Every January, offices quietly reset. New planners appear on desks. Fresh notebooks open in meetings. To-do lists look neater, ambitions clearer. There is a shared sense that this year, things will be different.
Much of south-eastern Australia is currently in the grip of a heat wave, which is expected to peak over the next two days. Heat waves often trigger bushfires, particularly if combined with strong winds.
Australia's climate is changing rapidly due to rising global greenhouse gas emissions. Extreme weather events such as tropical cyclones, east coast low pressure systems, flash floods, droughts, bushfires, severe storms, and both land and marine heat waves are becoming
Across Australia, forests are quietly changing. Trees that once stood for decades or centuries are now dying at an accelerating rate. And this is not because of fire, storms, or logging. The chronic stress of a warming climate is killing them.
What will we see in the southern sky in 2026? A total eclipse of the moon (at a convenient time), a blue moon and a supermoon, the two brightest planets close together, and Jupiter disappearing behind the moon in the daytime.
As Nairobi's skyline climbs ever higher, life for those living on the city's edges is being transformed—and not always for the better.
Can an organization ever be truly meritocratic? That's a question Emilio J. Castilla, the NTU Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management, explores in his new book, "The Meritocracy Paradox: Where Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong and How to Fix Them"
Scientists are a step closer to solving one of the universe's biggest mysteries as new research finds evidence that two of its least understood components may be interacting, offering a rare window into the darkest recesses of the cosmos.
Economics could do with less mathematics and more story, says Canada's most-cited economist.
Municipal bonds are a time-honored way to fund roads, schools, bridges and other public projects while paying investors interest, usually at tax-free rates.
For decades, flooding has remained one of the most destructive and deadly natural disasters in the United States, causing an average of $8 billion in damages and nearly 90 deaths each year.
Waiting in an airport for a connecting flight is often tedious. A new study by MIT researchers shows it's bad for business, too.
In communities around the Amazon Rainforest, there's a pervasive belief that large landowners use their money to influence local politics to benefit their operations.
University of California, San Francisco investigators measured smartphone app activity during school hours among US adolescents and reported an average of 1.16 hours of use, with social media apps taking up the most time.
The origin of life on Earth becomes even more fascinating and complex as we peer into the mysterious world of viruses. Said to have existed since living cells first appeared, these microscopic entities differ greatly from other forms of life. Composed of only genetic material,
Recent reports of wells drying up in New Hampshire reflect a pattern we're increasingly seeing across New England: extended dry periods and below-normal precipitation are stressing shallow groundwater systems that many homeowners depend on.
Neuromorphic computers, inspired by the architecture of the human brain, are proving surprisingly adept at solving complex mathematical problems that underpin scientific and engineering challenges.
The natural sands of beaches along the Firth of Forth are being mixed with significant amounts of human-made materials like bricks, concrete, glass and industrial waste, new research has revealed.
A low-cost, simple robotic apple picker arm developed by Washington State University researchers may someday help with fruit picking and other farm chores.
When oily plastic and glass, as well as rubber, washed onto Florida beaches in 2020, a community group shared the mystery online, attracting scientists' attention. Working together, they linked the black residue-coated debris to a 2019 oil slick along Brazil's coastline. Using
Australian researchers have uncovered how a particular strain of a diarrhea-causing parasite managed to infect more animal species, offering new insights into how parasitic infections emerge and spread to people.
In the aftermath of the giant asteroid that crashed into the Yucatan Peninsula about 66 million years ago, approximately 75% of all species on Earth were wiped out, including the dinosaurs. Among those thought to have perished at this K-Pg (Cretaceous-Paleogene) boundary were
The discovery of thousands more galaxies with stars ringing their main disks could help astronomers study galactic evolution more generally.
On clear days in Hartbeespoort, South Africa, satellite images often reveal a reservoir with shades of deep blue interrupted by drifting patches of vivid green. These shifting features indicate algae blooms, which can affect water quality, ecosystems, and nearby human
Google, SpaceX and Blue Origin are reportedly racing to develop technology for AI data centers in space, but it will likely be years before we see them rocketing into the sky, experts say.
Astronomers from Serbia and Russia have conducted deep optical observations of a cloud of neutral atomic hydrogen, designated FAST J0139+4328. Results of the observational campaign, published December 31 on the arXiv preprint server, provide evidence that FAST J0139+4328 is a
Bariatric surgery far outperformed GLP-1 weight loss drugs in a new real-world comparison of more than 50,000 patients. Two years after treatment, surgery patients lost about 58 pounds on average, while those using semaglutide or tirzepatide lost roughly 12 pounds. Even
Neuroscientists have been trying to understand how the brain processes visual information for over a century. The development of computational models inspired by the brain's layered organization, also known as deep neural networks (DNNs), have recently opened new exciting
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is facing strong public opposition to its proposed plans to extend closure deadlines until October 2031 for 11 coal plants across the country—three of which are in Illinois and one in northwest Indiana.
Baby boomers could be the secret ingredient for corporate sustainability, according to a new Murdoch University study.
Researchers in Japan built a miniature human brain circuit using fused stem-cell–derived organoids, allowing them to watch the thalamus and cortex interact in real time. They found that the thalamus plays a decisive role in maturing the cortex and organizing its neural
Australia's beloved dolphin populations face growing pressures from environmental changes and human activity, increasing the need for reliable, accessible and noninvasive tools to monitor their health and support conservation and management.
Researchers have reconstructed ancient herpesvirus genomes from Iron Age and medieval Europeans, revealing that HHV-6 has been infecting humans for at least 2,500 years. Some people inherited the virus directly in their DNA, passing it down across generations. The study shows
More than two years of war in Gaza have left many Palestinian children too weak to learn or play and convinced they will be "killed for being Gazans," a new report warns. The University of Cambridge-led study also includes the first analysis of education in the West Bank and
Water plays a crucial role in how tiny pieces of plastic enter our environment—and us
A look at how evolving national health policies could reshape the future of kids’ care, from vaccines to essential treatments.
China's government has long made efforts to tempt top scientists from abroad, but researchers say its institutions themselves are increasingly attracting talent thanks to their generous funding and growing prestige.
AI models such as ChatGPT and Gemini fail to give adequate advice for 60 per cent of queries relating to women’s health in a test created by medical professionals
Cells have a remarkable housekeeping system: Proteins that are no longer needed, defective, or potentially harmful are labeled with a molecular "tag" and dismantled in the cellular recycling machinery. This process, known as the ubiquitin-proteasome system, is crucial for
After a dead whale was found on the bow of a container ship docked in New Jersey, authorities were working Tuesday to remove the carcass and determine the endangered animal's cause of death.
Researchers have developed a magnetic nanomaterial that can kill bone cancer cells and support bone regeneration at the same time. The material heats up under a magnetic field to destroy tumors, while its bioactive coating helps it bond to bone and stimulate healing. Tests
Immune cells are most commonly engineered to kill cancers, but now, scientists have shown the technique makes the gut lining of older mice resemble that of younger mice, raising hopes that the same approach could work in people
Global cancer cases have surged dramatically, doubling since 1990 and reaching 18.5 million new diagnoses in 2023. Deaths have also climbed to over 10 million a year, with the steepest increases hitting low- and middle-income countries. Without urgent action, researchers
Scientists have created a new way to watch plants breathe—live and in high definition—while tracking exactly how much carbon and water they exchange with the air. The breakthrough could help unlock crops that grow smarter, stronger, and more drought-resistant.
Scientists have discovered that wildfires release far more air-polluting gases than previously estimated. Many of these hidden emissions can transform into fine particles that are dangerous to breathe. The study shows wildfire pollution rivals human-made emissions in some parts
Teens who sleep in on weekends may be giving their mental health a boost. A new study found that young people who made up for lost weekday sleep had a significantly lower risk of depression. While consistent sleep is still best, weekend catch-up sleep appears to offer
Dogs began diversifying thousands of years earlier than previously believed, with clear differences in size and shape appearing over 11,000 years ago. A massive global analysis of ancient skulls shows that early dogs were already adapting to different roles in human societies.
Earthquakes happen daily, sometimes with devastating consequences, yet predicting them remains out of reach. What scientists can do is map the hidden layers beneath the surface that control how strongly the ground shakes. A new approach speeds up complex seismic simulations by
Lush green fields of alfalfa spread across thousands of acres in a desert valley in western Arizona, where a dairy company from Saudi Arabia grows the thirsty crop by pulling up groundwater from dozens of wells.
A familiar mouth bacterium best known for causing cavities may also be quietly influencing the brain. Scientists found that when this microbe settles in the gut, it produces compounds that can travel through the bloodstream and harm neurons involved in movement. In animal