Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.
Radicals, atoms or molecules that readily react with other substances to form new bonds, are useful tools for building complex substances such as pharmaceuticals. But even when a radical is generated efficiently, the reaction cannot continue unless the catalyst returns to its original state.
At first glance, a farm field doesn't seem all that complicated. It's just dirt and crops.
A tiny wild cat hidden away in the cloud forests of Bolivia has become an unlikely tourist attraction, drawing a stream of visitors hoping for a glimpse of the animal that scientists have identified as a brand new species.
Scientists built a swallowable paper battery that can power medical devices inside the body and then gradually break down after its job is done.So far, the battery has been tested only in pigs, in which it powered devices for up to three days. If proven safe and effective in people, the battery could someday power temporary devices inside the gut while avoiding surgery to retrieve a conventional battery from the body when the device is no longer needed."I'm very excited about this work," said Reza Ghodssi, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Maryland who was not involved in the study. "The battery is one component that takes up most of the space in an inge...
At the scale of individual cells, the human body is constantly in motion. Every second, millions of cells divide, particularly in tissues such as the bone marrow, intestine and skin; neurons and heart muscle cells divide far less frequently. All of this depends on the molecular machinery responsible for copying the billions of chemical units that make up DNA inside the nucleus.
Activities children take part in with family and friends can help shape the fields of study and careers they pursue as adults. A new study published in the International Journal of STEM Education by FIU education researchers Chris Irwin and Zahra Hazari found that STEM activities and conversations with family, friends and teachers are among the strongest factors influencing students' motivations for pursuing STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers.
Beneath the vast frozen wastes of Antarctica lie the remains of ancient mountains that have long since eroded. Even though they're no longer standing, they can still reveal a few lost secrets. New research published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters suggests that these vanished peaks may have played a fundamental role in the evolution of complex life on this planet.
More than six years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, more than 1 in 5 U.S. workers who can work remotely do so either full time or at least one day a week.
We are often left open-mouthed in awe as an opera singer hits a soaring top note. Now, researchers at the University of Warwick have found that the indri, the world's only known singing lemur, appears to use a strikingly similar vocal technique to hit high notes.
One of the longest-running meteor showers of the year began on Sunday (Sept. 20), as the Southern Taurids start sending occasional "shooting stars" — and, potentially, spectacular fireballs — across the night sky.The Southern Taurid meteor shower runs from Sept. 20 through Nov. 20, peaking overnight on both Oct. 13-14 and Nov. 4-5, according to the American Meteor Society. Although only about five to 10 meteors per hour can be expected during the shower's peak, the Taurids have a reputation for producing fireballs — very bright meteors that appear as flashes while falling through the atmosphere.Patience is often rewarded with some of the most impressive meteors of the year, partly because th...
The gas giant Beta Pictoris b, about 63 light-years away, has the mass of 10 Jupiters and a magnetic field thousands of times as strong as Earth’s.
OpenAI’s proof seems eligible for a $1-million prize—but only by using a controversial loophole
Earth’s annual checkup shows that we’re at increasing risk of moving away from the environment we’re adapted to
The virus is currently most prevalent in California and the southern U.S., but experts expect it to go national in the coming weeks
A thickening cortex, as shown in MRIs, preceded amyloid-beta accumulation, a known hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, by up to seven years.
A large study suggests the cardiovascular benefits of GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound can disappear surprisingly quickly when treatment stops. After two years off the medications, patients had a 22% higher risk of heart attack, stroke, and death compared with those who stayed on them.
Scientists have found evidence that black holes of vastly different sizes may launch powerful jets according to the same universal rule. Supermassive black holes can produce jets soon after tearing apart a star, then fire up again hundreds or thousands of days later when their feeding rate drops to about 2% of the Eddington limit. That same threshold is known to trigger jets from much smaller black holes in the Milky Way.
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a surprisingly simple way to turn polyethylene, the common plastic used in shopping bags and cutting boards, into gasoline and diesel-like fuels. The process uses inexpensive aluminum-based molten salts to break long plastic molecules into smaller hydrocarbons, producing about 60% gasoline under relatively mild conditions.
A new needle-thin brain implant can record neural activity, deliver drugs, and stimulate multiple brain regions using a single flexible fiber. Successful tests in mice suggest it could give scientists a more precise, less invasive way to study the brain and may eventually help treat neurological disorders such as epilepsy.
NASA’s Roman Space Telescope has successfully activated its 300-megapixel infrared camera, which will capture enormous stretches of the cosmos with Hubble-like sharpness. Its planet-hunting coronagraph is also working as expected, putting Roman another major step closer to beginning science operations in 2027.