For decades, technology in schools meant desktop computers and basic digital instruction. Today, more immersive tools are beginning to reach children, changing how they interact with information and their surroundings. As these tools become more advanced, researchers at USF are examining whether they align with how children think and learn. [...]
For more than 100,000 years, the Methana volcano in Greece appeared dormant. No lava, no explosions, no ash clouds. It appeared extinct, like many other volcanoes today. An international research team led by ETH Zurich has reconstructed a detailed, long-term history of the Methana volcano. Their work is published in the journal Science Advances, and their conclusion is striking: While Methana appeared silent at the surface, enormous amounts of magma were steadily accumulating deep within its magma chambers. [...]
To ensure a robust domestic supply chain in the U.S., Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists are using bacterial proteins to separate the rare-earth elements that are ubiquitous in magnets, batteries, and electronics. These proteins, called lanmodulin, evolved in bacteria that use rare-earth elements to power their metabolism. But to scale up and advance biomining technology, researchers need a faster way to find and design better proteins. [...]
NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team now is targeting as soon as early September 2026 for launch, ahead of the agency's commitment to flight no later than May 2027. [...]
Genome duplication probably gave biodiversity a decisive evolutionary boost. A Chinese-German research team led by Axel Meyer from the University of Konstanz has now investigated the early phases of the process known as rediploidization. The results show that the fusion of chromosome sets is asynchronous. The research is published in the journal Nature. [...]
Simulating how atoms and molecules move over time is a central challenge in computational chemistry and materials science. Classical machine learning approaches to molecular dynamics (MD) encode fundamental physical principles directly into their model architectures, most notably energy conservation and equivariance, the requirement that predicted forces remain consistent regardless of how a molecule is oriented in space. These so-called inductive biases have long been considered essential for reliable, physically meaningful MD models. But are they truly indispensable? [...]
An origami-inspired reflectarray antenna developed by researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo enables CubeSats to achieve high antenna gain while fitting within the tight size constraints of small satellites. Weighing just 64 grams, it folds compactly inside a 3U CubeSat for launch and expands in space. Such designs could support higher data-rate communications, expanding the capabilities of future CubeSat missions, including deep-space and lunar exploration. [...]
Chickens and eggs are among the most common foods on modern Korean tables. Understanding their history can enrich our understanding of Korean food culture, agriculture, and animal domestication. It has been widely assumed that chickens dispersed from China to Japan through Korea; however, the role of the Korean Peninsula has remained largely unknown. [...]
Amber from the Kachin region of Myanmar has preserved a wealth of fossils, offering insights into the diversity of the Cretaceous fauna of a 100-million-year-old forest ecosystem. The site continues to yield previously unknown species. LMU researchers have now discovered the fossil of a true bug (Heteroptera) with an unusual morphological feature for insects—large claws on its front legs which recall the grasping appendages of crabs. These so-called chelae, which function like pincers or forceps, are extremely rare in insects. The finding is reported in the journal Insects. [...]
Canyons in eastern Utah will churn this spring with huge volumes of water—as much as 50,000 toilets flushing constantly at the same time—in a desperate attempt to maintain electricity generation for thousands of homes across much of the Western U.S. [...]
California has one of the highest rates of wildfire-driven deforestation in the world, and the trend has accelerated over the past three decades, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, assessed the state's wildfire-driven deforestation rates and reforestation needs between 1991 and 2023. It found that deforestation in California's conifer-dominated forests increased exponentially over the study period, taking place primarily on USDA Forest Service and private lands. Meanwhile, reforestation efforts are not keeping pace with the losses. [...]
New analytical methods developed at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions have increased our understanding of how bacteria manage DNA. The methods have enabled researchers to uncover how the sequence, physical shape and flexibility of DNA guide the activity of an enzyme called DNA gyrase, which previously got all the credit for managing DNA. The work uncovers that certain attributes of DNA are major players in this game. The study, which appears in Nature Communications, has implications for antibiotic design. [...]
Older adults and technology haven't always had the smoothest relationship. From learning to use email to operating smartphones, each new wave has brought fresh challenges and frustrations. Now, mastering QR codes is the latest hurdle. Recent research from the University of South Florida shows that when these interactions are difficult, customer satisfaction and loyalty can suffer. Since COVID-19, there's been a dramatic rise in the use of QR codes, particularly in hospitality settings such as restaurants. This shift has been especially challenging for older adults. [...]
Chemical reactions drive life. They ensure that cells obtain energy, proteins perform their functions, and DNA changes under certain conditions. However, many of these processes occur on extremely small scales—so small and so fast that they are difficult to observe directly through experiments. [...]
Tularemia is a rare but highly infectious disease caused by Francisella tularensis, a bacterium that can evade immune defenses. Symptoms of infection can include fever, swollen lymph nodes, and—in some cases—pneumonia. What makes the pathogen especially concerning is how little it takes to cause infection—fewer than 10 bacterial cells can be enough. Scientists at Arizona State University have taken a key step toward understanding how this bacterium survives inside the human body. For the first time, the team has isolated and studied a set of proteins that play a central role in infection, revealing a potential weakness that could eventually be targeted with new treatments. The study is published in the journal Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)–Biomembranes. [...]
A basic income program in Yolo County—one of the first such programs nationwide—lifted unhoused families above the California poverty line for two years. Families could, for a while, spend less time worrying about money and more time being a family, according to new research by the University of California, Davis. The program provided a monthly stipend to 76 mostly single-parent families between 2022 and 2024, helping them gain housing, food and general well-being for two years. The study, which analyzed the program and families' experiences in it, is published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. [...]
It was a head-spinning discovery. In 2018, researchers in Japan claimed to find concrete evidence of an elusive particle, a Majorana fermion, in a quantum spin liquid called ruthenium trichloride. Majoranas are highly sought-after by quantum materials scientists because when a pair are localized, or trapped, they can securely encode information and form a stable qubit—the building block of quantum computing. [...]
Chalk-stream salmon should be officially classified as a sub-species, new research suggests. Scientists from the University of Exeter and INRAe (France) carried out detailed genetic testing of salmon from 42 rivers in England, Ireland and France—including fish from chalk streams in southern England and northern France.They found that salmon from chalk streams are closely related to each other—and genetically distinct from salmon in nearby non-chalk rivers. [...]
South Africa risks thousands of premature deaths if the phase-out of coal plants is delayed due to the government's updated decommissioning dates, climate rights groups said in a report Wednesday. [...]
For decades, two different viruses were believed to be responsible for a common, untreatable disease in dahlias, a colorful, high-value flower grown worldwide. Virologists at Washington State University have now learned that the two viruses, known as dahlia mosaic virus and the dahlia common mosaic virus, are variants of the same viral species. Based on the sequencing and comparison of the viruses' genomes, the discovery was published in the journal Archives of Virology. [...]
Climate change is making Canada's seasons more erratic, its weather more extreme and its ecosystems less predictable—and UBC Okanagan scientists have now produced the first national map of exactly where that unpredictability is hitting hardest. Their findings, published in Communications Earth & Environment, reveal a troubling mismatch: the regions best shielded from climate chaos are among the least protected by Canada's national network of parks and conservation areas. [...]
A new method developed at LMU overcomes fundamental resolution limits and may provide insights into high-temperature superconductivity. Physicist Dr. Sebastian Paeckel has developed a method that can be used to calculate spectral functions of complex quantum systems much more precisely than was possible previously. His approach reconstructs precise energy spectra without requiring lengthy calculations. [...]
Researchers at Umeå University have turned a protein from soil bacteria into a potential new weapon against colorectal cancer. Their study published in Cell Death Discovery shows how an engineered bacterial protein can trigger a unique form of cancer cell death. [...]
Biodegradable plastics are usually sought after for their ability to break down quickly. However, this does not tell us how safely a product can be used before it degrades. A research team has developed a strong, biodegradable material made from bamboo sheets and a plant-based plastic called PHBH. The material's strength can also be used to predict how it breaks down in seawater, offering a simple way to estimate biodegradation. The study is published in the journal Polymer Degradation and Stability. [...]
Microplastics can be found everywhere in nature—from drinking water to clouds in the atmosphere—but scientists have yet to fully uncover how severely they impact the environment or the precise factors driving their buildup. A new study published by researchers at Penn State offers a fresh view of how microplastics traverse and influence watersheds, such as rivers and streams, across Pennsylvania and the world at large. [...]
Researchers at The University of Osaka have developed a catalyst that uses vibrational energy to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into carbon monoxide (CO), an important industrial feedstock. The work, published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, demonstrates a new piezocatalytic route for CO2 conversion under mild conditions—at low temperature and ambient pressure, offering a potential path toward future low-energy carbon recycling technologies. [...]
With the aim to precisely understand its function, researchers from the Inorganic Chemistry Department and Interface Science Department of the Fritz Haber Institute, together with colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, investigated the Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalyst system used for industrial methanol production during reaction conditions. They found that the dynamic, temperature-sensitive nature of the Cu-ZnO interaction is the key to its function—opening up new avenues for rationally improving this process. Their findings are published in Nature Catalysis. [...]
A compass always points north—or does it? Magnets normally maintain a stable direction of magnetization, pointing from south to north (S→N). However, this direction can change under strong magnetic fields or heat. For example, a compass placed near a strong magnet may no longer point in the right direction. [...]
When you throw a ball in the air, the equations of classical physics will tell you exactly what path the ball will take as it falls, and when and where it will land. But if you were to squeeze that same ball down to the size of an atom or smaller, it would behave in ways beyond anything that classical physics can predict. [...]
Incels—involuntary celibates—believe they have been unconditionally excluded from the dating market and are doomed to remain virgins. This has negative implications for their mood and self-esteem, as well as the women and girls they grow to resent. [...]