The world's oceans are the hottest on record for June—and El Niño is set to turn up the heat even more
The world's oceans are the hottest on record for June, pushing past records set during the 2023–24 El Niño years.
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An island of calm at the violent heart of the galaxy
Where would you go to watch a star being born? Probably not the heart of the Milky Way, which is about the most violent neighborhood our galaxy has to offer, a maelstrom of gas churning so fast and so chaotically that you would think nothing could ever settle there long enough
Rats show empathy, according to model
A rat first frees a cagemate rat and then shares food with it. Is this animal just as empathetic as humans? In an American study from 2011, researchers observed that rats first freed their fellow rats from a cage and then shared food with them instead of leaving them in the
Spring songbirds may help pollinate UK trees, with pollen on 89% of studied birds
The warblers—those harbingers of spring in the U.K.—have an unappreciated talent of a different sort. Common U.K. birds, including chiffchaffs and blackcaps, are playing a real role in the pollination of plants, according to new research in the Journal of Ecology.
Deuterium in comets tells interesting tales
Comets have played an interesting role in the history of astronomy. Since antiquity, many cultures saw them as omens or spirits, portending good or bad news for kings, queens and emperors. Over the past few hundred years, however, astronomers have studied them intently to
Quantum mechanics once baffled scientists. Now it's changing the world
Quantum mechanics has journeyed from a strange and controversial idea to the foundation of some of humanity’s most advanced technologies. Now researchers are pushing its boundaries even further, with potential breakthroughs in energy, medicine, computing, and our understanding
European cities short on shade as heat waves hit, urban mapping reveals
More than four in five homes and workplaces across 25 European cities have less nearby tree canopy than what is needed for meaningful cooling, according to an open-data analysis by an urban greening expert.
Mars express captures dozens of dust devils in Mars valley
Dust devils are a regular feature on Mars. Just like those found on Earth, these mini whirlwinds form when parts of Mars are warmed by the sun, causing air above the surface to swirl upward and carry dust with it. But in Mars' lower gravity (38% that of Earth), these devils
A nearby black hole as a window into the early universe
An international team led by Stefanie Komossa from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn has studied a galaxy that has been shining exceptionally brightly in the radio regime for more than eight years. Although it is only 1.8 billion light-years away from
Laughter may date back 15 million years, shared by humans and great apes
Humans and great apes have been giggling in similar ways since branching off the evolutionary tree, a new study suggests.
Japan space probe skims asteroid in test for planetary defense
A Japanese space probe performed a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid on Sunday in a test mission for technology that could help protect the planet from space rocks.
Scattered bronze bells in Chinese lord's 2,600-year-old tomb point to ritual deactivation
When archaeologists opened the 2,600-year-old tomb of an ancient Chinese lord, they discovered his magnificent bronze bells had been scattered, their wooden hangings broken. But the most mysterious part of all: This was apparently no accident, with the family of the tomb's
Rare 309-million-year-old fossils suggest early tetrapods developed without tadpole phase
Scientists have long posited that the earliest water animals to transition to land had amphibious tadpole features, going through a metamorphosis akin to that of today's frogs.
Mini monitor measures artificial heartbeat
An international team, including the University of Tokyo, has created a sensor inspired by the lateral line in fish—their "sixth sense" organ—which measures the pulse of lab-grown 3D heart tissue (cardiac organoids). The device, called a biomechanical well plate, looks like a
Is AI ruining our skills? Early results are in—and they’re not good
Reliance on artificial-intelligence tools degrades the abilities of physicians and software engineers, studies show
Wild yeast discovery enables non-GM brewing of ornithine-enriched craft beer
As consumer interest grows in foods and beverages with added nutritional value, brewers are exploring ways to improve fermentation itself rather than relying on post-production additives. Ornithine, a naturally occurring amino acid involved in several biological processes, has
Spain data on 5.5 million convictions challenges immigration-crime link
When analyzing crime, the foreign population typically shows higher rates than the native population. However, crime statistics change significantly when comparing groups of the same age and gender. A detailed data analysis conducted in a study by the Universidad Carlos III de
Controlling magnetic chirality could help memory pack in more data
Magnetic storage devices, like a computer's hard disk drive, utilize magnets to represent binary data. However, as these devices are downsized, stray magnetic fields generated by individual magnetic components can interact with neighboring elements to cause operational
'Very dangerous' super typhoon nears US Pacific islands
Howling winds and lashing rain battered Guam and the Northern Marianas late Sunday, hours before the projected arrival of a "super typhoon" with force equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane over the U.S. Pacific territories.
Astronomers find biggest super-puff planets yet that are lighter than cotton candy
Astronomers have uncovered a pair of giant planets that are lighter than cotton candy—super-puffs the size of Jupiter.
Scientists discover the deep sleep circuit that builds muscle, burns fat, and boosts the brain
Researchers have identified the brain circuitry that links deep sleep with the release of growth hormone, revealing how the two regulate each other. The newly discovered feedback loop helps explain why poor sleep can interfere with growth, muscle repair, fat metabolism, and
NASA's Hubble spots a stellar sparkler for the Fourth of July
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured a spectacular red, white, and blue view of one of the Milky Way's oldest star clusters to celebrate the nation's 250th anniversary. Hidden within the ancient cluster are clues to how exploding stars helped transform the young universe
NASA's Hubble captures a crimson stellar nursery sparkling with blue and white stars
Hubble has captured a spectacular view of LH 95, where about 2,500 young stars are still on their journey to becoming full-fledged stars. Scientists discovered these growing stars can keep pulling in gas and dust for millions of years, extending an important stage of stellar
NASA's Hubble captures a star-spangled sea of 500,000 stars
Celebrating the United States' 250th anniversary, NASA released a stunning Hubble portrait of Messier 3, an ancient globular cluster with more than 500,000 stars. The remarkable cluster is helping scientists unravel the Milky Way's past thanks to its rare stars and possible
Scientists may have finally solved the black hole information paradox
Researchers have proposed that black holes stop evaporating at the last moment, leaving behind tiny remnants that preserve all the information they contain. The same seven-dimensional geometry behind this idea could also help explain why elementary particles have mass.
'This was something new': What people in Greenland told us about learning to live with wildfires
After several quieter years, wildfires have returned to western Greenland.
The secret to healthy aging may be hidden in your blood
Some people live past 100 with remarkable health, and researchers may have uncovered one reason why. A new study found that centenarians have a unique chemical "fingerprint" in their blood that sets them apart from normal aging, including unusual patterns of bile acids and
How proteins are inserted into cell membranes
Researchers from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have—in collaboration with colleagues from Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) in Munich—analyzed the complex biochemical processes that bacteria use to insert proteins into their cell membranes. They explain
