This molecule puts a new twist on the Möbius strip
A molecule made of carbon and chlorine is half as twisty as the paper loops common in math classes.
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Paleontologists challenge use of bone growth rings to age crocodiles, dinosaurs
Do the bones of all Nile crocodiles have the same number of growth marks as their age? And can such growth rings be counted to accurately gauge the age of these reptiles? Is this also an accurate method to use when trying to "age" dinosaurs and other extinct and extant
We designed an AI tutor that helps college students reason rather than give them answers
Students using AI to cheat on homework or tests is a source of much discussion. But some scholars argue the greater risk of students using AI is that they will simply not learn.
The Black Death's counterintuitive effect: As human numbers fell, so did plant diversity
Between 1347 and 1353, Europe was gripped by the most catastrophic pandemic in its history: the Black Death. Killing many millions, the plague wiped out between one-third and a half of Europe's population.
Polymers that crawl like worms: How materials can develop direction without being told where to go
Researchers at the University of Vienna have uncovered a surprising phenomenon: polymer chains with segments that simply fluctuate at different intensities can spontaneously develop directional, persistent motion when densely packed—even though nothing in the system points them
Why are some stars always visible while others come and go with the seasons?
As a space scientist, every time I go outside with my family, I tell my children to look up at the sky. The front door of our home looks southeast, and on winter nights the constellation Orion hangs majestically just above the horizon as soon as it grows dark enough to see stars.
2025 was hotter than it should have been: Five influences and a dirty surprise offer clues to what's ahead
The past three years have been the world's hottest on record by far, with 2025 almost tied with 2023 for second place. With that energy came extreme weather, from flash flooding to powerful hurricanes and severe droughts. Yet, by most indicators, the planet should have been
Researchers advance solvent-based recycling for flexible plastics
Polypropylene and polyethylene are two durable and affordable plastics commonly used as packaging materials, snack wrappers, microwave containers, and other, usually flexible, plastic films. Their flexibility, however, makes them resilient to recycling processes, and these
Cleaner water, longer-lasting devices: New benchmark measures electrocatalysis oxidants in real time
From brightly colored textile dyes to persistent pesticides and antibiotics, many modern pollutants dissolved in water—such as Bisphenol A—resist traditional treatment methods. A promising approach uses electricity to power chemical reactions in water over an electrode surface.
CEO turnover taxes analyst attention, skewing broader forecasts
When analyst attention is absorbed by CEO turnover, other companies in their portfolio pay the price, new Cornell research finds. The study, "Analyst Rational Inattention: Evidence from CEO Turnover Events," published in the Accounting Review, finds that high-impact turnover
How cells work together: The mathematics behind biological shapes
How do biological cells join forces to form a structure? In her Ph.D. research, Daphne Nesenberend uses mathematics to show how forces and cooperation between cells create structure—and how simulations and experiments can reinforce each other.
Piecing together parasitic plant pathways
Genes that play a key role in the formation of an infectious organ used by parasitic plants have been identified by plant scientists at RIKEN. This discovery fills a gap in our understanding of how parasitic plants infect their hosts. The research is published in the journal
Cooling Dwight: Researchers are helping to address heat inequities in New Haven
During the hottest summer days in New Haven's Dwight neighborhood, the kids at Kensington Playground improvise a way to stay cool—wedging T-shirts along the splash pad drain to form a makeshift pool. As the water rises, they lie on their stomachs in a circle around the drain,
Franconia's agriculture of the future: Olives and rice instead of barley and sugar beet?
Due to climate change, agriculture is facing an unprecedented transformation. While Germany was hardly affected by massive crop failures for decades, the picture has changed drastically since 2015. Since then, heat waves and dry spells have been responsible for yield losses in
Pond-dwelling microalga exposes a parallel track for RNA processing
Biology textbooks explain that cells follow a universal rule when processing gene transcripts to make proteins. Non-coding snippets of RNA are bracketed by a guanine-thymine (GT) nucleotide sequence on one end and an adenine-guanine (AG) sequence on the other—unmistakable
Heart attacks are killing more young people—and more women
A new study finds that heart attack deaths in U.S. hospitals are rising in people aged 54 and below, signaling a shift in cardiovascular issues in younger ages
Scientists clock a driving factor in the evolution of error correction
All complex biological systems—like the DNA, RNA and proteins constantly being copied and built within our cells—are prone to errors. That means as life evolved to be more elaborate, it also had to evolve error-correcting strategies.
Newly discovered ripples in spacetime put Einstein’s general relativity to the test
A new catalog of gravitational waves more than doubles the known number of these spacetime ripples
Lord of the fruit flies: How scientists are defending against a major agricultural pest
When Vasilis Rodovitis rips open his brown paper bag in a sunny persimmon orchard just outside Naousa, in Greece, I half expect groceries to spill out. Instead, a barely there gray cloud emerges. For half a week, the bag was home to some 4,000 Mediterranean fruit flies
Scientists create a hexagonal diamond that could be even harder than the real thing
To misquote a famous song, "Diamonds are industry's best friend." Cubic diamond is the hardest mineral on Earth and is used in everything from precision cutting tools to high-performance semiconductors as well as expensive jewelry. But there is a rare and potentially tougher
Introducing the Interplanetary Habitable Zone
Anyone familiar with the search for alien life will have heard of the "Goldilocks Zone" around a star. This is defined as the orbital band where the temperature is just right for liquid water to pool on a rocky planet's surface—a good approximation for what we thought of as the
Binary star population of open cluster NGC 2158 explored with Hubble
Astronomers have analyzed the images collected by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to investigate a galactic open cluster known as NGC 2158. Results of the study, published Feb. 25 on the arXiv pre-print server, provide essential insights into the population of binary stars in
Just one dose of psilocybin relieves symptoms of OCD for months
Taking psilocybin – the psychedelic component of magic mushrooms – eased symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder among people who did not respond to conventional treatments, and the effects lasted at least several months
Katharine Burr Blodgett kept an inner struggle out of sight as she made history in the laboratory
At the height of her career, chemist and physicist Katharine Burr Blodgett faced challenges that not even her closest colleagues suspected
Chickpeas can grow in moon dirt and make seeds
Chickpeas produced seeds in simulated lunar soil, offering clues for future space farming.
Multifractal patterns across deep time: What measurement density reveals about Earth's history
Much of our understanding of Earth's past is derived from stratigraphic records exposed in rock outcrops or recovered from drilled cores. These records span immense time intervals, from thousands to billions of years, and form the basis of geochronologies used to reconstruct
Newfound terrestrial crocodile fossil redraws the map of Europe in the age of the dinosaurs
A research team led by Dr. Márton Rabi from the Biogeology Department of the University of Tübingen, together with Máté Szegszárdi and Professor Attila Ősi from the Hungarian Eötvös Loránd University, is challenging the hypothesis that Europe remained connected to Africa during
Drug-related homicides increased in Mexico after NAFTA, study finds
The opening of trade borders under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994 was accompanied by a significant increase in drug-related violence in Mexican regions that functioned as key corridors for drug trafficking. That is the result of a recent study by Erik
Freshwater fish are more resilient to rising temperatures than marine fish, ecologists find
Fish that live in rivers, ditches, and streams are better able to withstand warming water than fish in the sea. This is the conclusion of research by ecologist Wilco Verberk of Radboud University. "It is important not to group freshwater and marine fish together when predicting
Researchers find harmful algae species wasn't new to South Australian waters
The coastline of South Australia has been affected for nearly a year by an unprecedented harmful algal bloom which has led to the deaths of millions of fish and sharks, impacted marine mammals and birds and affected the health of some people. The origins of this event remain
How Japanese red elder plants save two lives with one fruit drop
Japanese red elder plants safeguard their own survival when they drop fruits infested by Heterhelus beetle larvae, as well as the survival of these larvae. A Kobe University study changes the narrative on how a plant and its pollinator can keep benefits balanced.
Scientists created a digital library full of ants
Using a synchrotron powered CT scanner, the Antscan project created an open-source digital library cataloguing thousands of 3D ant specimens
New LVK catalog adds 128 gravitational-wave candidates, more than doubling detections
When the densest objects in the universe collide and merge, the violence sets off ripples, in the form of gravitational waves, that reverberate across space and time, over hundreds of millions and even billions of years. By the time they pass through Earth, such cosmic ripples
NASA's eclipse megamovie project releases full data on 2024 solar eclipse
On April 8, 2024, people across the world witnessed a solar eclipse, a relatively rare event in which the moon occults (blocks out) light from the sun. To capture this event, volunteers at 143 observatories across the U.S. trained their equipment on it as part of NASA's Eclipse
Burned permafrost peatlands release carbon for years after wildfires, researchers find
In the face of climate change, permafrost peatland wildfires could play more of a role in the destructive cycle of global warming, University of Alberta research suggests.
How considering green spaces at multiple scales improves city planning
Urban greenery—like trees and other green spaces in what are otherwise concrete jungles—can help cool down cities, clean the air and encourage foot traffic, which might have the added benefit of reducing vehicle traffic. In this way, greening our cities is an important tool in
When populist rhetoric is high, entrepreneurs are more likely to dodge taxes
A new study finds that the greater the amount of populist rhetoric in a nation, the less likely entrepreneurs are to register their businesses—dodging both taxes and government regulations. "Populist rhetoric refers to political language that focuses on the 'will of the people'
Neutrons reveal magnetic signatures of chiral phonons
Physicists in China have uncovered new evidence that chiral phonons and magnons can interact strongly inside magnetic crystals. Using neutron spectroscopy, a team led by Song Bao at Nanjing University mapped magnetic signatures linked to chiral phonons in a ferrimagnetic
Scientists successfully harvest chickpeas from 'moon dirt'
As the U.S. plans to return to the moon with the upcoming Artemis II mission, a question endures: What will future lunar explorers eat? According to new research from The University of Texas at Austin, the answer might be chickpeas.
How old is the universe? The oldest stars give us a clue
Researchers from the University of Bologna and the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) along with other institutes have proposed a new way to address the Hubble tension by comparing estimates of the universe's age rather than its expansion rate. Using precise
Black Death 'rewilding' did not boost biodiversity, study suggests
The bubonic plague, which swept across Europe between 1347 and 1353, is estimated to have killed up to one half of the continent's population. The sudden loss of life led to the abandonment of farms, villages and fields, creating what researchers describe as a massive
Self-repairing spacecraft could change future missions
Healable spacecraft structures could soon be possible thanks to cutting-edge composite technology. Swiss companies CompPair and CSEM with Belgian company Com&Sens have partnered with the European Space Agency (ESA) to modify their self-healing carbon fiber product for use in
Two marsupials believed extinct for 6000 years found alive
Indigenous people in Papua, Indonesia, have helped scientists track down two animals that were thought to have gone extinct thousands of years ago: a relative of Australia’s greater glider and a palm-sized possum with a bizarre, elongated finger
What goes on inside a massive star before it explodes as a supernova?
When most people think of a supernova, they're thinking of a Type II core-collapse supernova. These are massive stars that have reached the end of their time on the main sequence. They've used up their supply of hydrogen and continue fusing heavier elements until the star can't
To help your body adjust to daylight saving time, try sunlight and exercise
As clocks spring forward, light and movement are cues for daytime wakefulness that can improve sleep and overall health
Too many deer in your area? Birth control could help
Populations of suburban deer have been on the rise across the U.S. for the last 50 years. Suburban landscapes are like buffet tables with their plentiful lawns, shrubs, and gardens that tempt the animals into human territory. But in many places—like Tennessee, Ohio, Maryland,
Alzheimer’s may start with inflammation in the skin, lungs or gut
The Alzheimer’s field is being turned on its head as mounting evidence points to the disease beginning outside the brain many years before symptoms start. This may mean we have to totally rethink how we approach preventing and treating the condition
Improved estimates of storm water in sewers could help reduce flooding
Recent University of Toronto Ph.D. graduate Gabrielle Migliato Marega (CivMin) has developed an improved tool for estimating how much water from heavy rains ends up in sanitary sewers. The tool is particularly useful in areas where accurate data about sewer flow rates is
Stand Up for Science will hold second rally against Trump administration
Public health chaos and research funding cuts are inspiring nationwide pro-science protests against the Trump administration
Swipe right, but safer: New Safety Map aims to help people navigate risks on dating apps
To address persistent concerns about harassment, boundary violation and user safety in digital dating spaces, a research team led by the University of Waterloo has launched an interactive Safety Map to coincide with International Women's Day.
