Science & Technology

Researchers have developed a control framework that enables robots to understand what it means to help or hinder one another and incorporate social reasoning into the tasks they are accomplishing.

Scientists have taken a close look at how lignocellulose — or plant biomass — can be used for optical applications, potentially replacing commonly used materials like sand and plastics.

While only a mere 4% of the atmosphere, carbon dioxide plays a vital role in sustaining life on our planet. However, if this delicate balance is disrupted, excess carbon dioxide can pose a formidable threat to our environment and the living beings that…

New findings help better understand the how one of the most commonly mutated genetic drivers of cancer passes signals that cause the disease.

A new finding offers researchers a direct way to investigate oxidative stress and its damaging effects in aging, cancer and other diseases.

New climate pledges issued ahead of COP26 boost the chances of limiting global warming to 2 degrees, according to a new study.

Using nanopore DNA sequencing technology, researchers have managed to scan a single protein: by slowly moving a linearized protein through a tiny nanopore, one amino acid at the time, the researchers were able to read off electric currents that relate …

A new study has found a direct and sex-specific association between the composition of infant microbiome and early childhood behavioral health.

Lightspeed is the fastest velocity in the universe. Except when it isn’t. Anyone who’s seen a prism split white light into a rainbow has witnessed how material properties can influence the behavior of quantum objects: in this case, the speed at which l…

Radiocarbon records are critical to understanding the history of Earth’s climate, magnetic field, and the Sun’s activity, say researchers.

What can sponges tell us about the evolution of the brain? Sponges have the genes involved in neuronal function in higher animals. But if sponges don’t have brains, what is the role of these? Scientists imaged the sponge digestive chamber to find out.

Female zebra finches are choosy but flexible when it comes to finding a mate, allowing them to avoid the fitness costs of being too selective when competition for males is high, researchers report.

Tackling pollution from the emission of nitrogen compounds, particularly ammonia, could reduce many of the 23.3 million years of life that were lost prematurely across the world in 2013 due to nitrogen-related air pollution, an international study has …

The drop in estrogen levels that occurs with menopause brings declines in the volumes of ‘gray matter,’ the cellular matter of the brain, in key brain regions that are also affected in Alzheimer’s disease. But a new study suggests that greater cumulati…

Computer scientists have developed an extremely secure identity verification method based on the fundamental principle that information cannot travel faster than the speed of light. The breakthrough has the potential to greatly improve the security of …

Invasive species cause biodiversity loss and about $120 billion in annual damages in the U.S. alone. Now, thanks to a new collaborative study, there is greater insight into how invasive species progressively affect native food webs in mountain lakes.

Researchers worked to determine whether vibration training — an intervention used to improve physical function for people with multiple sclerosis — could also improve patients’ cognitive function and quality of life.

An enormous jet of particles emitted by the giant galaxy M87 can be observed astronomically in various wavelengths. Scientists have developed a theoretical model of the morphology of this jet using complex supercomputer calculations. The images from th…

Different countries face different risks and opportunities as the world switches from fossil fuels to renewable energy, researchers say.

A new discovery is shedding light on how fluorine — an element found in our bones and teeth as fluoride — is forged in the Universe. Astronomers have detected this element in a galaxy that is so far away its light has taken over 12 billion years to r…