Chocolate prices have jumped again this Easter, and it has a lot of people concerned about how much higher they can go—and why they are so high in the first place. [...]
Take a typical fish out of the water and it won't live long. It gets the oxygen it needs from the water it swims in. In a similar way, scientists are exploring dependency as a method of controlling what microbes can do and where they can do it. [...]
Polarization has always been a core property of light that is essential for a broad range of everyday applications, including displays (LED, LCD, 3D Cinematics), photography, as well as satellite and antenna technologies. The ability to tune light polarization empowers us with enhanced communication signals, improved image quality, and access to hidden image details and non-conventional imaging modes (e.g. 3D imaging). [...]
Ever wondered what it might feel like to spot giant spider crabs while you're snorkeling? Or check plants for the circular holes that indicate native bees are collecting nest materials? Citizen science relies on people like you—more than a million of them in Australia, actually—to collect and analyze valuable data about the world around us. [...]
A surprising observation in the lab has revealed a remarkable ability in Stentor coeruleus, a single-celled organism about one millimeter long. Sometimes nicknamed the "platypus" of microorganisms for its trumpet-like shape, this tiny creature appears to have a distinct preference for corners. [...]
Control of heat transport in nanostructures is of central importance for numerous modern technologies—from high-performance computer chips that need to be cooled to energy converters—and is a highly active area of research. While great progress has been made in recent years in understanding how heat transport can be influenced by nanostructuring, it was previously unclear whether the replacement of a single atom in a molecule could measurably alter phonon transport—i.e. heat transport through lattice vibrations. [...]
A United Nations-backed framework for protecting tropical forests could allow governments to collect income from carbon credits without advancing forest conservation. The weakness lies in how the program calculates baselines, which is the expected rate of deforestation without intervention. There is no evidence that enrolled jurisdictions—countries, states, and provinces—have acted on that opportunity, but the incentive structure favors those who do, according to a study by Yale researchers appearing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The framework also penalizes the jurisdictions that are in most need of intervention. [...]
Researchers have created the first map of a network of subglacial lakes in the Canadian Arctic showing 33 bodies of water under glaciers. Using a decade of ArcticDEM satellite data of Earth's surface height, a team of researchers including the University of Waterloo has developed a method that allowed them to track the draining and filling of active subglacial lakes in unprecedented detail. The team's paper is published in The Cryosphere. [...]
New research suggests that neutrinos in the early universe may have transformed into a previously unknown form of radiation. A study from Washington University in St. Louis offers a new way to explain certain puzzling observations about how the universe evolved. [...]
Scientists at Rothamsted Research have successfully developed wheat with dramatically reduced levels of asparagine, without affecting yield, using gene editing techniques, offering a promising route to safer food production and improved regulatory compliance. Results from two years of field trials demonstrate that wheat produced using CRISPR genome editing can significantly lower concentrations of free asparagine—an amino acid that converts into acrylamide, a toxic and probably carcinogenic compound formed during everyday baking, frying, and toasting. [...]
During the Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, NASA will test out a pair of new solar radiation forecasts, developed at University of Michigan Engineering, designed to protect astronauts venturing away from Earth. The forecasts will provide warnings of harmful solar radiation released by solar flares and eruptions up to 24 hours in advance. NASA's Space Radiation Analysis Group (SRAG) is examining how new solar particle forecasting technologies might provide a faster response to changing space weather conditions during the Artemis missions, which will mostly fly outside the natural shielding provided by Earth's magnetic field. [...]
Using preliminary data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, scientists have discovered over 11,000 new asteroids. The data were confirmed by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center (MPC), making this the largest single batch of asteroid discoveries submitted in the past year. The discoveries were made using data from Rubin's early optimization surveys and offer a powerful preview of the observatory's transformative impact on solar system science. [...]
A research team reports they have created an organic reaction called α-allylation with simple ketones and allyl alcohols. This work holds the potential for use in the development of next-generation catalysts. The research is published in the journal ACS Catalysis on March 2, 2026. [...]
Quantum mechanics is extremely successful at describing the behavior of matter at the atomic level. This success forces one to accept that certain aspects of physical reality go far beyond our intuition. Among these, none is more intriguing than the concept of quantum entanglement, which mathematically describes how two particles that have at some point in the past interacted with each other retain a memory of this interaction to such an extent that acting on one of the two particles has a measurable influence on the properties of the other particle, even if the two have long ago stopped interacting and may be separated by such a vast distance that communication between them is no longer possible. [...]
The search for life on Mars involves the efforts of scientists from many different disciplines. An important aspect of that search is to study Martian sedimentary rocks for information about the planet's environment when it is likely that the surface environment hosted abundant water and therefore more habitable, around three to four billion years ago. Now, research published in the journal Geology shows evidence of an intense sandstorm that swept through Mars's Gale crater over three billion years ago. [...]
A team of researchers has identified atomic distortions that may be linked with high-temperature superconductivity in a promising class of nickel-based materials, offering new insight into how next-generation superconductors might be designed. [...]
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed Thursday to include microplastics and pharmaceuticals on a list of contaminants in drinking water for the first time, a step that could lead to new limits on those substances for water utilities. [...]
Scientists have discovered that a highly unusual giant planet—sometimes called "forbidden"—could have an atmosphere with fewer heavier elements than its host star. University of Birmingham astrophysicist Dr. Anjali Piette worked with an international research team to analyze James Webb Space Telescope data from the exoplanet TOI-5205 b. This is a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a star about four times the size of Jupiter and about 40% the mass of the sun. [...]
Astronomers have long argued that dark matter is the invisible scaffolding that holds galaxies together. Without its immense gravitational pull, the rotational spins of galaxies would force them to simply fly apart. But now, scientists have found a string of galaxies that seem to be missing their dark matter entirely. The latest in this string, known as NGC 1052-DF9, is described in a new paper available on the arXiv preprint server, by Michael Keim, Pieter van Dokkum and their team from Yale. It lends credence to a radical theory of galaxy formation known as the "Bullet Dwarf" collision scenario, which has been a controversial idea for the last decade. [...]
A breakthrough method for chemically recycling acrylic—one of the world's most widely used plastics—has been developed by researchers at the University of Bath. In contrast to conventional mechanical recycling, this method uses lower temperatures and sustainable solvents without losing material quality, meaning the plastic can be recycled many times over with minimal environmental impact. [...]
Conventional weapons are generally presented as controllable, proportionate and morally acceptable, unlike weapons of mass destruction. It is this assumption that is challenged by research conducted by Julien Pomarède at the Centre for the Study of War and Violence at the University of Liège, based on American and French military archives. The findings demonstrate that the massive levels of devastation observed throughout the 20th century, and still today, did not occur in spite of the rationality that defines the use of these weapons, but because of it. [...]
Most laser sources produce Gaussian beams that diverge as they propagate. This natural spreading limits their effectiveness in applications that require light to remain concentrated over long distances. To overcome this challenge, structured light beams have been developed, whose amplitude, phase, and polarization can be carefully controlled. [...]
Slow roiling convection currents deep within Earth's mantle, which are associated with the movements of tectonic plates, also deform the material of the mantle itself. Now, a new study in The Seismic Record confirms that much of this deformation in the lowest level of the mantle occurs where researchers think there may be deeply subducted tectonic slabs. [...]
If you don't have anything nice to say, perhaps it's OK to say it anyway—if responding to someone who has treated you or your team rudely, new Cornell research suggests. Civil responses to disrespectful behavior remain the best option. But in a variety of contexts—from hockey fights to the workplace—experiments showed that people view an uncivil action or comment more leniently when performed as retaliation rather than instigation. Retaliating in kind to incivility may be appreciated as much as neutral responses. [...]
A new study by Harvard biologists reveals how octopuses feel their way to potential mates with a "taste by touch" sensory system and can even couple at arm's length without actually seeing each other. In a study featured on the cover of Science, the researchers deciphered how one male appendage serves as a multipurpose organ for seeking, sensing, and seeding—and even continues to respond to female sex hormones after being severed from the body. [...]
EPFL scientists have discovered that a simple shape change in mitochondria helps cells evenly distribute their mitochondrial DNA, solving a long-standing puzzle. [...]
A team led by scientists at the National Graphene Institute (NGI) at The University of Manchester has developed the first technique capable of capturing atomic‑resolution videos of individual gold atoms 'dancing' across a surface surrounded by liquid, opening a window into a hidden atomic world that has been invisible until now. [...]
A newly discovered fossil site in southwest China has transformed our understanding of how complex animal life emerged on Earth, revealing that many key animal groups had already evolved before the start of the Cambrian Period. The study, led by researchers at Oxford University's Museum of Natural History and Department of Earth Sciences as well as Yunnan University in China, has been published in Science. [...]
The moment nuclear material is produced, processed or purified, it sets off a hidden countdown, marked by the half-life of its radioactive atoms as they begin to decay. For scientists tracking the origins of these substances, decoding this natural clock is crucial for verifying material histories in support of global security efforts. [...]
Worldwide, billions of people rely on water sources whose hygienic quality is unclear or difficult to monitor. Conventional microbiological analysis methods take up to 24 hours, are costly, and require specialized laboratories for evaluation. These delays complicate the provision of safe drinking water, decision-making during flood events, or in regions with insufficient laboratory infrastructure. Researchers at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) have now developed a portable rapid test capable of detecting the molecule urobilin at extremely low concentrations. Their study is published in ACS Sensors. [...]