As the number of exoplanet detections has breached 6,000 and continues to grow, scientists are finding a wide variety of different solar system architectures. Critical to understanding how these architectures take shape is finding young planets forming around very young stars.
In 1948, a group of amateurs led by a local headmaster in Lehringen, Germany, uncovered the skeleton of a straight-tusked elephant—the largest land mammal known to have roamed Europe—in 125,000-year-old sediments from the last interglacial period. There was an important
New research from a team at Trinity College Dublin has unearthed a cheap and environmentally friendly new option for removing pollutants from our water. The key? Oyster shells that would ordinarily end up in landfill sites after consumption. The research, just published in the
For too long, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have been denied the same opportunities for love, romance, and sexual expression as their peers. Misconceptions about their desires and abilities have limited their privacy, autonomy, and access to
A study led by a recent Harvard graduate analyzed Massachusetts education and unemployment data for insights on how high schools affect students' long-term educational and earning outcomes. It found that on average, schools that help students succeed in the long run are those
The Galapagos Islands are famous for the discoveries that shaped Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Now an SFSU graduate has added one more: Ezra Mendales (M.S., '23) describes a new species as part of his master's thesis. "I feel super lucky with this project. I think we
Scientific discovery is often tedious, expensive, incremental trial and error, but the advent of artificial intelligence is accelerating the process. A multi-institutional team based in China recently used AI to identify a key characteristic of compounds called catalysts that
A research group from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology reports in Nature an unprecedented achievement in electron microscopy: the direct measurement of "dark points" within light waves. By doing so, the researchers were able to confirm a prediction from the 1970s
Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a destructive disease of wheat that can reduce grain yields and contaminate grain with toxins harmful to humans and livestock. The disease threatens wheat production worldwide and poses ongoing challenges for growers, grain handlers, and food
Squirrels are usually willing to climb higher to reach their favorite foods, shows new research appearing in Animal Behaviour. Extensive lab studies have found that animals "devalue" rewards that cost extra time and effort—for example, by choosing worse foods that are in easy
In a major advance applying insights from quantum physics to the inner workings of biology, a team of WashU researchers has successfully implanted quantum sensors in living cells to measure shifts in magnetism and temperature. The measurements could offer new insights into the
From 3D movie screens to augmented-reality devices, many modern technologies rely on our ability to manipulate light. Doing so in a cost-effective and efficient way, however, is often a formidable task. In an article published in Optics Letters, researchers from the University
Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) could be contributing far more pollution to England's rivers than previously recognized, according to new research involving scientists from Imperial College London and Brunel University London. The study, published in Environmental Science:
The Hawaiian bobtail squid, a small, multi-colored native of coastal waters in Hawai'i, uses bioluminescence to camouflage itself and evade predators. However, the costume change is only possible through an exclusive symbiotic relationship with a bacterial partner, Vibrio
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," goes the old adage, which Rice University professor James Chappell completely ignored in a recent Nature Communications publication. In the study, Chappell describes an innovation in plasmids, circular pieces of DNA that have been a workhorse
The nature of quantum particles has long puzzled scientists. While single-particle interference suggests that a photon can behave like a spread-out wave, a whole photon is only ever detected in one specific place. Traditional interpretations of quantum mechanics often address
Police violence is judged differently depending on who is affected. When people with an immigrant background are targeted, abusive police actions are perceived as less serious. This is the conclusion of a new international study published in Harvard Dataverse.
If you see this truck, don’t tailgate The post You Can Transport Antimatter in a Box Truck? appeared first on Nautilus .
Nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA play a central role in gene therapies and vaccines. They store and transmit biological information. In order for them to work in the body, they must enter the cells using chemical carrier systems. Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon are
CRISPR is a powerful DNA-editing tool that has underpinned huge advancements in human health care in the last decade. It is a precision tool, but is not perfect, and misplaced DNA edits can compromise safety and efficacy, costing billions each year. Researchers at the MRC
The secretive reptile has confounded researchers for decades The post The Mystery of the Legless Lizards of Taiwan appeared first on Nautilus .
Beavers should be embraced as key allies in the fight against biodiversity loss according to scientists at the University of Stirling, after new research revealed the significant ecological benefits the animals bring to wetland habitats. Beaver populations across Europe and
The Phlegraean Fields volcanic complex, located beneath the metropolitan area of Naples—a city of 900,000 inhabitants in Italy—has been rising increasingly since 2005, accompanied by a growing number of small earthquakes. This development has been attracting increasing
Studying and designing novel materials is a central application of quantum mechanics. Chemists, materials scientists, and physicists focus on subtle interactions in quantum materials and to uncover them they rely on sophisticated computational and experimental techniques.
Quantum computing promises to transform our world in rapid, radical and revolutionary ways: solving in seconds problems that would take classical computers years, accelerating the discovery of new medicines, creating sustainable materials, optimizing complex systems, and
The structure of the plant communities that grow on the thawing permafrost in the Arctic is changing, with grasses displacing slower-growing shrubs. Although these grasses bind more carbon dioxide than previous plant communities, they lead to far more methane emissions over the
Heart to the left. Liver to the right. That's where you'll find these organs in a healthy human body, but surprisingly, in some people, the heart is on the right and the liver on the left. This normal or abnormal asymmetry can be traced back to your embryonic stage. In the
For the second consecutive year, winter sea ice in the Arctic reached a level that matches the lowest peak observed since satellite monitoring began in 1979. On March 15, Arctic sea ice extent reached 5.52 million square miles (14.29 million square kilometers), very close to
Employee referrals can aid hiring but carry hidden downsides. New research by Rellie Derfler-Rozin at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business and Teodora Tomova Shakur of Texas Christian University finds that staff often see referred hires as less
A research team led by the University of Bern has decoded a mechanism by which an inconspicuous succulent regulates the uptake of carbon dioxide via the leaf surface so finely that it receives enough for photosynthesis without losing too much water—and can therefore conserve
Arctic sea ice reached its lowest level ever recorded, statistically tying last year's record, a leading US climate observatory for this geopolitically significant region said on Thursday.
As the war in the Middle East is currently reminding us once again, many countries around the world are heavily reliant on oil and gas. Lax climate policy and limited options for removing CO₂ from the atmosphere could cement this dependence for future generations. Scientists at
For decades, the massive stone circles of Rujm el-Hiri in the Golan Heights were considered a singular, mysterious anomaly—often dubbed "Israel's Stonehenge." However, new research led by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) is rewriting that narrative. Using advanced
Everybody acts differently while they are being watched, especially by those with authority. Whether it's your boss sitting in the next cubicle next door or a cop car driving behind you, observation leads to behavioral changes. A new paper from Bret Johnson, associate professor
Particle accelerators reveal the heart of nuclear matter by smashing together atoms at close to the speed of light. The high-energy collisions produce a shower of subatomic fragments that scientists can then study to reconstruct the core building blocks of matter.
A Korean research team, led by Dr. Young Kyu Hwang, Dr. Kyung-Ryul Oh, and Dr. Jihoon Kim at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) has developed a circular low-carbon catalytic process that co-produces gluconic acid—a key ingredient in detergents and
Different forms of motivation affect how pupils perform in upper secondary school, a recent NTNU study shows. Pupils who believe they can improve through practice enjoy their subjects more and achieve better academic outcomes. The findings are published in the journal Frontiers
PathogenFinder2 is a new AI tool developed by researchers at DTU in Denmark, in collaboration with international partners, to determine whether an unfamiliar bacterium possesses genetic characteristics associated with the ability to cause disease. The research has been
The words on this page mean something because they are assembled in a particular order and follow the complex rules of grammar and syntax. Creating new chemical polymers follows a similar kind of structure, with rules about what elements and groups of atoms go together and how
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have found evidence that the spinning of a small comet slowed and then reversed its direction of rotation, offering a dramatic example of how volatile activity can affect the spin and physical evolution of small bodies in the
Picture a cockpit crew of two who met just minutes before takeoff, now descending through a turbulent midnight sky. They aren't looking at each other—their eyes scan the instruments in the cockpit and the horizon outside—and yet they move in perfect sync. This isn't just
Around the world, in nearly every delta, people can adapt to rising sea levels using today's technological capabilities, materials, and space, according to researchers from Utrecht University and Deltares. In their new study—the first global assessment of the physical solution
Venus is increasingly becoming a touch point for our studies of exoplanets, as missions like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) begin to characterize rocky exoplanets around other stars. Understanding the difference between
High-energy particles called galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) bombard unprotected objects in space, often causing damage. Earth, however, is protected by its magnetic field, which creates a protective shell around the planet that can deflect dangerous charged particles, like GCRs.
A team of researchers led by the University of Pittsburgh demonstrated a programmable superconducting diode at the LaAlO3/KTaO3 (LAO/KTO) interface, an advance that holds potential to enhance/help usher in the future of next-generation electronics and quantum circuits. The
In a sperm whale birth recorded in more intimate detail than ever before, local whales huddled around the mother and lifted the calf to the surface.
A female sperm whale has been filmed giving birth for the first time, supported by 10 adult females who lifted the calf out of the water and protected it from predators
Project CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative) has published two scientific studies presenting the most comprehensive documentation of a sperm whale birth ever recorded and the first quantitative evidence of cooperative birth assistance among non-primates. Published in Science
For decades, ever since biologists recognized the potential environmental harms from climate change, they have worried that plants will not be able to evolve fast enough to adapt to a rapidly warming planet. But the pace of research to understand how species respond has been
Using X-ray lasers, researchers at Stockholm University have been able to determine the existence of a critical point in supercooled water at around -63 °C and 1,000 atmospheres. Ordinary water at higher temperatures and lower pressures is strongly affected by the presence of
