Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.
Scientists have unveiled a new theory on the birth of the cosmos, suggesting the early universe was shaped by an ancient particle that has been overlooked for decades.
A University of Mississippi study is adding nuance to a debate over how often police interrogation tactics can produce false confessions leading to wrongful convictions. In a recent simulation study published in the Journal of Criminal Justice, Ole Miss criminal justice and legal studies professors Mary Catlin and Thomas Bryan Smith found that the predicted likelihood of a false confession grows with the length of a police interrogation.
By indirectly probing the depths of Uranus and Neptune's atmospheres, an international team of scientists has revealed a significant contrast in their chemical composition. Neptune appears to be more enriched in oxygen than Uranus. These results suggest that the two ice giants may have formed in different regions of the primitive solar system before reaching their current orbits, calling into question the idea of a common origin for these two planets, often considered twins.
Scientists at NPL, with the University of Surrey, University of Oxford, the Francis Crick Institute and IONTOF GmbH, have developed a technique to distinguish and map molecules that share the same chemical formula and mass but have different structures and functions. The research is published today (Oct. 19) in Nature Communications.
Researchers tasked an algorithm with predicting cancer patients’ risk of dying. For some people, it was shockingly accurate
Transforming Mars into a more Earth-like world could irreversibly destroy scientific evidence about the planet's history and the possibility of extraterrestrial life. In an opinion article published in Eos, a team of Dutch, French and U.S. planetary scientists and ethicists warns that humanity risks destroying Mars' scientific record before it has been fully explored.
Researchers at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, have developed a new strategy for programming synthetic molecules to self-assemble into precisely defined three-dimensional structures. The study brings scientists a step closer to achieving the sophisticated molecular organization found in nature and could eventually open new possibilities for the development of advanced functional materials.
Researchers have discovered honey beehives act as "living immune systems" that help protect the bee colony, its offspring and food supplies from disease. The finding underlines the need to protect bee habitat to ensure their health.
Birds play an outsized, underappreciated role in shaping Earth's chemistry, distributing nutrients across oceans, forests and coral reefs and sustaining life far beyond the nest. Researchers from Cornell and five other institutions reviewed nearly 400 scientific papers to show how birds transport nutrients from land, lake and sea through their waste and bodies. This influences everything from soil and water chemistry to plant and animal growth. The work was published Oct. 19 in Current Biology.
Recycling may happen far from the place where waste is produced. Paper, metals, plastics and glass discarded in one country can be shipped across the world and used as raw materials in another. This international market is a major part of today's circular economy, yet it is often overlooked when national recycling policies are designed.
A new LMU study shows that three-quarters of the estimated global potential for new forests to capture CO₂ is threatened by significant social and institutional challenges.
A temporary expansion to the earned income tax credit improved housing security for young workers who don't have children, a new study shows.
Large quantities of acrylic glass are used worldwide in a wide range of applications, from windowpanes and car taillights to furniture. The polymer is also known by the brand name Plexiglas. All too often, acrylic glass still ends up as waste, even though it is well suited to recycling.
John Innes Centre researchers have trained scientists from across Tanzania to use new loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays to rapidly detect wheat blast, a looming fungal threat to wheat harvests.
The fusion of two cells is a decisive event in the sexual reproduction of many organisms. In fungi, cells must not only bring their membranes together and merge them, but also locally open their protective cell wall.
What happens when scientists start changing the brain—the very system through which an animal's mental states are expressed in behavior?
A new study, led by IIASA researchers and coauthored by UNEP colleagues, finds that if governments fully implement their methane reduction plans, they could reduce global emissions by 11% between 2020 and 2030. This would reverse the current trend of increasing methane emissions, but would not be sufficient to achieve the goal of the Global Methane Pledge.
"Why haven't farm animals evolved to protect themselves against humans?—Sarang, age 15, Latur, Maharashtra, India"
Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) were surprised to discover the earliest phases of giant planet formation between the dense layers of gas and dust in the "Gomez's Hamburger" system, referred to as GoHam.
The gas orbiting Sagittarius A (Sgr A*), the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, is rich in metals, researchers at McGill University's Trottier Space Institute have found. The metal enrichment probably resulted from stars that exploded and released material into the black hole's surroundings over time, they said.