Wild animal species respond very differently to human development, and as a result, they use ecological corridors in agricultural and urban areas in distinct ways. This emerges from research in Botswana by ecologist Marlee Tucker of Radboud University published in Integrative
Earthlings aren't the only ones safe from a city-wrecking-size asteroid. Future lunar inhabitants won't have to worry about a strike in 2032 either
Prepare for Daylight Saving Time by taking a tour of your internal timekeeping machinery The post Your Biological Clock is More Complex Than You Think appeared first on Nautilus .
Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is among the most damaging pests affecting soybean crops around the world, with current management strategies relying primarily on a very narrow set of resistant soybean varieties, along with crop rotation and chemical nematicides. Now, researchers
Certain species of wasps and frogs share a pain and inflammation peptide similar to one found in vertebrates to help defend against predators—a discovery that contributes to a shifting view of how evolution works, say researchers. Their paper is published in the journal Science.
The debate between lumpers and splitters rages on The post Fanged Frog of Borneo Shows Speciation is Messy appeared first on Nautilus .
After decades of intense research, surprises in the realm of semiconductors—materials used in microchips to control electrical currents—are few and far between. But with a pair of published papers, materials engineers at Stanford University debut a promising approach to using a
Between 2023 and 2025, more than 30 million hectares burned in Canada due to wildfires. The threat from increasingly frequent and intense wildfires goes beyond fire and smoke—the heat can also transform naturally occurring metals in soil into more toxic forms that could pose a
A new report from the University of East Anglia (UEA) warns that the potential reputational damage of charities using AI-generated images in their campaigns is more complex than many organizations realize. It comes as humanitarian budgets tighten and production pressures
Can the bend of a banana give us insight into cancer? What does the shape of a rice grain have to do with infertility? The proteins that give plants their shape and structure are also involved in human disease. A team led by researchers at the University of California, Davis,
An analysis found that, following Trump’s claim that acetaminophen was linked to autism, orders for the drug for pregnant patients in emergency rooms dropped, while the number of children prescribed an unproven autism treatment increased
A team of researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has introduced a novel framework for monitoring structural vibrations using diffractive optical processors. This new technology uses artificial intelligence to co-optimize a passive diffractive layer and
New alvarezsaur fossil offers a Cretaceous missing link The post The Dainty Dinosaur That’s Rewriting Evolutionary History appeared first on Nautilus .
Growing neurons rely on chemical cues to find their targets, but new research shows that the brain’s physical properties help shape those signals. Scientists discovered that tissue stiffness can trigger the production of guidance molecules through a force-sensing protein called
For riverside communities along the Amazon, fish is not a menu choice—it is a lifeline. Millions of people in the Brazilian Amazon depend on fish as their primary source of protein, consuming it daily in quantities far above the national average. When we began fieldwork across
Lightning formation and the conditions triggering it have long been shrouded in a cloud of mystery, but new research led by Penn State scientists is lifting the fog. Using mathematical calculations, the researchers have discovered that lightning-like discharge doesn't require a
Most space missions rely on chemical rockets for propulsion. Rockets must carry fuel, which increases spacecraft mass and limits their speed and travel distance. For decades, researchers have explored light sails as an alternative. These devices use radiation pressure—the force
An international team of scientists from IBM, The University of Manchester, Oxford University, ETH Zurich, EPFL and the University of Regensburg have created and characterized a molecule unlike any previously known—one whose electrons travel through its structure in a
When NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced the revamped approach to the Artemis moon program, it was unclear whether the new mobile launcher that has been constructed over the last two years at Kennedy Space Center would ever get used.
When most people hear "polymer," they think of plastics. In our group, polymerization is a way to line up identical molecules like beads on a string and let quantum mechanics take over. Put magnetic building blocks in a one-dimensional row and the chain can behave as a single
Estimating things that exist is generally easy, but when it comes to estimating things that do not exist, it's more difficult. This is something physicists from Poland and the UK are well aware of. To improve current simulations of high-energy particle collisions, they have
They’re being engineered to devour tumors from the inside out The post These Bacteria Beat Cancer By Eating Cancer appeared first on Nautilus .
The growth form of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) is composed of shoots known as stipes instead of branches. From one parent holding fast to the hard bottom might come as many as 150 stipes. Typically, the tips of the biggest kelp bob at the ocean surface and calm the
A new study reveals that habitat fragmentation can lead to sudden "tipping points" where a species' genetic health unexpectedly collapses after appearing stable for long periods. By merging network theory with population genetics, the research identifies detectable "early
Researchers have found a way to use solar energy to power a key chemical reaction that drives many manufacturing industries. This new method can significantly reduce the energy required to run these operations, eliminate harsh oxidizing byproducts and minimize carbon emissions.
Why does a Caribbean angelfish sometimes resemble its Indo-Pacific cousin, even though they have never lived in the same ocean? Why do coral reefs harbor such a wide range of stripes, spots and patterns? A study conducted by the University of Liège reveals that this explosion
Our single-celled ancestor lived in a world without plants, animals or oxygen-rich oceans. Yet, this seemingly simple microorganism took the first steps toward complex life. From this ancestor emerged all multicellular (complex) life as we know it today: from yeast to blue
Camp East Montana, one of the largest immigration detention facilities in the U.S., has reported 14 confirmed measles infections, triggering the El Paso center to close to visitors
New research from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in collaboration with The Ohio State University and Amphenol Corporation, challenges conventional understanding about controlling heat flow in solid materials. The study, published in PRX Energy, shows
A top-secret 1960s project tasked physics postdocs with building The Bomb The post How Three Students Designed an Atomic Bomb appeared first on Nautilus .
A new study by researchers at the SETI Institute suggests that stellar "space weather" could make radio signals from extraterrestrial intelligence harder to detect. Stellar activity and plasma turbulence near a transmitting planet can broaden an otherwise ultra-narrow signal,
Intact ecosystems have the capacity for self-regulation, which keeps their complex structure of species—such as animals, plants, fungi and bacteria—in balance. For example, when the population of a species increases, its per capita growth rate decreases, keeping population
A five-year study on California's Central Coast, led by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Western Center for Food Safety at the University of California, Davis, is helping scientists better understand how harmful bacteria can move through the environment.
When a species lives in two distinct types of habitats, individuals with traits better suited to each habitat will thrive and reproduce, naturally selecting descendants with those traits. But what about mobile aquatic species that live across a broad range of temperatures and
Ocean temperatures may be quietly protecting the world from a global drought catastrophe. By analyzing more than a century of climate data, researchers discovered that droughts rarely spread across the planet at the same time, affecting only about 1.8%–6.5% of global land
Polymers are fundamental to our daily lives, serving as the core components for a wide array of goods, including clothing, packaging, transportation infrastructure, construction materials, and electronics. Advances in polymer science open pathways for recycling and upcycling
Woodpeckers are well known for striking tree trunks with remarkable force and precision. These birds deliver thousands of high-speed impacts per day, generating mechanical loads that would destabilize the skulls of most other birds. For decades, this performance has often been
Their rebound shows resilience after a severe genetic bottleneck The post Koalas Recover Genetic Diversity as Populations Expand appeared first on Nautilus .
The European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) was once widespread in the North Sea. However, overfishing, habitat destruction and infectious diseases pushed the species to the brink of extinction in some regions nearly one hundred years ago. In particular, infections with the
Tyrannosaurus rex may have taken far longer to grow up than scientists once thought. By analyzing growth rings in fossilized leg bones from 17 tyrannosaur specimens and using new statistical methods, researchers found that the famous predator likely took about 40 years to reach
Scientists have discovered a potential path out of devastating genetic bottlenecks that could help these Australian animals, as well as many other vulnerable and endangered species
As koalas in southern Australia have grown from a few hundred to almost half a million, the marsupials show signs of regaining lost genetic variation.
Microplastics (MPs), defined as plastic fragments with sizes ranging from millimeters (
The Neo-Latin theater play "Cenodoxus" (1602) by Jakob Bidermann is now only known to some researchers in Latin and German studies. But from 1930 to 1960, the story about the battle between heavenly and hellish powers for the soul of the Parisian scholar Cenodoxus was at the
Scientists have discovered a new species of chiton, an ancient marine mollusk that has remained virtually unchanged for the last 300 million years. Chitons have an elongated oval shape with a shell composed of eight interlocking plates that resemble suits of armor. They are
New insights into a tiny, tough microbe have huge implications for the search for life beyond Earth
Scientists at Duke-NUS Medical School have found that viruses circulating in live poultry markets can be detected more effectively by sampling the surrounding environment than by testing individual birds. The study, published in Nature Communications, shows that environmental
This polyextremophile bacterium could survive an interplanetary trip The post Watch How Planet-Hopping Microbes Can Survive Asteroid Strikes appeared first on Nautilus .
Drones flying above the waters of Shetland have captured rare footage of harbor porpoises gathering in unusually large groups and engaging in mating behavior. The footage, gathered between 2019 and 2023, provides one of the most detailed records of harbor porpoise mating
During armed conflicts in Latin America, state forces, insurgents, and paramilitaries systematically employed massacres, torture, abductions, and targeted killings to dismantle social structures. The Comisión para el Esclarecimiento de la Verdad, la Convivencia y la No
