Four-and-a-half billion years ago, a massive world—possibly as big as the moon or even Mars—orbited our sun before crashing into another celestial body and shattering into rubble. Now, in a paper published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, scientists report
A journey to the hidden settlement of nature’s busy hydro-engineer The post Beavers Don’t Just Build Dams, They Build Nations appeared first on Nautilus .
As U.S. cities prepare to host the FIFA World Cup, familiar warnings about human trafficking "spikes" at major sporting events have reemerged.
If your community was threatened by a wildfire, would you be able to quickly evacuate? A new study from UC Santa Barbara reveals that the number of roads out of a community may be one of the strongest predictors of wildfire fatalities, and that a surprisingly specific threshold
A new global study has found that people without access to clean drinking water are significantly more likely to experience food insecurity and food safety threats, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated global action to address these issues together.
A fossil mammal tooth smaller than a grain of rice does not announce itself loudly. It must be hard won from sediment and stone. Then, under a microscope, it reveals itself—no longer just a speck of blackness but a surface of cusps, ridges, and worn edges.
A key step in the origin of many pandemics occurs when an animal-borne virus infects humans and then evolves to spread more efficiently from person to person. That is why scientists and physicians keep a close watch on viruses that could jump from animals to humans, such as
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) have discovered a microscopic organism that can transform into a cannibalistic "supergiant" that drastically changes size, shape, and behavior, and abandons filter-feeding to hunt and consume their genetically identical
Globally, about 1 in 5 people in jobs live in poverty. A key reason lies in how global supply chains are organized. From agriculture to tourism, many jobs are embedded in systems that keep wages low, even as they generate value for international markets.
China's Tianwen-2 sample-return mission is well on its way to its target, an asteroid called Kamo'oalewa. The spacecraft left Earth in May 2025 and should return in late 2027 with samples of a space rock that scientists had assumed originated from the moon. However, a new study
Canadian scientists have made a significant advance in understanding the mechanisms that enable embryos to properly form their limbs, thanks to new research led by Université de Montréal medical professor Marie Kmita at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM). In
A research collaboration has developed a novel fluorescent nanosensor capable of rapidly detecting indole-3-propionic acid (IPA), an emerging biomarker linked to gut health and disease. The breakthrough is described in the team's paper, "Fluorescent Nanosensor for
The CEO of Blue Origin vowed its New Glenn rocket "will fly again before the end of this year" after a recent ground test ended in a massive fireball that damaged the launch platform.
Sometimes all it takes is a new paint job The post Tadpoles Use a World War I Naval Strategy to Dazzle Predators appeared first on Nautilus .
The transplanted pig organs functioned for 36 hours before showing signs of rejection
Industrial oxidation chemistry is a cornerstone of modern manufacturing, accounting for nearly one-third of all chemical industrial processes. While essential for making pharmaceuticals, dyes, and many specialty chemicals, industrial oxidation typically relies on
When you think of Antarctica, you might imagine a stark, otherworldly continent of endless, white ice, with the only sound being the wind punctuated by the crack of a glacier calving in the distance.
The Euphrates River is the longest river in Western Asia and runs through the eastern side of the Fertile Crescent. Flowing over 1,700 miles from Turkey through Syria and Iraq, the river played a crucial role in sustaining the region known as the "Cradle of Civilization." Yet,
Scientists have identified the two biggest reasons that once-pristine rivers across the Arctic are growing cloudy with toxic orange iron particles that smother insects and suffocate fish.
Climate change is contributing to the escalation of existing local conflicts in Africa. A new WZB study by Ruud Koopmans, Daniel Meierrieks, and Daniel Tuki uses the example of pastoralist conflict between nomadic herders (mainly Muslim Fulani) and sedentary farmers in Nigeria
Microsoft’s announcement of a new quantum computing breakthrough with its Majorana 2 chip continues a trend of bold claims followed by scant evidence
Swapping materials in its Majorana 2 chip boosted the effectiveness of quantum bits that rely on the math of topology to reduce errors, Microsoft says.
These sounds could be used to track the health of populations of the endangered Atlantic sturgeon
Magnets for electric cars and wind turbines contain only a small amount of the rare earth metal dysprosium. Yet, this metal is responsible for a large share of the environmental impact and costs, according to research by environmental scientists Stellina Samuel, Robert Istrate
Ages 40 to 65 see a period of turmoil in the brain that has previously been overlooked. But identifying problems during this time can protect your cognitive health for decades to come
Tracks left by some of the earliest complex animals are giving new insights into how they experienced the world. New research reveals how these creatures started to understand their surroundings, paving the way for animal life to spread across the planet.
Our understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum goes back to Isaac Newton, but astronomers are still finding new ways to employ it. Astrophysicist Emma Chapman explores how much these invisible waves can reveal to us about the cosmos – and whether they might show us that
Sometime between 5.5 and 5.6 million years ago, two shell crushers squared off in the languid currents of an ancient Florida river. The fossils they left behind, discovered by paleontologists at the Florida Museum of Natural History, reveal the identity of the combatants and
Two French astronauts are to blast into space next year, one of whom will stay on board the world's first commercial space station, under a new deal sealed between France and the U.S. company Vast.
How did life make the leap from single cells to coordinated, multicellular organisms? And how do genetically identical cells still perform a version of that feat every time an embryo begins to take shape?
Megalomaniacal leaders are fascinating. They exude boundless confidence, harbor sometimes excessive ambitions and make decisions that are often out of touch with reality.
This order asks artificial intelligence companies to give the U.S. government up to 30 days to assess frontier models before they are released
Nearly 69 million people in the United States speak a language other than English at home, yet weather warnings have long been issued almost exclusively in English. A new study documents how the National Weather Service is using artificial intelligence to change that,
Research into a common environmental germ that can cause severe infections in people and animals has raised concern that horses are starting to develop antibiotic resistance towards it. The University of the Sunshine Coast study examined the prevalence of the bug P. aeruginosa
Bowhead whales have the greatest life span of any mammal on Earth. They can reach over 200 years in age thanks in part to their slow metabolism and cancer-suppressing genes.
Dozens of mathematicians signed a declaration Tuesday calling for the discipline to resist beating the drum for artificial intelligence developers.
Falcons are lauded for their speed and agility. The Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo), skilled at snagging birds and insects out of the air, is no exception. However, during twilight on one day in October, researcher Apostolos Christopoulos observed several hobbies feeding on
Researchers have uncovered a key mechanism behind Japan's extreme winter weather, revealing how distant climate patterns interact to intensify cold waves and heavy snowfall.
The most exciting popular science reads this month explore everything from symbiosis to hormones, while Alice Roberts takes on an editor-in-chief role in her latest book
The Ocean Observatories Initiative has been collecting data on physical, chemical, geological and biological conditions in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for the past decade
New research has found that masturbation among bird species, including parrots, is natural, despite prevailing assumptions that it is a harmful behavior in response to environmental factors.
The astronauts circling Earth on the Artemis mission sent back beautiful clear photos of the continents, clouds, and oceans. But we might be the exception. Many planets in the universe may be hazed in clouds of soot, according to a new study by University of Chicago scientists.
One of the dilemmas facing anyone in a new and unfamiliar city is where to dine out. You might consult guides, speak to locals, check reviews, and ultimately, try your luck. But if you're there for a while, at some point you're going to be asking yourself whether to visit new
From dementia to heart attacks, hearing loss has been linked to a wide range of effects across the body, and the condition is on the rise. Fortunately, we're learning how best to safeguard this crucial sense and how we might be able to reverse the damage
Computer simulations have uncovered a new manganese compound that could exist deep in Earth’s mantle and may be connected to the process that gave our atmosphere oxygen
A collaborative study with the University of Cologne, recently published in Nature Communications, provides compelling evidence that the extreme aridity in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert began over 40 million years ago—significantly earlier than previously assumed.
As soil health becomes a defining goal of the EU Soil Strategy for 2030, researchers at Aarhus University are rethinking how we model what lives beneath our feet. Their new spatially explicit population model for the soil invertebrate Folsomia candida (springtails) marks a
They punch above their weight The post See the Gravity Waves from a Super Typhoon appeared first on Nautilus .
Genetics influences who of us are more likely to experience a relationship breakdown, and who are more likely to remain together. But genes are not decisive, new research shows. "Our destiny does not lie in our genes, but if a relationship were a jigsaw puzzle, our genetics
The oldest cave art in Britain may have been discovered, or more likely rediscovered, in a cave on the Gower Peninsula in South Wales, possibly dating back around 17,000 years.
