Science & Technology

Climate change has led to warming temperatures in the Pacific Northwest, leading some insect species to expand their range into more northerly oak savannas, according to new research.

Calcium is a very special nutrient. In the cells of most living beings calcium ions function as so-called second messengers to transmit important signals. The same applies equally to animal, plant and fungal cells.

A large, diverse study of over 5,000 older adults in the U.S. found that abnormal size or functioning in the left atrium (one of the two upper heart chambers), even before symptoms are present, may play a role in the development of dementia. The abnorm…

Scientists have explored how to improve the PERSAM model used by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in pesticide regulation. They have analysed the risks posed by four pesticides on two types of soil organisms in northern, central and southern E…

An international collaboration of scientists has created and observed an entirely new class of vortices — the whirling masses of fluid or air. A new article details laboratory studies of these ‘exotic’ whirlpools in an ultracold gas of atoms at temper…

Without bumble bees, a flowering plant that can self-pollinate lost substantial genetic variation within only nine generations, an experimental study found. A group of ‘selfing’ monkeyflower plants lost 13% to 24% of their genetic variation compared to…

Microplastic (MP) contamination is a worldwide concern. Despite this, there is no standard method for assessing MP concentrations in rivers, which are the main entry points of MPs into oceans. This leads to arbitrary sampling and inaccurate assessments…

While scientists have hoped that rechargeable zinc-manganese dioxide batteries could be developed into a viable alternative for grid storage applications, engineers have now identified the atomistic mechanism of charge and discharge in such batteries. …