Listen to the crackle of Martian ‘mini-lightning’
A microphone on NASA’s Perseverance rover recorded the sounds of electrical discharges generated by dusty gusts.
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A foot fossil suggests a second early human relative lived alongside Lucy
Foot bones and other fossils have been attributed to Australopithecus deyiremeda , a recently discovered species that may shake up the human family tree.
New evidence shows the Maya collapse was more than just drought
Researchers studying Classic Maya cities discovered that urban growth was driven by a blend of climate downturns, conflict, and powerful economies of scale in agriculture. These forces made crowded, costly city life worthwhile for rural farmers. But when conditions improved in
Island-wide field surveys illuminate land-sea connections in Mo'orea
A massive, multi-year scientific expedition led by researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara and collaborating institutions, including the University of Hawai'i (UH) at Mānoa, determined that land use on tropical islands can shape water quality in lagoons and
Researchers find smaller amounts of microplastics in southern Narragansett Bay
It's safe to say Rhode Islanders have a symbiotic relationship with Narragansett Bay.
New microprotein can help cancer cells overcome stress
In a study published in the journal Nucleic Acid Research, a research team at Karolinska Institutet has performed a large-scale genetic screen to uncover the hidden roles of tiny proteins, so-called microproteins.
The ingenuity of white oval squid camouflage brought to light
White oval squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana sp. 2), known locally as shiro-ika, are medium-sized squids naturally distributed in the Indian and western Pacific oceans, flittering in and out of a wide range of different habitats—from shallow seagrass beds, over coral reefs, to
Ancient rubbish shows how early farmers learned to live with waste
A new archaeological project aims to shed light on how Neolithic rubbish could help understand how Europe's first farmers adapted to a more settled way of life.
Starquakes reveal red giant's turbulent history and rapid spin in black hole system
Astronomers from the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy (IfA) have uncovered the turbulent past of a distant red giant by listening to its celestial "song." Subtle variations in the star's brightness suggest that it potentially once collided and merged with another
Astronomers investigate nearby pulsar with radio telescopes
Using the Large Phased Array (LPA) and the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), astronomers from Russia and China have observed a nearby pulsar designated PSR J1951+2837. The new observations, presented Nov. 18 on the pre-print server arXiv, deliver
Love hurts: Flashy feathers may put some male pheasant species' lives at risk
The male Lady Amherst's pheasant knows how to put on a show when it comes to attracting mates. As well as elaborate courtship displays, they will unfurl their golden feathers to form a cape around their neck, which can prove irresistible to some females of the species.
Kids' reading apps failing to deliver educational value
Many mobile apps claiming to support early reading skills in children fail to deliver actual educational benefit, with positive app store reviews seemingly driven by esthetics and functionality, a new Flinders University analysis has found.
Archaeologists uncover a 2,000-year-old crop in the Canary Islands
Scientists decoded DNA from millennia-old lentils preserved in volcanic rock silos on Gran Canaria. The findings show that today’s Canary Island lentils largely descend from varieties brought from North Africa around the 200s. These crops survived cultural upheavals because
This smart catalyst cracks a challenge that stumped chemists for decades
Using a smart computational search, scientists discovered a catalyst ingredient that finally makes tough alkyl ketones behave the way chemists want. The reaction now runs cleanly and reliably, opening the door to faster and easier molecule-building.
Q&A: The paradox of extremist families
Ph.D. candidate Layla van Wieringen examined how extremist beliefs are passed on within households. In her dissertation "Rotten Trees, Bad Apples? Understanding the Intergenerational Transmission of Extremism," she reveals a reality that media and politics rarely address.
Gratitude can increase joy, even if it feels a little cringe
Like exercise, gratitude takes many forms. Finding the right practice, research shows, is up to the individual.
How food assistance programs can feed families and nourish their dignity
The 2025 government shutdown drew widespread attention to how many Americans struggle to get enough food. For 43 days, the more than 42 million Americans who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits had to find other ways to stock their cupboards.
The collapse of Maya civilization: Drought doesn't explain everything
Between 750 and 900 CE, the population of the Maya lowlands in Central America experienced a major demographic and political decline which, according to the scientific literature, coincided with repeated episodes of intense drought.
Should we 'get over' print books in the digital age—or are they more precious than ever?
Ebooks have been popular for decades and audiobooks are increasingly so. But physical books are still the decided favorite: a survey of Australian publishers after last Christmas reported print books made up a comfortable majority of sales (ebooks were 4–18% and audiobooks
NASA's Roman Observatory passes spate of key tests
NASA's nearly complete Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has made another set of critical strides toward launch. This fall, the outer portion passed two tests—a shake test and an intense sound blast—to ensure its successful launch.
A backlash against AI imagery in ads may have begun as brands promote 'human-made'
In a wave of new ads, brands like Heineken, Polaroid and Cadbury have started hating on artificial intelligence (AI), celebrating their work as "human-made."
Sudden oak death pathogen detected for the first time in Minnesota nursery
University of Minnesota researchers detected the pathogen that causes sudden oak death in Minnesota for the first time. Sudden oak death is a tree disease that has devastated forests on the West Coast for decades and is expanding east with no cure. Early detection and
Bird sex fascinated medieval thinkers as much as it does today
Earlier this year, a group of researchers published a paper on the remarkable phenomenon of sex reversal in several Australian birds, including wild magpies and kookaburras.
Scientists uncover a hidden power in a common metal
Researchers developed a powerful new manganese complex that could revolutionize light-driven chemical reactions. It absorbs light extremely efficiently, has a uniquely long excited-state lifetime, and is far easier to synthesize than previous manganese systems. The team
Study asks AI to generate male and female body images—with predictable results
Researchers say today's AI platforms often default to common biases and stereotypes when prompted to generate images of people, including athletes.
The economic benefits of migration for host countries
When migration is in the news, it is often cast in negative terms, but it has many benefits for host countries, from economic growth to critical support for systems like Social Security that support aging populations. That's according to a new report produced by two Fletcher
Century-old cosmic ray mystery is close to being solved
Michigan State University astrophysicists are closing in on one of space science’s biggest mysteries: where the galaxy’s most energetic particles come from. Their studies uncovered a pulsar wind nebula behind a mysterious LHAASO signal and set important X-ray constraints on
New Mars images reveal hidden traces of a recent ice age
Mars’s Coloe Fossae reveals a landscape shaped by ancient ice ages, with deep valleys, cratered terrain, and frozen debris flows preserved from a time when the planet’s climate dramatically shifted.
The Conservation Success That Saved Wild Turkeys across the Country
Wild turkeys once nearly disappeared, but today they’re thriving.
What’s Your City’s Hoofprint?
A new study measures the impact meat eating has on the planet, one city at a time The post What’s Your City’s Hoofprint? appeared first on Nautilus .
OLEDs can now switch light's handedness with an electrical signal
Researchers from the University of Oxford have for the first time discovered an approach to electrically switch organic LEDs (OLEDs) to emit either left- or right-handed circularly polarized light without changing the light-emitting molecules. This could be useful for a range
Novel mRNA therapy curbs antibiotic-resistant infections in preclinical lung models
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and collaborators have reported early success with a novel mRNA-based therapy designed to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Five science-backed reasons to express gratitude, according to research
When was the last time you said "thank you"—and really meant it?
Scientists discover a hidden deep sea hotspot bursting with life
Beneath the waters off Papua New Guinea lies an extraordinary deep-sea environment where scorching hydrothermal vents and cool methane seeps coexist side by side — a pairing never before seen. This unusual chemistry fuels a vibrant oasis teeming with mussels, tube worms,
Kilauea displays lava fountains for the 37th time since its eruption began last year
The on-and-off eruption that's been dazzling residents and visitors on Hawaii's Big Island for nearly a year resumed Tuesday as Kilauea volcano sent fountains of lava soaring 400 feet (122 meters) into the air.
Ambitious plan to store CO₂ beneath the North Sea set to start operations
Appearing first as a dot on the horizon, the remote Nini oil field on Europe's rugged North Sea slowly comes into view from a helicopter.
Eruption of long-dormant Ethiopian volcano subsides
Volcanic activity in northern Ethiopia's long-dormant Hayli Gubbi volcano subsided Tuesday, days after an eruption that left a trail of destruction in nearby villages and caused flight cancellations after ash plumes disrupted high-altitude flight paths.
A global shipping detour just revealed a hidden climate twist
Rerouted shipping during Red Sea conflicts accidentally created a massive real-world experiment, letting scientists study how new low-sulfur marine fuels affect cloud formation. The sudden surge of ships around the Cape of Good Hope revealed that cleaner fuels dramatically
Study reveals unprecedented losses of life and life expectancy in Gaza
A research team from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) and the Center for Demographic Studies (CED) investigated the impact of the conflict in Gaza on mortality. They estimate that 78,318 people were killed in Gaza between October 7, 2023, and December
Copper nanoparticles unexpectedly prove suitable for ultraviolet SERS spectroscopy
Lithuanian researchers at the Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC), Habil. Dr. Gediminas Niaura and Dr. Martynas Talaikis, together with international colleagues, have for the first time demonstrated that copper is a suitable metal for ultraviolet surface-enhanced
A hidden brain energy signal drives depression and anxiety
Scientists discovered that lowered brain energy signaling in the hippocampus can lead to both depression- and anxiety-like behaviors in mice. Stress reduced ATP, a molecule important for cell energy and communication. Altering a protein called connexin 43, which helps release
New deep-learning tool can tell if salmon is wild or farmed
A paper published in Biology Methods and Protocols, finds that it is now possible to distinguish wild from farmed salmon using deep learning, potentially greatly improving strategies for environmental protection. The paper is titled "Identifying escaped farmed salmon from fish
In a new documentary, researchers investigate when Greenland was ice-free
Approximately 400,000 years ago, some areas of Greenland that are now covered by a thick layer of ice were exposed to fresh air and sunlight. Today, the Greenland Ice Sheet covers most of the land mass, but the southwestern coastline is ice-free. Back then, the northwest was too.
How stories of personal experience cut through climate fatigue in ways that global negotiations can't
When Cop30 convened in Belém, deep inside the Amazon, the world's attention turned once again to negotiations, emissions pledges and political maneuvering. The global stage was set against one of Earth's most biodiverse landscapes and some of its most vulnerable communities,
Escape hatch could spare undersized Arctic crabs
Researchers working in Norway's Barents Sea say a simple modification to snow crab pots could sharply reduce the number of undersized animals accidentally caught in the Arctic fishery.
What do prisoners in Finland think about sustainable development? New study uncovers barriers, opportunities
A new study from the University of Eastern Finland gives prisoners in Finland a voice in the current sustainability transformation debate, showing that their perceptions of sustainable development vary greatly, ranging from individual everyday actions to global environmental
When darkness shines: How dark stars could illuminate the early universe
Scientists working with the James Webb Space Telescope discovered three unusual astronomical objects in early 2025, which may be examples of dark stars. The concept of dark stars has existed for some time and could alter scientists' understanding of how ordinary stars form.
Scientists Gaze Into the Heart of a Cosmic Vampire
New research into white dwarfs could help us measure our universe The post Scientists Gaze Into the Heart of a Cosmic Vampire appeared first on Nautilus .
New framework unveiled for climate-resilient shores
Canada has a marine coastline twice as long as any other country and shares four Great Lakes with the United States. A new report warns that without coordinated planning, coastal communities face increasing flooding and erosion as climate change accelerates.
Automated systems decide which homeless Philadelphians get housing and who stays on the street
Seeing a person huddled under a makeshift roof of tarps or curled up on a warm grate can evoke powerful emotions and questions.
