From summer evenings to global disease prevention, mosquito repellents are a daily defense for billions of people, yet until now, scientists didn't fully understand how mosquitoes themselves perceive these "keep away" signals. A new study has pinpointed an odorant receptor that helps mosquitoes detect a repellent odor and steer away. The researchers found that activating this receptor switches on a dedicated neural pathway that can override the insects' attraction to human scents, producing clear avoidance behavior. [...]
After years of research, teaching, and service, a faculty member's tenure and future in academia hinge on the evaluations of their peers—senior faculty who serve on promotion and tenure committees. These evaluations can make or break a career—deciding whether a faculty member continues to grow in their field or faces an abrupt halt in their career. [...]
Indian astronomers have investigated an ultraluminous X-ray pulsar in the galaxy NGC 4631, designated X-8. The new study, described in a paper published Feb. 16 on the arXiv preprint server, provides essential information regarding the magnetic field evolution of this pulsar. [...]
Deep in our cells, a wide range of processes are occurring constantly. These cellular processes rely on enzymes to act as catalysts and set off a series of molecular interactions. There are still many processes within the body that are not fully understood. Discovering exactly how these cellular pathways work can help researchers better understand how some diseases proliferate and develop new treatments that target part of these processes. [...]
For the first time, researchers have observed and measured weak electrical discharges, known as coronae, on trees during thunderstorms. A new study describes the near-invisible sparkles appearing similarly on branches of several tree species up and down the U.S. East Coast during the summer of 2024, implying that thunderstorms may paint entire canopies with a scintillating blue glow, albeit too faintly for human eyes to see. [...]
More than 350,000 chemicals are used worldwide, and many find their way into the ocean through plastic pollution. As plastics accumulate in coastal waters, they continuously leach bioactive additives that can interfere with the chemical cues marine animals rely on to find food, avoid predators, choose habitats, and communicate. [...]
An Oregon State University scientist and a team of undergraduate students have uncovered real-time insights into a chemical process linked with Alzheimer's disease, paving the way toward better drug designs. The researchers used a molecule measuring technique to observe in a laboratory setting how certain metals can promote the protein clumping that leads to the blocked neural pathways associated with Alzheimer's. Led by Marilyn Rampersad Mackiewicz, associate professor of chemistry in the OSU College of Science, the research team also watched molecules known as chelators disrupt or reverse the clumping. The findings are published in ACS Omega. [...]
Shrinking ferroelectric tunnel junctions can significantly boost their performance in memory devices, as reported by researchers from Science Tokyo. The team fabricated nanoscale junctions directly on silicon substrates and analyzed conduction mechanisms across a wide temperature range and multiple device scales. They found that smaller junction areas produced much larger resistance contrasts between the "ON" and "OFF" states, demonstrating that miniaturization could directly improve both efficiency and reliability in future non-volatile memory technologies. [...]
A research team led by the University of Waterloo is developing a novel tool to treat cancer by engineering hungry bacteria to literally eat tumors from the inside out. "Bacteria spores enter the tumor, finding an environment where there are lots of nutrients and no oxygen, which this organism prefers, and so it starts eating those nutrients and growing in size," said Dr. Marc Aucoin, a chemical engineering professor at Waterloo. "So, we are now colonizing that central space, and the bacterium is essentially ridding the body of the tumor." [...]
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, with an impact estimated at 80 times that of CO₂. Although efforts are being made to reduce the contribution of big polluters to methane in Japan, new research from Osaka Metropolitan University suggests that smaller sources are vastly underestimated in the Osaka metropolitan area. The findings were published in Environmental Science & Technology. [...]
The COVID-19 pandemic was a major health crisis that challenged citizens' information management routines. Epistemic ideals guided how people scanned and filtered information, engaged with it and adapted their behavior accordingly. [...]
A recently published research article examines the microscopic remains of clothing and burial items dating back roughly 7,000 years. The study focused on the Skateholm I and II cemeteries in Scania, southern Sweden, with a total of 87 graves. In archaeological excavations carried out in the 1980s, objects made of stone as well as animal bones, antlers and teeth were recovered from the grounds. Skateholm is one of the most significant Mesolithic Stone Age burial sites in northern Europe. The findings are published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. [...]
A University of Ottawa team has developed a new way to protect free-space quantum key distribution (QKD) from atmospheric turbulence, one of the main causes of distortion and errors when sending quantum information through air. Their paper, "All-optical turbulence mitigation for free-space quantum key distribution using stimulated parametric down-conversion," appears in the journal Optica. [...]
One of the largest known stars in the universe underwent a dramatic transformation in 2014, new research shows, and may be preparing to explode. A study led by Gonzalo Muñoz-Sanchez at the National Observatory of Athens, published in Nature Astronomy today, argues that the enormous star WOH G64 has transitioned from a red supergiant to a rare yellow hypergiant—in what may be evidence of an impending supernova. [...]
NYU scientists are using light to precisely control how tiny particles organize themselves into crystals. Their research, published in Chem, provides a simple and reversible method for forming crystals that can be used to develop a new generation of adaptable materials. [...]
Every winter, thousands of tourists travel to high-latitude regions like Scandinavia, Canada, and Alaska hoping to see the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. Vincent Ledvina, an aurora guide and Ph.D. student in space physics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, estimates he leads 1,000 people on aurora tours each year. Some ask Ledvina how the dazzling curtains of light are created, and he tells them that auroras occur when high-energy particles from space are funneled by Earth's magnetosphere into the polar atmosphere and collide with different molecules in the air. Ledvina says that more specific questions can be difficult to answer. [...]
Live music can engage more than just one sense, despite it being an auditory medium. Lighting and visual effects can enhance the listening experience, but it is unclear if they can also affect the impression of the sound. In a study appearing in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, researchers from Germany's Technical University of Berlin found that the color of a concert hall has an impact on the sound perception of a listener. [...]
The world has far more bees than anyone realized. Scientists have, for the first time, estimated just how many species of bees are out there on a global scale, offering a clearer look at how these vital pollinators are distributed around the planet. The landmark study, led by University of Wollongong (UOW) evolutionary biologist Dr. James Dorey, provides the most comprehensive count to date—broken down by continent and country—calculating there are, at a minimum, between 3,700 and 5,200 more bee species buzzing around the world than currently recognized. [...]
A new study from The University of Manchester has shed light on an unexpected consequence of plastic bag bans in East Africa, and why well-intentioned environmental laws may actually be making life harder for the people they aim to protect. [...]
Ribosomes are the components of cells that read RNA and build proteins. Without the ribosome, the chemistry of life would still be catalyzed by raw RNA. And yet the origin of the ribosome remains a mystery. In a Perspective published in PNAS Nexus, Michael Lynch and Andrew Ellington note that the ribosome, which creates all cellular proteins, is itself composed of multiple proteins. How, then, did the ribosome first come to be? [...]
A discovery by UCLA organic chemists may one day put catalytic converter thieves out of business. In new research, they've used abundant, inexpensive phosphorus as a catalyst in chemical reactions that usually require precious metals like platinum, one of the metals targeted in theft of the automotive components that convert chemicals in vehicle exhaust into less harmful forms. [...]
Living cells are sustained by countless chemical reactions that must be carefully regulated to maintain internal order and function. Enzymes play a central role in this process, accelerating reactions that would otherwise proceed too slowly to support life. [...]
Using atomic-scale defects in diamond, researchers in China have gained unprecedented insights into the complex chemical processes that unfold at the interfaces between solid surfaces and their surroundings. Published in Physical Review Letters, the results reveal that water molecules can form a nanoscale, ice-like layer on diamond surfaces—with important implications for our understanding of interfacial dynamics. [...]
Much has been written about how government agencies struggle with community engagement in climate resilience planning. For example, a 2024 study by the Resilient Coastal Communities Project (RCCP) described the enormous frustration felt by communities involved in planning exercises that fail to meaningfully address, let alone prioritize, local needs and experience. [...]
From tornadoes and hurricanes to wildfires and floods, weather and climate disasters cause billions of dollars in damage, on top of their steep human toll. Those costs could rise sharply in the years ahead, according to a new study led by University of Chicago Asst. Prof. B. B. Cael—potentially amounting to more than $1 trillion in damages between 2026 and 2030 in the United States alone. [...]
How did the construction of the Subaru Telescope transform Japanese astronomy? A new study provides a quantitative answer by analyzing scientific publications and their citation impact during the telescope's early years. Drawing on large-scale publication data, the research shows that the Subaru Telescope generated many internationally influential results and significantly enhanced Japan's global visibility in astronomical research. [...]
More extreme weather and shifting growing seasons are putting pressure on school meal programs, which serve nearly half a billion children worldwide. Jennifer Burney, a professor of Earth system science and of environmental social sciences in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, studies these changes and how they affect children's health and well-being. [...]
Artificial intelligence can be used to provide a more precise time of death, which could be crucial in murder investigations. The method was developed by researchers at Linköping University and the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine who have trained an AI model on metabolites in thousands of blood samples from real deaths. "Death is a strong biological signal," says Rasmus Magnusson, postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, IMT, at Linköping University, who led the study published in Nature Communications in which AI is used to determine the time of death. [...]
How do plants adapt to drought and heat? New studies on plants of the Canary Islands show that adaptation is not determined by a single character but by the interaction of entire sets of characters. Even closely related plants can follow very different paths. [...]
A new study reveals that the image of a seamless global youth climate movement is fracturing as activists in the "periphery" feel increasingly sidelined by Western-centric leadership. By investigating why these local chapters face a "crisis of connection," the research exposes how national security threats, democratic backsliding, and political rifts over issues like the Israel-Hamas war are breaking the "weak ties" that once bound the movement together. [...]