Top Science News

Mar. 26, 2025 — New research has found that employers and policymakers might want to start paying attention to how workers are feeling, because employee happiness contains critical economic ...

Mar. 26, 2025 — A small molecule shaped like a lasso may be a powerful tool in the fight against infectious ...

Mar. 26, 2025 — People with autism are typically diagnosed by clinical observation and assessment. To deconstruct the clinical decision process, which is often subjective and difficult to describe, researchers used a large language model (LLM) to synthesize the behaviors and observations that are most indicative of an autism diagnosis. Their results show that ...

Mar. 26, 2025 — Every year, millions of tires end up in landfills, creating an environmental crisis with far-reaching consequences. In the United States alone, over 274 million tires were scrapped in 2021, with nearly a fifth of them being discarded into landfills. A study has now pioneered a technique for breaking down this rubber waste and transforming it into ...

Mar. 26, 2025 — Lithium-ion batteries, used in consumer devices and electric vehicles, typically last hours or days between charges. However, with repeated use, they degrade and need to be charged more frequently. Now, researchers are considering radiocarbon as a source for safe, small and affordable nuclear batteries that could last decades or longer without ...

Mar. 26, 2025 — Quantum computers are able to solve complex calculations that would take traditional computers thousands of years in just a few minutes. What if that analytical power is turned inwards towards the computer ...

Mar. 26, 2025 — Researchers have developed a method to destroy fluorine-containing PFAS (sometimes labelled 'forever chemicals') while recovering their fluorine content for future ...

Mar. 26, 2025 — While sneaking up on prey, cuttlefish employ a dynamic skin display to avoid detection in last moments of approach, researchers have ...

Mar. 26, 2025 — Proof-of-concept work uses unique, safe particles to remove microplastics in a single ...

Mar. 26, 2025 — Many obese people report losing pleasure in eating rich foods -- something also seen in obese mice. Scientists have now discovered the reason. Long-term high-fat diets lower levels of neurotensin in the brain, disrupting the dopamine pleasure network and decreasing the desire to eat high-fat foods. Raising neurotensin levels in mice brings back the pleasure and aids weight loss. Bringing back the ...

Mar. 26, 2025 — A new study has revealed that African Elephants have an extraordinary ability to meet their colossal food requirements as efficiently as possible. Data from over 150 elephants demonstrated that these giants plan their journeys based on energy costs and resource ...

Mar. 26, 2025 — A study finds that factors beyond a person's control, like socioeconomic status and whether their mom smoked or was obese, can influence whether they are overweight or obese as teenagers or ...

Mar. 26, 2025 — Researchers have discovered that mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines have a persistent effect on the innate immune system. These mechanisms may help the human body to better protect itself against potential future ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — Researchers have solved a cellular mystery that may lead to better therapies for colorectal and other types of cancer. A professor of pediatrics-developmental biology and an assistant professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology have shown the importance of the H3K36 methylation process in regulating plasticity and regeneration in intestinal ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — This research comes as many mosquito-borne viruses are spreading ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — A drug typically prescribed for arthritis halts brain-damaging seizures in mice that have a condition like epilepsy, according to researchers. If the drug proves viable for human patients, it would be the first to provide lasting relief from seizures even after they stopped taking ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — Mothers experience major metabolic adaptations during pregnancy and lactation to support the development and growth of the new life. Although many metabolic changes have been studied, body temperature regulation and environmental temperature preference during and after pregnancy remain poorly understood. Researchers show that postpartum female ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — Scientists have discovered a promising way to trigger immune responses against certain tumors, using a lupus-related antibody that can slip, undetected, into 'cold' tumors and flip on an immune response that has been turned off by cancer. The research offers new findings that could help improve therapies for glioblastoma and other aggressive cancers that are difficult to ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — In 2010, a researcher was pouring over research data when he discovered something he thought was odd: His data showed that at 6 months of age, formula-fed babies born of mothers who were categorized as medically obese weighed about 5% units less fat than breastfed babies in the same dataset. That discovery struck him as unusual and led him on a research journey to better understand breast milk. ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — Whether it's an early morning jog, or a touch of Tai Chi, groundbreaking research shows that any form of exercise can significantly boost brain function and memory across children, adults, and older ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — Crashes on electric scooters are mostly due to the behavior of the riders, with one-handed steering and riding in a group being some of the largest risk factors. The researchers are also concerned about riders who deliberately crash or cause dangerous situations when riding, a phenomenon that seems to be specific to electric ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — What goes through your mind when someone asks 'Did you see that?' A study shows that children and adults process ambiguous information like 'that' differently. While children focus more on the literal meaning, adults use multiple cues to grasp the speaker's intent. Researchers hope their findings could aid dialogue robot development and improve support systems for individuals with communication ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — Even with significant expansion in the global market for antibodies used in clinical care and research, scientists recognize that there is still untapped potential for finding new antibodies. Many proteins group together in what are called protein complexes to carry out biological functions. The traditional method of generating antibodies by immunizing animals struggles to make antibodies related ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — Fossil-fuel plants are increasingly being forced to stop and start production in response to changes in output from renewables. In a new study, researchers developed a dynamic competitive benchmark that accounts for start-up costs and other unit-level operating constraints. They apply their framework to Western Australia, a setting where rooftop ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — A flower-shaped structure only a few micrometres in size made of a nickel-iron alloy can concentrate and locally enhance magnetic fields. The size of the effect can be controlled by varying the geometry and number of 'petals'. This magnetic metamaterial developed by Dr Anna Palau's group at the Institut de Ciencia de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB) in collaboration with her partners of the ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — Deep below the Earth's surface, rock and mineral formations lay hidden with a secret brilliance. Under a black light, the chemicals fossilized within shine in brilliant hues of pink, blue and green. Scientists are using these fluorescent features to understand how the caves formed and the conditions for supporting life in extreme, and even ...

Mar. 24, 2025 — The longest organic molecules identified to date on Mars have recently been detected. These long carbon chains, containing up to 12 consecutive carbon atoms, could exhibit features similar to the fatty acids produced on Earth by biological activity. The lack of geological activity and the cold, arid climate on Mars have helped preserve this invaluable organic matter in a clay-rich sample for the ...

Mar. 24, 2025 — To mitigate global climate change, emissions of the primary culprit, carbon dioxide, must be drastically reduced. A newly developed process helps solve this problem: CO2 is directly split electrochemically into carbon and oxygen. Oxygen could also be produced in this way under water or in space -- without requiring stringent conditions such as pressure and ...

Mar. 5, 2025 — Satellite images from space are allowing scientists to delve deeper into the individual functions of different tropical forest canopies with new and surprising results. Understanding tree traits and functional diversity in the tropics is crucial for biodiversity, ecosystem modelling, and ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — Researchers presented advances shaping the world of forensics, from research that could improve how forensic scientists estimate a person's age at death, to technology demos of CSIxR -- a virtual reality (VR) application that simulates crime scenes scenarios to train crime scene investigators ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — The study of elementary particles and forces is of central importance to our understanding of the universe. Now a team of physicists shows how an unconventional type of quantum computer opens a new door to the world of elementary ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — Delayed and disorderly energy transitions will threaten economic and financial stability whilst also increasing the economic risks from climate change, according to a new study. Conversely, transitions that are started sooner are likely to be more orderly and economically ...

Mar. 24, 2025 — Mathematicians studied the flow of human crowds and developed a way to predict when pedestrian paths will transition from orderly to entangled. Their findings may help inform the design of public spaces that promote safe and efficient ...

Mar. 18, 2025 — An analysis of a 30,000-year-old fossil vulture from Central Italy has revealed for the first time that volcanic rock can preserve microscopic details in feathers -- the first ever record of such a preservation. An international team discovered a new mode of preservation of soft tissues that can occur when animals are buried in ash-rich volcanic ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — Exposure to antibiotics during a key developmental window in infancy can stunt growth of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas and may boost risk of diabetes later in life, new research in mice suggests. The study also pinpoints specific microorganisms that may help those critical cells ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — For human health, prematurely aging cells are a big problem. When a cell ages and stops growing, its function changes, which can cause or worsen cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease and other chronic diseases. But these cells are also like needles in a haystack, difficult to identify by traditional scientific ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — How is organic matter transported from productive coastal areas to the open ocean? Researchers have now shown that eddies play a crucial role in this process. The swirling currents contain large amounts of energy-rich and essential fat molecules (essential lipids), which play a key role in marine food webs and the carbon ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — A new study has uncovered evidence of far-reaching ecosystem consequences following the disappearance of Great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) from False Bay, South Africa. The research spans over two decades and documents cascading ecological disruptions, underscoring the crucial role apex predators play in maintaining ocean ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — Researchers have developed a highly accurate land cover map for Siberia, providing insights into climate change and predictions. Using advanced machine learning techniques and existing multiple land cover maps, they were able to address the significant discrepancies found in the previous datasets. Being one of the world's most climate-sensitive regions, Siberia's newly developed map marks a ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — Plastic is everywhere in our daily lives. And much of what we use, such as cutting boards, clothes and cleaning sponges, can expose us to tiny, micrometer-wide plastic particles called microplastics. Now, chewing gum could be added to the list. In a pilot study, researchers found that chewing gum can release hundreds to thousands of microplastics per piece into saliva and potentially be ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — Life needs sufficient phosphorus. However, the element is scarce, not only today but also at the time of the origin of life. So where was there sufficient phosphorus four billion years ago for life to emerge? A team of origin-of-life researchers has an ...

Mar. 25, 2025 — Enzymes originally evolved in high-temperature environments and later adapted to lower temperatures as Earth cooled. Scientists discovered that a key shift in enzyme function occurred over evolutionary time due to amino acid changes distant from the active site. These mutations lowered activation energy, enhancing catalytic efficiency at low temperatures. Their findings highlight how global ...

Mar. 24, 2025 — A storm, even once it has passed, can leave traces in the ocean that last for thousands of years. These consist of sediment layers composed of coarse particles, which are different from the finer sediments associated with good weather. In the Caribbean, an international research team has now examined such sediments using a 30 m long core from a ...

Mar. 21, 2025 — Who were our earliest ancestors? The answer could lie in a special group of single-celled organisms with a cytoskeleton similar to that of complex organisms, such as animals and ...

Mar. 18, 2025 — Researchers conducted interviews with farmers in Missouri and Kansas about their thoughts on climate change. Even though they are on the front lines of the topic, the farmers reported they avoid discussing it, even with family, regardless of their opinions to avoid arguments, violence and damage to their livelihood. The findings show it is ...

Mar. 20, 2025 — Scientists will warn policymakers that the shrinking glaciers of the Andes threaten the water supply of 90 million people on the South American continent at the first-ever World Day for Glaciers hosted by UNESCO in ...

Mar. 18, 2025 — Scientists worked to ensure fleet safety after a large crack was unexpectedly found near the cockpit of a T-38 Talon. A new study describes how risk and damage tolerance analyses helped determine a more effective inspection schedule, allowing the Air Force to find cracks before they grow to critical ...

Mar. 24, 2025 — Pro-environmental behavior increases among school students who participate in insect-related citizen science projects, according to new ...

Mar. 21, 2025 — If you've ever noticed how memories from the same day seem connected while events from weeks apart feel separate, a new study reveals the reason: Our brains physically link memories that occur close in time not in the cell bodies of neurons, but rather in their spiny extensions called ...

Mar. 19, 2025 — By revealing for the first time what happens in the brain when an animal makes a mistake, researchers are shedding light on the holy grail of neuroscience: the mechanics of how we learn. The team pinpointed the exact moment mice learned a new skill by observing the activity of individual neurons, confirming earlier work that suggested animals are fast learners that purposely test the boundaries ...

Mar. 18, 2025 — A recent study has linked longevity specifically to verbal fluency, the measure of one's vocabulary and ability to use ...

Mar. 12, 2025 — Research finds people who learn the basics of debate are more likely to advance to leadership roles in U.S. organizations. A key reason seems to be that debate training makes employees more comfortable about being assertive in the ...

Mar. 12, 2025 — 'Fake it till you make it' might be common advice to climb the corporate ladder, but new research shows that this attitude could also adversely affect job satisfaction and mental ...

Mar. 10, 2025 — A study has determined that the widely used tools available to businesses for assessing their biodiversity impacts depend on broad assumptions and can have large uncertainties that are poorly understood or communicated. If used appropriately, they can be powerful tools to help guide effective action to address biodiversity loss -- but if not, they ...

Mar. 6, 2025 — Despite the popularity of augmented reality, AR wearable technologies haven't gained traction due to the weight and bulk associated with batteries and electronic components, and the suboptimal computational power, battery life and brightness of the devices. A team of researchers recently improved the practicality of light-receiving AR glasses by increasing the angle of incidence light capable of ...