Scientists edge toward scalable quantum simulations on a photonic chip
A system using photonics-based synthetic dimensions could be used to help explain complex natural phenomena.
Science & Technology
Researchers teach an AI to write better chart captions
A new tool helps scientists develop machine-learning models that generate richer, more detailed captions for charts, and vary the level of complexity of a caption based on the needs of users. This could help improve accessibility for people with visual…
Energy insecurity is an underappreciated social and environmental determinant of health
In light of climate change and the impending transition to clean energy, many long-standing programs to address energy insecurity need to be refreshed. A new paper provides growing documentation of the connections between energy insecurity and poor hea…
Significant decline of snow cover in the Northern hemisphere over the last half century
A new study that uses rigorous mathematical models and statistical methods and finds declining snow cover in many parts of the northern hemisphere over the last half century.
Virus-like transposons wage war on the species barrier
Scientists have known for decades that genes can be transferred from one species to another, both in animals and plants. However, the mechanism of how such an unlikely event occurs remained unknown. Now, researchers identify a vector of horizontal gene…
Expanding large-scale agriculture is escalating flooding in the largest South American breadbasket
Driven by soaring international demand, extensive areas of grasslands, and forests across South American plains have rapidly been converted to the production of annual crops, such as soybean and maize. This agricultural expansion has been taking place …
Expanding large-scale agriculture is escalating flooding in the largest South American breadbasket
Driven by soaring international demand, extensive areas of grasslands, and forests across South American plains have rapidly been converted to the production of annual crops, such as soybean and maize. This agricultural expansion has been taking place …
First ‘ghost particle’ image of Milky Way
Scientists have revealed a uniquely different image of our galaxy by determining the galactic origin of thousands of neutrinos — invisible ‘ghost particles’ which exist in great quantities but normally pass straight through Earth undetected. The neutr…
How the cat nose knows what it’s smelling
Scientists have found the secret to felines’ finesse at sniffing out food, friends and foes. A complex collection of tightly coiled bony airway structures gets the credit, according to the first detailed analysis of the domestic cat’s nasal airway.
Gullies on Mars could have been formed by recent periods of liquid meltwater, study suggests
A study offers new insights into how water from melting ice could have played a recent role in the formation of ravine-like channels that cut down the sides of impact craters on Mars.
Chemists develop new method to create chiral structures
In trying to produce artificial chirality in the lab, chemists have found that the distribution of a magnetic field is itself chiral.
How the motion of DNA controls gene activity
Despite being densely packed to fit into the nucleus, chromosomes storing our genetic information are always in motion. This allows specific regions to come into contact and thereby activate a gene. A group of scientists now visualized this dynamic pro…
Earliest strands of the cosmic web
Galaxies are not scattered randomly across the universe. They gather together not only into clusters, but into vast interconnected filamentary structures with gigantic barren voids in between. This ‘cosmic web’ started out tenuous and became more disti…
Combining maths with music leads to higher scores, suggests review of 50 years of research
Children do better at maths when music is a key part of their lessons, an analysis of almost 50 years of research on the topic has revealed.
A new species of mosquitoes found in Finland — official count of species now at 44
The mosquito species Culex modestus has been found in Finland for the first time. In Southern Europe it is known to spread West Nile virus, but it is highly unlikely for the disease to occur in Finland. Culex modestus has become the 44th mosquito speci…
Alarming antibiotic resistance discovered in war-torn Ukraine
Researchers have assisted microbiologists in Ukraine in investigating bacterial resistance among the war-wounded patients treated in hospitals. The results reveal that many of the patients were affected by bacteria that exhibited an extremely high leve…
Sponges and their microbiome: Interacting for millions of years
Researchers demonstrate that sponges react to changes in their microbiome with extensive modifications in gene regulation.
Babies talk more around human-made objects than natural ones
A new study suggests young children are more vocal when interacting with toys and household items, highlighting their importance for developing language skills.
Birds and honey badgers could be cooperating to steal from bees in parts of Africa
The honeyguide bird loves beeswax, but needs help breaking open bees’ nests to get it. So it shows a honey badger the way to the nest, who rips it open and together they share the rewards. Or so the story goes.
Birds and honey badgers could be cooperating to steal from bees in parts of Africa
The honeyguide bird loves beeswax, but needs help breaking open bees’ nests to get it. So it shows a honey badger the way to the nest, who rips it open and together they share the rewards. Or so the story goes.