Extreme weather poses a big threat to birds. Yet there is a lack of both knowledge and methods for measuring its negative effects. In a new study published in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, researchers from Lund University in Sweden have identified knowledge gaps and propose
Carbon credits allow companies to offset their greenhouse gas emissions through mitigation projects in order to meet voluntary targets, compliance obligations, or national net-zero goals. However, a recent analysis found that at least 84% of carbon credits did not represent
A new AI-based approach that can "hear" inside the sun could give vital signs of the solar disturbances that have significant effects in near-Earth space and on human activities. The solar cycle is an approximate 11-year period during which the sun's magnetic activity rises and
Sleep is a vital physiological process that allows humans and other animals to restore both the mind and body, while also consolidating memories, clearing out toxins and regulating their metabolism. Several past studies showed that getting insufficient sleep for prolonged
Millions across Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania remain locked out of meaningful digital participation and from the digital services that increasingly shape everyday life, despite two decades of investment. A new study from the University of Surrey warns that the real
Scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China have successfully deployed a multi-mode quantum relay network, achieving matter–matter entanglement over 14.5 kilometers, according to media reports.
Wildfires battered Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan for 11 days, starting on April 22. The fires burned about 1,600 hectares and forced 3,200 residents to evacuate. With warmer climates, continued expansion of urban areas into forested regions, and the increasing
Mathematical analysis suggests that melodies and harmonies have become less complex as music evolves and musicians find new ways “to create great music.”
Using a new technique that can create vacancies at any site across a material and then shrink it to about 1/2,000 of its original volume, MIT researchers have designed nanotechnology devices that could be used for optical computing and other applications involving the
By analyzing the data from the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT), an international team of astronomers has discovered optical quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) in a bright quasar known as 3C 454.3. It is so far one of the most persistent QPOs detected in the optical band. The
In flowering plants, the transition from cross-fertilization (outcrossing) to self-fertilization has evolved repeatedly across species. This shift is often accompanied by a well-known set of traits collectively called the "selfing syndrome," including smaller flowers and
The world's oceans are losing oxygen—and rapidly. The principal cause is the increasing warming of the oceans, which reduces the solubility of oxygen in water and increases respiratory activity. In addition, it strengthens stratification of the water column, making it harder
Firework shows are controversial in this day and age. While beautiful, fireworks are loud, bright, and smoky, and they can be dangerous to the surrounding environment, releasing contaminants into the air and frightening both pets and wildlife alike.
A technology designed to mitigate global warming could, paradoxically, contribute to carbon emissions if hotter temperatures lead to a shift in where bioenergy crops are grown. Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) involves combusting or fermenting biological
An international team of researchers, including scientists from HZDR and Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, for the first time directly observed how angular momentum is transferred and conserved within a crystal lattice. Using intense terahertz laser pulses, the
For the last 1.7 million years, China’s Yangtze River has been stealing water from the Yellow River, new research shows
Using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers led by researchers at the University of California, Riverside have produced the most detailed map of the cosmic web ever made, tracing the network of galaxies all the way back to when the universe was one
Donated uteruses transplanted into women without a womb can allow for successful pregnancy and birth.
Look up at the clouds. What do you see? A sailboat? A seahorse? Your great-aunt Rosemary? As humans, we're prone to seeing patterns where they don't actually exist. This behavior is so common there's a name for it: apophenia. But sometimes, those patterns really do exist. Cold
In recent years, voting by mail has been the subject of numerous lawsuits and attacks that often claim the process gives Democratic nominees and legislative bills an edge. But a recent Caltech study shows that sending ballots to all registered voters boosts turnout for both
Mice do more than just squeak when they want to make a noise. They can also sing. And the way they do it is different from most mammals that produce sounds by vibrating their vocal cords. When Alston's singing mouse (Scotinomys teguina) makes its music, it does so by puffing up
A multiyear effort to rename polycystic ovary syndrome finally revealed the condition’s new name: polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome
A water-based formulation developed at the University of Waterloo using nanotechnology is both greener and more effective than conventional methods for delivering agricultural pesticides.
A new study by University of Victoria (UVic) and Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) scientists has uncovered what adult Chinook salmon in the Salish Sea are eating—and revealed diet can differ according to region. The study, led by UVic Ph.D. student Wesley Greentree and published
Stem cells are the original cell type from which all other cells and tissues in the body develop through a very tightly regulated process. However, how stem cells differentiate in addition to gene-control systems, such as canonical REST repression, which prevents gene
Lifting a veil of uncertainty in blackberry genetics, a national team of horticulture scientists have discovered evidence pointing to the single genetic region that controls primocane-fruiting, or the ability to flower and fruit on first-year canes.
A four-week diet change was enough to make some older adults appear biologically younger in a new University of Sydney study. Participants who reduced fat intake or shifted toward more plant-based protein showed improvements in key health biomarkers tied to aging. The strongest
Whether in tooth enamel or in nanomaterials made of silicon, the orientation of tiny internal structures often determines the properties of a material. A new X-ray method can even make this nano-order visible when the structures are actually too small to be imaged directly. The
To the untrained eye, they look like blobs blotching the otherwise smooth surface of rod-like bacteria. But if you ask a microbiologist about "cellulosomes," they will likely tell you that those blobs are actually sophisticated cellulolytic machines.
Carbon credits bought by companies to offset their emissions really have reduced deforestation, but not by as much as credit developers claim, according to a rigorous analysis
Work songs, musical pieces designed to be performed or sung while working, have been widely documented across various cultures and in different historical periods. For instance, people in different nations have been known to sometimes sing together while rowing, sailing,
Scientists at McGill University have uncovered a hidden molecular “switch” that turns on a powerful calorie-burning system in brown fat — the body’s heat-generating fat linked to metabolism and weight control. The breakthrough centers on glycerol, a molecule released when fat
Restoring dry forests in the Pacific Northwest, shaped by frequent low-intensity fire and widely spaced trees, often means thinning dense stands that accumulated after decades of fire suppression. This can make forests healthier and more resilient to wildfire, but it can raise
Researchers created a special kind of algae that can grab microscopic plastic pollution out of water almost like a magnet. The algae produce limonene, an orange-scented oil that helps them bind to water-repelling microplastics, forming easy-to-remove clumps. As a bonus, the
Margaret Hamilton designed safety features for NASA inspired in part by her four-year-old
Greater protections for endangered emperor penguins and how to manage growing tourism will top the agenda at talks on Antarctica opening in Japan on Tuesday.
NASA’s Mars rovers have found traces of minerals akin to those that make up precious gems on Earth. But their appearance and abundance on Mars is likely very different, experts say
The deadliest animals are not lions, spiders or snakes, but the tiny mosquitoes that suck our blood, make us itchy and infect us with disease.
PCOS will now be known as PMOS (polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome), and for Alice Klein, who has the conditon, it's been a long time coming
Researchers who study political violence say that the U.S. is in a period of more intense political rhetoric, but there have been far darker periods in the nation’s history
A bizarre new giant dinosaur discovered in Argentina is giving paleontologists a fresh look at how Jurassic titans evolved in the Southern Hemisphere. Bicharracosaurus dionidei stretched about 20 meters long and carried a strange mix of features seen in both Diplodocus and
Brazilian scientist Luciano Moreira tenderly handles a glass box of swarming mosquitoes infected with a bacterium that blocks the transmission of dengue.
Ever felt like mosquitoes bite you while ignoring everyone else? Scientists are now making progress in deciphering the complex chemical cocktail that makes particular people more enticing to these disease-spreading bloodsuckers.
The fundamentals of quantum mechanics are minuscule. Scientists constantly home in on finer resolutions to measure, quantify, and control these fundamentals, like photons that carry light and have no mass unless they are moving. The more precise the measurement, the more
For better or worse, a huge number of people will be affected by efforts to achieve "30x30"—the internationally-agreed conservation goal to protect and conserve at least 30% of the world's land and seas by 2030. How many people, and who they are, will depend on which aspects of
Our gut is colonized by legions of bacteria, which supply us with essential nutrients and support our health. Among them are Akkermansia bacteria, which might be helpful in the management of conditions like obesity and diabetes.
Scientists revisiting mysterious 540-million-year-old microfossils from Brazil have overturned a major idea about early animal life. What were once thought to be trails left behind by tiny worm-like creatures are now believed to be fossilized communities of bacteria and algae —
Scientists may have found a powerful new way to hunt for alien life — not by searching for specific molecules, but by looking for hidden patterns in how those molecules are organized. Researchers discovered that living systems leave behind a kind of chemical “fingerprint” in
Gases collected from boiling mineral springs in Zambia contain the chemical signature of having come directly from the Earth’s mantle, a sign of a rupture in the tectonic plates and the possible beginning of a new continental boundary
Hubble has revealed a giant planet-forming disk unlike anything astronomers have seen before. Nicknamed “Dracula’s Chivito,” the enormous structure appears turbulent and oddly lopsided, with towering filaments visible on only one side. The disk contains enough material to