Cells constantly monitor and recycle their proteins through a tightly regulated waste-disposal system. Proteins that are no longer needed are tagged and broken down by specialized cellular machinery. Recent advances in drug discovery seek to exploit this system by redirecting it toward disease-relevant targets. This strategy relies on so-called molecular glues, small molecules that induce interactions between proteins that would not normally bind to each other. If a disease-causing protein can be brought into contact with a cellular degradation enzyme, it is selectively eliminated by the cell itself. Until now, however, most molecular glues have been discovered by chance, limiting their broader therapeutic application. [...]
Despite being riddled with impurities and defects, solution-processed lead-halide perovskites are surprisingly efficient at converting solar energy into electricity. Their efficiency is approaching that of silicon-based solar cells, the industry standard. In a new study published in Nature Communications, physicists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) present a comprehensive explanation of the mechanism behind perovskite efficiency that has long perplexed researchers. [...]
More than half of college students are lonely—and those who use social media the most are particularly likely to feel isolated, a study of tens of thousands of 18 to 24-year-olds in the US shows. Just 16 hours a week—two or so hours a day—on social media was linked with higher odds of loneliness, reports a paper in the Journal of American College Health. [...]
People with disabilities are relying on emergency housing, and staying longer in accommodation intended for seven-day stays, because of a lack of accessible, affordable rental properties, a study by researchers from the University of Otago, Wellington—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, Pōneke has found. Dr. Chang Yu, a research fellow in the Faculty of Medicine's Department of Public Health, says people with disabilities stayed in emergency housing 6% more often and for 5% longer compared to those without disabilities during the period from 2016 to 2022. [...]
The atmospheres of exoplanets have been a focal point of the field lately, with the James Webb Space Telescope taking a look at as many as it can manage. But time on the world's most powerful space telescope is valuable, and getting a complete picture of any such atmosphere is difficult without that significant time commitment. So a multidisciplinary team of researchers have come up with an alternative mission that is very specialized at capturing as much information as they can about exoplanet atmospheres, but also with a fraction of the budget of flagship missions like JWST. The mission, known as the EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope (EXCITE), has one feature the JWST doesn't though—a gondola. [...]
If you told me a decade ago that I'd become an expert in mapping cemeteries, I would've laughed and been very confused about the dramatic turn my professional life must've taken at some point. [...]
Adults think we know what is best for children. We have responsibility for them—feeding them, clothing them, educating them, protecting them, loving them—but we also assume rights over them, and on their behalf. Adults make rules (including laws and policies) about what children can and cannot do. We expect children to behave according to our rules. [...]
Cattle auctions aren't often all-night affairs. But in Texas Lake Country in June 2022, ranchers facing dwindling water supplies and dried out pastures amid a worsening drought sold off more than 4,000 animals in an auction that lasted nearly 24 hours—about 200 cows an hour. [...]
As Valentine's Day approaches, restaurant bookings fill up and couples exchange cards, flowers, and carefully chosen gifts. For some, it's a day of closeness and connection. For others, it can bring anxiety, disappointment, or emotional distance. [...]
As loneliness reaches epidemic levels worldwide, work has become one of the main settings where connection is either strengthened or lost. In 2023, Vivek Murthy, the former surgeon general of the United States, labeled loneliness an "epidemic," warning that its consequences rival those of other major health risks. [...]
In 1532, in the city of Cajamarca, Peru, Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro and a group of Europeans took the Inca ruler Atahualpa hostage, setting the stage for the fall of the Inca Empire. [...]
There's a peculiar ritual in many kitchens: reaching past the crisp, pristine tea towel hanging on the oven door to grab the threadbare, slightly graying one shoved in the drawer. [...]
Astronomers want to collect as much data as possible using as many systems as possible. Sometimes that requires coordination between instruments. The teams that run the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the upcoming Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey (Ariel) missions will have plenty of opportunity for that once both telescopes are online in the early 2030s. A new paper, available in pre-print on arXiv, from the Ariel-JWST Synergy Working Group details just how exactly the two systems can work together to better analyze exoplanets. [...]
Chalcolithic cornets are conical ceramic vessels produced exclusively during the Chalcolithic period, recovered in abundance at some archaeological sites but absent at others. Their function has long been debated. However, in a study published in Tel Aviv, Sharon Zuhovitzky and her colleagues, Paula Waiman-Barak and Yuval Gadot, present the first systematic study of one of the most extensive cornet collections discovered at the Chalcolithic site of Teleilat Ghassul. [...]
The Swiss job market is a popular location for workers from outside the country. At the end of 2024, the Swiss Federal Statistical Office reported about 400,000 cross-border commuters in Switzerland—that is, people who live outside the country and commute to work in Switzerland. By contrast, there are about 1.9 million foreign employees who live and work in Switzerland. [...]
Two or more graphene layers that are stacked with a small twist angle in relation to each other form a so-called moiré lattice. This characteristic pattern influences the movement of electrons inside materials, which can give rise to strongly correlated states, such as superconductivity. [...]
Families with children who have dyslexia have long pushed lawmakers to respond to a pressing concern: Too many young students struggle for years to learn to read, before schools recognize the problem. [...]
Extreme rainfall is reshaping coastal waters along South Korea's shoreline, flushing nutrients from land into the sea and fueling the growth of algal blooms. A new multi-year study, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, tracked water quality in and around a major river estuary and shows how intense downpours can shift where and when these blooms appear, with consequences for marine ecosystems and coastal communities. [...]
Tiny highly uniform magnetic fields are known to pervade the universe, influencing various cosmological processes. To date, however, the physical mechanisms underpinning the generation of these fields remain poorly understood. Recently, researchers at McGill University and ETH Zurich have described a novel mechanism that may lead to the generation of cosmological magnetic fields. This mechanism, outlined in a paper published in Physical Review Letters, involves a (pseudo-scalar) quantum field that may give rise to the existence of ultralight dark matter consisting of particles with extremely low mass that interact with ordinary matter only very weakly. [...]
It's well established that the universe is expanding, but there's serious disagreement among scientists over how fast it's happening. [...]
Concrete is all around you—in the foundation of your home, the bridges you drive over, the sidewalks and buildings of cities. It is often described as the second-most used material by volume on Earth after water. [...]
A new study co-authored by McGill University researchers suggests people can be taught to reject unfair advantages. "We often benefit personally from an unequal distribution of resources, a phenomenon known as advantageous inequity—for example, receiving a higher salary than a colleague with the identical role," said senior author Ross Otto, a psychology professor. "Here we ask whether people can learn to punish advantageous inequity merely by observing the inequity-averse preferences of another person." [...]
When Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. in 2005, nearly 2000 people lost their lives and the cost of the catastrophe exceeded $100 billion. Now, 21 years later, new research from The University of Manchester has found that Katrina left another, less visible legacy long after the storm clouds had cleared. [...]
In the face of widespread pessimism about the political fate of the United States and growing political polarization, scholars and citizens across the country are reimagining how American democracy could better serve the needs of the whole population. [...]
The Mediterranean Sea is rapidly changing under ongoing climate change. In the eastern basin, tropicalization is already well documented and driven by a combination of strong warming and the influx of tropical species through the Suez Canal. In contrast, the western Mediterranean has, until now, shown fewer such signals. However, a recent study demonstrates that the expansion of microscopic warm-water species provides a clear and early indication of tropicalization impacts on marine ecosystems. [...]
Children who spend time learning outside may reap benefits physically, academically, and emotionally, according to a Texas A&M University researcher. Dr. Arianna Pikus, an assistant professor in the College of Education and Human Development who studies how nature can be used as a learning environment, said the benefits of outdoor learning may even extend beyond students—to teachers. [...]
The head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, has warned young people will suffer the most as an AI "tsunami" wipes out many entry-level roles in coming years. [...]
The Japanese priest and his parishioners gathered before dawn, hoping that climate change had not robbed them of the chance to experience an increasingly rare communion with the sacred. [...]
It is Carnival season in New Orleans. That means gazillions of green, gold and purple Mardi Gras beads. [...]
The International Space Station returned to full strength with Saturday's arrival of four new astronauts to replace colleagues who bailed early because of health concerns. [...]
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