One for the history books: What we know about the European heat wave
Europe is still taking stock of a powerful heat wave in late June, but experts are already confident it ranks among the worst ever recorded—even rivaling a freak 2003 episode.
Headlines
- All
- Africa
- Asia
- Business
- Culture
- Environment
- Europe
- Gaming
- Markets
- Middle East
- Movies & TV
- Music
- Politics
- Science
- South America
- Tech
- World News
Scientists find yeast in ancient Iceman's guts—and make bread
Yeast has been growing in the guts of a frozen mummy called Oetzi the Iceman for thousands of years, scientists have discovered, telling AFP they used it to make a tasty sourdough bread.
New species of ghost shark may have been found in Costa Rica
Costa Rican scientists may have discovered a new species of ghost shark in Pacific waters near Cabo Blanco and Cano Island.
Dangerous heat wave roasts America's big birthday party
A punishing heat wave threatened America's July Fourth celebrations, World Cup matches and power grids as near-record temperatures scorched the eastern United States on Friday.
AI must be built with Indigenous Knowledges, not against them
As Australia marks 50 years of NAIDOC Week, honoring the world's oldest living culture, humanity's newest technology has yet to reckon with a simple principle: "nothing about us, without us." The concern is that artificial intelligence (AI), like so many technologies before it,
Insect-borne diseases in the Amazon linked to land use and rural economies
Diseases spread by insects in the Brazilian Amazon are not randomly distributed but form distinct regional patterns linked to land use, rural economies and environmental change, according to new research led by the Environmental Change Institute (ECI) at the University of Oxford.
How working memory could give rise to consciousness
Working memory is the information we need to access to complete the tasks we’re engaged in right now, and scientists think it may be closely entwined with consciousness
Conservation genomics faces growing calls to center Indigenous knowledge and data rights
Throughout human ecological history, we have played a variety of roles within ecosystems around the world. In this so-called Anthropocene era, genomic innovations have given us new and powerful ways to influence the environment and the countless species with whom we share the
Plug-and-play single-photon source can work at room temperature
The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) has developed a room-temperature single-photon source built into a compact 19-inch rack-mounted device that operates without cryogenic cooling. Designed as a plug-and-play system that works as soon as it is powered
How generative AI and physics can help design new antibiotics
By 2050, scientists estimate that antibiotic-resistant infections will be associated with more than 8 million deaths around the world every year.
Megalodon's legendary life revealed by fossil rediscovery
Museums are supposed to be havens for the collective cultural and scientific heritage of the planet, but specimens sometimes go missing.
Small-molecule switches put therapeutic CRISPR editing under on-demand control in living tissues
In a study published in Science Translational Medicine, a team of researchers led by Dr. Wang Yu from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed PRINCE and Little Prince, dual small-molecule-controlled genome editing systems that
Gentle nudges for increased animal welfare
Gentle purchase incentives can lead customers to choose groceries with higher animal husbandry standards more often. A recent study at the University of Bonn at least suggests this. The researchers used two different animal welfare label posters as "nudges." Each poster changed
‘Hobbit’ hominins scavenged meat left over by Komodo dragons
An experiment that involved feeding a dead goat to a Komodo dragon as well as an analysis of thousands of ancient bones suggests that Homo floresiensis was neither a skilled hunter of big game nor a master of fire
Free-text answers and LLMs reveal hidden reasons behind human choices
Why do people make the choices they do? Researchers from the Center Synergy of Systems (SynoSys) at TUD Dresden University of Technology, the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, and the University of Basel present their new approach to finding answers to that question.
Giant wheat starch granules—a leap forward in biological engineering with potential benefits for diet, manufacturing
Scientists have grown wheat containing supersized starch granules—a leap forward in biological engineering with potential benefits for our daily diets and a raft of industrial applications.
Newfound family ties link Scythian elite burials across the Eurasian steppe
A new ancient DNA study published in Science Advances provides evidence that political power among Scythian elites may have been inherited through family lineages that extended across multiple burial sites. By combining archaeology, anthropology and genetics, the new study
Mammals use the same underlying system—preserved through evolution—to process smells
Picture a mouse taking rapid, staccato sniffs of a crumb it's found while foraging for food. Now compare that with a human leaning in for a single, deep inhale to gauge whether a cantaloupe is ripe. New research from Northwestern University has found that, like humans, mice
A benchmark for how different disturbances influence the loss and recovery of carbon and CO₂ in tropical forests
Tropical moist forests account for 70% of global living biomass. Deforestation and degradation—that is, the partial damage to tree stands—as well as the subsequent regeneration of forests therefore play a pivotal role in the global carbon cycle. While the effects of large-scale
Ancient ‘hobbits’ feasted on Komodo dragons’ leftovers
The hominins may have gone on adventures, but they lacked key skills of modern humans
Antarctic ozone loss drove unexpected Southern Ocean cooling, climate model shows
The Southern Ocean has long stood out as an oddity in the global climate system. While most of the planet's surface oceans have warmed in response to rising greenhouse gases, waters circling Antarctica showed an unexpected tendency to cool during the late 20th and early 21st
Colony connections determine ant wound care: Transitional workers treat injured nestmates
Patients in hospitals generally trust the nursing staff. After all, they have undergone training and, in some cases, have several years of professional experience. In the case of carpenter ants, it is not nursing expertise that determines who cares for the patients.
If we force online platforms to control harmful content, where does that leave sex ed?
Most of us have attended sex ed classes in school. If we're lucky, we'll learn about consent and how to roll a condom onto a banana. But the classroom rarely goes into the specifics of sexual health and well-being—including what to do when a condom breaks.
Ultrafast scanning tunneling microscopy reaches the quantum mechanical space-time limit for the first time
Werner Heisenberg's famous uncertainty principle describes one of the most intriguing features of quantum physics: certain pairs of physical quantities describing a particle, such as position and momentum, cannot simultaneously be determined with arbitrary precision—not because
Study reveals systemic barriers slowing down circular plastics transition
A new study from the University of Eastern Finland shows that the transition toward a circular plastics economy is hindered by systemic interdependencies and internal contradictions within ecosystems.
Paleontological study shows climate change makes marine animals shrink
Whether mussels, crustaceans or fish, marine animals have been responding to environmental crises with a reduction in body size for hundreds of millions of years. A new study by Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), in conjunction with the Universities of
First assessment of online global trade in brachyuran land crabs
New research has begun to lift the lid on the global online trade in land crabs, leading scientists to call for closer monitoring and regulation to better understand any effects it may be having on native populations and global biodiversity. The study, published in Oryx,
Researchers recreate a lost Ming Dynasty goldworking technique to make replica royal jewelry
Chinese goldsmiths working during the Ming Dynasty were masters of their craft, capable of creating intricate and elaborate jewelry pieces. The evidence is there in the abundance of finds in royal and noble tombs across Hubei province.
Tax-avoiding firms more likely to greenwash, analysis of 391 ASX companies suggests
Businesses today face growing dual pressures to deliver strong financial performance while also demonstrating environmental and social responsibility. New research from Murdoch University published in Business Strategy & Development has found that companies that aggressively
A volcano has erupted remnants of Earth's primordial magma ocean
Earth was once covered by a global magma ocean, which later cooled and crystallised – now traces of this primordial event have been found in magma from a young volcano in the Indian Ocean
Hot Jupiter winds reveal exoplanet magnetic fields for first time
Planets beyond our solar system can have magnetic fields similar to those closer to home, astronomers said Tuesday after observing extreme winds on scorching worlds known as "hot Jupiters."
Long-lived radio outburst from black hole exhibits properties of the early universe
Short-lived sources of radio radiation in the sky, known as radio transients, can originate in the vicinity of supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies. They are the result of processes that take place under extreme physical conditions. While most radio transients
Narrow time windows shaped passage for salmon, trout and lamprey at Haringvliet sluices, 18-year analysis shows
A new study published in Movement Ecology describes how migratory fish passed through the Haringvliet Sluices before the introduction of Kierbeheer (the partial opening of the Haringvliet Sluices to allow limited saltwater intrusion and facilitate fish migration). The analysis,
JWST discovers a new barred spiral galaxy
An international team of astronomers reports the discovery of a new massive barred spiral galaxy. The newfound galaxy, designated M1149-BSG-z5, was identified using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The finding was detailed in a paper published June 23 on the preprint
Study demonstrates neurotransmitter communication in immune cells directly for the first time
Researchers at the University of Münster and Ruhr University Bochum have demonstrated for the first time in real time that the body's own defense cells use catecholamines—neurotransmitters such as dopamine and adrenaline—to communicate via the same chemical signals as nerve
How transformative competencies can be integrated into existing degree programs
Enabling people to reflect critically on societal changes and participate in meeting major challenges is the purpose of teaching transformative competencies. In a Perspective article published in the journal npj Climate Action, Dr. Nicole Aeschbach has examined how this
Audacious mission to rescue NASA's falling telescope has launched
NASA’s Swift space telescope is reaching the end of its two-decade run in orbit – unless a satellite launched on 3 July can give it a lifesaving boost
Fighting an emerging threat to strawberry crops
A few years ago, Austin Wrenn noticed something unsettling in his strawberry greenhouses at Wrenn's Farm in Zebulon, North Carolina. He was one of the first growers in the state to experience losses from an unexpected, aggressive fungal pathogen known as Neopestalotiopsis, or
Natural born killers—tracking immune cells as they cluster around cancer
There is a constant war going on in your body. Working against you are viruses and cancer cells growing uncontrollably, threatening your tissues and organs. Fighting on your side are immune cells such as lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell that includes T cells and B cells.
The discovery of an ancient child's skull sheds light on the early prehistoric farmers of Norway
Researchers from the University of Bergen have uncovered the remains of a 4,000-year-old child in a cave site on Norway's west coast. "The find offers rare and important insight into the first agricultural population in Norway, and we hope that analysis of the bone material
How a new fungal genome-editing tool could open fresh paths to cancer treatments
Researchers have spent decades—and billions of dollars—sequencing animal and crop genomes, but fungi have historically been the forgotten middle child of genomics, only noticed when they're ruining bread or colonizing toes.
NASA's Hubble spots star-spangled cosmic scene
More than 500,000 stars blaze red, white, and blue in this image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, released in celebration of the United States' 250th anniversary. The image showcases Messier 3 (M3), one of the Milky Way galaxy's most massive globular clusters, or spherical
Visual map of 20,000 words reveals why lip-readers confuse common look-alikes
New research from the University of Kansas uses network science to determine why people make mistakes when lip-reading. Michael Vitevitch, professor of speech-language-hearing at KU, and his co-authors created a visual map of about 20,000 words in English, hoping to better
Escaped flowerhorn fish threaten biodiversity, pose potential public health risks in Laguna, Philippines
A hardy aquarium fish prized for its golden hue, the ornamental Flowerhorn cichlid (Amphilophus spp.) has become a problem for the residents of San Pablo City, Laguna: It is increasingly taking on an outsized role in both the natural ecosystem and local aquaculture operations
Cosmic neutrino 'whispers' may surface in 5,000-day Super-Kamiokande signal
Neutrinos: They have no electric charge, pass through matter like a ghost and are so light they were initially thought to have zero mass. These are just some of the traits that make them so difficult to detect. Research on neutrinos requires massive underground observatories
Sea turtles diving through the eye of the storm help develop better cyclone forecasts
Every summer, communities across northern Australia brace for the tropical cyclone season. Tropical cyclones draw their power from the warm seas, extracting heat and moisture from ocean water.
Beachcomber's find fuels whale study breakthrough
During his morning runs, Rod Keogh had no doubt that the whale poo he saw washed up on the beach had value. Science has finally caught up with him. Samples collected by the South Australian man have contributed to a groundbreaking study of the diets and microbiomes of southern
Climate change will raise the risk of severe heat waves: New Zealand homes aren't ready
Europe's summer heat wave has exposed tens of millions of people to temperatures above 35°C, broken records and claimed hundreds of lives. Early climate attribution studies suggest Europe's event would have been "virtually impossible" just 50 years ago without human-caused
Orangutan mothers seem to plan playdates for their offspring
Female orangutans are generally solitary, but they travel more and eat less in an apparent effort to ensure their offspring have someone to play with
The founding father of American literature, Charles Brockden Brown saw his nation's dark side
Murder, suicide, spontaneous combustion, sleepwalking, ventriloquism: These are some of the sensational events in the novels of Charles Brockden Brown (1771–1810). As the United States' first professional author, Brown is the Founding Father of the nation's literature. He is,
