Controlling light at the micro- and nanoscale opens up opportunities for a better understanding of the world and the development of technology. As modern electronics approaches the limits of its capabilities, photonics comes into play. Instead of manipulating relatively heavy
People often seem to understand language before they have actually heard enough words to determine its structure. In everyday conversation, listeners react immediately, anticipate what others will say, and rarely wait for a sentence to finish. This raises the question of how
When the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus was discovered on a poultry farm in Asia in 1996, there was little indication that it would become so widespread and so destructive. Within 30 years, it reached every continental region except Oceania, infecting more than
After a wildfire, the flames may fade, but the danger does not. A new study by UBC researchers reveals that burned landscapes remain vulnerable for years, with large areas still bare and at risk of invasion by fast-growing, fire-prone grasses. The research, one of the largest
Sang Won Han, an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Sungkyunkwan University (co-first author), in collaboration with Shinjae Won, an Associate Professor of Management and Strategy at Ewha Womans University, has published a study in the Strategic Management Journal. The paper,
Imagine that plants could tell us exactly when they're stressed, infected, or being eaten by insects, by lighting up. A new study led by Dr. Karen Sarkisyan, Head of the Synthetic Biology group at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS), has borrowed molecular machinery
Researchers from Skoltech, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico, the Research Center for Cereal and Industrial Crops in Italy, and other international organizations have developed new durum wheat lines capable of surviving freezing temperatures while
It's been six years since the COVID pandemic swept the world, and by now we are all familiar with the pros and cons of remote working. As the protracted battle over return-to-office (RTO) mandates suggests, a number of personal and professional factors—including your standing
Rendering a drug effective or ineffective in a flash at the appropriate location—this is the focus of research in photopharmacology. The goal is to develop drugs that can be switched on and off with light of a specific wavelength. Orally administered medications could then be
Researchers at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) have developed a revolutionary new method to improve compact gene-editing tools known as base editors, which enable smaller, more precise DNA correction tools that may be safer
Since the 1960s, boron–dipyrromethene dyes, commonly called BODIPY dyes, have been widely used for their strong fluorescence, especially in bioimaging, molecular and ion sensing, and as photosensitizers. Researchers especially like how, with simple modifications to BODIPY
What happens in our brain when we fail to live up to our morals The post Is This Where Morality Lives in the Brain? appeared first on Nautilus .
Whether it’s a canary’s chirp or a treefrog’s croak, humans tend to prefer many of the same sounds that animals do themselves, a new study finds
Milkweed has found a new strategy in its epic evolutionary battle with monarch butterflies: upgrading its toxins to outmaneuver the monarch's resistance. In a new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers find that adding a small
The ancient city of Pompeii is one of those archaeological sites that keeps on giving with one discovery after another. While much of what we know about the Roman settlement comes from the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79, another significant event from nearly a century earlier is
A multinational research team led by researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo, RIKEN, and the University of Toronto has revealed how a tryptophan-rich allosteric communication network regulates receptor dynamics and activation of the human adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR), a
Air quality is expected to deteriorate across parts of Europe in the coming days, driven by an increase in microscopic polluting particles, the EU's Earth observation program said on Thursday.
Plowing, or tilling, is an age-old agricultural practice that readies the soil for planting by turning over the top layer to expose fresh earth. The method—intended to improve water and nutrient circulation—remains popular today, but concerns about soil degradation have
New research led by a University of Wyoming archaeologist near an ancient encampment in South America challenges a relatively new but widely accepted theory that the people who made and used Clovis points in North America were not the first inhabitants of the Americas south of
Human genes are written in long strings of three-letter units composed of four different nucleotides. These units—or codons—specify one of many amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. Multiple codons can encode the same amino acid, which seems to point to some redundancy
The bright colors of butterfly wings, the sweet aromas of flowers, and the euphonious melodies of songbirds all evolved as signals that help individuals propagate, yet humans also find these very same signals pleasing to their own senses.
The history of Earth is written on the great tablets of tectonic plates. The motions of plates shaped land masses, formed oceans, and created the varied climates and habitats that set the stage for evolution and the diversity of life. But this grand drama begins with a deep
Swedish old-growth forests store 83% more carbon than managed forests, according to a new study from Lund University. The difference is substantially larger than previous estimates and is mainly due to large carbon stocks in the soil.
Scientists have found the oldest direct evidence for tectonic motion on Earth by more than half a billion years
Magnetic crystals provide the earliest evidence yet of the plate tectonics that likely made Earth habitable, pushing its start back by 140 million years.
Data suggest people lived at Chile’s Monte Verde site thousands of years later than thought, challenging key “pre-Clovis” evidence. Not all agree.
The European Space Agency announced Thursday it has re-established communication with a spacecraft that is part of its Proba-3 mission, after losing contact with the satellite a month ago.
Scientists have long sought to explain a key mismatch in Earth's early history: oxygen-producing photosynthesis evolved hundreds of millions of years before atmospheric oxygen began to rise during the Great Oxidation Event. This delay has been linked to limited phosphorus—a
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a main cause of bacterial pneumonia worldwide. It can also cause ear and sinus infections and, in more severe cases, meningitis or sepsis. It shares the human respiratory tract with many closely related bacterial species. Among them is Streptococcus
A colony of leafcutter ants is home to more than just one species. Each year, studies reveal new layers of complexity in these ecosystems, where various fungi and bacteria thrive alongside the ants, resulting in countless interactions and the production of unknown compounds. In
In Korea and Japan, humanoid machines aren’t rivals but partners The post What the US Could Learn From Asia’s Robot Revolution appeared first on Nautilus .
AI systems are increasingly shaping public opinion, often in very subtle ways. A new study reveals that current legislation, such as the EU AI Act, is ill-equipped to handle this shift. The findings, authored by researchers from the Weizenbaum Institute, were recently published
Tweaking our skin's microbiome via a probiotic cream could prevent frostbite and hypothermia in extreme environments
Skyrmions, in which electron spins inside a magnet are arranged like vortices, are a key structure in next-generation spintronics technology. KAIST researchers have shown that skyrmions can form using only the fundamental physical interactions within magnets, without requiring
The European Space Agency's (ESA's) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) probe is on its (very long) way to Jupiter, and will finally arrive at the King of Planets in 2031. Its primary mission is to focus on the "big three" icy moons—Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto. But while
Gravitational waves are ripples in spacetime produced by violent cosmic events, such as the merging of black holes. So far, direct detections have relied on measuring tiny distance changes over kilometer-scale instruments. In a new theoretical study published in Physical Review
Project Hail Mary directors Christopher Miller and Phil Miller talk about astrobiology, optimistic science fiction, heist films and handsome scientists
In 1959, the Luna 2 probe from the Soviet Union became the very first human-made object to reach our closest celestial neighbor. In the decades since, we have been leaving footprints—both literally and figuratively—all over the moon. Today, there are over 100 metric tons of
From GPS satellites to mobile networks, modern technology relies on ultra-precise radio signals. Engineers have long tried to generate them on chips using interactions between light and sound, but the effect was too weak. University of Twente researchers now show in a paper
Retatrutide is among a new class of weight-loss drugs that are being tested for effectiveness
Idaho's Silver Valley has produced about 1.2 billion ounces of silver since the late 1800s, enough to cast a solid cube roughly as tall as a five-story building, along with huge amounts of lead and zinc. Now a new study led by Washington State University researchers helps
Penn-led researchers have shown for the first time that multiple, information-carrying light signals can be safely guided through chip-based, reconfigurable networks using topology, the esoteric branch of mathematics that says donuts and mugs are identical. Because topological
An annual world happiness ranking for 2026 explores how the use of social media influences well-being
A prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important oil shipping routes, could severely disrupt global supply chains and destabilize energy markets, potentially leading to far-reaching economic impacts, according to a new study conducted by the Supply
A catalyst developed by a Washington State University research team efficiently converts abundant, renewable ethanol into valuable molecules needed for production of plastics, fuels, and everyday products. The advance could someday make it easier to use renewables rather than
Scientists have discovered mosquitoes can act like tiny "flying wildlife surveyors," helping researchers detect elusive and endangered animals in Australia's national parks. A team from Macquarie University and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
There's more evidence that water once flowed on Mars with the discovery of an ancient river delta deep below the surface. NASA's Perseverance rover found it more than 35 meters beneath Jezero Crater using ground-penetrating radar. Perseverance was launched in 2020 to search for
If we're to find extraterrestrial life in the universe, astronomers have pinpointed the best places to look for it. They have identified just under 50 rocky worlds most likely to be habitable out of the more than 6,000 exoplanets discovered so far.
For 20 years, this computational linguistics competition has inspired new generations of innovators in AI and language preservation
Using the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, an international team of astronomers has observed C-19—an extremely metal-poor stellar stream in the Milky Way's halo. Results of the observational campaign, published March 11 on the arXiv pre-print server,
