Our genetic material is hidden inside the nucleus of our cells, well protected by a double membrane. All molecules wishing to pass through must thread their way through one of several thousand nuclear pores. The scaffold structure of these pores is well known. However, exactly
Clogging is a phenomenon in which moving particles get stuck, slowing or blocking the flow, but how this transition occurs has remained experimentally unproven. Researchers from Science Tokyo studied superconducting vortices to demonstrate that clogging is a nonequilibrium
When I learned that Netflix planned to film the miniseries Below, about a sea monster terrorizing a Newfoundland outport, I thought to myself: "THIS I've gotta see!"
Nectaries are specialized floral tissues that secrete nectar to attract pollinators. Although the protein CRABS CLAW (CRC) is established as essential for nectary formation, the exact molecular mechanisms governing how it drives organ growth and secretion have remained unknown.
Scientists spend their careers trying to understand the world, but a new study suggests they have surprisingly different ideas about what science itself is. The study, published in Royal Society Open Science, found that scientists disagree about the meaning and purpose of
Science fiction authors have been dreaming of robotic spacecraft harvesting fortunes from asteroids for decades. Humanity is slowly getting closer to that reality. But if you ask asteroid mining skeptics, they will usually ask one specific question—what happens to the prices of
Scientists from the Physics Department and Organic Electroactive Materials research group at Durham University have made significant advances in understanding how materials absorb and release light in two recently published research papers in Nature Communications.
Humans have left their mark on virtually every place on the planet, from the deep sea to the peaks of the highest mountains. But a few very remote atolls in the Pacific Ocean may be exceptions. A new Frontiers in Marine Science study has found two coral atolls, Bikar and Bokak,
Don’t worry, it’s good The post What’s All That Coffee Doing to Your Gut? appeared first on Nautilus .
The latest global State of Wildfires report, co-led by the University of East Anglia, shows that the extreme fire-prone weather experienced across Spain and Portugal in 2025 was three times more likely due to human-caused climate change, and the area burned was three times
We're deep in the Middle Ages. In the mind's eye, monks stagger past, flagellating themselves to cleanse their sins and demonstrate their humility before God and creation. This was a time when humility—humilitas—was considered one of the fundamental virtues of Christian life.
For the first time, researchers in Australia have identified and tracked the weather systems that are collectively more important to rainfall across the tropics than tropical cyclones. The work, published in the journal Weather and Climate Dynamics, has advanced a new way to
In the 18th century, a clay tobacco pipe could reveal more than you might think. Its length, quality and condition, as well as the way it was used, could signal social status. In a new doctoral thesis, Lund University archaeologist Robert Bergman Carter shows how smokeways at
As humanitarian funding shrinks, conventional fundraising wisdom says to hold on to loyal donors. But new research shows that the value of a donor depends on how a nonprofit is set up. For many organizations, winning new donors matters more than keeping loyal ones.
Marine low clouds over the world's eastern subtropical oceans strongly influence Earth's temperature by reflecting sunlight back to space. How these clouds change as the planet warms is one of the biggest uncertainties in predicting the severity of future warming.
Researchers at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have discovered a previously unknown specialized organelle structure in a deep-sea mollusk living at cold seeps in the South China Sea. Dedicated to maintaining bacterial symbiosis, this newly identified
Why we all remember Napoleon’s name The post The Four Forces That Shape Collective Memory appeared first on Nautilus .
A new experimental procedure developed by researchers at Yale School of Medicine could help scientists better understand how DNA structure influences disease and development.
The finding, researchers say, should factor into plans to mine the seafloor for the metal-rich nodules
In arid regions, the microbes that power threatened dryland soil ecosystems called biological soil crusts stay dormant over long periods, only "awakening" when they sense moisture from infrequent rainfall. Now, a team led by researchers at Penn State—driven by projections that
Plants are green because of a pigment that is key to photosynthesis: chlorophyll. In its production, the enzyme chlorophyll synthase plays an important role. As part of an international collaboration, researchers from Osnabrück University, the Center Algatech in Třeboň and the
A tiny biodegradable bubble can move away from a chemical on its own, without a motor. Living cells need complex molecular machinery to do this. This discovery by researchers led by chemist Daniela Wilson at Radboud University, together with colleagues at Durham University, is
Could extinction itself become a thing of the past? Advances in biotechnology, including ancient DNA sequencing, genome analysis and gene editing, have led some to believe that it may be possible to bring extinct species back to life.
In biomedicine, sorting cells accurately without damaging them remains a persistent problem. Current methods, like fluorescence-activated cell sorting, rely on labeling the cells extrinsically, which can stress the cells, alter their behavior and even interfere with the assay.
More than 2 billion people, or approximately one-quarter of the world's population, lack access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, according to the United Nations Children's Fund. Today, 16 years after the U.N. General Assembly recognized this access as a fundamental human
Newly discovered artifacts are evidence of the earliest known example of a tradition of making clay figurines in the Middle East—and challenge long-held beliefs about when and how clay began to be used for symbolic purposes in the region, according to a study published in PLOS
In three species of monkey, the complex pattern of ridges on the feet and palms varies between individuals, similar to human fingerprints, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS One by Juliana Vieira Flores Sales at Universidade de Brasília and colleagues.
Even researchers and people with extensive training in statistics often find it difficult to interpret statistical results correctly. This is shown by a new systematic review carried out by Uppsala University and others, in which researchers have analyzed 55 studies involving
Iberian people continued using, and possibly building, massive necropolises well into the Bronze Age, according to a study published in PLOS One by Eduardo Vijande-Vila of the University of Cádiz, Spain, and colleagues.
It’s time to toss calorie restriction The post The What and When of Longevity Dieting appeared first on Nautilus .
Natufian hunter-gatherers may have shown their kids how to sculpt clay, sets of preserved fingerprints suggest.
Astronomers saw something strange in a distant star system—or rather what’s strange is what they didn’t see. Solving the mystery could reveal new astrophysics
The Okinawa rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae) is an endangered flightless bird endemic to the Yanbaru forest region of Okinawa Island in Japan. The bird has only recently begun recovering its numbers after introduced predators, such as the mongoose, and traffic accidents reduced its
The Sunday roast and the backyard barbecue have long been Australian rituals. The country is one of the world's biggest consumers of red meat. The average Australian ate about 22 kilograms (49 pounds) of beef in 2024.
The increasing use of content generated using artificial intelligence (AI) tools in university humanities classrooms is challenging what we think of as traditional academic integrity, intellectual responsibility and the authority of teachers, according to research in the
Cyclopia is the most severe form of a rare birth condition in which the developing brain fails to divide into two separate halves. This can also affect facial development, sometimes leaving the baby with a single eye socket in the center of the forehead and severe facial
Photosynthesis is fundamental to life on Earth, allowing plants and microalgae to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into organic compounds. However, this essential process is highly vulnerable to heat. As global temperatures rise and heat waves become more frequent, declining
Researchers from Adelaide University and Plant Synthetic Biology Australia have uncovered new insights into the molecular machinery controlling the dormancy-to-germination transition in barley, potentially paving the way for improved crop varieties and better outcomes for
A new study by researchers at the Indo-French Cell for Water Sciences (IFCWS), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), introduces a new framework for water budgeting in agricultural regions that includes farmers' social categories that are usually neglected. The work is published
Around 12 million light-years away, the supermassive black hole of the galaxy Centaurus A is hurling two enormous plasma jets into space at nearly the speed of light. These so-called jets are brighter at their edges than at their center. The reason for this was previously
Measurements of an argon isotope could help scientists understand whether the interiors of Uranus and Neptune, our solar system's so-called ice giants, are dominated by ice or rock. New research led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and published in The Planetary Science
If you ask anyone to name a dinosaur, there's a good chance they'll say Tyrannosaurus rex, that fearsome prehistoric predator with its enormous jaws and razor-sharp teeth. But what about a lesser-known dinosaur such as Iguanodon or Plateosaurus? Probably not.
NASA’s Swift telescope has burned up, months after a robot sent to save it failed The post Here’s Why It’s So Hard to Boost a Satellite appeared first on Nautilus .
Catenanes are molecules in which two or more rings are mechanically interlocked like the links of a chain, without any chemical bonds between them. Since Jean-Pierre Sauvage, who later shared the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, reported an efficient metal-templated synthesis in
The rate of sea-level rise is now more than 4 millimeters (0.16 inches) per year, having more than doubled since 1993–2002. Scientists estimate that this figure may go up to 10 millimeters (0.39 inches) per year in the near future. The inundation of coastlines and islands will
A new report suggests this year, carbon emissions may begin to trend downward for the first time. But it's important to take this with a grain of salt. While news reports have hailed this event, it will take years to confirm it wasn't just a blip caused by the U.S.–Iran war.
Plants continuously adapt to environmental changes, and temperature is a key signal for growth and flowering. How plant thermometers, or "thermosensors," work at the molecular level is not well understood.
A research team led by Kyushu University and the National Institute of Genetics has discovered that during the two-cell stage of mouse embryonic development, the embryo's nucleus softens and deforms. This nuclear softening is an integral part of major zygotic gene activation,
Findings from a study spanning the Americas show that climate change forecasts are underestimating threats to biodiversity—even to exceptionally resilient species—by not factoring in extreme weather events that become more likely in a warmer world.
A faint glow emitted by plants as they absorb sunlight could offer scientists a powerful new way to monitor photosynthesis across the planet. Fully realizing that potential, however, will require advances in both the general understanding of plant biology and the satellite
