Small mammals called plateau pikas are often treated as pests because they compete with livestock for food, but research from China shows they can improve the quality of vegetation for grazing yaks.
How did a photon survive a journey of more than 2 billion light-years when, according to known physics, it should have been absorbed long before reaching Earth? This is the question at the heart of a new study by Giorgio Galanti (INAF) and Marco Roncadelli (INFN), accepted for
The most comprehensive catalog of exploding white dwarf stars ever assembled has revealed new clues about dark energy, the mysterious force driving the universe's accelerating expansion. Researchers at The University of Queensland's School of Mathematics and Physics have led a
Dog walkers distracted by their phones, conversations or other demands can fail to notice their pets defecating, disturbing wildlife or approaching livestock, according to new research from the University of Surrey.
Packaged food usually sits in plastic-lined bags designed to keep air, moisture and contaminants out. That same protection can also increase the chances of chemicals from the packaging seeping into the food. When a chemical raises health concerns, industries often swap it for a
Not so long ago, we thought the ocean was an inexhaustible resource. There would always be plenty more fish in the sea.
A new fluorescence microscopy technique that generates super-resolution images from a single camera exposure could help researchers study rapid movements within cells that are difficult to capture with existing methods.
I spent six days on a small fishing boat in the middle of the English Channel in July trying to catch a thresher shark. The weather was fickle, even at the height of summer. My colleague, ecologist Lucy Hawkes, and I were with two anglers who probably hold more experience of
Universities are increasingly introducing artificial intelligence (AI) teaching tools into classrooms.
Several chronic diseases—obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers—have been linked to lifestyles and diets high in calories, based on processed foods and lacking diversity and nutritional value.
A new study finds that two early-universe objects thought to be faint quasars are actually extraordinarily luminous galaxies powered by bursts of star formation. James Webb Space Telescope observations of the galaxies, seen when the universe was less than a billion years old,
Not every ant is a good samaritan The post Why Some Ants are Lazy Freeloaders appeared first on Nautilus .
The federal government has introduced draft digital duty of care legislation designed to protect Australians from online harms.
A new study has found that expanding dog vaccination, rather than introducing routine pre-exposure vaccination for children, is the most effective and cost-effective way to eliminate rabies deaths in people in Kerala, India.
While most Australians assume the ivory trade ended decades ago, Adelaide University research has found an active collectors' market exists online, with most listings showing no proof that the items are legal.
Assisted by AI, companies have more options than ever to track employees, minute by minute, keystroke by keystroke. Does this have the desired effect?
Flying leads to positive emotions and optimism in Galahs
Residents of Kauai were warned to watch for tornadoes late Monday as Hurricane Lowell edged toward the westernmost Hawaiian Islands in the U.S. Pacific island chain, the National Weather Service said.
Meltwater rivers flowing from Svalbard glaciers are carrying ancient methane from rocks beneath the ice into the open air, new research published in Nature Communications shows.
The human genome is about two meters (6.6 feet) long, yet it is folded inside a cell nucleus only about 10 micrometers in diameter. To fit into this tiny space, DNA is wrapped around histone proteins to form nucleosomes, which are further organized into chromatin. For decades,
Wildfires ravaging the Indonesian part of Borneo are choking communities as far away as Malaysia with putrid haze, testing the resources and resolve of those who must endure it.
A squishy worm that starts its life as something of a floating head in the Pacific Ocean is changing what scientists know about metamorphosis at the cellular level.
As an embryo develops from a small cluster of stem cells, those once "blank slate" cells begin to take on more specialized roles like brain, liver or muscle cells and organize themselves into three-dimensional structures such as tissues and organs.
What if the key to making stronger, more sustainable plastics isn't changing their ingredients, but rearranging their molecules? Virginia Tech researchers have put that idea to the test, creating degradable polymers with a new molecular architecture that combines properties
Most of the countryside around the Holnicote estate in Somerset has been dry and dusty for most of the summer. But one corner remains conspicuously green.
Nearly a century ago, a single colony of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) helped launch the antibiotic age. In 1928, Alexander Fleming returned to his London lab to find that a stray mold had wiped out the Staphylococcus growing on one of his plates. The accident gave the
We usually think of auroras as beautiful lights in the night sky. I see them as visible traces of a connection between the sun, Earth's magnetic field and the atmosphere. This led me to an origin-of-life question: Could the planetary structure that produces auroras also have
Crime levels are falling for most offenses across the UK—but the public doesn't necessarily feel safer. It's a human trait to focus on frightening information in the news or on social media—but it could also mean that people are more fearful about crime than they need to be.
When you think of conservation in Australia, chances are you'll think of a national park.
A few years ago, I drove with an old friend from Togo, West Africa, towards the country's last remaining large protected area, Fazao-Malfakassa National Park. Our destination was the Hotel Fazao, where his uncle had once worked as a professional chef after its opening in 1980.
Researchers at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (KUL) and the University of Eastern Finland have developed a new model of artificial intelligence governance inspired by the teachings of Pope Leo XIV as set out in his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas. The new model
A signal that appears to show ions moving inside a battery may, in fact, be an illusion caused by an uneven surface. A KAIST research team has identified the origin of this type of artifact, which can lead researchers to misinterpret what is happening inside a battery, and has
Meteorologist James Stagg gave what many regard as the most important weather forecast in history in June 1944. The fate of more than 150,000 Allied troops preparing to invade the Normandy beaches on D-Day and the future of the war in Europe depended on Stagg and his
One-third of young scientists who had been planning careers in academic research changed their minds in the spring of 2025, according to a new survey. Fewer expected to remain in higher education or work in the U.S., or felt that pursuing a Ph.D. was the right decision.
The findings of a new study led by the Leibniz-IZW on Namibian free-ranging cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus) demonstrate that epigenetic mechanisms might play an important role in how animals develop different phenotypes despite their low genetic diversity. The work is
The first five years of life lay an important foundation for children's future schooling, health and earnings. Yet over 77% of children in sub-Saharan Africa don't have access to early childhood care and education. This places them at risk of not reaching their development
A new study reveals that microbial life deep within Earth has persisted and repeatedly flourished through hundreds of millions of years of mountain-building and erosion. By analyzing minerals, fluids and gases from a 2.3-kilometer-deep (1.4-mile-deep) borehole in central
A Grade 4 teacher showed her class a video of children who walk miles barefoot to school. A hand shot up: "Why are you showing us AI slop? No way this is real."
Research in the International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education argues that "The Jungle Book" can serve as an unconventional teaching tool for undergraduate economics, using the original stories by Rudyard Kipling as well as Disney film adaptations to introduce
Copper has been knocked off the top of a stability ranking it had dominated for decades. Without altering the atoms directly bonded to the metal, a KAIST research team reversed the longstanding trend in which copper generally forms the most stable complexes by tuning only the
New research from Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) examining the aftermath of the February 2024 Port Hills wildfire found that some young native trees and shrubs were able to resprout after being badly damaged by fire.
A common blue pigment could help turn carbon dioxide (CO₂) from an industrial waste product into a useful fuel. A joint research team led by Tohoku University's Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR), in collaboration with Hokkaido University and startup AZUL
The important role ships play in gathering scientific data in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean has been outlined at a leading Antarctic science conference in Hobart. The biennial Australian Antarctic Research Conference was held at the University of Tasmania and attracted 400
Parents and teachers might think telling kids "they're smart" is a helpful way to build self-confidence and support positive development.
University of California, Davis, researchers have stripped down LSD to the base features responsible for its hallucinogenic and therapeutic effects.
Permafrost refers to permanently frozen ground. The rock is held together by ice, much like cement binds concrete. However, when the ice thaws, the ground becomes weak and unstable. During an earthquake, this can trigger a series of natural hazards. An international research
Polar wurtzite nitride semiconductors, such as aluminum nitride (AlN) and gallium nitride (GaN), are central to modern high-power and high-frequency electronic devices because of their wide band gaps, high breakdown electric fields, and strong spontaneous and piezoelectric
The average person takes thousands of steps each day, instinctively walking heel-to-toe. Although they hardly register them, those consistent heel-first strides are more distinctive to humans than previously thought and allowed early hominins to walk farther and more
Music doesn’t just mask stress, it guides our brain back to a calm state
Applying pressure to luminescent organic crystals usually brings molecules closer together and weakens their fluorescence. Materials that instead brighten and undergo a large color change are rare, and clear design principles for achieving both responses in simple, rigid
