A review in Quantitative Biology demonstrates that scientists can now reliably build and combine very large pieces of DNA, making it much easier to redesign microbes such as yeast and bacteria to act as efficient "cell factories." With these advances, whole biological pathways,
Grasslands and associated wildlife in the Great Plains of North America have declined precipitously and are now experiencing an increase in large wildfire activity. In a Journal of Wildlife Management study evaluating habitat use by lesser prairie chickens—a prairie grouse of
Research published in The FEBS Journal may help overcome challenges to the treatment of malaria—a tropical disease caused by infection of red blood cells with Plasmodium parasites, which are transmitted through infected mosquito bites. The research is based on a strategy that
A forgotten fossil hidden inside a garden wall has turned out to be one of Australia’s most remarkable prehistoric discoveries. Scientists have now identified the 240-million-year-old amphibian, Arenaerpeton supinatus, revealing an almost perfectly preserved skeleton—complete
A short burst of immunotherapy before surgery is delivering surprisingly powerful results for a specific type of colorectal cancer. Patients in a UK-led trial who received just nine weeks of pembrolizumab prior to surgery have remained cancer-free nearly three years later—an
When solar storms strike Earth, they can disrupt power grids, rail systems, satellites, and even marine life. These effects arise because solar wind and geomagnetic activity disturb the magnetosphere–ionosphere system, generating electric and magnetic field variations that can
A major 10-year clinical trial is turning one of the world’s most common knee surgeries on its head. Researchers found that trimming a damaged meniscus—a procedure long believed to relieve pain—offers no real benefit over placebo surgery. Even more surprising, patients who had
Solar emissions exert 'drag' on space junk orbiting Earth. From historical measurements across a period of 36 years, researchers have now shown that space junk begins to fall down much faster once the sun's activity across the solar cycle reaches approximately 67% of its peak.
A new study links the sun's 11-year cycle to accelerated orbital loss, with debris falling faster once sunspot numbers near their cycle peak.
A chaotic sleep schedule in your 40s might be quietly setting the stage for heart trouble later. Researchers tracking thousands of people for over a decade found that those with highly inconsistent bedtimes—especially when they slept less than eight hours—faced about double the
Oak trees have a surprising trick to fight back against hungry caterpillars: they simply wait. When trees are heavily attacked one year, they delay leaf growth by just three days the next spring—long enough to leave newly hatched caterpillars with nothing to eat. This small
A scorching, airless world just 48 light-years away is offering scientists a rare glimpse into the geology of distant planets. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers studied LHS 3844 b—a tidally locked “super-Earth” with a permanent dayside hot enough to melt
In modern social research, sociological questions are increasingly being answered with the help of experiments; for example, whether employers discriminate in personnel selection, whether immigrants are treated less well in social situations, or whether counseling programs help
Creating complex molecules usually requires years of experience and countless decisions, but a new AI system is changing that. Synthegy lets chemists guide synthesis and reaction planning using simple language, while powerful algorithms generate and evaluate possible solutions.
To ensure more food reaches communities in need, a team of researchers collaborated with VolunteerMatch and Feeding America to enhance their algorithms, making volunteer distribution more efficient and equitable.
Fossils reveal that there were at least two kinds of koala when humans first arrived in Australia, but one died out about 30,000 years ago when the west of the continent dried out
To better understand how young children experiencing trauma are supported in early learning settings, Adelaide University researchers examined the role of teacher self-efficacy—the confidence teachers have in their knowledge and abilities—in creating safe, responsive learning
A lone coyote stunned biologists and others when it paddled its way to remote Alcatraz Island earlier this year, a former federal prison in the San Francisco Bay surrounded by swift, choppy waters notorious for thwarting prisoners' escapes.
The new focus on manned missions to the moon and Mars presents countless pressing challenges, including keeping humans alive in hostile environments. What happens when an astronaut or space tourist has a cardiac emergency millions of miles from the nearest hospital?
A non-toxic coating developed by researchers at University of Toronto Engineering prevents proteins from sticking to surfaces—potentially offering a new tool in the fight against hospital-acquired infections.
Many scholars have studied the effects of colonial management on terrestrial resources, but what about the effect of colonialism on bodies of water? A new article in Isis: A Journal of the History of Science Society examines the ways in which fisheries science and colonial
Acid-filled pitchers complete with fangs. Labyrinthine chambers decorated with bristles. Leaves that snap shut in less than a second. Employing strategies like these, carnivorous plants have a reputation as fearsome predators, but a new study published in the journal Ecology
A new study in Proceedings of the Royal Society B reveals the surprising neurological landscape of fish brains. Harvard researchers map the internal structures of ray-finned fishes' brains in 3D detail, discovering brain size and shape, as well as the endocasts, vary far more
New research from Northern Arizona University found that a global greenhouse gas emissions database produced by the Climate TRACE consortium, co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore, is underestimating vehicle carbon dioxide emissions in cities by an average of 70%.
To serenade with their high-pitched songs, singing mice inflate a throat sac — a use for air sacs seemingly unknown in any other animal.
A half century after NASA's Apollo 17 lunar module lifted off the moon's northeastern near side quadrant, planetary scientists still don't completely understand when or how our moon first formed. They do agree that it involved a major impactor—an object dubbed Theia by lunar
In a new paper, an international team led by scientists from Charles University, Czechia, has brought evidence linking widespread release of methane (CH₄)—a strong greenhouse gas—from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) to a warmer period 9–4 thousand years ago. CH₄ has been
A new model to predict how language changes over time has been developed by a statistical physicist at the University of Portsmouth. The model is a step towards understanding the "statistical physics of language," a scientific theory which borrows ideas from the physics of
The global financial order has entered a new, shifting and disruptive era of nationalism and these changes lay bare the difference between the haves and have nots, according to a new study by Charles Darwin University (CDU).
For the first time, scientists at University of Leeds reveal a complex mechanism behind blood clotting. The findings, published in Science Advances, visualize a key component of blood clotting—platelet myosin—and how it is activated.
A surprising genetic twist shows that boosting a seemingly ordinary “housekeeping” gene can dramatically improve fruit quality without any trade-offs. By increasing the activity of a tRNA-related gene in strawberries, researchers unlocked richer color, stronger aroma, and
About 600 million years ago, the continents wandered Earth, yet to settle into their current positions. Their locations during the Ediacaran (as this time is called) have been tough for scientists to pin down. Earth's magnetic field appears to have behaved in erratic ways, and
A Curtin University-led study has revealed the extraordinary biodiversity hidden in deep underwater canyons off Western Australia's Nyinggulu (Ningaloo) coast, ranging from species previously undetected in the area, such as the elusive giant squid, to others thought to be new
Scientists at Keele University have created the first detailed map of the genetic "switches" that control reproduction in disease-carrying insects such as Anopheles gambiae, the mosquito species most responsible for malaria transmission, paving the way for more effective
A new paper from NASA's Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project announces that volunteers have essentially doubled the number of known brown dwarfs, with over 3,000 new discoveries made over the past 10 years since the project began. Brown dwarfs are balls of gas the size of Jupiter,
NASA's Juno spacecraft captured this view of Thebe, the second largest of Jupiter's inner moons, during a close pass on May 1, 2026. The spacecraft's Stellar Reference Unit (SRU) captured this image from a distance of approximately 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers) at a resolution
These are the highest-resolution images of the moon ever captured by human beings The post The Best of NASA’s Newly Released Photos From the Artemis II Mission appeared first on Nautilus .
This series of images shows NASA's Curiosity Mars rover as it got a rock stuck to the drill on the end of its robotic arm, and—after waving the arm and running the drill a few times—finally detached the rock. The imagery showing the entire process was captured by the
New research into plant-based food and drinks has found a prevalence of mycotoxins—naturally occurring poisonous compounds produced by fungi—in hundreds of vegetarian and vegan products. A total of 212 plant-based meat alternatives (PMBAs) and plant-based beverages (PBBs) from
Biological invasions occur when organisms such as animals and plants are introduced by people to regions of the world where they do not naturally occur. In these new locations, these organisms are referred to as "alien species."
Approximately 145 million: That's the number of specimens—including plants, animals, minerals, and human artifacts—curators estimate are held in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. However, these estimates do not reflect the billions of tiny individual specimens
Florida State University researchers have discovered how to accurately predict winter weather forecasts months in advance, affording sectors such as agriculture, water management, energy use and public health a longer lead time to prepare for inclement conditions. The research,
In the last two decades, coastal urban areas have taken steps to better minimize flooding and runoff by creating more permeable surfaces and encouraging residents to participate in water retention and use-reduction programs. These efforts, ranging from adding rain barrels and
My folks were taken in by the latest algorithmic “artist,” and it scares me The post AI Music vs. My Parents appeared first on Nautilus .
Schools must do more to help girls master AI. That's the conclusion of a new study, which found that boys, more confident at working with AI, performed better in some classes compared to their female counterparts.
Watermelon is a quintessential summertime fruit, evoking images of warm, sunny afternoons and cookouts with friends and family. You can easily picture its striped, green rind and pink flesh, imagine the delicate crunch as you bite into a slice, and almost taste the sweet juice
As much as 40 million metric tons of microplastics are released into the environment globally every year. These tiny pieces of plastic come from larger plastic items that break down or are shed by products such as clothing, paints, and cosmetics.
A strange kind of matter that “ticks” forever without energy input has just taken a major leap toward real-world use. Known as a time crystal, this quantum system repeats its motion endlessly—like a clock that never winds down—and scientists have now managed to connect it to an
A collaborative team of scientists has discovered that life on Earth over three billion years ago relied on the metal molybdenum, which was incredibly scarce in the environment at the time. The study, published in Nature Communications, is the first to show that molybdenum was
Photodetectors remain a critical component in the development of advanced electronics and photonics, particularly in the role of signal readout through the conversion of photons into electrons. These digital imaging components are ubiquitous in sensors, cameras, adaptive
