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Letting atomic simulations learn from phase diagrams

A new computational method allows modern atomic models to learn from experimental thermodynamic data, according to a University of Michigan Engineering and Université Paris-Saclay study published in Nature Communications. Leveraging a machine learning technique called score

Life forms can planet hop on asteroid debris—and survive

Tiny life forms tucked into debris from an asteroid hit could catapult to other planets—including Earth—and survive, a new Johns Hopkins University study finds. The work demonstrates that a certain hardy bacterium easily withstands extreme pressure comparable to an ejection

'Natural' and 'healthy' food labels may mislead consumers

Foods marketed as "natural" are not consistently more nutritious than their conventional counterparts, and some front-of-package nutrition labels may unintentionally encourage manufacturers to swap sugar for non-sugar sweeteners, according to a new study by researchers at the

Remote work opens doors for workers with poor mental health

Mental health problems can be a barrier for many people seeking employment, but new research from the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business shows that remote work options can increase participation in the labor market. The study, "Psychological barriers to participation in the

Rewilding could fill gap left by Panama's lost giants

Many large herbivores that once roamed modern-day Panama have declined or died out—including the 6-meter-long giant ground sloth and elephant-related creatures called Cuvieronius. New research suggests that introducing large herbivores in Panama's forests could fill the gap

A new 'uncertainty relation' for quantum measurement errors

One of the most striking features of quantum physics is that certain properties cannot be measured at the same time. Every measurement may inevitably affect the object's physical state being measured—and therefore also the outcome of any subsequent measurement. How fast

The real reasons birth rates are declining worldwide

From the cost of childcare to the housing crisis, there’s no shortage of explanations for the dramatic global fall in the number of babies being born. These analyses, though, are all missing something, says cognitive and evolutionary anthropologist Paula Sheppard

Intelligence emerges when the whole brain works as one

For decades, scientists have mapped attention, memory, language, and reasoning to separate brain networks — yet one big mystery remained: why does the mind feel like a single, unified system? Researchers at the University of Notre Dame now suggest that intelligence doesn’t live

Did plants nearly wipe out all marine life on Earth—twice?

UC College of Arts and Sciences Professor Thomas Algeo has been studying the planet's five major mass extinctions since the Ordovician Period, when global sea levels were much higher than today. In a paper published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, Algeo provides context for a

Synthetic gene medicines may disrupt DNA repair

Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), used to treat genetic diseases, can affect how cells repair damage to their DNA. This is shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in Nature Communications. The findings may have implications for the development of future

Blasted off Mars and still alive

A famously resilient bacterium may be tough enough to survive one of the most violent events imaginable on Mars. In laboratory experiments designed to mimic the crushing shock of a massive asteroid impact, researchers squeezed Deinococcus radiodurans between steel plates and

James Webb spots a galaxy with tentacles in deep space

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have spotted the most distant “jellyfish galaxy” ever seen — a cosmic oddity streaming long, tentacle-like trails of gas and newborn stars as it speeds through a dense galaxy cluster. The galaxy appears as it was 8.5 billion