Still aglow from their triumphant lunar flyby, the Artemis II astronauts made more history Tuesday: calling their friends aboard the International Space Station hundreds of thousands of miles away as they headed home from the moon.
Research in New Phytologist shows that plants can acquire nutrients not only from the soil but also from atmospheric dust that settles and dissolves on their leaves, releasing elements such as phosphorus and iron.
Last year Kenya Wildlife Service warned of a growing demand for garden ants in Europe and Asia, where some people view them as exotic pets. An attempt to smuggle over 2,000 garden ants out of the country's main international airport made the news in 2026. Echoing this, in 2025,
A new paper in Molecular Biology and Evolution, finds that changes in animal development induced by climate shock persist generations after the initial event. The escalating effects of climate change are likely to, in effect, speed up evolution.
A team of university and Tribal researchers has developed a blueprint for creating research agreements that enable respectful research with Tribes and on Tribal lands. The guidance was developed to address shortcomings in most research policies that are written without Tribal
Florida is among the wettest U.S. states, but that doesn't mean it is drought-free. Nearly all of Florida faced at least "moderate" drought, and nearly 80% faced "extreme" conditions in April 2026, according to data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. Unusually dry conditions
Differences of opinion on climate change among the Dutch have not increased over the past 40 years; in fact, they have decreased, according to a study conducted by sociologists Anuschka Peelen and Jochem Tolsma of Radboud University. The researchers also found no evidence that
Researchers have developed a cutting-edge technique that uses RNA “barcodes” to map how neurons connect, capturing thousands of links with single-synapse precision. The method transforms brain mapping into a sequencing task, making it faster and more scalable than traditional
Bumble, Tinder or Hinge—they're the fast-paced, image-driven dating platforms millions rely on to find everything from love to a late-night fling. But new Adelaide University research suggests they may also be undermining how young adults see their bodies.
Scientists at Cornell University may be closing in on the long-sought “holy grail” of male contraception: a safe, reversible, nonhormonal method that completely halts sperm production. In a breakthrough mouse study, researchers used a compound called JQ1 to temporarily shut
In a high-end fashion store or luxury car showroom, the term "vegan leather" sends a strong message of quality. For many shoppers, it promises the look and feel of real leather without using animal skins. As brands move away from animal leather, "vegan" has come to suggest
Disinformation communicated by and on behalf of foreign powers is now part and parcel of digital statecraft in the information age, an expert from Cardiff University has said.
An extract of turmeric and ginger helps bone implants bond strongly while killing bacteria and cancer cells, according to new research from Washington State University with implications for millions of patients with joint replacements and bone cancer. In early tests, the
A new Earthset image has been captured by the crew of Artemis II, 58 years since the iconic Earthrise photograph taken by the crew of Apollo 8. Over these past six decades, the climate has changed dramatically.
Researchers at Koç University have developed a light-driven method to produce porous semiconducting polymers under ambient conditions without the need for metal catalysts. The study, led by Prof. Dr. Önder Metin from the Department of Chemistry, in collaboration with Dr. Melek
The United States is planning new tariffs on some name-brand medicines.
A famous 300-million-year-old fossil that was thought to be the world's oldest octopus—even featuring in the Guinness Book of Records—has turned out to be something else altogether. In what amounts to a case of mistaken identity, the fossil hid its true nature through decay 300
Uncovering a case of mistaken cephalopod identity The post This Record-Breaking Octopus Fossil Isn’t an Octopus After All appeared first on Nautilus .
In 2000, researchers thought they found the oldest fossil octopus, which lived over 300 million years ago. But it may just be a half-rotten nautilus.
In an editorial, National Academy of Engineering President Tsu-Jae Liu presents a forward-looking perspective on the role of artificial intelligence in engineering. She describes AI not as a replacement for engineers, but as a tool that can expand their capacity to solve
In December, The Conversation hosted a webinar on AI's revolutionary role in drug discovery and development. Science and technology editor Eric Smalley interviewed Jeffrey Skolnick, eminent scholar in computational systems biology at Georgia Institute of Technology, and
Researchers at Umeå University have contributed new insights into how cancer cells protect themselves from cell death. The study provides a deeper understanding of how key proteins interact within the cell and could, in the long term, support the development of new cancer
In a discovery recently published in Nature, MIT chemists led by Professor Alison Wendlandt have developed a precision technique that allows scientists to seamlessly relocate alcohol functional groups from one spot on a molecule to a neighboring site. The paper is titled
Global efforts to limit climate change require deep cuts to carbon emissions. However, global emissions are still growing. Currently, we emit roughly 42 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel use and land use changes every year.
Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have built a molecular "leash" to pull directly on a force-sensing protein called Piezo1, and discovered it switches on at about 15 piconewtons, proving that it can be activated by physical tethers, not only by membrane
Where it is, and how it got there The post The Mystery of Water on the Moon appeared first on Nautilus .
Why are frogs diverse in some parts of Africa's rainforests and less so in others? The patterns of cooling and glaciation during the last ice age would probably not have been your first answer or even your last-ditch guess, but it is, nonetheless, correct.
A new study shows that the ups and downs in house prices are far more dramatic than most people think—and that government policies play a big role in making them happen. The researchers analyzed housing markets in 23 OECD countries from 1990 to 2019. They found that during
The cell's endoplasmic reticulum (ER) plays a central role in protein synthesis, folding, and calcium (Ca²⁺) storage. When damaged, ER-phagy (self-eating) removes affected ER regions via double-membrane vesicles called autophagosomes. However, the mechanisms underlying its
For more than a century, the fruit fly has been a workhorse of the biological sciences that has helped scientists to make fundamental breakthroughs in fields such as genetics and neuroscience. As it turns out, human scientists are not the only ones learning during these
When making ethical decisions, university students appear to prioritize fairness and the fate of the worst-off over either reducing total harm or obeying unconditional moral precepts, according to a study published in PNAS Nexus. Woo-Young Ahn and colleagues have designed an
Billions of tons of carbon dioxide are being classified as "dealt with" in global climate plans before anyone can know whether that is true. UT Researcher Rosalie Arendt has given a name to this problem in a new Correspondence published in Nature: Schrödinger's carbon.
An interview with a loneliness researcher about the varieties of social isolation The post The Costs of Feeling Lonely in a Crowd appeared first on Nautilus .
Mental load, invisible work, "the extra shift"; no matter the newly coined term, unpaid work in the domestic sphere, predominantly done by women, is a hidden burden eating away at the sleep and mental health of those tasked with it. This work is essential to keep everyone's
Can our forests adapt to a hotter and drier future climate? Temperatures are predicted to rise up to 5°C compared to pre-industrial times. Forest management needs to adapt to these conditions, which requires a better understanding of how heat and drought affect trees. A new
Nearly every object we interact with in our lives has a mass, but where does this mass come from? Modern physics says matter acquires its mass from interaction with a physical vacuum—it is not an empty space, but contains a complex structure. Investigating the system of a
Access to nutritious food is a fundamental pillar of human success, but such access has been unequal throughout history. In pre-industrial European societies, meat was a highly sought-after food, and access to it was often related to a higher social status.
Surface volatiles—chemical substances that easily become gases or fluids at relatively low temperatures and pressures—are transported into Earth through subduction zones, with some being transported into the deep mantle and others to shallower depths. According to conventional
Stem cells are the body's ultimate shape-shifters, sustaining tissues by balancing two competing demands: maintaining their own population and generating specialized descendants. In many tissues, some early descendants can revert to a stem cell state through a process known as
A new tool makes it possible to screen millions of tiny protein fragments and select those that can be recognized by the immune system. The CIC biomaGUNE Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials has developed epiGPTope, a system that uses machine learning to generate and
The exchange between the Artemis II crew and astronauts onboard the International Space Station marks the first time a moon mission has called an orbital habitat
These scientists are proposing a new law of nature The post Time Brings Order to the Universe appeared first on Nautilus .
Lasers could one day steer solar sails and adjust a satellite's position in outer space, thanks to graphene. An experiment on a gravity rollercoaster ride showed how this innovative material has the potential to revolutionize propulsion beyond Earth.
Researchers at Umeå University show how tick-borne viruses remodel human cells into virus factories, using an advanced microscopy method. The findings provide new insight into how the virus replicates and matures, knowledge that may become important for future treatments
An international research team, including the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB), has described a new species of spider from the Ecuadorian Amazon: Taczanowskia waska. The species is characterized by an extraordinary form of mimicry: It represents
Heat can change a honey bee's hormone levels, but only if the bee is alone. New research from MSU entomologist Zachary Huang shows that isolated honey bees experience a rapid hormonal rise when exposed to high temperatures, while bees kept in groups stay stable. The discovery
We’ve come a long way since then The post How Video Calling Worked Almost 100 Years Ago appeared first on Nautilus .
Exposure to "forever chemicals," per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), has been linked to serious health issues, like immune system damage, cancers, pregnancy complications and liver damage. A new study, published in Risk Analysis, finds that the websites people are
In a new Nature Physics publication, University of Amsterdam researchers introduce human-made materials that spring to life. These 'metamaterials' don't just learn to change shape, but can autonomously adapt their shape-changing strategy, perform reflex actions and move around
A new study finds teachers tend to provide assistance to similar subsets of students when using AI-powered educational tools, rather than touching base regularly with everyone in their classes. The findings could be used to develop tools that help teachers track their classroom
