Geopolitical tensions rarely stay confined to the battlefield. They ripple through global markets—particularly energy and food. The war between the US, Israel and Iran is a reminder of how quickly conflict can affect food security far beyond the region.
During the winters of 2024 and 2025, widespread "spinning fish" events swept through the Florida Keys, impacting more than 80 marine fish species and likely killing hundreds of endangered large juvenile and adult smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata). This mysterious
Satellite data show that U.S. cities have more nighttime cloud cover than nearby countryside, and building height and density help explain why.
The UK's use of land is indefensibly inefficient. Roughly 5% is used for buildings and roads, 10% for forest and woodland, plus 20% for arable crops. But the largest share, around 50% of our country, is dedicated to livestock.
The controlled generation of single photons is an essential element of numerous quantum technology applications, such as quantum networks and quantum computing. A research team has now demonstrated the successful application of the new SUPER (Swing-UP of the quantum EmitteR
Jie Wu, an engineering graduate student, was studying a type of striking white beetle found in Southeast Asia and attempting to figure out how to mimic its brilliant color when an unexpected discovery upended the experiment.
The legal rights designed to protect Afro-Colombian communities are not lifting them out of economic precarity—and are leaving them vulnerable to the illegal drug trade and illicit mining as a result—according to new research from The University of Manchester.
Superconducting materials could play a crucial role in the energy-efficient applications of the future. However, several technical challenges still stand in the way of their practical use. Now, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed a new
Oxygen has been the most important gas in our search for life among the cosmos thus far. On Earth, we have it in abundance because it is produced by biological synthesis. But that might not be the case on other planets, so even if we do find a very clear high oxygen signal in
You can now buy a humanoid robot housekeeper for less than the price of a second-hand car. But before splashing out, there’s something you need to know
Using the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP), astronomers have discovered a new long-period radio transient source, which received the designation ASKAP J142431.2–612611 (ASKAP J1424 for short). The newfound transient has a period of approximately 36 minutes and its nature is
The Asian community in the United States was microscopic six decades ago, for the wrong reasons. Because of discriminatory policies put in place that targeted the group—including federal legislation first enacted in the 19th century—Asian Americans in 1965 made up less than 1%
The bizarre properties of discrete time crystals could be harnessed to detect extremely subtle oscillations of magnetic fields, physicists in the US and Germany have revealed. Publishing their results in Nature Physics, a team led by Ashok Ajoy at the University of California,
An antibiotic treatment used in many parts of the Caribbean and on Florida's Coral Reef to combat stony coral tissue loss disease does not exhibit negative side effects, scientists at Nova Southeastern University, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Florida
Extremophiles may well be tiny, but they are making a huge contribution to the health of our planet and our lives. A new review of these microorganisms, published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, explains how they are helping us fight climate change, improve the way we
From sea turtles to birds and the gentle dugong, the Persian Gulf's diverse but fragile marine life is threatened by the bombs and oil of the war in the Middle East.
Diseases historically absent from the United States have been showing up in Florida, Texas, California and other U.S. states in recent years. To understand why, look to Peru. That's where researchers from Stanford and other institutions analyzed the connection between a cyclone
In a single experiment, scientists can decipher the entire genomes of many patient samples, animal models, or cultured cells. To fully realize the potential to study biology at this unprecedented scale, researchers must be equipped to analyze the titanic troves of data
A conversation with astronomer Vishal Gajjar about how to listen differently for non-human life in the cosmos The post Why Haven’t We Heard from Extraterrestrials Yet? appeared first on Nautilus .
Plants are usually seen as stationary life forms, quietly supporting environments. But plant communities and populations are far from static. They are constantly being shaped by the world around them.
Each year, thousands of people in the U.S. die waiting for donated organs. A new book shares how organs from other species could change that.
Getting tough on youth crime is politically easy. Building a youth justice system that is safe, accountable and capable of learning is much harder. And the public is worried. Some offenses are serious and visible, and harsher penalties sound like "real" action.
A research team led by Professor Zhou Weibiao from the Department of Food Science and Technology at the NUS Faculty of Science has shown that compounds extracted from red dragon fruit peel can be incorporated into bread to increase antioxidant activity and slow starch
A new data release more than doubles the number of gravitational-wave candidate events—and reveals unexpected complexities of merging black holes
At a potluck, you ate the best chocolate chip cookie—golden-brown, thick and chewy. Unfortunately, you don't know who made the cookie to get the recipe from, so you decide to recreate it. Using forward design principles, you might randomly choose a recipe from dozens of
Research from a Bowling Green State University faculty member recently found that one of the best strategies in the context of the criminal justice system is an old-fashioned virtue: telling the truth. Thomas Mowen, Ph.D., an associate professor of sociology and research
After a year and a half of remote work and learning, UC Santa Barbara undergraduate students Sophia Lecuona Manos, Gabrielle Plewe, Carson Gadler and doctoral student Zoe Zilz returned to campus in late 2021 eager for some on-campus, hands-on research, an opportunity that was
Turning waste into wealth may no longer be just a marketing slogan, as a team of researchers in China has found an eco-friendly way to do exactly that. The abundant sunlight our planet receives was put to use for transforming polystyrene waste, one of the world's largest
People who share a bed with a partner are woken by them multiple times per night, but don’t remember most of these disturbances
There’s no bulletproof remedy for a hangover, but a nutrition scientist explains which foods could aid symptoms after one has had too much to drink
A key Alzheimer’s drug has finally revealed its secret. Researchers discovered that lecanemab works by activating the brain’s immune cells—but only through a specific part of the antibody called the Fc fragment. This piece acts like a trigger, prompting microglia to clear
Over the past decades, electronics engineers have been trying to develop increasingly smaller devices that can store information reliably, even when they are not powered on. A promising type of non-volatile memory device is spintronics, solid-state systems that store and
A mysterious metal-rich asteroid called Psyche has been baffling scientists for over two centuries, and its true origin remains one of the biggest unanswered questions in planetary science. Is it the exposed core of a failed planet, or a chaotic mix of rock and metal forged
Even 200 years after asteroid 16 Psyche was discovered, astronomers continue to puzzle over its formation. Psyche is the 10th-most massive asteroid in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter, and the largest known metallic asteroid, at 140 miles in diameter.
A growing field of research suggests that some medical treatments, such as cancer therapy or vaccines, might be more effective when given at certain times of the day
New alert systems and tests detect drug-induced kidney damage before the harm is irreversible
Three types of diabetes medication are improving the outlook for patients with kidney disease
IgA nephropathy, an immune assault on the kidneys, is often missed. New treatments mean that spotting it sooner might save lives
Once unfathomable, the milestone of a single company having 10,000 satellites operating overhead signals that the era of mega constellations is here to stay
It wasn’t Saint Patrick but a long history of chilly weather and geographic isolation that kept the Emerald Isle snake-free
The most common side effects of mRNA vaccines like the COVID-19 shot are well known: soreness, mild fever, and general malaise. Those symptoms, which typically resolve within days, are the natural result of the immune system activating. But what if they could be avoided?
Chronic kidney disease has a variety of causes, ranging from immune system problems to medication side effects
Lurid headlines don’t give American children enough credit
Surprising studies show young people are doing better than previous generations in many ways
Letters to the editors for the December 2025 issue of Scientific American
A series of novel treatments and medical insights is helping chronic kidney disease patients
Evolutionary studies make sense of the world’s strangest plant
Your kidneys silently filter 150 quarts of blood every single day — but what happens when they stop working?
A quorum of quarks; asbestos surprises