The ability to detect viruses and other harmful pathogens is highly advantageous for animals, as it can guide their behavior and prevent them from illness, and—in severe cases—death. When it comes to species that live in organized groups, such as bees, ants and some other insects, it can be even more crucial, as it can prevent the spread of pathogens across entire colonies. [...]
Take a brief walk outside and you're likely to encounter a wide range of things that could influence your health—the sunlight beaming on your face, a plume of exhaust, or even noise from a car driving by. Each exposure carries with it the possibility of affecting your physical well-being. [...]
In the search for new drugs, artificial intelligence in the form of diffusion models is being used in drug design. What exactly does AI do in this context? Dr. Andrea Mastropietro and Prof. Dr. Jürgen Bajorath from Life Science Informatics at the University of Bonn and the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence have published an article in Cell Reports Physical Science on this topic. Below, they answer questions about this method. [...]
A University of California, Riverside study reports that cells in the earliest stages of human development could be susceptible to infection by SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, offering new insight into how the virus interacts with developing human tissues and why that may matter for pregnancy research. [...]
Millions of people watched the historic launch of Artemis II and were captivated by the mission's 10-day journey around the moon as NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen ventured farther into space than any human before. Part of the public's ability to experience the mission in high-definition was due to laser communications. [...]
Mississippi State University biologist Matthew W. Brown is part of an international research team whose latest findings, published this spring in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are reshaping scientific understanding of how parasitic organisms evolve and ultimately spread disease. [...]
Mechanochemistry is a growing field for chemical reactions that proceed in the solid state in the absence, or with minuscule amounts, of solvent added. For decades, solvents have been considered conventional for the progression of modern chemistry; nonetheless, researchers are increasingly demonstrating that mechanochemistry can synthesize complex molecules more effectively. With more progress, mechanochemistry could alleviate solvent-related environmental and financial burdens in chemical industries. [...]
Recent research published in Communications Biology marks an advance in structural biology by enhancing understanding of protein regulation mechanisms in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), a global health threat. The team led by the University of Melbourne combined several advanced techniques at the Australian Synchrotron and the National Deuteration Facility to reveal the hidden allosteric mechanism that activates a key enzyme, ICL2. [...]
The rare earths so essential to our modern technology have become a new diplomatic weapon—used to leverage influence and wield power, reshape global alliances, and exert economic dominance. For centuries, says Boston University historian Benjamin R. Siegel, opium was used in much the same way. [...]
Artificial intelligence can undoubtedly help scientists with their academic papers by summarizing research and helping to improve writing. However, one downside is that it has led to a wave of poorly written submissions and reviews, according to a new study published in Organization Science. [...]
Proton beams are not only used in sophisticated nuclear physics experiments. Today, they are becoming increasingly popular in radiotherapy, where they are an irreplaceable tool for destroying cancer cells. Doctors and physicists can enhance their precision thanks to two solutions developed at the Cyclotron Center Bronowice of the Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences. [...]
Sugar-based amphiphilic molecules, which contain a hydrophilic sugar headgroup and a hydrophobic segment such as an alkyl chain, can assemble in water depending on their concentration, forming hydrophobic microenvironments or organizing at interfaces. These properties are important fundamental phenomena related to detergents, emulsifiers, molecular assemblies, and the dispersion and delivery of drugs and functional molecules. [...]
In the world of organic chemistry, nitrogen-containing organic compounds are ubiquitous, forming the backbone of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, dyes, and functional materials. To build these important molecules, chemists often rely on highly reactive intermediates that can be transformed into many different products. [...]
The astronauts on Artemis II's trip to the moon in April 2026 didn't just have an amazing journey through space. They also saw something extraordinary. They were the first humans to see a total solar eclipse from space. [...]
RIKEN researchers have found out how light energy harvested by pigments besides chlorophyll is transferred to the molecular site where photosynthesis occurs in cyanobacteria. The work is published in the journal Plant and Cell Physiology. [...]
Cell division is one of the most fundamental and complex processes underpinning life. In human cells, thousands of molecules coordinate with one another in highly precise steps, all within a fraction of a second. But things don't always go as planned. [...]
Labor market policies intended to protect trade secrets and spur research and development may instead limit late-career wages and encourage firms to replace human labor with machines and other automation equipment, according to a study in the journal Labour Economics by researchers at Penn State, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and Colorado State University. [...]
There are tens of thousands of near-Earth objects (NEOs) that represent some of the most easily accessible resources in the solar system. Planning trajectories to rendezvous with these miniature worlds is notoriously difficult, and requires a massive amount of computational power to calculate. But a new paper from astrodynamicist Alessandro Beolchi of Khalifa University of Science and Technology and his co-authors offers a much less computationally intensive way to find these trajectories, and has the added bonus of finding much less energy-intensive paths to boot. [...]
A new study by a team at Tohoku University, published in Chemical Engineering Journal, has shown that more isn't always better when it comes to nanoscale chemical reactions. One might think that giving reactants completely unrestricted access to a speed-boosting catalyst would be the fastest way to drive a chemical reaction. Instead, it was shown that hollow nanoreactors can work more efficiently when transport into the reaction space is slightly restricted. [...]
Caring about future generations means believing that people who will live decades or centuries from now deserve ethical consideration. In practice, that means taking their interests into account when making all kinds of decisions across a range of issues—from aggressively cutting carbon emissions to investing in pandemic preparedness initiatives and regulating powerful emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence. [...]
Predators are typically larger, faster, and more powerful than the animals they hunt. Yet in nature, most attacks fail. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, by researchers from the University of Amsterdam Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), asks: why do prey get away so often? The key, the researchers found, lies in something the original model overlooked: reaction times. [...]
A study published in the journal Britannia analyzed coins and metal items found in an early 5th-century AD burial in Oudenburg, Belgium. The burial occurred around the same time that base metal coins ceased arriving in northwestern Roman Provinces (ca. 400 AD). With no new currency introduced, it is plausible that people turned to other practices and materials when still-circulating coins may not have met demand. Burial A-104 may be one example of such practices, possibly representing a sort of "missing link" between the Late Roman and Merovingian monetary systems. [...]
What's the point of play? Is it simply a way to keep children occupied, or something more? For some, it's about learning literacy and numeracy. For others, it's how friendships form and relationships deepen. But it can be all of these at once, and more. [...]
You're on the fourth human mission to Mars, and you're told the Odyssey spacecraft designed to take you there will be the smoothest ride you'll ever take. It features a newly christened electric propulsion engine which was in the late stages of testing during the first three missions. The mission starts and the spacecraft travels at a crawl, and you wonder if it's broken. A week goes by and you're now traveling at more than 400,000 kilometers (250,000 miles) per hour, and your mind is blown as to how fast you're going, how quickly that happened, and that this mission might be more awesome than you thought. [...]
A Moffitt Cancer Center researcher has introduced a new model that addresses one of biology's most fundamental questions: How does genetic information keep living systems organized and therefore alive? [...]
Childhood cancers are devastating. Even when the disease is not fatal, its long-term effects can be severe. Not enough is known about the risk factors. "Research suggests that only 5% to 10% of childhood cancers are attributable solely to genetics, while the rest are due to other factors, particularly environmental ones," explained Stéphane Buteau, a professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health in the School of Public Health at Université de Montréal. [...]
New research published in the International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business suggests that universities have a bigger role to play in shaping what students go on to do after graduation, particularly in the growing field of social entrepreneurship. [...]
Water droplets might seem simple at first. But when nearing evaporation, a desperate power struggle of competing physical forces can emerge, with explosive effects. In a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences publication, researchers have taken a closer look at the physics of charged water droplets on frictionless surfaces, observing spontaneous jets of microdroplet emissions. Their insights may open new opportunities in nanoscale fabrication and electrospray ionization. [...]
The Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite, launched last November, is now fully operational after successfully completing its critical in-orbit commissioning phase. With all four Sentinel-1 satellites having now been deployed, this achievement marks a major milestone for this flagship radar mission—a journey that began more than a decade ago and that has helped pave the way for the future of Earth observation. [...]
Penn Engineers have developed a new way to use AI to solve inverse partial differential equations (PDEs), a particularly challenging class of mathematical problems with broad implications for understanding the natural world. [...]