The U.S. ethanol industry experienced its first major "boom" in the early 2000s, thanks to changes in U.S. energy policies—particularly biofuel mandates—along with the surging crude oil prices and the phaseout of a fuel additive, methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). In response,
The successive heat waves that sweep across southern Spain in summer have harmful effects on the entire community that lives there, from humans to the microbes that inhabit the soil. Both share an impressive resilience that has enabled them to survive and adapt, each in its own
A new study published in the journal People and Nature reveals a significant gap in public awareness regarding one of the world's most widespread invasive species: the freshwater jellyfish Craspedacusta sowerbii. Despite being present on six continents and well-documented by
The nation's top court extended a stay on a lower court order banning telemedicine access to mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortions—but the order sets up a longer legal fight
Spain, one of the few places in the world where a total solar eclipse will be visible in August, has begun preparations for an event it hopes will shift tourism away from the beaches and toward the countryside.
A collaboration between electrical and chemical engineers at Newcastle University is responsible for a reversible glue that can change how we recycle electronic waste. The team has already demonstrated reversible adhesive technology with wide applicability in general packaging
Jessica Riskin’s three greatest revelations while writing Power of Life The post What Lamarck’s Giraffe Got Right appeared first on Nautilus .
Alternative therapies that aid the body's immune system to fight bacteria have shown promise in addressing the global threat of antibiotic resistance. University of Queensland researchers have found when under attack, the body's immune cells activate a cellular process called
As densely populated coastal communities struggle to keep up with rising sea levels, new research reveals a way to predict how river deltas build land and protect coastal regions from encroaching oceans. This insight will help engineers and policymakers estimate how much new
The amount of sunlight, or solar radiation, that a location receives makes a big impact on weather conditions, crop success, rainfall and overall climate trends. Today, instruments called pyrheliometers are used to carefully calculate how much sunlight occurs at a particular
The Tenpō Famine of the 1830s was one of the worst in Japanese history, with the poor weather causing escalating rice prices as a major cause. To better understand how historical weather anomalies affected crop prices in Japan and ultimately led to the famine, researchers
As the United States prepares to mark its 250th anniversary, researchers from 23andMe Research Institute, Harvard University, and the Smithsonian Institution have teamed up to study one of the country's founding settlements: St. Mary's City, Maryland. Established in 1634, St.
A new approach to better assessing whale population data has emerged, led by a research team of marine biologists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and statisticians from Cal Poly. Scientists typically monitor whale presence through a variety of
A major international study has found that contact with the natural world is linked to higher levels of life satisfaction—and we have our bodies to thank for unlocking this benefit.
Landfills are actually excellent places to beef up your lifetime list The post Stop Demonizing the Birdwatchers Who Contracted Hantavirus appeared first on Nautilus .
We may be more in the dark about dark matter than previously thought, according to a new analysis of distant galaxy clusters. Yale astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan, a leading theorist on the nature of black holes and dark matter, says new observational data conflicts with
An international team of researchers has developed new stellar and supernova models to explain the mysterious elemental abundance patterns left by billions of supernova explosions around the Perseus constellation, which have been difficult to explain with conventional
A recent Minnesota Pollution Control Agency report found that climate change could cost Minnesotans more than $20 billion a year by 2040. This is just the local cost of a global problem. Ecosystem stability is essential to agriculture, forestry, safe housing and infrastructure,
An international research team, led by the University of Warwick and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), in collaboration with Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, has recently published a scoping review in the journal Cogent Education. The review analyzes the well-being
The El Niño climate event is due to return this year, with U.S. forecasters predicting an 82 percent chance of it coming in May through July and a 96 percent chance for it doing so in December through February 2027
Can "snow" fall in the ocean and influence the climate of the entire planet? It turns out that it can. Research conducted by scientists from the Faculty of Physics at University of Warsaw, published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, helps us understand how microscopic flakes
Massive volumes of digital data are generated every day from AI training, big data analytics and smart devices. As conventional hard drives and cloud storage are increasingly constrained by high costs, limited capacity, high power consumption and short lifespans, molecular data
The Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH) and the Instituto Tecnológico de Castilla y León (ITCL) have begun a collaboration to advance the application of hyperspectral analysis in the study of archaeopalaeontological sites. As part of this
How does an ecosystem distribute its energy across body sizes? A new study suggests the answer depends on where you are—and how much humans have altered the landscape. Analyzing communities of birds and mammals worldwide, researchers show that larger-bodied species can, on
Asia's last tropical glaciers can be found near Puncak Jaya, Papua, the highest peak in Southeast Asia. But it is unlikely that they will survive until the end of this decade. Over the past 44 years, the peak has lost 97% of its ice and four of its glaciers. Its remaining two
Viruses play a far more active role in Earth's carbon cycle than previously understood, according to new research that reveals how they infect and control microbes responsible for carbon production in some of the planet's largest, darkest ecosystems. The findings are published
Near-infrared light is invisible to humans. And yet, under the right conditions, the human eye can perceive it. Researchers from Poland's International Center for Translational Eye Research (ICTER) have now shown that the efficiency of this phenomenon depends not only on the
Researchers at the São Carlos Institute of Physics at the University of São Paulo (IFSC-USP) in Brazil, led by Paulo Augusto Raymundo-Pereira, have created biodegradable, "wearable" sensors for plants to monitor their health, including the presence of pesticides. The sensors
A mathematical ratio could explain why AI-generated art doesn’t evoke awe from viewers
A study by Cal Poly faculty and scientists has found that building density, not urban trees, was the strongest predictor of whether homes were destroyed during the catastrophic Southern California firestorms of January 2025. The paper is published in the journal Urban Forestry
The genomics of peppermint are not as fresh as their flavor but scientists from the University of California, Davis, have found a way to breathe new genetic variation into the species. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help
Silk threads can be fused into transparent, plastic-like materials that twist terahertz frequencies of light, according to research led by Imperial College London, University of Michigan Engineering and Tufts University. The findings could enable components of 6G networks to be
My underwater dive to discover whether the beautiful ocean organisms are ever coming back The post Coral Reefs Are at a Tipping Point appeared first on Nautilus .
In a “breakthrough,” researchers demonstrate how engineered bacteria held in a jellylike container could help fight infection in mice
Children who grow up in disadvantaged households may receive fewer social benefits from their intelligence in adulthood than those raised in more advantaged environments, according to new research from the University of Bath. A new study by Professor Chris Dawson, published in
Scientists have discovered a galaxy as it was 13 billion years ago, 800 million years after the Big Bang. It contains possible evidence of the universe's first stars and is one of the most chemically primitive galaxies observed to date.
Burrowing shrimp are small marine excavators native to Washington. They make their homes deep in the sediment by digging, turning the ground to Swiss cheese. This presents a problem for shellfish farmers, whose clams and oysters are often smothered under layers of displaced
A mathematical method borrowed from topology can reveal structural properties of visual art that correspond to how people perceive and respond to them, according to a new study published in PLOS Computational Biology by Jacek Rogala of the University of Warsaw, Poland, Shabnam
It was first spotted over the weekend The post Newly Discovered Asteroid to Make Close Pass by Earth appeared first on Nautilus .
Do you have the sense that summers feel different than when you were younger? That they start earlier, arrive quickly and remain intense until the fall? If you live in the mid-latitudes of either the Northern or Southern Hemispheres, chances are you answered yes.
Talk of a "super El Niño" developing in 2026 is gaining momentum, with concerns rising that this climate pattern could bring extreme rainfall, heat, drought and destructive flooding around the world.
AI can predict rainfall intensity better than several widely used forecasting models in tests using historical weather data from India. The new model reported in the International Journal of Mobile Communications shows that combining different forms of AI, along with advanced
A study finds the pungent bulb to be a real turn-off for them The post Garlic: Culinary Staple, Birth Control for Flies appeared first on Nautilus .
The hantavirus cruise outbreak may not have started in a garbage dump in Ushuaia, Argentina, after all
The Psyche spacecraft is bound for a metal-rich asteroid that it will examine up close starting in 2029. But first, it needs to swing past the Red Planet
A NASA spacecraft chasing a rare metal asteroid swings past Mars this week for a gravity boost, snapping thousands of pictures as practice for the main encounter in 2029.
The "Big Three" institutional investors—BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street Global Advisors (SSGA)—have burgeoned into load-bearing pillars of the U.S. economy. With great power comes great responsibility, as well as a risk-averse investment strategy that favors common
Water droplets on soap films orbited and merged like colliding galaxies, a technique that could help scientists study the cosmos.
Combined extreme climate events are likely to become more common in the future if carbon emissions continue to rise, a paper in Nature suggests. The study finds that the frequency of compound events—such as concurrent hot–wet and drought–heat extremes—is linked to cumulative
In addition to serving as biochemical weapons for offense and defense, the venoms produced by ants in the subfamily Formicinae also fulfill additional roles. For example, the ants use it to protect their nests from pathogens. It has long been assumed that the primary
