For about half the global population, rice is the staple food. Yet every year, a fungal disease—rice blast—destroys harvests that could feed 60 million people. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have uncovered how the pathogen outsmarts the rice plant's
Cattle ranching is the biggest driver of tropical deforestation, but it is also a key livelihood for nearly 1 billion smallholder farmers. A global study by Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU) shows that this tension can be eased by reintroducing trees into pastureland.
New research from Queen Mary University of London shows how extreme seasonal patterns are causing rainforest butterflies to adapt their reproductive strategies at a rapid pace, with implications for species resilience under accelerating climate disruption.
Europe, which is in the throes of a record-smashing heat wave this week, is the world's fastest-warming continent and stretches into an even more rapidly heating Arctic.
Along the California coast, from Bodega Bay to Morro Bay, commercial fishing boats have started pulling in salmon for the first time in three years, and local salmon are once again appearing on restaurant menus and in seafood markets across the state.
In a study published in ACS Nano, researchers from National Taiwan University report a new expansion microscopy strategy termed high-fold homogeneous expansion microscopy (hiHomoExM), capable of achieving approximately 8–9× isotropic expansion in a single expansion step while
The performance and safety profile of lithium batteries has improved immensely over the years, but new technologies are constantly demanding even better performance and increased safety demands due to higher energy densities. Now, a study, published in the Journal of the
A new research review led by Griffith University suggests using human urine as a fertilizer could significantly boost sustainable agriculture—but key health risks and knowledge gaps must be addressed before it could be widely adopted. The review, led by a multi-disciplinary
A University of Mississippi professor and his team have developed a technology that may one day lead to the early diagnosis of juvenile diabetes and CTE caused by traumatic brain injuries. The technology allows researchers to see and label protein shapes and interactions in
As meltwater drains through and beneath a glacier, it can alter how the ice flows and whether it breaks apart. Meltwater can also cause feedback that leads to more ice loss. Understanding when and how glacial meltwater drains is therefore critical to predicting how fast
Solid–liquid mixing is a crucial step for many industrial processes ranging from battery electrode manufacturing to pharmaceutical formulations. These processes often require uniform suspension of particles to ensure consistent product quality. For decades, engineers have
A statement can be true or false. But as Kurt Gödel demonstrated, there will always be mathematical assumptions that can neither be proven nor disproven
While scientists have known for more than two decades that all cells use a strategy called RNA interference to regulate gene expression, a new study is the first to describe how a specific protein manages the step-by-step process of assembling the molecular complex that
The U.K. smashed a century-old temperature record for the second time in 24 hours on Tuesday as a spring heat wave continued to scorch parts of Western Europe, triggering government warnings about risks to life. Several drownings were reported in Britain and France as people
Researchers from the University of Glasgow's Institute for Gravitational Research are celebrating the publication of a vast new treasure trove of gravitational wave detections, hailed as a milestone marking the coming of age of gravitational astronomy.
When hydrogen gas interacts with uranium metal, the combination creates a chemically reactive powder and a runaway reaction that is difficult to stop. The result can impact the safety and lifespan of technology critical for fusion energy, hydrogen storage and nuclear fuels.
As the Colorado River and its once massive reservoirs shrink from overuse and climate change, officials are faced with a decision that pits conservation against ratepayer costs for electricity.
Western Europe is essentially trapped in the weather equivalent of a Dutch oven, a situation that one scientist said has “the fingerprints of climate change all over it”
Tourism affects local populations differently in counties across the U.S., but measuring these effects may now be easier thanks to a new tool developed as part of a study by researchers at Penn State. For the study, published in the journal Tourism Economics, the researchers
Over the past few years, kombucha has become one of the world's most popular fermented beverages. While most consumers focus primarily on its taste, scientists are increasingly analyzing its chemical composition and potential biological properties.
A young bottlenose dolphin has taken up residence in the waters of the French beach town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, delighting locals and tourists while raising concerns about the animal's safety.
An international team of scientists has used artificial intelligence and 35 years of satellite data to uncover the shocking scale of environmental destruction in one of the world's most important ecosystems.
When it comes to technology and innovation, we have a lot to thank Mother Nature for. Learning from the natural world has led to a range of useful products, including Velcro, self-cleaning paint, and ultra-strong body armor. And now, a study published in the journal Nature
China’s artificial embryos are part of an experiment to learn more about how human pregnancies could develop under microgravity conditions
Carboranes are molecules composed of carbon, boron and hydrogen atoms that are proving to have applications of great interest in chemistry, materials science and biomedicine. They are being used, for example, in the fight against cancer through boron neutron capture therapy
The first small satellite of the CloudCT network has been integrated, tested, and prepared for launch from California in June 2026. This precursor mission will be followed, if successful, by the launch of 10 additional CloudCT satellites in 2027, helping to fill gaps in our
We've been looking at nature the wrong way, argues Rowan Hooper. If we stop focusing on the individual, we get a whole new picture of how life on Earth – and elsewhere – may have begun
Insects are declining across Europe. Czech scientists have determined this decline can be mitigated by returning large ungulates—horses, aurochs cattle, and wisents—to landscapes. This has been shown by a recent study by a group of researchers from the Biology Centre of the
Spectroscopy has many applications, ranging from fundamental tests of quantum electrodynamics and investigations of molecular structure to environmental sensing, biomedical diagnostics and industrial monitoring. A highly promising spectroscopic instrument that has the potential
A new study by the University of Turku and partners provides fresh insights into an individual buried near Lake Kitka in Kuusamo, Finland, at the turn of the 17th century. DNA and isotope analyses show that the individual, whose grave has been linked to Sámi cultural heritage,
Earth’s largest volcanic system, hidden in mountain chains under the sea, has long been assumed to erupt only quietly. The shallow seafloor off Iceland tells another story. The post When Quiet Undersea Volcanoes Turn Disruptive first appeared on Quanta Magazine
A new study led by the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) describes the mechano-chemical mechanism by which the acidity of the cellular environment destabilizes microtubules, the "avenues" that organize internal cellular traffic. This finding is key to understanding
In today's scientific and industrial fields, high-dimensional data in which numerous variables are observed simultaneously, such as genomic, climate, financial, and sensor data, are rapidly increasing. In such data, it is important to learn the dependent structures connecting
Approximately 75% of marine organisms are bioluminescent, with specialized light-emitting organs called photophores. They use the light they produce for various purposes, like attracting mates, luring prey, or confusing predators.
Scientists spotted patterns hours before a major solar flare, a discovery that could help forecast dangerous eruptions.
This one hides out in the Indian Himalayas The post Smile, Arachnophiles! New “Happy-Face” Spider Species Discovered appeared first on Nautilus .
The outer regions of the brain, the cortex, have specific layers of different cells—neurons—that are similarly ordered among all mammals, from tiny mouse brains to huge elephant brains. However, the proportions of different cell layers vary widely among species, and little is
Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have developed a new procedure, enabling them to speed up elaborate computer simulations that analyze matter under extreme conditions. In particular, this work improves the evaluation of experiments at large-scale
Single parents are less happy than parents with a partner, according to a comprehensive analysis of global studies spanning nearly 50 years of data. With the number of solo caregivers on the rise in many countries, scientists from Germany and the Netherlands wanted to know how
Critical safety equipment in many train systems is vulnerable to disruption by space weather, which could lead to fatal accidents
Critical safety equipment in many train systems is vulnerable to disruption by space weather, which could lead to fatal accidents
Remote sensing quantifies the destruction of both infrastructure and economic activity from the war in Gaza. Satellite-based data reveals that more than three quarters of Gaza's economy has been wiped out since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023. Even before the war,
Most people think of ice as frozen and lifeless, but research at Umeå University shows the opposite. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences demonstrates that ice actively speeds up the breakdown of iron minerals and may release more iron
There is not yet much research on the effects of heat waves on bees. What little there is focuses on super extremes of weather that would kill an adult bee.
New details of how DNA protects itself from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation show a hidden network of ultrafast molecular reactions that help prevent damage before it can trigger mutations that might lead to cancer, according to a study led by the University of Surrey.
In the race to develop safer, faster-charging solid-state batteries and more efficient thermoelectric conversion technologies, engineers and scientists have long faced a fundamental challenge: how to ensure ions move through hard, solid materials as quickly as they do in liquids?
The government has published plans for "once-in-a-generation" reform of youth justice in England and Wales. The reforms are billed as a blueprint for earlier intervention, more targeted support and addressing the root causes of youth crime.
Protons and neutrons—the building blocks of matter—belong to a huge class of particles called hadrons. Hadrons are composite particles made of quarks that are bound together by the strong force. They are classified into two groups: baryons, which consist of three quarks (like
A large protocluster of galaxies that existed 12.6 billion years ago, first discovered with the Subaru Telescope, has been examined in detail using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The study found that galaxies in crowded regions are more extended than similar galaxies in
Across the world, air pollution is associated with more early deaths than any other environmental exposure, raising risks of dying from lung cancer, respiratory infection, heart and lung disease and other causes.
