Browsing: Science
Some supermarkets are using biodegradable plastic bags Urban Images/Alamy Biodegradable plastics that break down into microplastics appear to damage soil and affect plant growth more than…
Interested in trying a water, oats, and lime juice smoothie? You may have come across the internet buzz about this mixture, likened to the effects of…
Human settlement of the Pacific islands triggered a wave of faunal extinctions that occurred so rapidly that their dynamics are difficult to reconstruct in space and…
It has a torpedo-shaped body with no fins. Nuucichthys lyoncocephalus It was the first molluscan vertebrate discovered in the Great Basin of the United States. Nuucichthys…
summaryA new study explains how bird flu spreads between dairy cows and from them to other mammals. Experts are concerned that the virus may be developing…
Did Djoser’s Step Pyramid have hydraulic lifts? Peter Brown / Alamy The construction of ancient Egypt’s oldest pyramids may have involved water elevators capable of lifting…
Gamma-ray bursts occur when massive stars collapse or collide.NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/ A. Simonett, Sonoma State University The most powerful explosion astronomers have ever seen…
The researchers studied mouse neurons in a part of the brain that is common to all mammals.Klein & Hubert/naturepl.com Scientists have identified neurons that become active…
The leopard-spot-like features in the center of the image may be a sign of ancient life.NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS NASA's Perseverance rover has discovered a rock speckled with what…
The muscle cells briefly stayed with astronauts on the International Space Station Shutterstock / Artsiom P After a week in the microgravity of space, muscle cells…
DeepMind’s AlphaProof AI can tackle a wide range of math problemsGoogle DeepMind Google DeepMind’s AI won a silver medal at this year’s International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO),…
Shingrix shingles vaccine ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy The newer shingles vaccine is more effective than older vaccines at delaying the onset of dementia and may even prevent it. The shingles vaccination has long been linked to dementia prevention, and the current vaccine, available since 2017, called Shingrix, appears to reduce the risk of developing shingles over
Huge Saharan dust plumes carried across the Atlantic by trade winds could influence weather in North America by suppressing the development of hurricanes at sea, but…
Over the coming weeks, Paris will welcome the world’s top athletes, including some of the swiftest individuals on the planet: those participating in the Olympics possess…
A base below the surface of the moon may be needed to protect moon residents from radiation. Shutterstock/Shiva Shankara To protect astronauts on the Moon from…
In a recent column, I wrote about black holes. A curious reader wrote to me with an interesting follow-up question about a topic that I hadn’t…
Cosplay Corallation Getting someone, anyone, to notice what they've discovered is a problem for almost every scientist (and also a problem for almost anyone who discovers…
British Columbia, Canada, during the 2023 wildfire season David J. Mitchell/Shutterstock Extreme heat, drought and wildfires have caused forests and other land ecosystems to emit almost…
How smart was he? Tyrannosaurus Rex That depends on who you ask. Last year, this iconic dinosaur got the most attention of its life when neuroscientist…
Machine learning is key to advances in medical diagnosticsMario Heller/Panos Pictures Why do machines learn?Anil Ananthaswami (Allen Lane (UK), Penguin Random House (US)) As someone who…
Drinking alcohol is bad for you, but it is often a social activity.Violeta Stoymenova/Getty Images Rigorous research suggests that drinking even small amounts of alcohol can…
No one really understands why domestic cats knock things off tables, and anyone who claims they know is probably not being truthful. However, cats are natural…
It is widely known that excess body fat can lead to health issues like heart disease and diabetes. However, recent research has found a correlation between…
Astronomers Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) The image was taken of Epsilon Indi Ab, a gas giant several times the mass of Jupiter, located about 12 light…
Komodo dragon (Komodo dragon coatiThe Komodo dragon is the largest living predatory lizard, and its serrated, curved, blade-like teeth provide valuable analogues for studying tooth structure…
summary Monday marked the hottest day ever recorded on Earth, surpassing the previous record. The global average temperature soared to 17.15 degrees Celsius (62.87 degrees Fahrenheit)…
If the thought of exercise seems more appealing than reality, you’ll empathize with Jessica Howard. She’d always had vague intentions of running a marathon, but struggled…
Monkey Business Images/Getty Images I was never a big sports kid. Neither of my parents were athletic, and if they thought I was staying healthy at…
As you prepare to settle in to watch the latest generation of Olympians and Paralympians display their incredible athletic abilities, the irony is unlikely to escape…
Lunar samples collected by NASA's Apollo missions continue to enable new discoveries.NASA/ESA The Moon's largest crater is thought to have formed 4.338 billion years ago when…
Illustration of the Deinotherium genus, an animal that became extinct after the evolution of humans Heinrich Harder/Florilegius/Alamy An AI-powered analysis of thousands of fossils suggests that…
A slide showing part of a mouse brainStu Gray / Alamy A newly identified brain pathway in mice may explain why placebos, or interventions that should…
24K Productions/Getty Images It's inevitable that you'll get sidetracked from your training routine. Life happens. You go on a trip, sprain your ankle, start a new…
Manu National Park in Peru, where some measurements were taken for the studyVincent Ghossi Microorganisms living in their bark absorb methane from the air, giving trees…
Cruxatodon kiltlingtonensisA small mammal from the Jurassic periodMaiya Carrara During the Middle Jurassic, small mammals lived much longer than modern ones and received parental care for…
Occasionally, you may have the opportunity to witness the Northern Lights from your home in the UK or US. Tonight (Wednesday, July 24) presents a moderate…
A spot robot equipped with a burner for weed removalSong, Deok-jin et al. (2024) Robot dogs equipped with burners could be used to prevent weeds from…
The Komodo dragon is a ferocious predator. Charlotte Ellis/Zoological Society of London Komodo dragons, some of the most ferocious reptiles on Earth, strengthen their teeth with…
The tipping point could be over as rich forests dry upPiotr Poznan/Shutterstock AI can predict when complex systems like forests, animal populations, and power grids will…
air pressure: The force exerted by the weight of air molecules. Ash: (geology) Small, light pieces of rock or glass ejected by a volcanic eruption. (biology)…