During an archaeological survey conducted in February, researchers from the Maritime Encounters program at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, identified six previously unregistered Bronze Age mines in Extremadura, southwestern Spain. The discoveries may represent a crucial piece of the puzzle in understanding the origin of the metal used in Scandinavian Bronze Age artifacts. [...]
Even though farmers have been dealing with rice stink bugs as pests since the 1880s, entomologists are still getting to know them at the genetic level. A first-of-its-kind study published on the genetics of rice stink bugs offers clues that could shape the battlefront on insecticide resistance for a tiny creature that costs Arkansas farmers millions of dollars a year. Rice and grain sorghum are the main economic crops, yet the bug feeds on many kinds of plants. [...]
New research profiles mitochondrial circular RNAs in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) from young and old human cohorts and probes how mitochondrial circRNAs and the mitochondrial RNA-binding protein GRSF1 relate to mitochondrial metabolism and cellular senescence. The study was led by first author Hyejin Mun from the University of Oklahoma—with corresponding authors Je-Hyun Yoon from the University of Oklahoma and Young-Kook Kim from Chonnam National University Medical School— and is published in the journal Aging. [...]
A yellow disk with rays of white—an icon of childhood drawings and a flower with healing properties. We have picnics on it, play football on it and make daisy chains out of it. [...]
The extreme weather events and resulting destruction that have hit New Zealand this summer are not only signs of a changing climate. They also highlight the now indispensable role of remote sensing satellite technology. [...]
Decades of research has shown promise for using microbiome science to solve several problems facing agriculture, but these findings have not yet been translated to practical recommendations for growers, according to a team of scientists in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. [...]
It is a double-edged sword. As the planet heats up, more of us are turning up and turning to air conditioning to keep us cool. The trouble is that, as well as consuming vast amounts of electricity, AC also leads to significant greenhouse gas emissions and worsens the climate change we are trying to combat. [...]
Researchers at the University of Granada have revealed that the Nutri-Score labeling system, commonly used in Europe to assess food quality, is unable to adequately reflect the nutritional and metabolic complexity of soluble cocoa sold in Spain. The study, which integrates non-targeted metabolomics techniques applied to the evaluation of nutritional labeling systems, analyzed 54 products from 19 different brands with Nutri-Score ratings between A and D. [...]
Scientists might have just found Earth's icy, distant cousin a few hundred million light-years away. HD 137010 b is one of thousands of exoplanets, or planets that orbit other stars, and is potentially the first Earth-like one that also orbits a sun-like star. Initially observed in 2017 with data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and its Kepler Space Telescope, further details about HD 137010b came out this year. [...]
The Microbiology Society's Microbiology Outlooks, launched in 2025, has published its inaugural article: "When Theory Meets Genomics: Reconciling Game Dynamics and Within-Host Evolution." The new commentary explores how theoretical models and genomic data can be integrated to understand within-host evolution. [...]
Their icy hunting grounds are rapidly shrinking, but polar bears in Norway's remote Svalbard archipelago have defied the odds by bulking up instead of wasting away, a study said Thursday. [...]
The COVID-19 pandemic introduced uncertainty, fear, and an unparalleled economic shock, resulting in the most extensive government stimulus package—totaling $2.9 trillion—in U.S. history. According to a new study, those stimulus checks more often went to the corporations that engaged in politics the most. [...]
Ehime University investigators measured 34 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in 100 commercial dog and cat foods sold in Japan and detected PFAS across many products, with higher concentrations in fish-based foods and dry products, and higher estimated intake from wet products. [...]
Air travel is famously one of the hardest sectors to decarbonize, and the number of air passengers keeps increasing. Electric planes and "sustainable" aviation fuels are still a long way off making a dent in the industry's emissions—if they ever will. [...]
The amount of greenhouse gases produced by the wastewater sector may be higher than reports suggest. According to a paper published in the journal Nature Climate Change, countries are missing out on reporting a significant portion of their emissions. [...]
COVID-19 made remote work and remote learning a new norm for employees and students. But even as many have returned to offices and schools, one of the pandemic's quieter legacies is influencing both the workplace and the classroom: Online degrees are now held in higher regard by hiring professionals, according to new research from Virginia Commonwealth University. [...]
Quantum technologies, computers or other devices that operate leveraging quantum mechanical effects, rely on the precise control of light and matter. Over the past decades, quantum physicists and material scientists have been trying to identify systems that can reliably generate photons (i.e., light particles) and could thus be used to create quantum technologies. [...]
A new bioengineered neuronal circuit board "BioConNet" allows scientists to artificially engineer human brain-like wiring at scale and can be used to engineer any possible circuit. The fully programmable, open-source system allows generation of large-scale circuits, while maintaining the ability to focus on single connections between neurons. [...]
Noise pollution is affecting bird behavior across the globe, disrupting everything from courtship songs to the ability to find food and avoid predators, a large-scale new analysis showed on Wednesday. [...]
A recent study published in Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa explores new historical evidence of one of pre-colonial Dongola's earliest rulers. Previously considered semi-legendary, the discovery of a document in which orders were issued in the name of King Qashqash provides evidence of his existence and details his social interactions, rulership, and the Arabization of Dongola in the Funj period. [...]
Hundreds of millions of animals are killed on our roads each year. Now, scientists have revealed how these deaths could play an unexpected role advancing wildlife science and conservation. [...]
While the number of Californians ages 12 and older who said they experienced a hate act increased in 2024, a new UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR) study showed how someone's likelihood to experience a hate act was associated with race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual identity, disability and housing status. [...]
A team of scientists from the University of Manchester and Oxford have synthesized stable nitrogen chain radical anions under ambient conditions. These molecules, which are normally too reactive to isolate and study under ambient conditions, are described in a new study, published in Nature Chemistry. [...]
Scientists have found a way to use common bacteria as tiny, green chemical factories to replace a process that currently relies on fossil fuels. In industrial hydrogenation, the hydrogen added to molecules to create products such as plastics, medicines and food typically comes from coal or natural gas. The process comes with a heavy environmental price tag, releasing between 15 and 20 kilograms of greenhouse gas for every kilogram of hydrogen produced. [...]
Thousands of companies around the world now regularly disclose aspects of their water use as part of corporate commitments to environmental, social, and governance goals. Yet reliable measures of corporate water withdrawals and discharges—and their impacts on local water quality and ecosystems—have been limited. [...]
Scientists share their work by publishing articles in journals, such as Nature, Science or PLOS Biology. One major part of the publishing process involves having these manuscripts reviewed by unpaid peers. These scientists specialize in the same topic and volunteer to make sure the science is sound and the authors haven't missed anything critical in their data analysis. [...]
This week, astronomers reported that one of the biggest observed stars in the universe could soon explode. A study compared long-term COVID-19 brain effects to the flu. And a new eco-friendly battery could theoretically last for centuries (or for several hours if you put it into a Steam Deck, haha). [...]
The U.S. National Flood Insurance Program is going broke. Increased flood strikes in more places, combined with outdated ways of predicting flood risk, are putting property owners at risk and the program itself in over $20 billion of debt. [...]
To further the quantitative understanding of cellular decision making, Dr. Gregory Reeves and his team in the chemical engineering department have worked to interpret how a transcription factor dictates the alteration of gene expression in cells. [...]
Like so many sectors of the economy, the news industry is hurtling toward a future where artificial intelligence plays a major role — grappling with questions about how much the technology is used, what consumers should be told about it, whether anything can be done for the journalists who will be left behind. [...]