Where is Earth's center of mass? The answer seems trivially obvious. It's right in the middle of the planet. Ah, but that kind of thinking won't get you a paper in the Geophysical Journal International. It's also not a trivial question. Knowing Earth's center of mass to within
Researchers have engineered a drug treatment that shows rapid effectiveness against endometriosis in early testing, laying the foundation for a potential therapy for an incurable, chronic disease that affects 1 in 10 women. The targeted nanotherapy, developed by a team of
The ubiquitous plastics of modern life are degrading into tiny fragments and littering Earth's landscapes and waterways. Scientists are starting to examine and measure this phenomenon to better understand how microplastics move through the environment and ultimately affect
The ability of cells to move and change position is essential for various processes in our bodies. Immune cells move to sites of action, epithelial cells migrate during wound closure, and neurons extend their axons for signal transmission over long distances. In metastasis,
When Martin Wiernsperger was a graduate student, he and fellow student Mackenzie Feinberg realized they both had family members in the health care field—and both had heard relatives complain about lower-performing employees getting more opportunities for training and
The sun's magnetic fields are a twisty, curvy, ever-changing mess. In particular, our star's polar regions host areas called polar coronal holes, which contain invisible magnetic highways that stretch into interplanetary space. But there's a lot we don't know about how those
Radicals, atoms or molecules that readily react with other substances to form new bonds, are useful tools for building complex substances such as pharmaceuticals. But even when a radical is generated efficiently, the reaction cannot continue unless the catalyst returns to its
At first glance, a farm field doesn't seem all that complicated. It's just dirt and crops.
A tiny wild cat hidden away in the cloud forests of Bolivia has become an unlikely tourist attraction, drawing a stream of visitors hoping for a glimpse of the animal that scientists have identified as a brand new species.
At the scale of individual cells, the human body is constantly in motion. Every second, millions of cells divide, particularly in tissues such as the bone marrow, intestine and skin; neurons and heart muscle cells divide far less frequently. All of this depends on the molecular
Activities children take part in with family and friends can help shape the fields of study and careers they pursue as adults. A new study published in the International Journal of STEM Education by FIU education researchers Chris Irwin and Zahra Hazari found that STEM
Beneath the vast frozen wastes of Antarctica lie the remains of ancient mountains that have long since eroded. Even though they're no longer standing, they can still reveal a few lost secrets. New research published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters suggests that these
More than six years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, more than 1 in 5 U.S. workers who can work remotely do so either full time or at least one day a week.
We are often left open-mouthed in awe as an opera singer hits a soaring top note. Now, researchers at the University of Warwick have found that the indri, the world's only known singing lemur, appears to use a strikingly similar vocal technique to hit high notes.
There are a lot of variables The post Why it’s So Hard to Measure the Depth of the Ocean appeared first on Nautilus .
For decades, Arctic sea ice has been melting earlier in spring and freezing later in fall, extending the melt season and contributing to widespread ice loss. A new NASA-led study published in Communications Earth & Environment has found that while the Arctic melt season has
People are turning to artificial intelligence for a seemingly unending variety of reasons. Many ask AI what to cook for dinner or how to develop a workout plan. Some even rely on AI to create school handouts or revise a work email.
Hundreds of flights were canceled and more than 1 million people were under evacuation advisories in Japan on Monday as Typhoon Dujuan approached Tokyo, potentially bringing record rainfall.
As climate change continues to affect the U.S., many regions throughout the country, especially the West, are experiencing more drought.
For more than 170 years, paleontologists have been trying to solve the mystery of what created the strangely uniform hexagonal tunnels found in fossils. In a new study published in Earth Science Reviews, a team of researchers pored over the evidence and concluded that the most
During infection, bacteria encounter rapidly changing and stressful environments inside the body. To understand how they adapt, researchers often measure messenger RNA (mRNA), which carries information from genes that can be translated into proteins. While mRNA levels are
Some children have a condition that causes them to persistently struggle with math problem-solving (developmental dyscalculia), yet behavioral and mechanistic details about this condition are lacking.
Researchers in China have extended the lifetime of entanglement in a room-temperature, solid-state system by up to a factor of 240. Led by Shuo Ren and Rui-Jian Liang at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, the team transferred entangled states from the
Researchers have developed a mathematical model to predict which neighborhoods should be prioritized for search and rescue operations in the wake of a hurricane, with the goal of expediting recovery operations by the Coast Guard or other responders. The research is published in
Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have demonstrated in a lab-scale study a fermentation method that could transform okara, a nutrient-rich soybean byproduct from tofu and soymilk production, into a more flavorful and protein-rich food
Using data from the Japan–led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) observatory, astronomers have directly observed a giant star's outflow, called a stellar wind, being captured by its compact companion and providing the power source for strong X-ray flares. The
Climate change is one of the most complex challenges of our time and places considerable strain on a wide range of animal groups. A research team at the University of Bayreuth has used burying beetles to investigate the extent to which social interactions among family members
Quantum key distribution allows two users to establish secret keys whose security is grounded in the laws of quantum mechanics. Extending this capability to multiple users is an essential step toward quantum networks that support secure communication among many participants.
The gas giant Beta Pictoris b, about 63 light-years away, has the mass of 10 Jupiters and a magnetic field thousands of times as strong as Earth’s.
OpenAI’s proof seems eligible for a $1-million prize—but only by using a controversial loophole
It’s hard to say, but we’re definitely exposing them to our monoamine drugs The post Are Our Antidepressants Harming Fish? appeared first on Nautilus .
In 2024 alone, flood-related disasters around the world caused more than 8,700 deaths and economic losses exceeding 450 billion euros, with cumulative global losses of about 2.7 trillion euros over the previous decade. Against this backdrop, Europe's recent floods—from riverine
When Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered over a century ago, it became an immediate worldwide sensation, revealing a wealth of treasures from ancient Egypt. In the decades that followed, the tomb was meticulously cleared, cataloged and studied, leading many to believe that KV 62,
Quantum communication networks consist of several connected nodes that exchange information encoded in quantum states. These networks could potentially enable more secure communications between quantum devices in different locations.
If you search Google Images for "cultural heritage Australia," near the top of the results is a photograph of giant carved stone heads rising from a red desert.
Earth’s annual checkup shows that we’re at increasing risk of moving away from the environment we’re adapted to
Scientists at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are exploring how durable, customizable bacterial spores could capture rare earth elements (REE) from acid mine drainage and other metal-containing waste streams. The project supports new
A star and its planets form when a cloud of gas and dust collapses in on itself somewhere in space. The cloud then forms a disk around the nascent star, within which the planets will form. This protostar and its disk then rotate in the same direction.
The virus is currently most prevalent in California and the southern U.S., but experts expect it to go national in the coming weeks
Around 631,000 years ago—a geological blink of an eye—catastrophe unfolded in what is now northwestern Wyoming, U.S. During what is thought to have been a series of immense volcanic eruptions, life within hundreds of kilometers of the blasts was shattered. Ash was dispersed
Teenage pregnancy is often explained in simple terms. Girls are said to lack knowledge about contraception, take sexual risks or make poor choices.
"I don't want the pain to define me. I want me to define me."
A new study led by the University of Alicante (UA) and the Mediterranean Center for Environmental Studies (CEAM) analyzes the barriers separating scientific knowledge from environmental policy and its effective implementation. The research sets out how long it takes for
Half of our genome is made of transposons — snips of DNA that can move and copy themselves. But they’re more than parasites or genetic junk. The post How Virus-like ‘Jumping Genes’ Became Our Partners in Evolution first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Seven breached Planetary Boundaries continue to worsen as record ocean heat, droughts, floods, wildfires and extreme heat reveal an Earth system under strain, according to the latest Planetary Health Check. The annual update is authored by more than 60 scientists and produced
Oxidized iron dominates the Martian color palette. The dusty reds, ochers, browns and tans give the planet its nickname: the Red Planet. But new images of Mars' south polar region show something different. Swirls of pink, purple and red highlight the region and a feature named
A thickening cortex, as shown in MRIs, preceded amyloid-beta accumulation, a known hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, by up to seven years.
Philosopher Peter Godfrey-Smith on AI consciousness and existential risk The post Could AI Have Consciousness That Isn’t Human-Like? appeared first on Nautilus .
Ultrashort laser pulses can be used to generate X-rays. Normally, however, only certain specific frequencies are produced. A team from TU Wien and the University of California San Diego has developed a method that makes it possible to tune the frequency continuously.
When the James Webb Space Telescope pointed its powerful instruments toward the early universe, scientists were surprised by what it found. At high-redshift (z) values, corresponding to less than 1 billion years after the Big Bang, astronomers witnessed an abundance of galaxies
