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White sharks exhibit stark differences between the DNA in their nuclei and the DNA in their mitochondria. Until now, scientists have pointed to the migration patterns of great whites to explain these differences. Scientists tested this theory in a new study by analyzing genetic differences between global white shark populations.…
Just as overlapping ripples on a pond can amplify or cancel each other out, waves of many kinds — including light, sound and atomic vibrations — can interfere with one another. At the quantum level, this kind of interference powers high-precision sensors and could be harnessed for quantum computing. In…
A research team from the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) has published a study in Communications Biology showing how ocean acidification and warming — two of the main consequences of global climate change — can simultaneously affect the structure, mineral composition, and microbiome of bryozoans, colonial invertebrates crucial for…
Nearly a quarter of people over the age of 40 experience painful osteoarthritis, making it a leading cause of disability in adults. Osteoarthritis degrades joint-cushioning cartilage, and there is currently no way of reversing this damage: the only option is to manage pain with medication, and eventually, joint replacement. Researchers…
A drought lasting 13 years and several others that each lasted over three years may have contributed to the collapse of the Classic Maya civilization, chemical fingerprints from a stalagmite in a Mexican cave have revealed. A detailed analysis of oxygen isotopes in the stalagmite allowed a team of researchers,…
Researchers at Arizona State University have developed a breakthrough diagnostic tool that could transform how quickly and reliably we detect illnesses like COVID-19, Ebola, AIDS or Lyme disease. The test uses just a single drop of blood, costs a couple of dollars and delivers results in only 15 minutes. In…
Research from scientists at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have shed new light on an age-old question: what makes the human brain unique? The team’s discovery comes from their investigation of human-accelerated regions (HARs) — sections of the human genome that have accumulated an unusually high level…
In 2024, NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance collected an unusual rock sample. The rock, named Sapphire Canyon, features white, leopardlike spots with black borders within a red mudstone and might hold clues about sources of organic molecules within Mars. Here on Earth, in Review of Scientific Instruments, by AIP Publishing, researchers…
Quantum dots – semiconductor nanostructures that can emit single photons on demand – are considered among the most promising sources for photonic quantum computing. However, every quantum dot is slightly different and may emit a slightly different color. This means that, to produce multi-photon states we cannot use multiple quantum…
‘Float rocks,’ sand ripples, and vast distances are among the sights to see in the latest high-resolution panorama by the six-wheeled scientist. The imaging team of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took advantage of clear skies on the Red Planet to capture one of the sharpest panoramas of its mission so…
Weaver ants have solved a problem that has plagued human teams for centuries: individuals contribute less to tasks when more people join in. New research published in Current Biology on August 12 shows individual weaver ants instead get stronger as their group grows. “Each individual ant almost doubled their pulling…
To help manage agricultural practices with fewer or no pesticides, University of Michigan researchers say they need to understand how ecological systems work on agricultural lands. Now, U-M researchers John Vandermeer and Ivette Perfecto have used two ecological theories to describe a tangle of interactions between three ant species and…
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week zooms in on the feathery spiral arms of the galaxy NGC 45, which lies just 22 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus (The Whale). The data used to create this portrait were drawn from two complementary observing programs. The first…
New capabilities allow the rover to do science with less energy from its batteries. Thirteen years since Curiosity landed on Mars, engineers are finding ways to make the NASA rover even more productive. The six-wheeled robot has been given more autonomy and the ability to multitask — improvements designed to…
Found using the MIRI instrument on NASA’s Webb telescope, which was managed by JPL through launch, the possible planet would be easier to study than more far-flung worlds. Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have found strong evidence of a giant planet orbiting a star in the stellar system…
Researchers think that members of the most recently identified “hominin” group (the Denisovans) mixed with early modern humans and passed along parts of their DNA. Evidence points to several separate interbreeding events, each leaving a genetic imprint that influenced the course of human history. In 2010, scientists released the first…
Cornell University researchers have developed a low-power microchip they call a “microwave brain,” the first processor to compute on both ultrafast data signals and wireless communication signals by harnessing the physics of microwaves. Detailed today in the journal Nature Electronics, the processor is the first, true microwave neural network and…
A treasure trove of exceptionally preserved early animals from more than half a billion years ago has been discovered in the Grand Canyon, one of the natural world’s most iconic sites. The rich fossil discovery – the first such find in the Grand Canyon – includes tiny rock-scraping molluscs, filter-feeding…
Scientists have discovered hundreds of giant sand bodies beneath the North Sea that appear to defy fundamental geological principles and could have important implications for energy and carbon storage. Using high-resolution 3D seismic (sound wave) imaging, combined with data and rock samples from hundreds of wells, researchers from The University…
Heat waves and cold spells are part of life on the Great Lakes. But new research from the University of Michigan shows that is true today in a fundamentally different way than it was even 30 years ago. “The appearance of these extreme temperatures is increasing,” said Hazem Abdelhady, a…
Cats with dementia have brain changes similar to those of people with Alzheimer’s disease, offering a valuable model for studying the condition in humans, a study says. Scientists discovered a build-up of the toxic protein amyloid-beta in the brains of cats with the condition – one of the defining features…
Researchers have created what could be called “skin in a syringe.” The gel containing live cells can be 3D printed into a skin transplant, as shown in a study conducted on mice. This technology may lead to new ways to treat burns and severe wounds. The study was led from…
A new UC Berkeley study shows that the so-called love hormone, oxytocin, is also critical for the formation of friendships. Oxytocin is released in the brain during sex, childbirth, breastfeeding and social interactions and contributes to feelings of attachment, closeness and trust. Never mind that it’s also associated with aggression;…
A public-private partnership between Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory has led to a new artificial intelligence (AI) approach that is faster at finding what’s known as “magnetic shadows” in a fusion vessel: safe havens protected…
A single bout of either resistance or high intensity interval training could help in the cancer battle, new research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found. ECU PhD student Mr Francesco Bettariga found that a single bout of exercise increased the levels of myokines, a protein produced by muscles which…
Researchers have found why common cuff-based blood pressure readings are inaccurate and how they might be improved, which could improve health outcomes for patients. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is the top risk factor for premature death, associated with heart disease, strokes and heart attacks. However, inaccuracies in the most…
A University of Colorado Denver engineer is on the cusp of giving scientists a new tool that can help them turn sci-fi into reality. Imagine a safe gamma ray laser that could eradicate cancer cells without damaging healthy tissue. Or a tool that could help determine if Stephen Hawking’s multiverse…
An international team of paleontologists has spent more than 15 years excavating and studying fossils from Africa to expand our understanding of the Permian, a period of Earth’s history that began 299 million years ago and ended 252 million years ago with our planet’s largest and most devastating mass extinction.…
Due to extreme temperatures and the dryness of Mars, it’s thought to be impossible for liquid water to form on the planet’s surface, a critical precondition for habitability. The only hope of finding liquid water appears to be in the form of brines, which are liquids with high concentrations of…
Betelgeuse is one of the brightest stars in the night sky, and the closest red supergiant to Earth. It has an enormous volume, spanning a radius around 700 times that of the Sun. Despite only being ten million years old, which is considered young by astronomy standards, it’s late in…
