For The Better

We give meaning to our world through the categorization of objects. When and how does this process begin? By studying the gaze of one hundred infants, scientists have demonstrated that, by the age of fourth months, babies can assign objects that they h…

Through numerical simulations, a researcher details the discovery of a new isolated skyrmion with a half-integer topological quantum number in the ferromagnetic phase of the magnetic quantum fluid Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). The new skyrmion is gen…

Researchers have developed a vision for Germany in 2050 that illustrates ways to achieve a carbon dioxide-neutral life and economy. In their study they look back from a fictitious future to the present day.

Researchers have developed a novel method of measuring growth in the aorta that may help clinicians to identify potentially fatal heart conditions earlier. The technique, called vascular deformation mapping, measures changes in the thoracic aorta by us…

A new study found that in a marine environment, microplastics absorb and concentrate toxic organic substances and thus increase their toxicity by a factor of 10, which may lead to a severe impact on human health.

Due to human-caused pressures and global warming, some soils in Europe’s Mediterranean region are reaching what the researchers refer to as ‘critical limits for their ability to provide ecosystem services,’ which include farming and absorbing carbon, a…

Researchers have shown that solar cells can be used to achieve underwater wireless optical communication with high data rates. The new approach — which used an array of series-connected solar cells as detectors — could offer a cost-effective, low-ene…

A specific group of fungi residing in the intestines can protect against intestinal injury and influence social behavior, according to new preclinical research. The findings extend a growing body of work identifying a ‘gut-immunity-brain axis,’ a signa…

Physicists have measured Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity, or more specifically, the effect called time dilation, at the smallest scale ever, showing that two tiny atomic clocks, separated by just a millimeter or the width of a sharp penc…

Physicists have made one of the highest performance atomic clocks ever. ­­ Their instrument, known as an optical lattice atomic clock, can measure differences in time to a precision equivalent to losing just one second every 300 billion years and is th…

The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (ESO’s VLTI) has observed a cloud of cosmic dust at the centre of the galaxy Messier 77 that is hiding a supermassive black hole. The findings have confirmed predictions made aroun…

A new study shows that an increase in hot, dry nights in recent decades has resulted in nighttime wildfires becoming more intense and more frequent. Researchers found there are 11 more flammable nights every year in the U.S. West compared to 1979 — a …

A new study found that children from less resourced neighborhoods were at increased odds of presenting with complicated appendicitis, an indicator of delayed access to surgical care. This is the first pediatric study to link many neighborhood-level fac…

A new study among young Danish men confirms the assumption that risk-tolerant, impatient and self-centered people are more likely to commit crimes than risk averse, patient and altruistic people are.

Some undiscovered species are hiding right under our noses. Ormyrus labotus, a tiny parasitoid wasp known to science since 1843, has long been considered a generalist with more than 65 host species. But a new study suggests wasps currently called Ormyr…

Researchers have identified a gene linked to fetal brain development and autism. Their work shows that the gene is influenced by the mother’s early prenatal vitamins use and placental oxygen levels.

A research team has shown how solar power can convert carbon dioxide into fuel, by using advanced materials and ultra-fast laser spectroscopy. The breakthrough could be an important piece of the puzzle in reducing the levels of greenhouse gases in the …

In northern Spain, wild honeybees use hollow electricity poles as nesting cavities. Natural areas in the surroundings promote the colonies’ chances to survive the winter.

How did Baroque period artists/sculputors go about their craft? For the first time, researchers have performed a forensic anthropological analysis of a marble skull carved by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The analysis of this re-discovered sculpture in Dresden…

A framework for identifying the most vulnerable marine species will boost global conservation and policy efforts against anthropogenic climate change.