People are often asked simple questions, such as the price of the cheapest flight to a particular destination. But the answers—and how they are perceived—can reveal far more than the cost of that trip itself. For example, whether a person believes that the response "It's $200" means $200 or assumes that the figure has been rounded up or down depends on their perception of the person giving the…
Investigating a scientific question is often a complex process. As an astrophysicist studying some of the most energetic phenomena in the universe, I know that finding answers requires much more than reading scientific papers or understanding existing theories. Astrophysical research involves collecting observations, analyzing data, building physical models and comparing their predictions with…
The eighth and final roll-out solar array installation caps a five-year effort to augment the space station's aging, original solar wings.
Researchers at Tohoku University and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) have successfully controlled a unique quantum phenomenon—the quantum-geometric nonlinear Hall (QgNLH) state—using electric current for the first time. The breakthrough was achieved by revealing and exploiting the coupling between the spin structure and the QgNLH state in an electrically switchable chiral antiferromagnet.
A new biomechanical study has uncovered how elite volleyball players control ball spin during jump serves, offering fresh scientific insight into one of the sport's most decisive offensive skills.
Detecting a single photon is a challenge in itself. But what if you also want to know exactly how many photons arrive at a particular point at the same time? Physicist Erik Baalbergen is working on light detectors that can do just that. They form a key building block for the optical quantum computer of the future.
Climate change is affecting not only our weather but also the distribution of parasites and the diseases they can carry. One example is the growing presence of Hyalomma ticks in parts of Europe where they were previously uncommon. These ticks are of particular interest because they can transmit Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), a pathogen that can cause serious, sometimes…
Antarctic blue whales appear to be creeping back from the brink of extinction after 50 years of protection. A new study estimates the total population at 4,018, up from 418 after the last reported whale catch in 1973.
Octopuses are extraordinarily versatile. From walking across the seabed on their eight arms to jetting through the water, manipulating tools and squeezing through unimaginably tight spaces, the flexibility of octopuses almost defies belief. "Octopuses can change their body shape to squeeze through tiny holes, almost like water flowing through a gap, so their size doesn't always limit where they…
Blue Origin plans to do its next New Glenn rocket launch in January 2027, according to CNBC and the Financial Times, which cite a memo from CEO Dave Limp sent to staff. The new timeline follows a May launchpad explosion that damaged Blue Origin's New Glenn launchpad ahead of a flight that would have brought […]
A group of genes may give some fire ants an advantage, increasing their chances of growing larger and potentially becoming queens, according to a new study from the University of Georgia.
If you want to see how private schools in the U.K. can reinforce segregation between children of different social classes, the London Borough of Southwark provides a good example.
A newly published study is changing our understanding of how the protein talin functions at sites where cells attach to their surroundings. The findings uncover a previously unknown mechanism by which mechanical force regulates talin, a key protein controlling cell adhesion and mechanosensing. The paper is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The clocks have gone back, and suddenly getting dressed feels more difficult. The coat you wore constantly last winter is still hanging in the closet, but it no longer looks quite how you remember. The boots you loved in February don't seem to go with anything, while a sweater that once felt like you somehow doesn't anymore.
How do cells respond to drugs? A new microscopy technique could provide more precise answers to this question in the future. Researchers from Bielefeld University and the University of Vienna have developed a method as part of the European CHEM-SCAN project that makes the smallest cellular structures visible while also showing how their molecular environment changes.
Software optimizes a physical model of the telescope to reduce noise.
More than 80 percent of congressional candidates backed by the pro-science PAC 314 Action won, including Michigan senator-elect and epidemiologist Abdul El-Sayed.
There is magic in the traditional songs of the Awajún, an Indigenous people of northern Peruvian Amazonia. Otago linguist Dr. Simon Overall has been visiting this area for over 20 years and explains what gives these songs their powers.
Research published in the journal Ecology analyzed 12 years of records from a population of degus in central Chile, revealing that these endemic rodents managed to withstand nearly a decade of megadrought but disappeared locally following the extreme drought of 2019.
Ancient Maya communities made extensive use of liquid mercury and a red, mercury-containing pigment called cinnabar to decorate buildings, pottery and burial sites. Unsurprisingly, as previous research has shown, this led to mercury contamination of soils and reservoirs at some Maya sites. And that pollution may have spread even farther into their territory and caused the collapse of two lake…
A research team led by Professor Yang Dong from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with Dalian Jiaotong University, has developed a synergistic additive strategy for large-area slot-die coating of methylammonium-free (MA-free) perovskite films. The study is published in Advanced Materials.
New high-resolution speleothem records from China and India, together with isotope-enabled climate models, show that abrupt glacial ocean circulation recoveries took centuries, not decades—a finding with important implications for how we assess future Atlantic circulation change. The work is published in the journal Science.
Hair dyes help people express style and cover gray hair but often contain skin-irritating chemicals.
Over the past 100,000 years, hooved mammals that migrate have experienced a higher rate of extinction compared to nonmigratory species, according to a study being published Nov. 5 in the journal PLOS Biology by Joel Abraham at Princeton University, U.S., and colleagues.
Cannabis is one of the most commonly used psychoactive plants today. However, it is difficult to determine archaeologically how cannabis was used in prehistoric times. Plant parts such as flowers, leaves and resins are perishable and therefore rarely survive. It is known that cannabis served various purposes, such as the production of oil or fiber, and was not used solely as medicine or a drug.