Methane is an especially potent greenhouse gas, causing much more warming than carbon dioxide on a unit-for-unit basis—and a new, uniquely long-term study of emissions at a New Jersey landfill suggests that estimates of methane pollution in the U.S. and elsewhere may be
Cancer cells have a voracious appetite for sugar—using it to fuel their rapid growth. This is why many scientists have tried to develop drugs that block cancer cells' metabolism by cutting off their sugar supply.
Many people are blissfully unaware that the world's frogs and amphibians are fighting their own deadly pandemic. In fact, this fungal disease—chytridiomycosis, or chytrid for short—is the worst wildlife disease on record.
Storm conditions capable of causing major coastal erosion at New Jersey's North Beach on Sandy Hook are occurring about twice as often as they did in 1979, according to Rutgers researchers. The finding offers new evidence that storm impacts are becoming more frequent along the
For the first time, a group of biologists and engineers from the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil applied LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology to investigate the health of trees and optimize pruning with the aim of reducing the risk of trees falling. This
Researchers created an electrically tunable quantum nanoscale corral that traps charged excitons and enables precise electrical control of tiny light sources, including their brightness, color and quantum states, the team, led by Boston College physicists, reports today in
For decades, scientists have accepted that the immune system naturally weakens with age. Georgia Tech biomedical engineer and Carl Ring Family Professor Ankur Singh wasn't convinced. Then the COVID-19 pandemic made the stakes impossible to ignore.
Researchers from Kyushu University have discovered that diffuse gas surrounding dense filaments in a nearby stellar nursery plays a much larger role in star formation than previously recognized. By tracking the movement of gas in the Monoceros R2 hub–filament system, the team
A group of Cornell College students and their professor found surprising results in research on antimicrobial peptides, which are being studied as a method of combating antibiotic resistance. These peptides, part of the innate immune system, could be used to kill bacteria on
U.K. and U.S. scientists have uncovered an important piece of the puzzle in the signaling pathway that causes damaging scar tissue to build up in the body, raising hopes for future treatments. A team from the University of Manchester and University of Connecticut have revealed
A research team from AIST, the Institute of Science Tokyo, and Ritsumeikan University has demonstrated that the phase behavior of histone–DNA condensates depends on the site of histone acetylation.
All chemistry starts with a push from electrons. In the early moments of a chemical reaction, it's the movement of electrons that initiates the breaking of old chemical bonds and forging of new ones, transforming one molecule into another.
Using simple artificial cells, a research group led by Makito Miyazaki of the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (IMS) in Japan has uncovered fundamental physical principles that govern how living cells change their shape. By combining experiments with computer
A research team has developed a highly efficient catalyst that directly converts carbon dioxide—a major contributor to global warming—into high-value industrial 2-propanol. The research was published online in Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy.
In early 2025, special signals wended their way through a fiber-optic highway strung above the streets and sidewalks of the Maryland suburbs. The arrival of those signals at their destination marks a significant step toward a long-held dream of building a "quantum network."
A new study provides experimental evidence that wild capuchin monkeys use more than just physical cues when selecting stone tools; they also rely on visible signs that a stone has previously been used for this purpose.
For an animal to develop normally, cells must not only become the right types but also do so at the right time. In the worm C. elegans, the protein LIN28 has long been known as an important regulator of this timing: It keeps cells in a flexible state and delays their shift
The 2019 heat wave that struck Mo'orea—a volcanic island in French Polynesia—swept through its coral reefs like an invisible wildfire. Colorful, lively corals bleached into ghostly, chalk-white skeletons as soaring ocean temperatures triggered a mass mortality event (MME) that
Lasers have become indispensable in everyday life and research, with applications ranging from data transmission and metrology to manufacturing. Masers, by contrast, have so far found hardly any practical applications.
Ceramic materials are used everywhere, from smartphones and computers to electric vehicles and renewable energy systems. These materials are used in a wide range of technologies because of their unique electrical, magnetic and thermal properties. However, discovering new
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasn’t had a full-time leader in almost a year
It may be easier said than done The post Three Things to Avoid in Middle Age If You Want to Stave Off Dementia appeared first on Nautilus .
Collecting rainwater from rooftops and using it to spray buildings during hot weather could help cities cut air conditioning use, lower urban temperatures and lessen the impact of heat waves, according to new research from The University of Manchester.
Dark matter's existence is all but certain—astronomers believe it makes up about a quarter of the universe's total energy content—yet its true identity has eluded us for decades. Two of the leading candidates for dark matter are the hypothetical particles ultralight axions and
Young children often overestimate what they can do. That overconfidence may help them approach challenges without fear, but it can also get them into trouble. Children who overestimate their physical abilities, for example, may take risks that make accidental injuries more
With annual production of around 1 million metric tons (1.1 million tons), formic acid is one of the most important basic chemicals and is used, among other things, as an additive in the animal feed industry. It is also increasingly attracting attention as an H2 carrier. To
Black holes are fascinating regions in space where gravity is so strong that nothing, even light, can escape them. The largest known black holes, called supermassive black holes, contain millions to billions of times the mass of the sun and are typically located at the centers
A 19th-century real estate agent created the world's first version of Rightmove more than 160 years before the birth of online property previews.
The hidden safety benefits of these kings of the mountains The post Mountain Lions Make Roads Safer appeared first on Nautilus .
Chiral phonons are groups of atoms that move in a circular direction when excited by an energy source, such as heat. As the phonons move through a material, they propagate that circular motion, or angular momentum, through the material. The angular momentum serves as the source
Using satellite data, researchers at TUM have identified an unprecedented loss of aboveground biomass in Europe's forests since 2018. Unlike previous studies that focused solely on changes in tree cover, this study provides the first Europe–wide assessment of changes in forest
The wild boar (Sus scrofa) is widely distributed across Eurasia and has also colonized the Japanese archipelago, where two subspecies are recognized: the Japanese wild boar (JWB, Sus scrofa leucomystax) and the Ryukyu wild boar (RWB, Sus scrofa riukiuanus). Before this study,
Astronomers have speculated about the mysterious "little red dots" seen through the James Webb Space Telescope's images of the early universe: They could be galaxies, black holes, quasi-stars, starbursts ... or something else entirely.
Using observations from multiple powerful telescopes, a team of astronomers studied a red quasar nicknamed "the Hatchling" at redshift 3.7. They may have identified one of the clearest examples yet of a quasar caught in transition between a heavily obscured and fully exposed
Zoos offer people the opportunity to experience animals and engage with the natural world. Alongside recreation, they also play important roles in species conservation and scientific research. Education is another core mission of modern zoos, with many programs designed to
Neanderthals were generally more strongly built than most people living today. Their bones show signs of large muscles, and they had characteristic features such as prominent brow ridges and relatively short tooth roots.
How and where did the first forms of life arise? These are the main questions driving research at the Institute of Molecular Evolution at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU). In a new publication in Science Advances, an international team led by Düsseldorf biologists
Inspired by naturally occurring mats and balls of seaweed, researchers have created highly porous, superadhesive meshes capable of capturing both large and small microplastic particles—a longstanding challenge in the field. The mesh can clean microplastics from both saltwater
One-fourth of people who undergo an extraordinary experience report immediate discomfort, but more than half say the experience caused positive long-term effects, according to a study published Aug. 5, 2026, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Ronald Fischer of Instituto
A research team led by Professor Hitoshi Yamamoto of Rissho University analyzed five years of longitudinal panel survey data collected between 2020 and 2024 and examined how vaccine-related conspiracy beliefs were associated with media skepticism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
AI really is everywhere these days The post What Happens When You Put an AI-Powered Banana Casino in a Monkey Reserve? appeared first on Nautilus .
Watersheds that are flatter, drier and warmer are generally more vulnerable to increases in flooding after trees are harvested. Those with greater variation in elevation spread runoff out over time, reducing flood peaks.
Newborn German cockroaches use pheromones in cockroach feces to identify members of their own colony and form a kind of social bond, a discovery that could be used to improve pest control efforts.
Musk outlined his vision to investors after SpaceX posted a $542-million loss from its space launch sector in its first quarter as a public company
As trees disappear from urban neighborhoods, lives may be lost with them. In a new study, Northwestern University scientists tracked death rates and fluctuations in tree canopy cover across an 11-year period in Chicago. They found that areas experiencing greater losses in tree
Babies start out life helpless and stay that way for a long time. They cannot walk, feed themselves or survive without an adult's continued care. Our dependency timeline has no clear parallel elsewhere in the animal kingdom.
Disarticulated bones found scattered across a luxurious Roman villa on England's Isle of Wight may be evidence of a massacre carried out during a brutal political purge in the fourth century, a new study in Britannia suggests.
You might think of rockets as powerful vehicles that blast astronaut crews and robotic missions into space. But what if they could be used to send cargo from one side of Earth to the other in a fraction of the time it would take a plane? The company SpaceX recently announced a
Severe storms, heat waves and wildfires can shut down the social life of a community, flooding out festivals, canceling community events and keeping people indoors.
Researchers at the University of Bayreuth, together with colleagues from Freie Universität Berlin and the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, have developed a synthetic fiber system inspired by the cellular cytoskeleton that protects itself through controlled
