For The Better

In chemical reactions, molecules transform from reactants into reaction products through a critical geometry called a transition state that lasts less than one millionth of one millionth of a second. Scientists recently captured a critical geometry usi…

Wildfires are an ancient force shaping the environment, but they have grown in frequency, range and intensity in response to a changing climate. Scientists are working on several fronts to better understand and predict these events and what they mean f…

As global climate change causes weather extremes ranging from heat waves and droughts to heavy rains and flooding, the large amounts of freshwater pouring into nearshore ecosystems are altering habitats. A team of biologists studied the impacts of low …

In a potential boon for quantum computing, physicists have shown that topologically protected quantum states can be entangled with other, highly manipulable quantum states in some electronic materials.

New interference radar functions improve the distance resolution between objects using radar waves. The results may have important ramifications in military, construction, archaeology, mineralogy and many other domains of radar applications. It address…

New research has found that humans were only able to detect artificially generated speech 73% of the time, with the same accuracy in both English and Mandarin.

Researchers have published new insights on pelvic floor muscle (PFM) dysfunction, which is one of the key risk factors for pelvic floor disorders, a set of morbid conditions that include pelvic organ prolapse and urinary and fecal incontinence, that im…

New robotic grippers are flexible enough to handle soft and fragile objects as well as heavier ones.

Research recommends authorities mandate that schools and sports organizations enforce policies to prevent concussions.

A new technique incorporates many different building blocks of cellular metamaterials into one unified graph-based representation. This can be used to make a user-friendly interface that can quickly and easily model metamaterials, edit the structures, …

A new image of the galaxy cluster known as ‘El Gordo’ is revealing distant and dusty objects never seen before, and providing a bounty of fresh science. The infrared image displays a variety of unusual, distorted background galaxies that were only hint…

From influencing how our body stores fat to how our brain regulates appetite, hundreds of genes, along with environmental factors, collectively determine our weight and body size. Now, researchers add several genes, which appear to affect obesity risk …

A chemical process used in the browning of food to give it its distinct smell and taste is probably happening deep in the oceans, where it helped create the conditions necessary for life. Known as the Maillard reaction after the French scientist who di…

A study of older U.S. adults found that the risk of negative effects of both mRNA vaccines is exceptionally low, but lowest with the Moderna vaccine.

The same fiber optic networks that provide internet can simultaneously act as earthquake sensors, as demonstrated in a new study.

Loss of forest cover is associated with more frequent extreme flooding, as well as more frequent floods of any size, according to new research. While it’s widely thought that loss of forest cover is strongly linked to increased flooding, most studies h…

A study on almost four thousand people of African descent has identified a gene that acts as natural defense against HIV by limiting its replication in certain white blood cells. This research paves the way for new treatment strategies and underscores …

Scientists evaluate how accurate law-enforcement administered field sobriety tests are at measuring cannabis exposure and impairment.

A collaboration of nuclear theorists has used supercomputers to predict the spatial distributions of charges, momentum, and other properties of ‘up’ and ‘down’ quarks within protons. The calculations show that the up quark is more symmetrically distrib…