Niobium-94, an isotope of niobium with 41 protons and 53 neutrons, is a critical crossroads in the complex nuclear processes that forge heavy elements under the intense pressures and temperatures of dying stars. In an article published in Physical Review Letters, the n_TOF
The reproductive life of sea cucumbers has come under the microscope as University of the Sunshine Coast researchers battle overfishing of the marine creatures. Sea cucumbers—which can spawn by wobbling their heads and ejecting reproductive cells—are of particular interest to
Volcanoes emit smoke. Beneath a volcano lies a huge chamber filled with liquid magma. A series of earthquakes means an eruption is imminent. And if a "supervolcano" like Yellowstone were to awaken, a global catastrophe would be upon us. These are images and ideas that regularly
Decommissioning pipelines used by the oil and gas industry could result in substantial quantities of microplastics being released into the UK's marine environment annually, a new study suggests.
The booming smartphone industry has spawned an enormous market in health-related mobile phone applications, with apps related to dieting making up about 12% of the market. The apps use persuasive systems design, including direct and indirect routes that persuade users to change
Coffee drinkers may be getting more than an energy boost. A Finnish study found that people who drank more coffee tended to have less total and abdominal fat, more muscle, and healthier metabolic markers despite having similar BMIs. Higher coffee intake was also linked to lower
Because of the recent rise of platform gig work, more U.S. workers are being compensated through self-employment. Their earnings are not subject to tax withholding but are generally covered by information reporting on Forms 1099. In a new study, researchers explored what
Engineered probiotic bacteria were able to infiltrate pancreatic tumors, stimulate cancer-fighting immune cells, and slow tumor growth in animal studies. Even more strikingly, the treatment worked better when combined with chemotherapy, radiation, or immunotherapy.
Throughout the first week of August, 12 organizations came together in an unprecedented collaborative effort to protect the future of Florida's Coral Reef during one of nature's most elusive events: coral spawning. Scientists across the organizations worked tirelessly to
Astronomers have detected an enormous cloud of gas tens of millions of degrees hot surrounding one of the most extreme structures known in the early universe. The study offers one of the clearest views yet of a galaxy cluster in the making. Using more than 600,000 seconds of
Drone, coastal, and underwater perspectives The post The Best Ocean Photos of the Year appeared first on Nautilus .
A tiny machine made from just an atom and particles of light may sound impossibly simple, but it raises a surprisingly difficult question: what counts as heat, and what energy can still do useful work? University of Basel researchers have developed a theoretical framework that
New research from the University of Kansas has found that the more media-literate people are, the more they trust institutions such as government and nonprofits. In addition, their social media habits can predict civic engagement.
Honeybees can apparently detect when their food has the wrong balance of essential nutrients and adjust how much they eat to avoid potentially harmful excesses. They also transform pollen into remarkably well-balanced “baby food” for their larvae, revealing a sophisticated
Unlike many other pollutants, toxic metals do not break down in the environment. Although they may become diluted over time, they can remain in landscapes for centuries, posing potential risks to wildlife, livestock, ecosystems and people.
Workers who juggle volatile work hours that change from week to week may experience adverse health effects that affect their ability to work, although the limitations vary by gender, say researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who conducted a recent study.
Rat poisons used in homes, businesses and on farms are moving into South Africa's wildlife, according to new research from the Urban Caracal Project, a key research and education initiative based in the Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa (iCWild) at the University
Moiya McTier explores what makes human creativity unique in the age of AI
Miocene South America was packed with giant prey—and the predators hunting them were just as spectacular. Fossil bite marks suggest crocodylians, especially the enormous Purussaurus neivensis, were more important predators than mammals in this ancient tropical ecosystem. At
Members of Parliament from the UK's three biggest political parties in the House of Commons significantly overestimate levels of public resistance to major policy proposals for tackling climate change, a University of Cambridge study suggests. The work is published in
A tomb in Egypt’s Theban Necropolis reveals a surprisingly organized story of burial, reuse, and changing beliefs spanning hundreds of years. Researchers found 16 mummified people, the remains of at least four more, and a mummified dog, with burials ranging from wealthy
Climate change is the main driver of Europe's rising marine temperatures, directly adding around 2°C of warming in the Mediterranean this summer and severely affecting ecosystems, a study said Wednesday.
From a fishing trawler in the Adriatic, Italian scientists gently release thousands of tiny octopuses in the hope of fighting an invasive crab species that has devastated local fisheries.
China has successfully recaptured the first stage of a rocket on land for the first time, state media reported Wednesday, as the country seeks to advance its space program.
Archaeologists on Tuesday unveiled the skeletal remains of an adult they believe was buried as an offering near the base of Huaca Pucllana, an ancient adobe pyramid in Peru's capital of Lima.
Breast cancer is rising rapidly among Asian American women, with some of the most alarming increases occurring in younger women and in aggressive or advanced cancers. Researchers say screening alone can't explain the surge, suggesting important risk factors may still be
Silver nanoparticles can precisely slice DNA and create longer “sticky ends,” helping genetic fragments join up to five times more efficiently than conventional methods. The breakthrough could eventually simplify the construction of large DNA sequences for gene therapies,
New research in Economic Inquiry provides evidence of in-group bias operating within the judiciary—a setting where impartiality is expected.
Researchers at the University of Oldenburg's Institute of Physics are working on techniques for precision control of electric fields of light, which allow the dynamics of individual electrons to be manipulated in experiments. Now a team from the Attosecond Microscopy research
If given the chance to gain thousands of admirers for your work, would you take it? The artists whom my colleagues and I interviewed as part of our research on content creators did—and many went on to question whether it was worth it.
Many people recognize that gender—how a person identifies, presents themselves and is perceived—has nuances. Some people identify and present as women, others as men, and still others as nonbinary.
Wildfires in the United States are getting bigger, and the season is getting longer, fueled by hotter and drier weather from climate change. Even when fires are hundreds of miles away, wildfire smoke can still harm people's health and create economic costs through air
Large earthquakes can dramatically reshape mountain landscapes by triggering thousands of landslides and rapidly accelerating erosion. However, the reasons why some mountain regions experience intense, long-lasting erosion after large earthquakes while others show only limited
Social media, music, religion-focused apps and other online spiritual content have become popular ways for adolescents to find comfort and connection—and explore ideas related to faith, religion and spirituality, according to a new report from the Center for Scholars &
It's conventional wisdom in the business world: Premium customers get a pass to the front of the line. Think airports or amusement parks. But new research from the University of Michigan finds the best approach—at least in the realm of data processing services—may be placing
All living cells need energy, and most generate it through respiration, a series of chemical reactions normally confined to the cell membrane. Because this machinery takes up space, a cell's energy-generating capacity has long been thought to depend on how much membrane it can
The global community should work to establish an array of new international legal rules to protect the health of fish stocks, new research says. Rather than one set of laws covering all possible maritime sustainability issues, there should be a range of different rules, each
To commercialize quantum computing, manufacturers need high-quality superconducting materials for microchips, but they also require a reliable, sustainable nanofabrication process. Tantalum is a corrosion-resistant metal that meets the first criterion but not the second. That's
Many New York City eighth-graders—particularly those from underserved communities—aren't applying to academically competitive high schools where they could succeed, according to new Cornell research.
Researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, examined the ideological stance of large language models—artificial intelligence systems trained to understand and generate human language—and discovered that when informed of a user's
President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday proposed a rule change that would open 44 million acres (about 68,750 square miles) of wild, undisturbed forest for road construction and logging.
Every cell in the body contains essentially the same DNA, yet a brain cell behaves differently from a muscle cell or an immune cell. The difference lies largely in how each cell reads its genetic instructions.
Scientists have found evidence that a colossal cliff stretching thousands of kilometers across ancient North America may have exposed the heart of the Grand Canyon nearly a billion years before it was carved by the Colorado River.
Work intensity is significantly higher under poor line managers, according to new research led by Bayes Business School (City St George's, University of London) that could have strong implications for global occupational health and productivity. The study is published in the
Long-clawed shrews’ snouts temporarily grow larger in the winter. This skull reshaping may be an extreme survival strategy in cold conditions.
NASA has released a report recommending an initial health standard for the Martian dust that astronauts could inhale during future missions. Although sending people to Mars is still years away, NASA needs to establish safety limits now. Spacecraft, spacesuits and crew habitats
Astronomers have uncovered a previously underexplored population of faint, rapidly fading remnant radio galaxies, offering new insights into what happens after supermassive black holes stop powering their enormous radio jets.
A widely prescribed blood pressure drug was associated with a 33% higher risk of serious kidney problems in people with type 2 diabetes, even when they were already taking kidney-protective medications. The surprising finding is prompting researchers to question whether DCCBs
For all that day-to-day weather forecasts have improved, it remains a challenge to forecast events that might happen once in 1,000 years—like the deadliest heat waves.
While electronic devices have become an integral part of everyday life, the consumption of critical raw materials and energy demand associated with their production continue to rise. According to the European Commission's European Green Deal, Europe aims to become
