For The Better

Over two years, researchers recorded and analyzed 7,000 songs of wild blue tits breeding in closely monitored nest boxes. They devised an experiment which involved playing song recordings to receptive females and discovered that male vocal consistency …

New research describes a fiber optic smart pant that can monitor movement and health. The pants can be used to detect activities such as sitting, squatting, walking or kicking without inhibiting natural movements.

An international research team has observed disks around 19 protostars with a very high resolution to search for the earliest signs of planet formation. This survey was motivated by the recent findings that planet formation may be well-underway in the …

Researchers have used materials inspired by molecular gastronomy to create smart wearables that surpassed similar devices in terms of strain sensitivity. They integrated graphene into seaweed to create nanocomposite microcapsules for highly tunable and…

With a flick of a switch, current technologies allow you to quickly change materials from being dark to light, or cold to hot, just by blocking or transmitting specific wavelengths. But now, inspired by squid skin, researchers report a soft film that c…

Seismologists agree that foreshocks are the most widely identified signal of an upcoming mainshock earthquake. But do these foreshock sequences have distinctive characteristics that separate them from aftershock sequences, and could these characteristi…

A new study finds that as rising global temperatures shift snow to rain, mountains across the Northern Hemisphere will be hotspots for extreme rainfall events that could trigger floods and landslides — potentially impacting a quarter of the world’s po…

Urea reacts extremely quickly under the conditions that existed when our planet was newly formed. This new insight furthers our understanding of how life on Earth might have begun.

Researchers have closely examined the brain activity and skin patterning in octopuses (Octopus laqueus) during active sleep and discovered that it closely resembles neural activity and skin patterning behavior seen when awake.

Researchers have shown that the way cuttlefish generate their camouflage pattern is much more complex than previously believed.

A new study has created the world’s largest and most comprehensive map of normal breast tissue, providing an unprecedented understanding of mammary biology that may help identify therapeutic targets for diseases such as breast cancer. The Human Breast …

Scientists using one of the world’s most powerful quantum microscopes have made a discovery that could have significant consequences for the future of computing. Researchers have discovered a spatially modulating superconducting state in a new and unus…

The star would have inflated up to 1.5 times the planet’s orbital distance — engulfing the planet in the process — before shrinking to its current size at only one-tenth of that distance.

A study of more than 22,000 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) has for the first time identified a genetic variant associated with faster progression of the disease, an accumulation of disability that can rob patients of their mobility and independenc…

New carbon capture technology can generate a continuous, high-purity carbon dioxide stream from diluted, or low-concentration, gas streams using only electricity and a water-and-oxygen-based reaction.

Scientists identify the first genetic marker for MS severity, opening the door to preventing long-term disability.

Scientists have developed a fluoride-containing electrolyte for lithium metal batteries that could boost the electric vehicle industry. The usefulness of this electrolyte extends to other types of advanced battery systems beyond lithium ion.

The gigantic, slimy salamanders known as hellbenders, once the apex predators of many freshwater streams, have been in decline for decades. A study has determined that in deforested areas, hellbender fathers are far more likely to eat their entire broo…

A new device provides rapid hemorrhage management, has minimal inflammatory effects, and provides infection control. Most notably, it has tunable rates of biodegradation, making it usable for both internal and external use, and features sensing capabil…

An analysis of oxygen levels in Earth’s oceans may provide some rare, good news about the health of the seas in a future, globally warmed world. A study analyzing ocean sediment shows that ocean oxygen levels in a key area were higher during the Miocen…