into the tournament, they were ranked 22nd in the world and had never progressed beyond the round of 16.
This earthquake may be among the biggest in the Gulf of Mexico’s history
Two-dimensional (2D) materials, which are significantly thinner than a single sheet of paper, have long drawn attention for their exceptional performance. However, they have faced a critical limitation: Their performance degrades significantly when multiple layers are stacked.
A holy grail of environmental policy is an economy that delivers prosperity without requiring the ever-increasing consumption of raw materials.
Research led by the University of Alabama found that widespread wildfires during one of Earth's ancient environmental crises did not trigger an ocean collapse but were a consequence of it.
How do bacteria regulate the production of their proteins? Researchers at the University of Hamburg, in collaboration with international partners, have now demonstrated how small protein building blocks, known as peptides, specifically influence bacterial protein production.
Along with researchers from James Madison University, three collaborators in the Office of the Provost recently published in Research & Practice in Assessment. Jaime Miller, Stuart Miller and Rachel Whitman Rotch began gathering data in the summer of 2025, investigating
Researchers have demonstrated the ability to use van der Waals forces to tune the physical and electronic properties of ferroelectric thin films. The work opens the door to new techniques for engineering materials for use in smaller, more energy efficient electronic devices.
Oceans are in a "deepening crisis" that demands urgent global action, a major U.N. report warned Monday, with seas warming and rising faster, ice cover shrinking, and marine ecosystems under mounting strain.
Nature-based solutions have become central to global climate strategies. From tropical forests to wetlands, restoring nature means trees and plants can capture carbon dioxide, reduce global warming, and regenerate biodiversity.
Using a novel simulation model based on machine learning, an international research team at GSI/FAIR has succeeded in gaining a deeper understanding of element formation in stellar events such as neutron star mergers. For the first time, the scientists used deep learning with a
Florida State University physicists are part of a team that has discovered unusual superconducting states in parts of graphene, with the potential to drive unexpected quantum technologies.
Sleep-deprived? Spit here. The post Your Saliva Knows How Sleepy You Are appeared first on Nautilus .
Quantum mechanics, unlike classical physics, allows objects to exist in more than one state at the same time. This idea is often illustrated by Schrödinger's cat, imagined as being both alive and dead until it is observed. In the laboratory, physicists can create less dramatic
Texting while driving. Bullying people on social media. Buying into the latest conspiracy theory. Passing off AI-generated work as your own.
Maize (Zea mays L.) plays an important role in global food security. During 9,000 years of maize domestication and breeding, however, protein content was not a major breeding target. Consequently, many beneficial gene variants associated with higher protein content were
Agriculture today is a massive, globally interconnected industry. That interconnectivity has brought jobs and varied foods to people who might not otherwise be able to access them.
Assistant Professor Haocun Yu is something of a scientific diplomat. In a recent Physical Review Letters publication, she and her colleagues show how a tabletop experiment can bring together two bedrock physics theories that have never been fully reconciled.
Anthropic has warned that recursive-self-improving AI could be on the horizon, but the truth is the company is more immediately concerned with marketing itself for a blockbuster initial public offering on the stock market, says Matthew Sparkes
The out-of-Africa migration, in which ancient humans went on to inhabit every other continent except Antarctica, may not have been one moment in time, but a long and slow process. Columnist Michael Marshall examines how archaeologists are rethinking this critical part of our
Lapses in memory are a normal part of ageing but can also be signs of dementia. Here’s how to distinguish between typical brain ageing and cognitive decline
A diverse range of bird species has been recorded at a solar park on rewetted peatland in Germany, suggesting that combining energy generation with habitat restoration could benefit biodiversity, the climate and the economy
A new study by Mannheim Business Administration professor Hartmut Höhle examines the reactions of actual victims of the Cambridge Analytica scandal on Facebook over a longer period. Its key finding is that, despite being affected by data fraud, users remain on the platform.
Dozens of human skeletons, lying apparently randomly on and next to each other, with their skulls missing, present a terrifying sight at first glance. Since 2022, this is what researchers have been excavating in a 7,000-year-old settlement near the present-day town of Vráble in
Earthquakes usually occur along fracture zones in Earth's crust, where large tectonic plates slide past one another and become locked. Stress builds up over long periods and is suddenly released in the form of an earthquake. In Southern California, the San Andreas and San
