By resurrecting a 3.2-billion-year-old enzyme and studying it inside living microbes, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have created a new way to improve our understanding of the origins of life on Earth and possibly recognize signs of life elsewhere.
Teeth have revealed that victims traveled from far-off homelands The post A Closer Look at an Elusive Ancient Plague appeared first on Nautilus .
I met Lufang Chen, a 30-year-old bank clerk based in the Fujian province of China, in 2016, after she had married a man she initially turned down years earlier. Although she preferred to remain single, and he was not her type anyway, she gave in to avoid the label "leftover
A growing distrust of expertise is reshaping the terrain of science in the United States.
People have long said that "bread is life." Now, researchers at Tufts University are using the bubbling mixtures of flour and water known as sourdough starters to explore what shapes life at the microscopic level. Their findings, published in Ecology, demonstrate a simple way
Generative AI was trained on centuries of art and writing produced by humans.
The diversity of water strider species apparently developed as early as the Cretaceous period, much earlier than previously thought. SNSB researchers have succeeded in clarifying the phylogenetic history of this insect family, with molecular analyses providing comprehensive
Mangroves, typical of tropical and subtropical latitudes, have become veritable natural traps for land- and sea-based waste. The roots of these trees, known as mangroves, have a great capacity to trap litter—from both land and sea—which gradually breaks down until it is buried
Our planet is unique for its ability to sustain abundant life. From studies of the rock record, scientists believe life had already emerged on Earth at least 3.5 billion years ago and probably much earlier.
Scientists have discovered over 6,000 planets that orbit stars other than our sun, known as exoplanets. More than half of these planets were discovered thanks to data from NASA's retired Kepler mission and NASA's current TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) mission.
The Dark Energy Survey Collaboration collected information on hundreds of millions of galaxies across the universe using the U.S. Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera, mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at CTIO, a
Generative artificial intelligence technology is rapidly reshaping education in unprecedented ways. With its potential benefits and risks, K-12 schools are actively trying to adapt teaching and learning.
A new global study shows that increasing soil salinity is systematically reshaping the storage and distribution of soil inorganic carbon (SIC), a key but often-overlooked part of terrestrial ecosystems. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Chile is reeling from one of its most serious wildfire emergencies in years.
Beneath Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf lies one of the least measured oceans on Earth—a vast, dark cavity roughly twice the volume of the North Sea.
A new study reveals that people are far more emotionally affected by anticipating negative future outcomes than by imagining positive ones, helping to explain why many individuals avoid uncertainty and prefer decisions to be resolved sooner rather than later.
Different moods may determine what details you remember and how you recall them later The post Motivation Can Profoundly Shape Your Memories appeared first on Nautilus .
Piezofluorochromism, the phenomenon of materials reversibly changing their fluorescent color when pressure is applied, is used to create the pressure sensors used in automotive and medical industries. By monitoring color changes, researchers can visually recognize phenomena,
Many mammal populations in European and North American zoos are aging—a trend that jeopardizes the long-term viability of so-called reserve populations and, with it, a core mission of modern zoos in global species conservation. This is the central finding of a new international
Physicists from University of Jyväskylä and Aalto University (Finland) have experimentally realized a two-dimensional topological crystalline insulator. This is a quantum material that has been theoretically predicted for more than a decade but had remained inaccessible due to
A deadly storm this week dumped nearly six months of rain on the Greek capital Athens in less than a day, one of the country's top weather experts told AFP on Thursday.
South Africa's iconic Kruger National Park suffered major damage to critical infrastructure in recent flooding, with the cost of repairs estimated to run over 30 million dollars, officials said Thursday.
An international research team led by scientists at Waseda University and Tohoku University has discovered an extraordinary quasar in the early universe that hosts one of the fastest-growing supermassive black holes known at this mass scale. Observations with the Subaru
This NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month brings us a scene from the distant universe. Pictured here is the galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5+2223, or MACS J1149 for short, which is located about 5 billion light-years away in the constellation Leo.
New fossil evidence from China suggests that some of our vertebrate ancestors had four eyes. The study, published in Nature, takes a closer look at a structure found in multiple 518 million-year-old fossils, which appears to have the same features of other fossilized eyes, and
La Niña—a climate phenomenon characterized by unusually cool sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean—can persist for multiple years, exerting significant climate impacts worldwide. In recent decades, such prolonged La Niña events have grown
Structure of fossil foot and ankle bones was robust enough for occasional hopping The post How Giant Kangaroos Moved Across Ancient Australia appeared first on Nautilus .
Type 2 diabetes becomes more dangerous to the heart the longer a person has it. Researchers found that after several years, red blood cells can begin interfering with healthy blood vessel function. This harmful shift was not present in newly diagnosed patients but emerged over
Giant ancestors of modern-day kangaroos—which previous research has estimated could weigh up to 250 kilograms—may have been able to hop in short bursts, according to research published in Scientific Reports.
Mining companies worldwide are expanding mineral extraction at existing mines, as the rate of opening new sites slows, to meet global demand driven mainly by the need for clean energy infrastructure.
Brain scans show a spot in the cerebellum attuned specifically to words, expanding on studies that point to the region's importance for language.
As America approaches its 250th anniversary of declaring independence, NASA's Artemis II mission will carry a host of mementos that reflect the nation's long tradition of exploration, innovation, and leadership in its official flight kit. The items will fly aboard the Orion
Every time we speak, we're improvising. "Humans possess a remarkable ability to talk about almost anything, sometimes putting words together into never-before-spoken or -written sentences," said Morten H. Christiansen, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Psychology in the
Lysosomes are membrane-bound organelles whose acidic lumen (pH 4.5–5.0) is required for degradation. This luminal acidity is known to regulate cytosolic-side functions such as membrane fusion/fission, movement, and membrane-contact site formation.
Nano-sensors that work without batteries or wires could pave the way for more comfortable, less obtrusive sleep and health care monitoring at home, according to scientists at the University of Surrey.
Astronomers have long searched for life within a rather narrow ring around a star, the "habitable zone," where a planet should be neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water. A new study argues that this ring is too strict: on tidally locked worlds that keep one face in
Scientists have created 3D printed surfaces featuring intricate textures that can be used to bounce unwanted gas particles away from quantum sensors, allowing useful particles like atoms to be delivered more efficiently, which could help improve measurement accuracy.
Four in five women musicians have experienced sexual violence and harassment while working or taking part in the Scottish folk music scene, according to new survey findings.
A new blood test may reveal Crohn’s disease years before symptoms begin. The test detects an unusual immune response to gut bacteria in people who later develop the condition. By studying healthy relatives of Crohn’s patients, researchers identified early warning signals long
A 66 million-year-old mystery behind how our planet transformed from a tropical greenhouse to the ice-capped world of today has been unraveled by scientists. Their new study has revealed that Earth's massive drop in temperature after the dinosaurs went extinct could have been
Living walls—structures housing flowers and plants fitted to the outside of new and old buildings—can significantly enhance the biodiversity within urban environments, a new study has shown.
University of Queensland researchers say the discovery of a new stress reduction role for a naturally occurring molecule in the body could lead to new drugs and treatment for metabolic disorders and aging.
Despite being one of the most cooperative species on the planet, humans routinely fail to manage shared resources sustainably. We overfish from the oceans, burn fossil fuels, and over-prescribe antibiotics; behaviors that offer individualistic short-term benefits, but result in
A new study reveals that super agers over 80 have a distinct genetic edge. They are much less likely to carry the gene most associated with Alzheimer’s risk, even when compared with other healthy seniors. Researchers also found higher levels of a protective gene variant in this
Countries with a stronger market orientation may experience lower rates of homicide, according to a new study from the University of Georgia.
Prototaxites are something of a prehistoric mystery. They were the first giant organisms on land, towering over ancient landscapes at heights of up to 8 meters. They had smooth trunk-like pillars and no branches, leaves or flowers. And unlike trees, they had no true root
For 450 million years, plants and soil fungi have been trading partners. The fungi weave through plant roots, delivering phosphorus and other soil minerals in exchange for sugars and fats produced by the plant through photosynthesis. This ancient collaboration supports roughly
Scientists have long focused on quantifying fear and other negative emotions in animals. Now they’re trying to measure positive feelings — and it’s a challenge.
Scientists found that nasal cells act as a first line of defense against the common cold, working together to block rhinovirus soon after infection. A fast antiviral response can stop the virus before symptoms appear. If that response is weakened or delayed, the virus spreads
Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of astronomers has discovered a new extrasolar planet orbiting a sun-like star. The newfound alien world, designated TOI-3862 b, turns out to be a dense super-Neptune exoplanet. The finding is
