The planet's water cycle is becoming increasingly erratic, swinging between too little and too much, the United Nations warned Thursday, with an unprecedented El Niño expected to exacerbate the long-term trend.
Scientists have discovered a crater on the moon that's bigger than the Roman Colosseum and is the result of a powerful impact two years ago that initially went undetected.
Human-caused global warming thinned glaciers and thawed mountain permafrost, likely helping to destabilize the Himalayan slope that collapsed last month and unleashed catastrophic flooding across Nepal, according to a report released Thursday.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of how people learn, solve problems and construct knowledge. Yet whether AI strengthens human intelligence or encourages excessive dependence remains an open question.
Scientists are testing a counterintuitive way to fight mesothelioma, an aggressive asbestos-linked cancer with few effective treatments. A new experimental mesothelioma drug kills cancer cells by disabling PRX3, an antioxidant defense that tumors use to survive intense
Scientists have found the first evidence that liquid may have flowed across Pluto’s surface in the recent past. Dark features on the enormous Sputnik Planitia glacier appear consistent with liquid nitrogen rising through cracks from deep beneath the ice. Computer models show
Scientists found that black and green Japanese rice contain unusual, potentially beneficial fats and may be digested more slowly than ordinary white rice. The combination could make these colorful varieties promising ingredients for foods designed to support blood sugar and
For many, the Bayeux Tapestry conjures images of clinker-built ships, prancing horses, the Normans feasting on chicken on the eve of the Battle of Hastings, and the arrow in King Harold's eye that ended centuries of Anglo-Saxon rule.
Scientists discovered a hidden “immune organ” inside the skull that acts as a rapid first responder against brain cancer in mice. Strengthening this local immune defense improved tumor rejection and survival, raising the possibility of new treatments that target the skull
When most Australians say 'spring is in the air,' they're speaking metaphorically, as the days become longer and warmer.
It's not so much where people live, but where they frequently spend their time, that can provide useful information for predicting community health measures. A team led by geographers in the Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences found that adding place visitation
Understanding the migration pathways of sharks and rays is key to conserving some of the world's most endangered marine species, according to new University of Queensland research.
A new report by the International Bar Association (IBA) has found a significant gap between the importance legal professionals attach to fundamental rule of law principles and their assessment of how effectively those principles are implemented in practice.
A study in Pollino National Park shows that large trees, complex canopies and deadwood diversity play a major role in shaping vascular plant communities, highlighting the ecological value of one of Italy's most remarkable old-growth forest landscapes.
Large-scale oyster reef restoration in the Chesapeake Bay is successfully creating three-dimensional habitats that support larger, more diverse fish communities, according to new research from scientists at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), the Smithsonian
Biofilms are complex microbial communities that adhere to a surface and encase themselves in a viscous matrix they produce. This structure protects bacteria from antibiotics and the immune system far more effectively than if they lived in a free-floating state, making biofilms
When a material heats up, its electrical resistance often rises. The harder question is what, exactly, is getting in the way. The electrons carrying the current may be scattered by vibrations of the material's atomic lattice, known as phonons. They may also collide with one
Forty-four years ago, Nadrian Seeman published his groundbreaking ideas on using DNA as a structural material, expanding DNA's significance far beyond its role as a carrier of genetic information. Since then, the steadily growing field of DNA nanotechnology has seen numerous
What factors influence students' decisions about whether they will continue to use ChatGPT for learning in the future? This was the question addressed by a new study from ELTE's Faculty of Informatics, which used an interpretable machine learning framework to identify the
A square peg doesn't fit a round hole. But what if the peg could change the shape of the hole? A newly developed drug molecule can do something surprisingly similar when binding to its target protein, according to a University at Buffalo-led study published Tuesday (Sept. 15)
Sir John Gage, a key figure in Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries, saved a dangerous Catholic book from likely destruction, a new study suggests. The identification of six lost pages of a medieval bestseller—illicitly prized by Catholics in the Reformation—as belonging
The pages come from a copy of Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ that once belonged to John Gage, an enforcer in Henry VIII’s court and a key figure in the historical dissolution of the monasteries
Rainwater connects the biogeochemical cycles of land and the atmosphere. It's effectively a chemical conveyor belt that delivers compounds to the ground during a process called wet deposition.
Archaeologists have analyzed insect remains preserved in the 7th to 9th centuries AD funerary cave of Cruz de la Esquina, Gran Canaria, and found that it was used by the island's Indigenous people for food storage before being adapted into a burial site. The findings have been
The ocean's aphotic zone—the dark, high-pressure region below the surface, where sunlight cannot reach—is home to a vast wealth of microbial life. Yet scientists know relatively little about the genetic makeup, growth and function of many of these enigmatic organisms.
Sexual reproduction usually reshuffles genetic information, creating offspring that differ from their parents. But one small plant takes an unexpected route. In a new study published in Nature, an international team led by André Marques at the Max Planck Institute for Plant
A rare Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) on Kangaroo Island has been confirmed to have died from highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu. The sea lion had recently been attacked by a shark, weakening it. Testing revealed that the virus caused its death. Another dead sea lion is
In March 2026, scientists succeeded in transporting antiprotons by road for the first time in a purpose-built trap loaded on a truck. The BASE collaboration, which realized this experiment at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva under the lead of
Eastern oyster larvae are only 100–300 micrometers long, but their dense calcium carbonate shells make them substantially heavier than the surrounding seawater. A new study led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) shows that this excess weight allows gravity to
Election officials can build public trust in procedures and results—even among suspicious voters who fear partisan manipulation—by creating videos that factually explain their security safeguards in simple terms. These are the findings of studies co-authored by a UC Riverside
New research led by the ARC Center of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS) at the University of Melbourne demonstrates a new way to make invisible infrared light visible without relying on the expensive detector technology used in today's infrared cameras.
How can we tell when a hedgehog is stressed? Ph.D. researcher Emily Harper explains how her new research has validated a non-invasive method for measuring stress by analyzing hormones in hedgehog feces. The method could help researchers understand how different stressors, or
The Black Death is often remembered as a single catastrophic event that swept across Europe between 1347 and 1353, killing millions. Yet the disease did not disappear after that first devastating outbreak. For more than four centuries, plague continued to return in recurring
Social learning boosts feeding success of young’uns The post Chimps Hand Down Tools Across Generations appeared first on Nautilus .
Oxford University researchers have captured the step-by-step assembly of individual virus-like particles, revealing how simple molecular interactions can reliably build these complex biological structures. The results were published today (September 16) in Nature.
In recent years, numerous attempts have been made to use artificial intelligence to decipher the communication of bats, whales, birds and other animals. However, a new study led by a team of researchers from Tel Aviv University points to a fundamental problem with this
For young people with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), a disorder that affects the brain's ability to plan and coordinate the movements needed for speech, speech difficulties can persist well beyond childhood. Unlike many childhood speech disorders that improve with age,
Much of organic chemistry, including the type used to create and alter medicinal drugs, relies on modifying carbon bonds. Rice University's Julian West has been developing a less expensive, faster and more environmentally friendly way to catalyze these reactions, with a
Scientists, clinicians, seed companies and others may soon have a new tool in their toolkit for detecting bacterial pathogens, thanks to a new study by researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. The research—published in Journal of Microbiological
Some of us now use generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) to talk through difficult feelings. We may ask a chatbot to write an email or plan a vacation, but we also tell it that we have had a rotten day or feel anxious about a presentation.
Very small biological samples and even individual biomolecules can now be examined under near-physiological conditions with high confidence at the BESSY II infrared beamline using a newly validated and improved technique: nanoscale infrared (IR) spectroscopy (s-SNOM) with
When it rains, traveling waves appear on steep asphalt pavement, slowly making their way down the slope. Because these so-called "roll waves" propagate without deforming and are typically characterized by abrupt discontinuities, they play an important role in hydraulic
Spekboom (Portulacaria afra) is an easy-to-grow succulent shrub, small tree or hedge. In the wild, it grows naturally as tall as five meters (16 feet) on steep slopes and rocky hillsides in the Karoo and Eastern Cape regions of South Africa, where it helps stabilize soil and
And the holidays are especially bad The post Cold Weather Could Predict an Increase in Heart Attacks Three Days in Advance appeared first on Nautilus .
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London are closer to understanding tendinopathy, a common condition that can cause persistent pain and impaired movement in people and many animals.
The wonders of internet technology and the advent of the gig economy have given hope to many highly skilled workers that their reputations, built up over many years, can help them transition from a traditional office-based job (with all the associated pressures) to freelance
A research team at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology discovered a previously unknown strategy by which certain fungi neutralize spruce defense compounds. These fungi are introduced into trees by bark beetles, and their success makes it easier for bark beetles to
A maniacal villain and a polite librarian on the risk that AI could end humanity The post What Grok and Claude Have to Say about the AI Apocalypse appeared first on Nautilus .
Seasonal changes redistribute enough water around Earth to shift the planet's center of mass back and forth by fractions of an inch relative to its geometric center. NASA scientists are on the case, tracking the oscillations because Earth's center of mass is a crucial reference
School shooting preparedness drills have been a routine, though uncomfortable, part of the back-to-school experience. Since the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colorado, various kinds of preparedness drills have been mandatory in most schools.
