Earlier this year, researchers at the Flatiron Institute's Center for Computational Quantum Physics (CCQ) announced that they had successfully used a classical computer and sophisticated mathematical models to thoroughly outperform a quantum computer on a task that some thought only quantum computers could solve. [...]
Evidence suggests Mars could very well have been teeming with life billions of years ago. Now cold, dry, and stripped of what was once a potentially protective magnetic field, the red planet is a kind of forensic scene for scientists investigating whether Mars was indeed once habitable, and if so, when. [...]
Scientists have developed a new material capable of capturing the harmful chemical benzene from the polluted air, offering a potential solution for tackling a major health and environmental risk. [...]
Flea toads, as some species in the genus Brachycephalus are known, are less than 1 cm long in adulthood. Their size is far smaller than a fingernail. [...]
In a recent paper in Nature Physics, an international research collaboration used world-class instrumentation at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) to study the exotic nuclide, or rare isotope, chromium-62. [...]
Natural hazards like hurricanes can take a higher than average toll on life and property on certain population groups, such as the elderly. A dataset that highlights vulnerable populations in hazard mitigation plans was awarded a 2024 DesignSafe Dataset Award, which recognized the dataset's diverse contributions to natural hazards research. [...]
iSnap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a significant vegetable crop globally, with its immature pods harvested as the edible part. Pod dimensions–length, width, and thickness–affect the size and ease of harvest. This is particularly for manual plucking, which is prevalent in China. Larger pods are often preferred for manual harvesting. [...]
The last two summits of Brics countries have raised questions about the coalition's identity and purpose. This began to come into focus at the summit hosted by South Africa in 2023, and more acutely at the recent 2024 summit in Kazan, Russia. [...]
Antithrombin, a plasma protein, has been reported to control thrombin activity by directly binding to thrombin, as well as to have an anti-inflammatory effect. However, the actual molecular mechanism of the anti-inflammatory effect of antithrombin was completely unknown. [...]
Medieval people have a reputation for being superstitious—and many of the supernatural phenomena found in the pages of medieval chronicles, miracle stories and romances are still alive in modern culture. Think ghosts, werewolves, demons, vampires, fairies and witches. But while (almost all) people today regard these beings as entirely fictional, many medieval people believed in them. [...]
Afraid of partisan rancor, nonprofits are biting their tongues, with divisive politics hindering public policy engagement by social service organizations. This is one of our findings in a new study we conducted on behalf of Independent Sector—a coalition of nonprofits, foundations and corporate giving programs. [...]
Jake Lewis, an entomologist in the Environmental Science and Informatics Section at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), is fascinated by weevils, a diverse group of beetles that includes many species with elephant trunk-like mouthparts (called a rostrum). Weevils provide various ecosystem services such as pollination and decomposition, but some species are serious pests known to decimate crop fields and timber forests. [...]
A recently discovered comet that some stargazers had hoped to see during Halloween week has disintegrated before the day of ghosts and ghouls. [...]
Plastics contain a vast number of chemicals, some of which greatly impact the environment and human health. However, information on the presence of individual substances in plastic products is oftentimes not publicly available. [...]
As much of the world prepares to turn clocks back an hour this fall, new research from the University of Oregon finds the annual spring forward to daylight saving time affects worker productivity more than previously thought. [...]
A bone-dry October is pushing nearly half of the United States into a flash drought, leading to fires in the Midwest and hindering shipping on the Mississippi River. [...]
Russian researchers have developed an experimental setup that will help simulate gas-dynamic processes and predict explosions in Arctic soils. [...]
A groundbreaking, nine-year study has revealed that elephants approaching small-scale farms in Kenya avoid beehive fences housing live honey bees up to 86% of the time during peak crop seasons, helping to reduce human-elephant conflict for local farmers and boost income. [...]
China's only woman spaceflight engineer will be among a crew of three astronauts blasting off on a "dream" mission to the Tiangong space station in the early hours of Wednesday. [...]
An expert on missing persons and unidentified human remains is hoping her research can help bring about a change in the law. [...]
Humanity faces an "existential crisis" caused by its rapacious destruction of life-sustaining nature, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned delegates Tuesday at a major biodiversity summit in Colombia. [...]
Achieving a sustainable society requires the development of advanced degradable plastics, or polymers, which are molecules composed of long chains of repeating units. The goal of a resource-circulating society is now one step closer thanks to the efforts of a team from Osaka University that has developed tough biodegradable plastics by including movable crosslinking groups. [...]
In North Carolina, one in four households relies on a private well as their primary source of drinking water. The state has the highest number of private wells in the nation, yet a lack of regulation poses serious public health concerns. Further compounding the problem, most private well owners are not getting their wells tested, leaving them vulnerable to the health impacts of consuming contaminated water. [...]
A study undertaken by a student at The University of Manchester has revealed a severe level of microplastic pollution within the Medina Estuary on the Isle of Wight. [...]
There are almost no words to describe the massive path of destruction left by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida and the Southeast over the past month. News footage of splintered homes being swept away by rushing floodwaters and fractured roads leading nowhere are difficult to comprehend. Unfortunately, climate scientists predict these images will become more prevalent as the Earth's warming climate continues to churn out extreme weather events. [...]
Global economic development, while providing many benefits to people worldwide, has largely been at the expense of nature. Yet increasingly, governments, financial institutions, and companies are recognizing that this paradigm undermines the long-term viability of the global economy. [...]
Summer heat has significant effects in the mountainous regions of the western United States. Melted snow washes from snowy peaks into the rivers, reservoirs, and streams that supply millions of Americans with freshwater—as much as 75% of the annual freshwater supply for some states. [...]
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover is negotiating a steeply sloping route up Jezero Crater's western wall with the aim of cresting the rim in early December. During the climb, the rover snapped not only a sweeping view of Jezero Crater's interior, but also imagery of the tracks it left after some wheel slippage along the way. [...]
Seagrasses are special: they are the only flowering plants that have returned to sea from land. They are also known as the "lungs of the oceans" because of their ability to photosynthesize. And with the exception of Antarctica, they can be found on all continents, where they form extensive underwater meadows that generate and sustain healthy coastal regions. [...]
A new review of the research on cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) clusters by scientists from Macquarie University and Oxford University will provide a roadmap for biomedical scientists to develop the next generation of treatments for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. [...]
19°C
19°C