Science & Technology

Researchers have discovered toxic protein particles, shaped like umbrellas, that soil bacteria known as Streptomyces secrete to squelch competitors in their crowded microbial communities, especially others of their own species. What makes these newly d…

Even if CO2 emissions were to be drastically cut down starting today, the world economy is already committed to an income reduction of 19% until 2050 due to climate change, a new study finds. These damages are six times larger than the mitigation costs…

Mountain chickadees have among the best spatial memory in the animal kingdom. New research identifies the genes at play and offers insight into how a shifting climate may impact the evolution of this unique skill.

The warming climate shifts the dynamics of tundra environments and makes them release trapped carbon, according to a new study published in Nature. These changes could transform tundras from carbon sinks into a carbon source, exacerbating the effects o…

Trying to hit a target size before dividing seems like the best strategy for maintaining a precise cell size, but bacteria don’t do that. Now we know why.

Investigators have discovered how brain cells responsible for working memory–the type required to remember a phone number long enough to dial it–coordinate intentional focus and short-term storage of information.

Astronomers have discovered methane emission on a brown dwarf, an unexpected finding for such a cold and isolated world. The findings suggest that this brown dwarf might generate aurorae similar to those seen on our own planet as well as on Jupiter and…

Marine communities migrated to Antarctica during the Earth’s warmest period in 66 million years long before a mass-extinction event.

Pioneering study reveals that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius could reduce the global economic costs of climate change by two thirds. If warming continues to 3 degrees Celsius, global GDP will decrease by up to 10 percent — with the wor…

Using a pair of sensors made from carbon nanotubes, researchers discovered signals that help plants respond to stresses such as heat, light, or attack from insects or bacteria. Farmers could use these sensors to monitor threats to their crops, allowing…

Researchers have identified a variant in the gene TBX1 as key in the development of the unique morphology at the base of the skull. TBX1 is present at higher levels in humans than in closely related hominins. Low TBX1 also occurs in certain genetic con…

A new hybrid layered perovskite featuring elusive spontaneous defect ordering has been found, report scientists. By introducing specific concentrations of thiocyanate ions into FAPbI3 (FA = formamidinium), they observed that ordered columnar defects ap…

Scientists have developed a new method using knot theory to find the optimal routes for future space missions without the need to waste fuel.

In some materials, spins form complex magnetic structures within the nanometer and micrometer scale in which the magnetization direction twists and curls along specific directions. Examples of such structures are magnetic bubbles, skyrmions, and magnet…

Researchers who captured footage of dog attacks on endangered mountain tapirs in Colombia are calling for action to protect threatened wildlife.

Adults with congenital heart defects were more likely to experience an abnormal, irregular heartbeat, finds a new study.

A team has constructed an improved mid-infrared microscope, enabling them to see the structures inside living bacteria at the nanometer scale. Mid-infrared microscopy is typically limited by its low resolution, especially when compared to other microsc…

Competition between species played a major role in the rise and fall of hominins — and produced a ‘bizarre’ evolutionary pattern for the Homo lineage — according to a new study that revises the start and end dates for many of our early ancestors.

Researchers have used artificial intelligence techniques to massively accelerate the search for Parkinson’s disease treatments. The researchers designed and used an AI-based strategy to identify compounds that block the clumping, or aggregation, of alp…

While the electronic tongue bears little physical resemblance to its namesake, the strand-like sensory probes of the ‘e-tongue’ still outperformed human senses when detecting contaminated wine in a recent study. In a recent experiment, the e-tongue ide…