Diapause is a fascinating form of biological dormancy employed by a broad array of animals as a survival strategy to endure adverse environmental conditions. To overcome the problems associated with seasons that are unsuitable for reproduction and/or development, many temperate
In the earliest stages of life, mammalian embryos start as a disorganized cluster of cells. As development progresses, these cells become organized into well-defined shapes and structures. This process happens again and again during development, yet it unfolds in environments
NASA on Tuesday is set to launch a daring robotic rescue mission, a long-shot bid to prevent one of its aging telescopes from vanishing into dust.
A common brain protein may be giving Alzheimer’s disease an unexpected way to spread, carrying toxic Tau proteins from damaged neurons into healthy ones. By blocking these harmful protein packages before they reach new cells, researchers believe it may one day be possible to
Creatine is best known as a muscle-building supplement, but scientists are now investigating whether it could also help treat depression by boosting the brain's energy supply. A new review examined five randomized clinical trials involving 238 participants and found mixed
Scientists have finally confirmed the origin of the mysterious Silverpit Crater beneath the North Sea. New evidence shows that an asteroid about 160 meters wide struck the seabed roughly 43 to 46 million years ago. The impact triggered a tsunami more than 100 meters high and
A new study by researchers at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) in Lithuania has shown that a good idea alone is not enough for health startups to succeed. What matters most is access to data, health care institutions and funding.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI), especially large language models deployed as chatbots and digital assistants, are now part of everyday digital life.
Scientists are raising concerns that we may be overlooking evidence of extraterrestrial life even when it is present. Hidden biosignatures, limitations in detection technology, and assumptions about what life should look like can all create dangerous false negatives. The
Artificial intelligence (AI) is profoundly reshaping education worldwide. While AI tools increasingly support students in brainstorming, drafting and problem-solving, assessment practices often remain narrowly focused on final outputs. This raises a critical question: How can
Artificial intelligence (AI) is continuing to have a disruptive impact on ever more parts of humanity. But what does it mean in the long run? A new paper, available as a preprint on arXiv from Austrian researcher Sergey Ivliev, extrapolates what the wide-scale adoption of AI
Europe's most severe heat wave on record set new temperature records in eastern parts of the continent on Monday and forced Ukraine to order power cuts to cope.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often referred to as "forever chemicals," are among the most persistent contaminants found in water systems worldwide. Their strong carbon-fluorine bonds make them highly resistant to degradation, allowing them to remain in the
Students whose performance at school declines relative to their peers are at a higher risk of contact with the criminal justice system, a new study by King's College London has found.
What if the mechanical properties of a cell could be programmed like the components of a machine? Researchers at the University of Tokyo have discovered that two fundamental modes of cellular deformation—stretching and bending—can be independently controlled using different
Companies hoping to reduce the environmental impact of their purchasing should tailor relationships with suppliers to different types of products rather than relying on a single procurement strategy, according to research published in the International Journal of Procurement
Researchers at IMDEA Materials Institute have developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based strategy to predict and assess the fire resistance of epoxy resins, one of the most widely used polymers in industry.
Giant mirrors in space have been a staple of science fiction for decades. But so far, there's been very little work looking at the actual physics behind the concept—possibly because we're still so far from making them ourselves. Still, they could potentially serve as a passive
Natural gas still plays an important role in many industrial sectors, but it is a climate-damaging fossil fuel. TU Wien and the University of Innsbruck have now discovered an unexpected reaction pathway that makes it possible to synthesize natural gas, or methane (CH4), using
Plutonium is one of the most complex elements in the periodic table. First synthesized and isolated in 1940 by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, plutonium has been studied closely for more than eight decades. It's most often associated with its role in
A new Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) study based on data from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has uncovered insights into why the solar wind gradually slows as it moves toward the edge of the solar system and the boundary with interstellar space. The study "The Gradual
When bright green water appeared in the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, it drew national attention and sparked political finger-pointing. The culprit: cyanobacteria—sometimes called blue-green algae—a type of bacteria that can produce toxins harmful to people,
Over 70 million people in the U.S. are impacted by hearing loss, and age-related hearing loss is the second most common health problem in older adults, according to the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. However, scientists still do not fully understand how the
When a high-intensity laser interacts with plasma, the charged particles typically oscillate back and forth like waves on the ocean. But what if the laser itself could twist like a whirlpool? Researchers have now demonstrated a rotating, spring-shaped laser pulse, opening new
The global push for a transition to green energy has sparked demand for critical minerals such as lithium, vanadium, copper and cobalt. These are needed for electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels. Sub-Saharan Africa hosts about 30% of the world's mineral reserves,
Although modern crocodiles, alligators, caimans and gharials are restricted to the tropics, their fossil record tells a very different story. Ancient crocodylians once inhabited much of the globe and exhibited a remarkable diversity of skull shapes and ecological adaptations.
Disease management is a significant aspect of aquaculture, a vital industry and major food source. One of the most serious threats is a disease caused by the nervous necrosis virus (NNV), which can wipe out large populations of farmed fish and cause major economic losses in the
The ordinary graphite in pencil lead is proving to be surprisingly multifaceted at the microscale. In a study published in the journal Nature, MIT researchers report that a certain microscopic structure found in natural graphite can host multiple superconducting states.
Scientists around the world have been searching food, water and other environmental media for microplastics and for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). But microfluoroplastics (MFPs), the intersection between these two fields, have received much less attention.
A study by a team of researchers from the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Tel Aviv University offers new hope to millions of people with irreversible hearing loss. The researchers identified a unique biological mechanism that could, in the future, enable the
Picture a busy road running through a residential neighborhood. The noise, the fumes, the danger to cyclists and pedestrians—all familiar concerns. But here is one you might not have considered: Traffic may also be making your street more prone to vandalism, burglary and
An international research team has demonstrated that the intrinsic disorder of the compound semiconductor CuInSnS₄ can be exploited to influence its optical properties. While the atomic vibrations also sense the local disorder, their response is averaged over many different
A research team at the University of Turku in Finland has developed a reliable laboratory model to study BAP1-deficient melanomas, which are a rare type of melanoma that evade the immune system once they have metastasized and are universally resistant to current
Algal blooms in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., have long been a visible public nuisance. When the pool turned green again on June 15, less than two weeks after President Donald Trump's US$14 million renovation, it sparked outrage, a rush to use
The constant barrage made it impossible for continents to form in the planet’s early days The post When Earth Was an Asteroid Rain Hell appeared first on Nautilus .
A new AI-powered framework could transform how astronomers measure the expansion of the Universe. By analyzing images of Type Ia supernovae and modeling their environments in unprecedented detail, researchers can estimate cosmic distances with near-spectroscopic accuracy. The
Scientists discovered a protein secreted by a deep-sea extremophile—an organism adapted to extreme environmental conditions—that self-assembles into a biofilm and is highly stable, boosting its potential for biomedical applications.
The world is urbanizing fast. In 1975, about 11% of the global population lived in cities with more than 1 million inhabitants. "Today, we estimate that share to be about 24%," says Andrea Musso, junior fellow at the Complexity Science Hub (CSH) and Ph.D. student at ETH Zurich.
For NASA's next generation of deep-space exploration missions, spacecraft may need to refuel in Earth orbit before pushing farther into the solar system. Similar to how a gas pump needs a nozzle to fit your fuel tank, future spacecraft could require a special device in order to
Oceanic transform faults are strike-slip boundaries—faults that move horizontally rather than up and down and connect offset mid-ocean ridge segments. They have long been regarded as simple "conservative" plate boundaries that slide past each other without creating or
An international expedition including University of Sydney researchers has pieced together the clearest picture yet of how the Great Barrier Reef responded to dramatic environmental change over the past 30,000 years. Multiple studies since the expedition more than 10 years ago
Venezuela has a well-documented vulnerability to earthquakes. The country sits on the boundary between the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates, resulting in routine tremors and causing historical earthquake disasters. But the experience of a "doublet," a pair of 7.2-
RNA interference is a natural mechanism for living cells to control whether specific genes are being used. Crowned with the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the discovery of RNA interference has since been harnessed by scientists to create a powerful and growing
Pioneering research has developed a new way of creating carbohydrate-based medicines that could ultimately replace costly drugs for common health conditions, using two cheap basic ingredients—table sugar and vinegar.
While many people migrate because of social and economic inequalities, forced migration is caused by political conflicts, lack of access to food and—increasingly—a lack of access to water.
It paves the way for understanding how ray-finned fishes came to dominate Earth’s oceans The post Inside the Brain of a 319-Million-Year-Old Fossil Fish appeared first on Nautilus .
When someone you love is upset, your first instinct may be to comfort them. To reassure them. To make them feel better. But what if that instinct isn't universal?
As climate change warms rivers across British Columbia, young salmon are facing increasing heat stress at vulnerable stages of their lives. Two studies from UBC's Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Lab have found that younger fish cope with heat differently than older fish
Boreal forests are being clear-cut faster than some of their wildlife and plant species can recover, with a few failing to return even 100 years after harvesting, according to University of Alberta-led research.
England's public libraries are being quietly eroded, according to a major new study from the University of Sheffield. With physical collections shrinking and maintenance budgets falling in real terms, the research warns that libraries risk becoming unable to meet the diverse
