Researchers from ETH Zurich have succeeded in introducing large quantities of unnatural amino acids into bacteria, enabling the creation of innovative and highly efficient designer proteins. These can be used as more efficient catalysts or more effective drugs.
One of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year reaches its peak this week—giving skywatchers the chance to see up to 100 "shooting stars" an hour under perfect conditions.
A team of scientists at the University of Minnesota has uncovered the routes by which zebra mussels spread through Minnesota lakes, pointing to some surprising bodies of water that were the likely origins for the period of invasions that began more than 15 years ago.
Galaxy clusters are the most massive objects in the universe held together by gravity, containing up to several thousand individual galaxies and huge reservoirs of superheated, X-ray-emitting gas. The mass of this hot gas is typically about five times higher than the total mass
The Amazon rainforest is slowly transitioning to a new, hotter climate with more frequent and intense droughts—conditions that haven't been seen on Earth for tens of millions of years.
In 2008, a team of UCLA-led scientists proposed a scheme to use a laser to excite the nucleus of thorium atoms to realize extremely accurate, portable clocks. Last year, they realized this longstanding goal by bombarding thorium atoms embedded in specialized fluoride crystals
Archaeologists found flint, iron pyrite to strike it and sediments where a fire was probably built several times at an ancient site in England.
A pioneering national study, conducted by a Monash University expert in collaboration with consumer advocates, has shed light on the hidden toll of coerced business debt, revealing how business structures are being weaponized to perpetrate financial abuse, resulting in
An international research team may have found an explanation for seismic anomalies, the noticeable deviations in the behavior of earthquake waves, in Earth's inner core.
The use of artificial beaver dams to replicate the ecological benefits created by the industrious rodents shows promise for offsetting damage to fish habitat, water quality, and biodiversity arising from climate change.
Termite pellets can linger long after the insects that dropped them have disappeared. By testing for microbes in the excrement, researchers can distinguish old droppings from fresh, and whether a colony is actively chewing its way through a home.
Biosensors are helping people with chronic conditions worldwide live better lives. However, their measurement accuracy has often been relatively low, limiting the range of possible applications. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now discovered a way
A new global assessment of the planet's environmental health was unveiled this week at the seventh UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), with University of Portsmouth researchers playing a central role in shaping its economic blueprint for a sustainable future.
The March 28, 2025, Myanmar earthquake is giving scientists a rare look into how some of the world's most dangerous fault systems behave, including California's San Andreas Fault. Earthquakes are notoriously messy and complex, but this one struck along an unusually straight and
A new study has revealed that rapid, large-scale day-to-day temperature fluctuations have intensified amid global warming, representing a distinct climate hazard with impacts on human health. This growing volatility creates a weather pattern akin to a "climate roller coaster,"
There were many ways in which the elites of ancient Roman society flaunted their wealth. They built vast villas, sponsored extravagant games and imported luxury goods. And military top brass, at least those stationed at an Egyptian port, may have advertised their status with a
Whatever else they may be, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives are very often an image-building exercise. Business leaders hope that by being seen to put ethical responsibilities over profits, they will reap profits anyway as a byproduct of reputational
Australia is about to test one of the world's boldest interventions in child digital life by putting age restrictions on social media for children under 16.
At the base of mossy trees, deep in the mountains of Taiwan and mainland Japan or nestled in the subtropical forests of Okinawa, grows what most might mistake for a mushroom—but it is actually a very unique plant with some of the smallest flowers and seeds in the world.
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim flew home with two Roscosmos cosmonauts from the International Space Station packed tight in their Soyuz spacecraft landing in the frozen steppes of Kazakhstan on Dec. 9 to complete an eight-month stay in space.
New research has given policymakers and aged care providers first-hand insights about how to uphold dignity and meet the unique needs of Forgotten Australians.
SpaceX sent up its second launch in less than 24 hours on the Space Coast on Dec. 9, while also bringing home its booster for the last time on a landing zone it has been leasing for the last 10 years.
Imagine a future where quantum computers supercharge machine learning—training models in seconds, extracting insights from massive datasets and powering next-gen AI. That future might be closer than you think, thanks to a breakthrough from researchers at Australia's national
What if your conscious experiences were not just the chatter of neurons, but were connected to the hum of the universe? In a paper published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, I present new evidence indicating that conscious states may arise from the brain's capacity to
Astronomers are a step closer to cracking one of the secrets of dark energy—the mysterious force believed to be causing the universe's accelerated expansion.
Dark matter is an elusive type of matter that does not emit, reflect or absorb light, yet is estimated to account for most of the universe's mass. Over the past decades, many physicists worldwide have been trying to detect this type of matter or signals associated with its
Astronomers have employed NASA's Chandra spacecraft to perform X-ray observations of a massive galaxy cluster known as SPT-CL J0217-5014. Results of the observational campaign, published December 4 on the arXiv preprint server, yield important insights into the properties and
Neutrinos are one of the most mysterious particles in the universe, often called "ghost particles" because they rarely interact with anything else. Trillions stream through our bodies every second, yet leave no trace. They are produced during nuclear reactions, including those
A team of researchers from the University of Zurich and the NCCR PlanetS is challenging our understanding of the solar system planets' interior. The composition of Uranus and Neptune, the two outermost planets, might be more rocky and less icy than previously thought.
A compilation of 100 examples of biological tilings shows how repeated natural motifs enhance strength, flexibility and other key functions.
The findings of a new academic paper suggest that warming winters are causing damage to the DNA of some lizards.
In his biography of Elon Musk, historian Walter Isaacson describes a game of Texas Hold "Em poker in which Musk went all in—on every hand.
New research reveals that Earth’s solid inner core is actually in a superionic state, where carbon atoms flow freely through a solid iron lattice. This unusual behavior makes the core soft, matching seismic observations that have puzzled scientists for decades. The mobility of
Gen Z views the world as a scary place, according to new research presented at the 2025 Society for Risk Analysis Conference.
An idea about the sun’s magnetic field called the terminator model could help predict dangerous space weather more accurately
When you're swaying in a beachside hammock on a lazy summer day, take a moment to thank the Indigenous cultures that invented it.
A new Monash University study has found that immigrant adolescents who feel connected to family, school and community experience lower depression and anxiety, better grades, and stronger social ties.
A multi-institution research team has conducted a multi-year study to better understand how extended and repeated stays in solitary confinement impact prisoners both physically and psychologically.
Urban green spaces (UGS) play a crucial role in climate regulation, biodiversity and livability, yet new research from the University of South Australia shows several ecological factors in Adelaide fall below the standard needed to support long term sustainability.
As Australian teenagers lose access to social media, observers say there are still many unknown questions about the ban, which came into force on 10 December
Today, the Arabian Gulf is home to manatee-like marine mammals called dugongs that shape the seafloor as they graze on seagrasses. A newly described fossil site in Qatar reveals that ancient sea cows engineered aquatic ecosystems in a similar way more than 20 million years ago.
Cross-species “defense pacts” help animals keep tabs on parasites and predators
NASA’s Perseverance rover has gathered groundbreaking Mars samples, but the mission to bring them home is facing serious challenges.
For centuries, Europeans thought that eternal daylight saturated the cosmos. The shift to a dark universe has had a profound psychological impact upon us
New evidence suggests that alcohol was a surprisingly big motivator in our monumental transition from hunting and gathering to farming – but was beer really more important to us than bread?
Researchers have developed a new class of ultra-thin, flexible bioelectronic material that can seamlessly interface with living tissues. They introduced a novel device called THIN (transformable and imperceptible hydrogel-elastomer ionic-electronic nanomembrane). THIN is a
Canada on Tuesday launched a CAN$1.7 billion ($1.2 billion) program to recruit leading global researchers, part of the effort to poach intellectual talent looking to leave the United States because of President Donald Trump's policies.
Japan issued a megaquake advisory Tuesday after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the eastern coast of Aomori, the northernmost prefecture of Japan's main island of Honshu, and just south of the northern island of Hokkaido. Damage from this quake was modest—34 mostly mild
The Environmental Protection Agency has removed any mention of fossil fuels—the main driver of global warming—from its popular online page explaining the causes of climate change. Now it only mentions natural phenomena, even though scientists calculate that nearly all of the
