The Toba supereruption 74,000 years ago was so massive it may have plunged Earth into years of darkness and cold, leading some scientists to believe humanity nearly went extinct. Yet archaeological evidence from Africa and Asia suggests early humans were far more resilient than
With a small blue crane, four researchers hoist a cylindrical fuel cell, which looks like a stack of flattened silver and gold soda cans bundled together, into the air and lower it into a rectangular cart on wheels. A tangle of tubes and wires spirals away from the system,
Dark matter particles could be mediators of the interaction between electrons and atomic nuclei, as shown by a study conducted by junior group leader, Dr. Konstantin Gaul, Dr. Lei Cong, and Professor Dr. Dmitry Budker, of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), Helmholtz
Climate change will increasingly stress water supply and economic and environmental systems, creating a mounting need for more ideas to reduce reliance and conserve diminishing river and groundwater resources. MAR takes surface water, such as rainwater, stormwater or treated
A reexamination of microfossils found in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul shows that the marks previously interpreted as traces of worms or other small oceanic animals are actually communities of fossilized microscopic bacteria and algae.
A team led by researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University, in collaboration with Tohoku University and Orbray Co., Ltd., using heteroepitaxial diamond materials developed by Orbray, have shown that lab-grown diamonds might realize a radiation dosimeter compatible with both
Research led by a University of Bristol Ph.D. student has revealed a host of thriving microscopic algae communities in snow and glaciers across one of the most remote locations on Earth. The study, which appears in ISME Communications and includes Dr. Emily Broadwell's intrepid
The blast scrubbed some of its own methane emissions from the atmosphere The post The Tonga Volcano Cleaned Up After Itself appeared first on Nautilus .
Tree shade is one of the fastest ways to make heat more bearable. It cuts direct sunlight, protects people walking or working outdoors, and remains essential for heat action plans. A new study by researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) adds a
Feelings of despair at the state of the world can be overwhelming. Social and environmental problems persist, but political discourse is polarized, divisive and often ineffective.
In new research published in Nature Materials, a team of researchers led by Columbia University chemist Xiaoyang Zhu, in collaboration with fellow Columbians Xavier Roy, Milan Delor, Dmitri Basov, and James McIver, has observed coherent ferrons for the first time.
Advances in DNA sequencing have expanded our view of the microbial world, but the inability to cultivate most microbes has been a major constraint. Now, a systematic, predictive framework that combines existing genomic and computational modeling approaches to accelerate the
Millions of people around the world now use AI companions—for friendship, emotional support, mental health counseling and romantic interactions. This includes 72% of adolescents, according to one study from the United States.
A computational method combining generative AI with atomistic simulations can identify promising platinum alloy catalyst structures for hydrogen fuel cells, report researchers from Science Tokyo. Their approach addresses a longstanding challenge in catalyst design and
Understanding how protons move at the interface between polymers and electrode materials is essential for improving fuel cells and related energy devices. However, conventional impedance measurements under inert conditions have long masked these interfacial contributions,
A great Tyrannosaurus rex strides through the conifer trees of her territory, sniffing the air. She picks up the scent from the carcass of a dead horned dinosaur, Triceratops, that she was feeding on yesterday. She walks over and strips off some more shreds of meat, but the
It’s the first documented case of the behavior in ants The post These Small Ants Act Like Cleaner Fish appeared first on Nautilus .
A new Rice University study is shedding light on a long-debated question: Can climate variability influence the risk of armed conflict? The answer, researchers say, is yes—but in more nuanced and region-specific ways than previously understood.
Researchers have cautioned that well-intended suggested changes to carbon markets risk worsening climate impacts if core safeguards are weakened. Climate change, biodiversity loss and human rights are deeply interconnected challenges, often sharing solutions that can deliver
Even as temperatures rise on Earth's surface and in the lower atmosphere, the planet's upper atmosphere has cooled dramatically. This paradoxical pattern is a well-known sign of humanity's climate impacts—but until now, the underlying physics has remained a mystery.
Under the lead of the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW), climate simulations were used to investigate how 19 inland seas, including the Baltic Sea, are responding to climate change. The researchers found that they have been warming faster than the
Researchers at MIT have suggested that rice seeds can hear the sound of rain, according to a new study. MIT calls it "the first direct evidence that plant seeds and seedlings can sense sounds in nature." Perhaps surprisingly, the effects reported in this new study are not as
Most of what scientists know about face development comes from studies in bony vertebrates such as mice, chickens, and zebrafish. However, their evolutionary counterparts, cartilaginous fishes, have remained largely unexplored. This gap has limited our understanding of how
Entropy gets a bad rap. Typically associated with randomness and chaos, it can also correlate with freedom and diversity. Cornell researchers have found that, thanks to the latter qualities, entropy can help bind certain pairs of molecules faster and more robustly—an approach
In Baltimore on Oct. 20, 2025, a 17-year-old student named Taki Allen was sitting outside his high school after football practice when an artificial intelligence-enhanced surveillance camera falsely identified the Doritos bag in his pocket as a gun. Within moments, police cars
For decades, the search for life beyond Earth has revolved around a key question: What molecules should scientists be looking for on other planets or moons? A new study, published in Nature Astronomy, suggests that the more revealing clue may not be the molecules themselves,
As researchers age, they produce less disruptive work The post Is This Why Science Advances One Funeral at a Time? appeared first on Nautilus .
Researchers from,the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment have found that air sampling at major equestrian events could offer a new way to monitor for equine herpesviruses. Published in Equine Veterinary Journal, the study examined
Chemists at the University of Iowa have created a three-dimensional lattice that captures water from the air and stores it. In a new study appearing in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers describe a millimeter-scale structure made of metal atoms connected
What are the first steps that chart the path for a cell to become a blood cell, neuron cell, or pigment cell? Scientists have developed increasingly powerful tools to track those changes, but one challenge has persisted: understanding not just where cells are headed, but which
Examining the movements of vessels between locations helped to predict where an invasive seaweed spread, researchers led by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) have revealed. Invasive Caulerpa species (Caulerpa brachypus and Caulerpa parvifolia) are a major
The practice of “cloacal diving” could help remoras hide from predators—it could also be a feeding strategy or help the fish hitchhike
A study that assesses the effects of wildfires over two decades shows that wildfire smoke significantly raises ground-level ozone and contributes to excess deaths from wildfire smoke in the United States each year. The research, led by Minghao Qiu, Ph.D., of Stony Brook
The Department of Defense has released a fresh batch of images and transcripts relating to reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena, formerly known as UFOs, including pictures and descriptions from NASA's Apollo missions to the moon.
The Trinity bomb test left behind a unique form of matter, and now, scientists have discovered a new chemical structure inside it
In the shadow of the 2008 global financial crisis, trust in the financial system was at a historic low. Banks had failed, markets had collapsed, and confidence in central institutions had been deeply shaken.
When species are subjected to changing environments, they can survive in their current location through genetic adaptation. However, this ability is not unlimited. In a study published in PNAS, biomathematician Jitka Polechová of the University of Vienna shows that, even when
For decades, Antarctica seemed to defy global warming. Since satellites began monitoring the poles in the late 1970s, the seasonal growth and retreat of Antarctic sea ice—frozen seawater that expands around the continent each winter—appeared remarkably resilient. It was often
The Milky Way's galactic bulge, the bulbous region that surrounds the galactic center, contains a dense collection of stars, planets, and other free-floating objects. This region has been studied for decades with numerous ground-based and space-based telescopes, including
When the Atlantic herring colonized the Baltic Sea thousands of years ago, it needed to adapt to the low salinity. Genes with a vital role in the functioning of sperm, eggs and embryos were crucial to this adaptation. A new study by researchers from Uppsala University and other
Artificial intelligence has crossed a threshold in the modern workplace. It is being used for everything from helping employees manage schedules to supporting financial forecasts. A similar shift is now unfolding inside research laboratories.
How jellyfish in bycatch yield collagen for skin care, drug capsules, and nutritional supplements The post The Healing Powers of an Accidentally Caught Jellyfish appeared first on Nautilus .
Astronomers have discovered two early-universe galaxies where the central black holes appear to have grown far faster than their host galaxies. Observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) reveal that the black holes in these galaxies, seen just 800 million years
You're a long-necked Titanosaur grazing the plains and chomping away on tree leaves about 100 million years ago in the Early Cretaceous in what would eventually become a future Starbucks location. You look up at the night sky and notice a bright dot that seems slightly larger
Astronomers who simulate galaxies do not always get the same result, even when they start from identical conditions. New research from Leiden University shows that this is not a flaw, but a consequence of how galaxies behave—and how they are modeled.
As we transition into spring, wildfires are on the minds of many Canadians. In fact, wildfires have already started in some parts of the country.
An analysis of ancient human artefacts finds that the container, a simple but critical tool, may have originated 500,000 years ago. Columnist Michael Marshall explores how slings, ostrich eggs and wooden trays helped our ancestors survive
A US start-up is putting autonomous data centres in the ocean, powered by wave energy, but experts warn that the harsh environment could make maintenance challenging
From navigation to solar weather forecasting, many different areas of research require space-based sensors to measure Earth's magnetic field as accurately as possible at any given moment. So far, however, existing sensors have consistently struggled with effects including
The message to students used to be simple: "Just say no." But in today's schools, that message is not only outdated, it may be part of the problem.
