Like so many sectors of the economy, the news industry is hurtling toward a future where artificial intelligence plays a major role — grappling with questions about how much the technology is used, what consumers should be told about it, whether anything can be done for the journalists who will be left behind. [...]
Preserving quantum information is key to developing useful quantum computing systems. But interacting quantum systems are chaotic and follow laws of thermodynamics, eventually leading to information loss. Physicists have long known of a strange exception, called dynamical freezing, when quantum systems shaken at precisely tuned frequencies evade these laws. But how long can this phenomenon postpone thermodynamics? [...]
A study reveals how two proteins cooperate in a key early step of antiviral detection, as reported by researchers at Science Tokyo. Using cryo-electron microscopy and high-speed atomic force microscopy, they found that LGP2 binds to viral RNA and recruits MDA5 molecules, as if threading beads on a string. This creates a scaffold that facilitates the formation of a large signaling complex, which ultimately triggers an innate immune response. [...]
Recent decades have witnessed rapid advancements in high-intensity laser technology. The combination of laser irradiation and novel materials is opening exciting avenues for the design of functional materials and devices. Semiconductors are ideal platforms for generating laser-driven functionalities because they can exhibit novel features such as ultrafast optical transparency. This effect arises from electronic occupation redistribution driven by ultrafast excitation, which manifests as a phenomenon called transient Pauli blocking. [...]
For nearly two decades, two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors have been studied as a complement or possible successor to silicon transistors, promising smaller, faster and more energy-efficient processors. To ease their production and testing process, much of the field has been benchmarking the potential of 2D semiconductors using an architecture that causes a phenomenon called "contact gating." [...]
Early mammalian ancestors were nocturnal, sleeping during the day while the dinosaurs dominated the land. However, some mammalian lineages, including human ancestors, independently transitioned to diurnality (active during the day). Scientists have now discovered why humans are not nocturnal. A new study published in Science reveals that the answer is in the genes. [...]
A study by the UAB and the University of A Coruña has succeeded in demonstrating the existence of Roman-era alluvial gold mines in the Eastern Pyrenees. The discovery was made possible by dating two samples from the infill levels of the hydraulic structures at the Guilleteres d'All mines using new luminescence techniques (OSL), yielding a chronology of around the 3rd–4th centuries CE. This calculation fully confirms the Roman origin of the structure and allows confirming for the first time the exploitation of Pyrenean gold by the Romans in this region. The work is published in the journal Land. [...]
Our bodies are home to millions of fungi that, for the most part, are completely harmless. However, they can sometimes change from peaceful residents into dangerous invaders. One such is Candida parapsilosis, which normally lives on our skin or in our intestinal tract but can also be found on medical devices and hospital surfaces. If it gets into a wound or onto a catheter, it can cause a serious blood infection. [...]
At newly colonized high-elevation sites in the central Italian Apennines, female Daubenton's bats take turns using the same hunting spots instead of feeding side by side. A study published by a research team from the University of Naples Federico II, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, and several international partner institutions in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation shows that this fine-scale temporal partitioning helps the bats avoid competition and may be crucial for surviving at the cold edge of a climate-driven range expansion. [...]
Every year, over 100 billion nitrile rubber gloves are produced. They are made from synthetic polymers—a material chemically related to plastic and derived from crude oil. The vast majority is used in the health care sector, and most are discarded after single use. This creates a massive amount of material waste globally. However, Simon Kildahl, a postdoc at the Department of Chemistry at Aarhus University, has moved a step closer to a way of recycling these gloves. In a new study published in the journal Chem, he and his colleagues demonstrate how they can transform waste rubber into a CO2 adsorbent in the laboratory. The potential, he explains, is significant. [...]
Researchers at the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology have uncovered new evidence that two major types of gene-controlling DNA sequences, promoters and enhancers, operate with a shared logic and often perform the same jobs. The finding, made possible through a high-throughput assay they developed called QUASARR-seq, could reshape how scientists design gene therapies, interpret disease-related mutations, and understand cancer genetics. [...]
A research team at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has analyzed 40 years of data covering about 1,500 tropical cyclones and discovered that average rain rates surge by more than 20% in the 60 hours before landfall. The study is also the first to clearly identify the physical mechanisms behind this increase, showing that rising humidity over coastal areas and enhanced land-sea frictional contrasts strengthen convection, intensifying rainfall ahead of landfall. The results provide valuable insights for improving coastal disaster preparedness and early-warning systems. [...]
Particles in the atmosphere, known as aerosols, cool the climate by acting as cloud condensation nuclei. The more cloud droplets form around these particles, the less sunlight penetrates a cloud. This cools the climate, although this process is outweighed by the much stronger greenhouse effect. [...]
A research team from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed GrainBot, an AI-enabled toolkit that automatically extracts and quantifies multiple microstructural features from microscopy images. Designed to meet the growing need for data-driven and autonomous research workflows in materials science, the tool provides a systematic method for converting complex image information into quantitative data, thereby accelerating the discovery and development of next-generation materials. [...]
Cyanobacteria are among the most significant life forms in the history of our planet. As one of the first organisms to produce oxygen through photosynthesis, they shaped early Earth and created the atmosphere in which complex life could develop. A new study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that filamentous cyanobacteria also developed a navigation mechanism to control their movement when gliding across surfaces. [...]
Will humanity extend into the far future? It's likely many of us think it should. The problem is that each of us, individually and collectively, act otherwise—we are destroying the environment and climate at every turn. Now a group of scientists is arguing that civilization needs to specifically and systematically study how our species can ensure its survival, even for millions of years, via a new interdisciplinary field they call "Future Dynamics." Their study is published in Habitable Planet. [...]
Some solid materials can cool down or heat up when pressure is applied or released. This behavior enables cooling and heating technologies that do not rely on climate-damaging refrigerant gases. In practice, however, a major obstacle remains: many materials behave differently during heating and cooling, which makes their response difficult to use reliably in real devices. In a study published in the journal Communications Materials, researchers investigate a solid material known for its exceptionally large cooling/heating response (thermal response) under pressure and ask a simple question: can this response be made more reliable? They show that a very small change in composition leads to a clear improvement and use neutron experiments to explain why this improvement occurs. [...]
In recent years, mRNA in lipid nanoparticles (mRNA–LNPs) has emerged as a promising strategy for treating numerous conditions, including COVID-19, various cancers and chronic genetic disorders. To date, this technology has not been successfully used for pancreatic diseases, but that could be about to change. In a paper published in Nature, scientists from China report the development of a new lipid nanoparticle drug-delivery system specifically designed for the pancreas. [...]
Planetary systems such as our solar system take hundreds of millions of years to evolve. Since humanity has only existed for a sliver of that time, astronomers have only observed planetary systems at birth or, more often, long after they have settled into adulthood. There is an information gap about what happens in the middle. [...]
A leading climate scientist has sought to set the record straight over "demonstrably incorrect" claims made in a major U.S. government report that misrepresented his work and downplayed the role of human activity in global warming. [...]
A comprehensive game plan and strategic tactics are critical to winning soccer, but how much does a team's unpredictability in moving the soccer ball around the pitch matter? In a new article published in PLOS One, an international team of researchers analyzed event data from top-tier association soccer competitions to provide insights into match analysis, player tactics and game strategy. [...]
Wildfires in the northern boreal forests of Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, and Russia may be more damaging to the climate than previously thought, a new UC Berkeley-led study suggests. That's because these fires don't just burn through trees; they can also penetrate deep into the carbon-rich layers of soil underneath many boreal forests, releasing carbon that has been accumulating for hundreds or even thousands of years. [...]
The Cascadia Subduction Zone is unusually quiet for a megathrust fault. Spanning more than 600 miles from Canada to California, the fault marks the convergence of the Juan de Fuca and North American plates. While other subduction zones produce sporadic rumblings as the plates scrape past each other, Cascadia shows very little seismic activity, fueling assumptions that the plates are locked together by friction. [...]
Efforts to advance toward a more sustainable world focus heavily on a limited set of actions and actors while overlooking key strategies and sectors needed to address the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, according to a new study published in Nature Sustainability. Conducted by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), Spain, and based on the analysis of 4 million scholarly documents, the study reveals major blind spots in global sustainable research and highlights the urgent need for a more inclusive and coordinated approach to address the environmental crisis. [...]
Changes in rainfall within global monsoon regions affect the livelihoods of billions. For years, climate models have suggested that the fingerprint of human-caused climate change on monsoons would become visible by a certain time. But what if that timeline is wrong? A new study published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences suggests the signal may not emerge until a full decade later than previously estimated. [...]
Hantaviruses, transmitted from rodents to people, have a death rate approaching 40%. They're found around the world, and because there are no approved vaccines or treatments, they're among the pathogens of highest concern for future pandemics. They made news in the United States in 2025 when Betsy Arakawa, the wife of actor Gene Hackman, died from a hantavirus infection in New Mexico in March. [...]
Duckweed is the fastest-growing flowering plant, but new knowledge of duckweed genetics discovered by Adelaide University researchers could lead to even faster growing rates. The research team, led by Professor Nikolai Borisjuk at the Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering in Kyiv, Ukraine, described for the first time the architecture of the duckweed 5S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) chromosomal locus at the nucleotide level. [...]
NASA said Friday it's adding an extra moon mission by Artemis astronauts before attempting a high-risk lunar landing with a crew. [...]
Academic writing is one of the skills that students find most difficult to learn on the side. Particularly in bachelor's programs, precise and specific feedback is needed to turn initial drafts into robust exposés for final theses and peer reviews—feedback from fellow students—into genuinely helpful guidance. In practice, this is extremely challenging: In large courses, a vast number of texts have to be carefully read and evaluated according to uniform criteria every semester, and on top of that, there is assessment of the peer reviews. [...]
The South China Sea Throughflow (SCSTF) serves as a critical oceanic conveyor belt for heat and freshwater, mediating water exchanges between the South China Sea (SCS) and the Pacific and Indian oceans while regulating key processes such as heat and salt budgets, eddy activities, and marine biogeochemical cycles. It also plays a pivotal role in modulating the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) and shaping climate variability across the Indo-Pacific. However, long-term direct observational data of the SCSTF have long been scarce, leaving its long-term changes under climate change and associated driving mechanisms poorly understood. [...]