Fluorescent probes have transformed modern biology by allowing researchers to tag and visualize individual molecules in living cells, tissues, and animals. Using these tools, researchers can watch viruses infect cells in real time, observe cellular trash collection, and track the signaling that spurs tumor growth. Now, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have developed a new molecular imaging technology that illuminates proteins inside living cells and animals far more clearly than before. Described in Nature Methods, the system uses engineered fluorescent nanobodies—tiny antibody-like protein fragments—that light up only when they bind to their specific targets. [...]
At more than one million degrees, the sun's atmosphere—the corona—is incredibly hot; but not everywhere. Time and again, huge structures of significantly cooler solar plasma—about 10,000 degrees—appear within the corona. These structures are known as prominences. They span up to several thousand kilometers and often resemble flickering flames that can take on a wide variety of shapes. Despite their delicate appearance, they are massive "chunks of matter": their density exceeds that of the surrounding corona by more than a hundred. [...]
The next time you find yourself lulled by the patter of rain outside your window, think how that same sprinkle might sound if you were a tiny seed planted directly below a free-falling droplet. Would you still be similarly soothed? In fact, MIT engineers have found the opposite to be the case: Some seeds may come alive to the sound of rain. In experiments with rice seeds, the team found that the sound of falling droplets effectively shook the seeds out of a dormant state, stimulating them to germinate at a faster rate compared with seeds that were not exposed to the same sound vibrations. [...]
Monkeys in a tourism hotspot have learned that swallowing dirt can quell the upset stomachs caused by overconsumption of sweet and salty snacks fed to them by holidaymakers, a new University of Cambridge-led study suggests. Troops of macaques living on Gibraltar—the only free-ranging monkey population in Europe—have been scientifically observed for the first time regularly engaging in geophagy, the practice of intentionally ingesting soil. The work appears in Scientific Reports. [...]
SpaceX on Tuesday announced a partnership with AI coding company Cursor and said the alliance comes with an option to buy the startup for $60 billion later this year. [...]
Under 35, navigating the cost-of-living and trying to get ahead? New research from Southern Cross University, QUT and Griffith University challenges the idea that financial literacy alone addresses this problem. Instead, three distinct "money behavior types" among young Australians are linked to different financial outcomes. [...]
When an entrepreneur leaves a salaried job to pursue a venture, the conversation nearly always centers on them: the risk they're taking, the opportunity they're pursuing and the funding they need. [...]
Journalists bring scientific findings to the public, and to policymakers, who often rely on media reports rather than primary literature to provide context for policymaking. However, media reports can and often do distort scientific findings. Reporters with little scientific training, working quickly, and keen to attract eyeballs and clicks, can sometimes misrepresent science. [...]
At 9 p.m., shops, restaurants and cafes go dark across the city of Cairo, where a stringent curfew has been imposed to mitigate the energy shock triggered by the conflict in the Gulf. The measure may prove difficult to enforce among people accustomed to long, convivial evenings, but the outlook is far from reassuring. Reports from inland areas indicate that petrol stations are running dry, raising fears that the emergency will last longer than expected. [...]
Citizen participation is widely seen as key to a successful energy transition. In practice, however, it often remains more of an ideal than a reality. In her Ph.D. research at TU/e, Nikki Kluskens shows just how wide the gap is between that ideal and everyday practice—and why we need to rethink how we approach public engagement. [...]
Buried within the Antarctic ice are more than 5,000 light sensors that work together to detect some of the highest energy particles in the universe. These tiny particles, called neutrinos, provide insight into the extreme cosmic events that created them as well as phenomena that challenge traditional physics. [...]
When nuclear accidents happen, many people imagine radiation spreading everywhere and lasting forever. The reality is more complex. Radioactive materials move, change and sometimes disappear faster than people expect. [...]
In the 2022/2023 academic year, according to figures from the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, 92% of public secondary schools in Spain had virtual learning environments that students could access with devices such as computers and tablets. Digitalization opens up countless opportunities in the classroom, linked to the acquisition of the new skills and competencies needed to meet the challenges of the 21st century, but it also entails a rethinking of learning methods, which requires careful attention. [...]
A new study comparing invasive cane toads in Japan and Australia has found substantial changes in body size and shape have developed much more rapidly than suggested by long-held ideas of the pace of evolution. Researchers measured and weighed wild-caught cane toads (Rhinella marina) on subtropical Ishigaki Island in southern Japan and compared them to toads measured in Australia, Hawai'i and South America. The work appears in Royal Society Open Science. [...]
As online child exploitation (OCE) continues to rise in Australia, new research from Griffith University suggests parents and caregivers may be the most important, and overlooked, factor in preventing harm. The study, involving parents and caregivers of children aged 11 to 17, found while many families were aware of online risks, what can make a difference in how effective they were in keeping their kids safe online, is whether they felt responsible, concerned, and motivated enough to act on that knowledge. [...]
Whether you've sought them out or not, you've probably encountered parenting content creators on social media at some point in the last two decades. [...]
Despite decades of efforts to combat it, malaria remains a major global health threat. According to the World Health Organization's (WHO) 2025 World Malaria Report, about 282 million cases and approximately 610,000 deaths were recorded worldwide in 2024. Recently, there has been a slight rise in the number of cases again. Children under the age of 5 in sub-Saharan Africa are particularly affected. [...]
Although the genetic material of most living organisms is DNA, various self-replicating agents rely instead on RNA, including RNA viruses and viroids, which are infectious RNA molecules that are smaller and structurally simpler than RNA viruses. These RNA-based replicators are considered important for understanding the origin and early evolution of life. However, the distribution, diversity, and ecological range of self-replicating RNAs across different environments remain poorly understood. [...]
Shrinking water levels at the Great Salt Lake are not just about Utah's water supply—they may pose a serious risk to public health. New research from a team at Utah State University and the University of Utah documents the ways metal-laden dust from the drying lakebed may find its way into human bodies—directly through ingestion and indirectly through food systems. [...]
Playing a little extra with your dog improves the emotional bond between owner and dog, according to a new study from Linköping University. However, training did not give the same results. The study is relevant for all dog owners, whether they have young or adult dogs. [...]
For more than 270 million years, trilobites were among the most successful and diverse creatures on Earth, with over 22,000 known species spanning the Paleozoic Era. Yet, despite their abundance in the fossil record and their presence on every continent, one of the most fundamental questions about their survival has remained a subject of intense scientific debate: how did they breathe? [...]
Florida's Indian River Lagoon has been an ecosystem in decline going back to 2011, when harmful algal blooms led to a severe decline in seagrass, the foundational component of shallow coastal ecosystems. [...]
Scientists are homing in on a mysterious wasting disease that has killed billions of sea stars along the Pacific coast of North America since 2013. Sea star wasting disease can rapidly wipe out entire populations, leaving gooey puddles of tissue in its wake. A new study by University of Vermont researchers may unlock the pathways for infection by identifying early biomarkers of illness in wild sea stars. [...]
Penguins may look charmingly awkward on land, but new research shows their bodies are finely tuned for powerful, efficient movement both on land and underwater. A team of anatomists from Midwestern University, in collaboration with SeaWorld San Diego and Scarlet Imaging, has published a detailed study of the limb musculature of the macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus), uncovering previously unknown features that help explain how these birds swim, dive, and even stand upright. [...]
New research has highlighted how inadequate environmental regulations and assessments of contaminated industrial land in India are endangering human populations and wildlife ecosystems. [...]
Members of the Atapuerca Research Team from the Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), the University of Burgos, and the Center Européen de Recherche et d'Enseignement des Géosciences de l'Environnement (CEREGE) are involved in a study published in Quaternary Science Reviews reporting the earliest known evidence of the classic Acheulean in the Iberian Peninsula. [...]
The science of memories has been pursued and studied since the days of ancient Greece and Aristotle. Today, research conducted by Dima Bolmatov, assistant professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at Texas Tech University, is considering how memories are stored on a cellular level. [...]
The Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH) has taken part in a study published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology that provides new insights into subsistence strategies during the Middle to Upper Paleolithic at the site of Cova Eirós (Cancelo, Triacastela, Lugo). The research applies a collagen-based approach to improve the taxonomic identification of faunal remains. [...]
Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz may have identified why many cancer patients say food suddenly tastes unpleasant during treatment. The study, published today in Development, found that a class of targeted cancer drugs known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) can change how taste buds are maintained—reducing the ability to taste sweet foods and altering flavor perception overall. While the study was conducted in animal models, researchers believe similar changes likely occur in humans. [...]
Roses are among the most economically significant ornamental plants worldwide, with widespread applications in the cut flowers, garden, and cosmetics industries. Yet fewer than 10% of rose species have contributed to modern cultivated roses. Until recently, available technologies did not allow to fully sequence the Rosa subgenus. [...]