With spring underway and the weather warming, reptiles are on the move in suburbs, parks and scrubland across Australia. Snake catchers and wildlife caregivers are responding to calls for help, and reptile enthusiasts—known as "herpers"—are heading outdoors in search of their
Researchers at Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the University of Regensburg have developed a method for determining, using light, a quantum property of electrons that has hitherto been difficult to access. The focus is on what is known as Berry curvature—a quantity that
Deep in the forests of Yunnan, China, scientists have discovered a "fungal giant" that challenges our understanding of how large fungi can become. The newly described species, Dianjunus rex, produces vertical fruiting bodies up to 50 cm (20 inches) high and weighing up to 2.2
A new species of dinosaur—a long-clawed predator the size of a large tiger—has been discovered by a UCL-led team from a fossil found on the Isle of Wight. The dinosaur, described in a new paper in the journal Royal Society Open Science, belongs to a group of agile, two-legged
People who are better at noticing fine details in sound—an ability known as auditory precision—can master the pronunciation of new languages faster and more accurately than other learners, a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology finds.
Magnetic skyrmions (MSks) are swirling patterns of magnetization that form inside certain magnetic materials. They can behave like actual particles in many ways, exhibiting a stable internal structure and distinct boundaries. Because they are extremely small and can be pushed
Seeing inside an object is one thing; seeing exactly what it is made of, in three dimensions, is far more difficult. Now, researchers at Bar-Ilan University and collaborating institutions have developed a new X-ray imaging technique that can map the three-dimensional chemical
Researchers have developed a new computational model that accounts for the effects of aging on our eyes' ability to discriminate color. It could help guide lighting designs that make it easier for older adults to perceive colors while preserving the expected appearance for
A research team led by Jiyoung Lee, a professor in the Department of Media and Communication, has worked with international researchers to uncover how visual contrast across social media feeds influences how quickly users spot visual misinformation.
As ocean temperatures rise, corals' ability to withstand and adapt to heat stress is critical for the future of coral reefs. Many reef-building corals already live near their upper thermal limits, making them vulnerable to bleaching and, with prolonged stress, mortality.
Rats are on the ballot in Canadian municipal elections this fall, with several political parties promising to tackle city rat problems. While rats may seem like a niche election issue, they can point to broader societal concerns about housing, public services and civic
Nature has blessed us with brains that are hardwired to find patterns and recognize faces, so it’s no surprise we tend to notice faces even where there aren’t any. Although they may be better educated, the humans at NASA are no different than the rest of us. They recently
A new ice sheet model developed by glaciologists at the University of California, Irvine and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory projects that the melting of Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica will contribute up to 30 millimeters (1.2 inches) of sea level rise by 2100—twice
You sit down to meditate. A conversation returns, then thoughts. You bring your attention back to the breath. Sometimes, after many such returns, the effort eases. Thoughts lose their urgency, while awareness remains clear. Less occupies the mind, yet the moment still feels
Global warming is often treated as synonymous with climate change, but rising temperatures are only one consequence of the human-driven phenomenon. Changes in rainfall patterns are another, but their effects on ecosystems are less understood.
For decades, physicists have sought a practical two-dimensional topological insulator: an ultrathin material whose interior blocks electricity but whose edges conduct it. In ordinary wires, electrons constantly bounce off imperfections, losing energy. But along the edges of a
Silicon carbide (SiC) is a ceramic known for its excellent heat resistance and chemical stability, which makes it attractive for a wide range of applications like electronics, catalysts and energy-related materials. However, SiC generally requires high-temperature processing,
A faster way of finding the best diamond-based materials for quantum computers has been developed by a researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The new approach has already identified promising materials for practical
Researchers have fashioned a layered topological material into a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip that senses spin-related electronic states at atomic resolution.
For decades, scientists have been able to look at individual moments in the development of an embryo: a snapshot of a developing brain, a picture of how the heart takes shape or a glimpse of cells beginning to form the nervous system.
Plants—like people—come in all shapes and sizes. And just like scientists want to understand the components of the human body to treat disease and improve our lives, they also want to understand how plants thrive, develop disease, succumb or survive.
The Category 2 storm spawned tornadoes, flooding and extreme rain when it made landfall
It’s the circle of life The post Elephants Engineer Their Ecosystems Even in Death appeared first on Nautilus .
Researchers from the University of Amsterdam and Leiden University have discovered that humans and songbirds use markedly different strategies to recognize sequences of complex sounds. The findings shed new light on how biology and experience shape the way we perceive complex
When the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 turned our world upside down, mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 brought a breakthrough. Their success established modified mRNA as a powerful foundation for vaccines and opened the way for new mRNA-based technologies, with potential applications
The white-tipped feathers found in many chicken breeds may look like variations of the same decorative pattern, but new research shows that they do not all share the same genetic origin.
A concept from the field of quantum mechanics, spin is a property of particles that has no direct counterpart in everyday experience. Since the early 20th century, researchers have learned to manipulate it deliberately by means of precisely shaped electromagnetic pulses. This
Researchers at the Oregon State University College of Science have developed a new electrochemical sensor for rapidly and accurately detecting a naturally occurring compound widely used in the food, beverage and fragrance industries.
Women managers are significantly more likely to be promoted to CEO at companies organized into separate business units—each with its own revenues, costs and bottom line—than at companies that operate as a single, stand-alone entity, a new study led by the University of
Research labs are among the most energy-hungry facilities at universities worldwide. According to both University College London and a Swiss initiative called Green Lab, these labs require anywhere from three to 10 times more power than standard offices of the same size.
Rice is one of the world's most familiar staple foods, but how does a single cell develop into a rice plant with specialized tissues and organs? A new study offers a detailed look at this process through a three-dimensional (3D) spatiotemporal atlas covering 10 organs and 61
Samples spontaneously combusted in the lab The post Deep-Sea Mining Faces Another Hurdle—Exploding Rocks appeared first on Nautilus .
When drugmakers want to improve on compounds they have already created, they can replace a carbon atom with a nitrogen atom. While effective, the techniques they use to perform this chemical swap, known as skeletal editing, have some downsides. For example, older approaches
New research has revealed an unexpected new mechanism through which the killer fungus Candida auris is resisting antifungal drug treatment. A team led by the University of Exeter and City St George's, University of London, discovered that the fungus creates multiple versions of
One researcher tells Scientific American that the change would reduce transparency and risk politicizing the grant review process
The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is thought to face a potentially existential threat from climate change. But attempts to model what happens to AMOC as the oceans warm show divergent outcomes, leaving its fate unclear. In a paper published in AGU Advances,
Peatlands in the Alps are mostly small, scattered and difficult to access. As a result, up-to-date information on their extent and condition is often lacking. An international research team, including researchers from the University of Göttingen, has now developed a
Researchers at Gladstone Institutes have uncovered an unusual bacterial immune system that operates in reverse of known defenses. The discovery, published in Molecular Cell, details the mechanics of "type VI retrons"—a counterintuitive class of bacterial defenses. More than
Researchers from Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) and Semmelweis University have investigated what happens to horse chestnut leaves when they are attacked from within by the horse chestnut leaf miner. Their findings show that the functioning of the leaf changes while the damage
A commercial lander that will be at the forefront of NASA's efforts to establish a moon base, humanity's first lunar outpost, has passed a series of critical tests at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The tests simulated the extreme temperatures and
Cells must produce energy despite changing conditions. But what keeps metabolic enzymes functional during temperature fluctuations? A team led by professor Simon Ebbinghaus and Dr. Harshita Rastogi at Ruhr University Bochum and the Research Center for Chemical Sciences and
There's a paradox that drives the shopping decisions of many Americans: Almost three-quarters say they're feeling stressed out about skyrocketing grocery bills. But they keep discarding large quantities of food that's safe to eat, from crooked carrots to surplus yogurt to "best
RNA therapeutics open up new possibilities for the targeted and precise treatment of diseases. To ensure that RNA molecules remain stable in the body and can reliably exert their effects, they undergo specific chemical modifications. However, such modifications to the RNA
Regardless of their views on politics or climate change, most Americans oppose the development of data centers in their communities.
A new study combining genomic analyses and fossil evidence sheds light on the century-old "Palaeoptera Problem," a longstanding debate over the evolutionary relationships among major groups of winged insects.
The anatomical differences in our vocal tracts could be one of the sources of our Tower of Babel—the vast difference in languages spoken around the world, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Steven Moran and Tiena Danner from the University
There is growing evidence that children today have fewer opportunities for independent, adventurous outdoor play and fewer chances to make decisions and shape their own experiences than previous generations.
The elegant curl of rose petals may be distinct among flowers—and math can explain why
What a stunning world we live in The post Check Out the Natural Beauty of the Natural Landscape Photography Awards appeared first on Nautilus .
Polynyas are patches of open water surrounded by sea ice, where heat and moisture can pass freely between the ocean and atmosphere. In August 2024, a vast polynya opened up in Breid Bay, off the coast of East Antarctica, in the depths of winter. The region had stayed
