Rare earth elements (REEs) are essential for everyday technologies such as smartphones, LED lights, wind turbines and many medical applications. At the same time, supply chains are under pressure because of the geographic concentration of production, and electronic waste is
Researchers have developed a new approach using data from NASA's Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite to observe the timing and progression of fall colors across landscapes.
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is a unique environment in our solar system. It is the only moon (or body beyond Earth) to have a dense, nitrogen-rich atmosphere, and its methane cycle is very similar to Earth's hydrological cycle, in which solid and liquid methane evaporate to
What would it take to instantly transform a material from an electrical insulator into a conductive state without ever touching it? Using ultrafast laser pulses and powerful X-rays, scientists at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)—a U.S. Department of Energy
With El Niño-driven heat and prolonged dry spells threatening rice production, scientists from Japan's National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), other Japanese research institutions and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have discovered a gene
Imagine living in the same forest as your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and all your ancestors as far back in time as stories can tell, and depending on the forest for food, shelter, recreation and education. Imagine, then, that the forest depends on you, too,
They preceded vertebrates on land by about 80 million years The post These Ancient Millipedes Paved the Way for Terrestrial Life appeared first on Nautilus .
Picture the Milky Way not as a silent pinwheel of stars but as something that quietly sings. Scattered through it are millions of pairs of dead stars, mostly white dwarfs, whirling around each other and stirring ripples in spacetime as they go. Individually, these ripples are
Listening to someone who disagrees with you on a controversial topic, but shares basic values, might not change your mind—but it could moderate an extreme position, reducing polarization, new Cornell economics research finds.
A molecular geneticist at Montana State University has discovered a cellular process once believed impossible by scientists—the creation of the amino acid cysteine within a living cell when the cell's primary systems for doing so fail. The discovery may one day lead to new
Adults vary in how easily they learn new languages. While previous studies suggest this variability may be due to the distribution of groups of brain areas involved in attention, control and memory, a direct link has been lacking. Using a large sample of participants (101
The Arctic and northern high latitudes are warming about 2–4 times faster than the global average, allowing ancient permafrost to thaw and release stored carbon. These permafrost soils currently store roughly one-third of the world's organic soil carbon, much of which has
Prime editing can potentially repair the vast majority of known disease-causing human mutations, but the technology, first developed in 2019, has not yet been widely used in the body, or in vivo, to treat genetic disease. The only clinical application of prime editing that has
Growing up in Los Angeles, Sydney Scott was accustomed to Whole Foods and "organic" labels. Yet instead of simply filling her cart, she found herself asking why those labels were so compelling to many people.
While most businesses have introduced AI in the workplace to enhance employee productivity, an Auburn University information systems researcher cautions that under certain circumstances, AI deployment can inadvertently zap the motivation of its highest-performing workers, which
Trinity's Prof. Stefan Sint, along with collaborators from Germany, Spain and Italy, has published the most precise determination to date of the strong coupling constant. This parameter governs the interactions between quarks and gluons, the fundamental components of nuclear
The surprising discovery of mysterious blobs inside our cells is revolutionising our understanding of how life works, and how it got started
IVF could be done inside the body using sperm that have been magnetised, allowing them to be directed to an egg while getting around the need for invasive egg retrievals and embryo transfers
Porpoises that strand in the Netherlands have, on average, a lower BMI than their counterparts in Scotland and elsewhere, according to an international study led by Utrecht University in collaboration with the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS), based at the
The vaquita (Phocoena sinus), an elusive porpoise found only in the shallow waters of Mexico's northern Gulf of California, is one of the rarest and most endangered marine mammals on Earth. Measuring about 5 feet (1.5 meters) in length, it is the world's smallest cetacean—a
Scientists have long grappled with how to measure the effect of social media on children. Now, the UK government has announced a total ban for everyone under 16, and researchers are rushing to design rigorous studies before it comes into effect
For more than a century, chemists have been building complex molecules step by step—bond by bond, atom by atom. But what if, instead of painstakingly reassembling molecules, they could be directly "rewritten"? This is exactly what a research team led by organic chemist Nuno
In recent years, several populations of the deciduous tree Betula costata have been identified in central Japan. Since this species is morphologically similar to closely related taxa, particularly Betula ermanii, its presence remained unrecognized for a long time. Accordingly,
Changes in wind patterns play the leading role in influencing often devastating tropical rainfall changes, rather than simply the warming atmosphere holding more moisture, according to new research.
Researchers at University of Tsukuba have developed a new palladium (Pd) precatalyst that combines exceptional stability with high catalytic performance. This precatalyst can be stored for extended periods under ambient conditions and suppresses undesirable side reactions
Plausible answers range from 17 to — in all seriousness — 995.5. The post How Many Elementary Particles Are There, Really? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
In the early universe, the first galaxies began to take shape roughly a million years after the Big Bang. Within these young systems, stars formed from vast reservoirs of cold gas, gradually building the structures we see in the cosmos today. Understanding this star-forming gas
University of Melbourne researchers have uncovered several animal welfare issues in the United Kingdom's greyhound racing industry, reigniting public debate about whether the sport should be banned worldwide.
Planting trees is widely promoted as a natural solution to climate change. But a new study led by researchers from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences finds that the hydrological consequences of reforestation depend critically on how much the
Vitamin K lowers the risk of bleeding, including in a circumcision. That procedure may explain a disparity in which infants are more likely to get the shot.
Physical Intelligence is drawing on the broad knowledge of large language models to help robots understand instructions and learn to carry out any task independently
A new technology allows metal circuits floating on water to be transferred directly onto any desired surface. A South Korean research team has introduced a novel technique capable of transferring ultra-fine nanocircuits onto plant leaves and fruits, as well as curved automotive
Urban parks could play a major role in protecting people from rising heat, pollution and noise in cities, according to new research led by the University of Surrey's Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE).
And one of them was putting on a show The post ISS Astronaut Shares Incredible Photos of Volcanoes Taken From Space appeared first on Nautilus .
Darin McNeil, Ph.D., an assistant professor of wildlife management in the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, is partnering with the University of Pittsburgh and others to help build an artificial intelligence tool that could give
Researchers have found evidence of a previously unknown branch of the marsupial family tree, a discovery that could reshape our understanding of how Australia's unique mammals evolved. Published in the Journal of Paleontology, the study describes three new species of small,
Quantum computing firm QuEra says it plans to make a fault-tolerant quantum computer and offer it to users through the cloud in 2028, which will require a real leap in engineering
Marine mammal stranding teams have completed major response activities for two deceased juvenile humpback whales discovered less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) apart in Monterey Bay earlier this month and issued preliminary necropsy findings.
As the global semiconductor industry enters the so-called 2-nanometer process era, the actual size of transistors—the core components of semiconductor chips—still remains above 10 nm. How much smaller, then, can transistors get? KAIST researchers have developed a technology to
Archaeologists have discovered a game board carved into the steps of a medieval bathhouse in the Moroccan town of Walīla (the Roman city of Volubilis). The find is a rare example of a medieval game board that can be securely dated.
A team of U.S. researchers has designed a passive quantum error correction technique that enables qubits to correct their own errors. Demonstrated by Shruti Shirol and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the protocol transforms the inevitable dissipation of
When citizens feel a bigger tax pinch, political corruption goes down and voter turnout rises. That's a key finding from new research led by Washington State University, which found that a higher tax burden is associated with increased civic engagement and citizen monitoring of
More than 3,000 Australians die by suicide each year, yet one of the strongest known drivers of suicide risk—unemployment—remains largely overlooked in Australia's suicide prevention programs. Now, Adelaide University researchers are calling for a fundamental shift in how
People who are hesitant to try insect-based foods may enjoy the experience more than they expect—and can become more open to expanding their diets in the future, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
A science-art team uses research data to make music featuring sounds of Antarctica and outer space
For years, calcium and vitamin D supplements have been promoted as a simple way for older adults to protect their bones and prevent falls. But a massive review of nearly 154,000 people found that calcium, vitamin D, or a combination of both provided little to no meaningful
A large-scale study suggests that men with higher levels of the amino acid tyrosine may have shorter lifespans, potentially losing close to a year of life expectancy. The finding is especially intriguing because tyrosine is commonly associated with brain health and is often
NASA satellites have detected a vast pulse of warm water reaching the coast of South America, signaling that El Niño is likely developing. The warm water is being carried eastward by massive ocean waves known as Kelvin waves, which also cause sea levels to rise. El Niño can
Taylor & Francis has announced the publication of the first Plain Language Summary of Publication (PLSP) in veterinary research, a milestone in making discoveries in animal health more accessible, engaging and impactful. This new initiative bridges the gap between complex
Scientists have found that staple-shaped particles can tangle together to create a material that is both strong and flexible. Unlike conventional materials, these particles can be locked into a sturdy structure or rapidly unraveled using vibrations. The unusual behavior could