For decades, Ukraine was known as the breadbasket of the world. Before the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, it ranked among the top global producers and exporters of sunflower oil, maize and wheat. These helped feed more than 400 million people worldwide.
In a new study published in Horticulture Research, a team of researchers from the Institute of Subtropical Agriculture of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has demonstrated that designed synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) can significantly boost crop growth and curb
It sounds like a gardener's holy grail: beautiful and practical plantings that can turn cities into green spaces with benefits for people and biodiversity.
In southeast Queensland, roughly 250 kilometers from Brisbane, lies the tiny town of Murgon. Located on Wakka Wakka Country, it's home to about 2,000 people—and one of the most important fossil sites in the world.
Penn State scientists identified a striking rise in melanoma across several Pennsylvania counties dominated by cropland and herbicide use. The elevated risk persisted even after factoring in sunlight, suggesting an environmental influence beyond the usual expectations.
Researchers combined deep learning with high-resolution physics to create the first Milky Way model that tracks over 100 billion stars individually. Their AI learned how gas behaves after supernovae, removing one of the biggest computational bottlenecks in galactic modeling.
LHAASO has uncovered that micro-quasars, black holes feeding on companion stars, are powerful PeV particle accelerators. Their jets produce ultra-high-energy gamma rays and protons that exceed long-held expectations. Precise cosmic-ray measurements reveal a new high-energy
Researchers at KRISS observed water’s rapid freeze–melt cycles under ultrahigh pressure and discovered Ice XXI, the first new ice phase found in decades. Using advanced high-pressure tech and microsecond XFEL imaging, they uncovered complex crystallization pathways never seen
Researchers found that ancient hominids—including early humans—were exposed to lead throughout childhood, leaving chemical traces in fossil teeth. Experiments suggest this exposure may have driven genetic changes that strengthened language-related brain functions in modern
A newly recognized set of T helper cells seems to guard against aging by eliminating harmful senescent cells. Their presence in supercentenarians suggests they may be a key to maintaining a healthier, age-balanced immune system.
Over the past several decades, researchers have been making rapid progress in harnessing light to enable all sorts of scientific and industrial applications. From creating stupendously accurate clocks to processing the petabytes of information zipping through data centers, the
There has been a lot of focus on the need to teach older children about consent. But parents should not wait until kids are teenagers to talk about appropriate touching or how everyone has the right to say what happens to their body.
Dark matter may be invisible, but scientists are getting closer to understanding whether it follows the same rules as everything we can see. By comparing how galaxies move through cosmic gravity wells to the depth of those wells, researchers found that dark matter appears to
Chimps may revise their beliefs in surprisingly human-like ways. Experiments showed they switched choices when presented with stronger clues, demonstrating flexible reasoning. Computational modeling confirmed these decisions weren’t just instinct. The findings could influence
Aalto University researchers have developed a method to execute AI tensor operations using just one pass of light. By encoding data directly into light waves, they enable calculations to occur naturally and simultaneously. The approach works passively, without electronics, and
Milestone results released by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) on November 16 have solved a decades-old mystery about the cosmic ray energy spectrum—which shows a sharp decrease in cosmic rays above 3 PeV, giving it an unusual knee-like shape.
Researchers have sequenced the oldest RNA ever recovered, taken from a woolly mammoth frozen for nearly 40,000 years. The RNA reveals which genes were active in its tissues, offering a rare glimpse into its biology and final moments. Surprisingly, the team also identified
Scientists discovered that a week of full submergence is enough to kill most rice plants, making flooding a far greater threat than previously understood. Intensifying extreme rainfall events may amplify these losses unless vulnerable regions adopt more resilient rice varieties.
Rapid social and demographic change has reshaped how people live and connect in cities. In Tokyo, where urban density meets growing individualization, a new form of collective housing—shared houses—is redefining what home means. To understand how these spaces are marketed and
Scientists found that people who use both cannabis and tobacco show a distinct brain pattern tied to mood and stress regulation. Their scans revealed higher levels of an enzyme that reduces a natural feel-good molecule in the brain. This imbalance may help explain why co-users