Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.
Blasted off Mars by a giant impact long ago, the meteorite Teghaza 001 eventually fell to Earth in the Sahara Desert. Now it’s revealing previously hidden chapters of Mars’s deep past
Residents and firefighters in an Indonesian city long shrouded in a toxic haze brought on by months of wildfires rushed outside dancing and chanting as rain this week brought a welcome respite.
Whales never cease to amaze me. After nearly two decades of studying these majestic mammals, I've learned every whale season is slightly different. Each migration along Australia's east coast varies in its timing and the number of whale sightings.
In a collaboration, researchers from the Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures and the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) have discovered two previously unknown natural products. Lavasamycin A and B are produced by the bacterium Streptomyces barkulensis subsp. lavasanensis, which was isolated from a soil sample collected in Lavasan, Iran, and characterized as a new subspecies at the DSMZ. The findings have been published in the Journal of Natural Products.
Bats promote the health of ecosystems in many ways. Insect-eating species help regulate insect populations, including agricultural and forest pests. In tropical and subtropical regions, nectar-feeding and fruit-eating bats pollinate plants and disperse seeds, supporting plant reproduction and forest regeneration.
Around this time of year, elaborate decorations featuring ghosts, vampires, zombies, witches and werewolves adorn front doors, gardens and store windows across the country. But you may be surprised to hear that in the animal world, there are many real-life creatures with tendencies similar to those of the fictional characters in our Halloween nightmares.
Water demand in Africa grew by around 26% between 2010 and 2020, yet around 717 million people lacked a piped water supply in 2020, according to research published in Nature. The findings indicate that water scarcity in some parts of Africa may be due to a lack of infrastructure, rather than a lack of available water. The work provides a comprehensive map for water demand in different sectors, highlighting issues that need to be addressed to increase the availability of water in Africa, which forms part of Sustainable Development Goal 6.
Over a century ago, the Haber-Bosch process, a two-step reaction for the synthesis of ammonia (NH₃), an irreplaceable chemical for the fertilizer industry, prevented the world from going into a serious food crisis. Today, however, the same method consumes about 1% of global energy and contributes more than 1% of annual anthropogenic CO₂ emissions.
Madagascan flying foxes aren’t as mighty as they were 150 years ago. The big bats have shrunk, possibly due to selective hunting or other human impacts.
Deep in a limestone cave on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, two very different sets of humans left behind nearly identical traces of their lives — similar stone tools, the remains of the same prey animals, the same types of seashells pierced and strung into ornaments. They may have been separated by thousands of years and may not have directly interacted. Yet the overlap between them was striking enough that researchers studying the site had to look twice.The site, Üçağızlı II, offers one of the clearest examples of a conundrum that scientists have long wrestled with: Neanderthals and modern humans (Homo sapiens) didn't just collide and go their separate ways. They inhabited the same areas, an...
Scientists have identified a weakened brain signal that may connect several seemingly unrelated symptoms of schizophrenia, including sensory processing difficulties, disorganized speech, and greater symptom severity. The surprising discovery could help explain the disorder's underlying mechanisms and potentially lead to earlier detection and new treatments.
A study of nearly 13,000 adults found that people consuming the most artificial sweeteners experienced a 62% faster decline in memory and thinking skills, equivalent to approximately 1.6 additional years of brain aging. Six popular sweeteners were linked to faster cognitive decline, raising concerns about the long-term brain health effects of common sugar substitutes, although causation was not established.
A remarkably preserved elephant tooth dating back nearly 700,000 years has revealed a surprisingly lush prehistoric world where giant elephants and early humans lived side by side. Discovered in northern Israel alongside ancient stone tools, the tooth belonged to a straight-tusked elephant, one of the largest land mammals of the Ice Age.
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has discovered that Jupiter uses a surprisingly complex system of powerful plasma waves and multiple shock regions to defend against the solar wind. The findings reveal major differences between Jupiter and Earth and could help scientists understand the enormous shock waves produced by exploding stars.
Mathematicians have uncovered what they argue is a fundamental flaw in the standard model of the universe, potentially challenging the need for dark energy. Their calculations suggest that the mathematical framework used to describe cosmic expansion is inherently unstable and that the universe could accelerate naturally under Einstein's original theory of gravity. The findings also raise surprising questions about whether our location in the universe is as ordinary as scientists have long assumed.
Everyday Earth clouds get their start with a bit of salt or dust. Not so the Red Planet's Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud, computer models suggest.
Getting more daylight could be linked to a surprisingly powerful benefit for brain health. In a study of more than 87,000 adults, researchers found that higher daytime light exposure was associated with a 16% lower risk of dementia, with longer exposure to bright light linked to even greater reductions. Remarkably, getting less than 42 minutes of bright daylight daily was a stronger predictor of dementia than six established risk factors.
The tool could eventually lead to an entirely new approach for treating mental health
Cranberry juice may offer an unexpected benefit beyond its reputation for helping prevent urinary tract infections: protecting teeth from decay. Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago discovered that pure, unsweetened cranberry juice slowed the regrowth of dental plaque bacteria and reduced their production of acids that damage tooth enamel. The secret may lie in naturally occurring compounds called proanthocyanidins, which interfere with harmful bacteria.
The gas is a major driver of climate change