For The Better

New research has found evidence — locked into an ancient stalagmite from a cave in the Himalayas — of a series of severe and lengthy droughts which may have upturned the Bronze Age Indus Civilization.

Astronomers have observed, in one image, the shadow of the black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87 (M87) and the powerful jet expelled from it. Thanks to this new image, astronomers can better understand how black holes can launch such energe…

The information contained in a book depends on its volume — not merely on the area of the book’s cover. In the quantum world, however, information is often closely linked to surface area. This strange and counter-intuitive fact has been theoretically …

New research suggests future Martian botanists may be able to grow gene-edited rice on Mars.

Your native language could impact your musical ability. A global study that compared the melodic and rhythmic abilities of almost half a million people speaking 54 different languages found that tonal speakers are better able to discern between subtly …

Polymer chemists have been finding ways to tackle the environmental problems humans have created with plastics waste. Now, a team has come up with fundamental new chemistry that seeds a creative solution to the challenge of recycling mixed-use plastics.

By superimposing two laser fields of different strengths and frequency, the electron emission of metals can be measured and controlled precisely to a few attoseconds. Physicists have shown that this is the case. The findings could lead to new quantum-m…

A major collaboration involving 80 scientists from Europe and South America has identified the regions of the Amazon rainforest where trees are most likely to face the greatest risk from drier conditions brought about by climate change. Based on the an…

Researchers report that neuronal activity is necessary and sufficient for astrocytes to develop their complex shape, and interrupting this developmental process results in disrupted brain function.

Researchers have developed a chemical process that can disassemble the epoxy composite of wind turbine blades and simultaneously extract intact glass fibers as well as one of the epoxy resin’s original building blocks in a high quality. The recovered m…

Researchers have identified the mechanism for why and how one brain region differs in size between male and female rats. The study found that immune system cells in the brains of females consume and digest neurons to sculp a region of the brain during …

Fungal spores found in dung have revealed that large animals went extinct in two ‘waves’ in the Colombian Andes.

New research from a multidisciplinary team helps to illuminate the mechanisms behind circadian rhythms, offering new hope for dealing with jet lag, insomnia and other sleep disorders.