Reporting world updates to you
In June 2024, a group of Penn State meteorology and atmospheric science researchers set out on a road trip along the East Coast in a modified 2013 Toyota Sienna. The van was outfitted with a custom-built telescopic weather instrument extending from the roof. Their goal was to track down Florida’s…
A long-standing puzzle involving dozens of unusually small dinosaur fossils has finally been resolved. Specimens once believed to represent a miniature species of armored dinosaur have now been identified as young ankylosaurs. This discovery is giving researchers a clearer picture of how these heavily armored dinosaurs grew and developed. Liaoningosaurus…
The deep interiors of ice giant planets such as Uranus and Neptune may contain a previously unknown form of matter. This possibility comes from new computer simulations conducted by Carnegie scientists Cong Liu and Ronald Cohen. Their study, published in Nature Communications, suggests that carbon hydride could take on an…
Researchers from the XPANCEO Emerging Technologies Research Center, working with Nobel Laureate Prof. Konstantin Novoselov (University of Manchester and the National University of Singapore), have uncovered unusual optical behavior in arsenic trisulfide (As2S3), a crystalline van der Waals semiconductor. Their findings show that this material can be permanently altered by…
Researchers have created a powerful new imaging method that reveals far more detail about ultrafast events in the microscopic world than ever before. These processes unfold in incredibly short times, often within hundreds of femtoseconds, and have traditionally been difficult to study. The new approach allows scientists to observe and…
A team led by Prof. Tao Zhang and Prof. Yanqiang Huang at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), working with Prof. Wei Liu of DICP and Prof. Yanggang Wang of the Southern University of Science and Technology, has directly tracked oxygen movement…
A molecule that helps control gene activity has now been tied to both the growth of skin cancer and its ability to avoid the body’s immune defenses, according to new research. Scientists from NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center found that a key protein, known as the transcription…
Madecassic acid is widely known in Korean skincare as a calming “hero ingredient,” but new research suggests it may have a much bigger role to play. Scientists at the University of Kent have found that this plant-derived compound could help fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria, one of the most pressing global health…
Here is a substantially reworded, engagement-optimized version for a general audience, with the original facts preserved and a light update in context. Scientists at UC Riverside have identified a cheaper, highly effective way to kill western drywood termites by drawing them toward insecticide instead of trying to track down every…
Southern California may be home to an unexpected ally in the fight to save honeybees. As commercial hives across the United States struggle to survive attacks from deadly parasites, a distinct hybrid bee found in this region is showing a surprising ability to endure. Beekeepers across the country reported losing…
Researchers at the University of Lausanne (Unil) have uncovered a new biological mechanism that exposes a critical vulnerability in tumor cells when they are deprived of vitamin B7. All cells must adjust to changes in nutrient supply to survive. However, some cells become especially reliant on glutamine, an amino acid…
Lipid nanoparticles, or LNPs, are best known for their role in delivering the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines given to billions of people. Now, scientists are expanding their use far beyond vaccines. Researchers are working to use these tiny carriers to deliver therapeutic mRNA into cells for cancer treatment, inflammatory diseases, and…
Photosynthetic bacteria played a major role in shaping Earth as we know it. Among them, cyanobacteria stand out for producing the oxygen that filled our atmosphere and allowed complex life to emerge. Now, scientists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) have uncovered a surprising twist in how…
A new kind of political threat may be emerging, and it is far less visible than protests or traditional voter manipulation. Researchers warn that highly realistic AI-controlled personas could soon play a major role in shaping public opinion and influencing democratic systems. A recent policy forum paper published in Science…
Researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology of São Paulo State University (ICT-UNESP) in São José dos Campos, Brazil, have found that Moringa oleifera, commonly known as moringa or white acacia, could help remove microplastics from water. The findings were published in ACS Omega, a journal of the American…
A new study published in Nature finds that many of the world’s largest river deltas are subsiding more quickly than global sea levels are rising, putting hundreds of millions of people at potential risk. The primary drivers behind this trend include intensive groundwater extraction, a decline in sediment carried by…
For more than two centuries, scientists tried and failed to grow dolomite in the lab under conditions thought to match how it forms in nature. A recent study has finally changed that. Researchers from the University of Michigan and Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan succeeded by developing a new theory…
Human societies have not just adapted to the natural world. They have steadily learned how to transform it. Drawing on research from archaeology, ecology, anthropology, and evolutionary theory, Erle Ellis, professor of geography and environmental systems at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, explains how cultural practices have evolved to…
Researchers led by Northwestern University have developed a fuel cell that generates electricity using microbes naturally found in soil. The device, roughly the size of a paperback book, produces small amounts of power by capturing energy released as these microorganisms break down organic material in dirt. This soil-powered system is…
As computing demands continue to surge, scientists are exploring the quantum world for smarter ways to process massive amounts of data. One promising direction is a field called orbitronics, which focuses on using the motion of electrons around an atom’s nucleus, known as orbital angular momentum, to carry and store…
Out of more than 4,500 known planet-hosting stars, one surprising pattern stands out. While planets are expected to form around most stars and many stars exist in pairs, worlds that orbit both stars are unusually uncommon. Among the more than 6,000 confirmed extrasolar planets, or exoplanets, discovered so far —…
Think, know, understand, remember. These are everyday words people use to describe what goes on in the human mind. But when those same terms are applied to artificial intelligence, they can unintentionally make machines seem more human than they really are. “We use mental verbs all the time in our…
Extra virgin olive oil has long been a cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet, known for supporting heart and metabolic health. Now, new research suggests it may also help protect the brain. Scientists have found that its benefits could extend beyond the body to the mind, working through the gut microbiome…
Researchers have taken a major step toward understanding how black holes influence the universe by directly measuring the power of their jets. Using a network of radio telescopes spread across the globe, a team led by Curtin University captured detailed images that reveal just how energetic these jets can be.…
For people who spend long hours at a desk, new research offers encouraging news. A study from the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre (Australia) suggests that increasing your daily step count may help reduce the health risks linked to prolonged sitting. The findings, published in the British Journal of…
If you have ever used a “magic eraser” sponge to scrub away scuffs on white shoes or crayon marks on a wall, you have seen how powerful these cleaners can be. Melamine sponges are known for removing stubborn stains without the need for extra chemicals. But scientists are now raising…
Ants that consume a sugary treat mixed with caffeine become noticeably better at finding their way back to it. A new study published in iScience shows that these ants take more direct routes to the reward, even though they do not move any faster. This suggests caffeine improves their ability…
A new study from GreenDrill — a project co-led by the University at Buffalo to recover rock and sediment buried beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet — has revealed that the Prudhoe Dome ice cap completely vanished about 7,000 years ago. This is far more recent than scientists had previously believed.…
Engineers at Northwestern University have created printed artificial neurons that go beyond imitation and can directly interact with real brain cells. These flexible, low-cost devices produce electrical signals that closely resemble those generated by living neurons, allowing them to activate biological brain tissue. In experiments using slices of mouse brain,…
A new study has found that some of the ocean’s most powerful predators are running hotter than expected, and the consequences could be severe. These animals already require large amounts of energy to survive, and now they face a growing challenge as ocean temperatures rise and food becomes less available.…
