Mario Wannier, a career geologist with expertise in studying tiny marine life, was methodically sorting through particles in samples of beach sand from Japan's Motoujina Peninsula when he spotted something unexpected: a number of tiny, glassy spheres and other unusual objects. | Continue reading
The human microbiome, the huge collection of microbes that live inside and on our body, profoundly affects human health and disease. The human gut flora in particular, which harbor the densest number of microbes, not only break down nutrients and release molecules important for o … | Continue reading
For the first time ever, researchers have measured the fidelity—that is, the accuracy—of two-qubit logic operations in silicon, with highly promising results that will enable scaling up to a full-scale quantum processor. | Continue reading
A 2010 analysis of imagery from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) found that the moon shriveled like a raisin as its interior cooled, leaving behind thousands of cliffs called thrust faults on the moon's surface. | Continue reading
About one in five people is considered to be low literate or illiterate, unable to read or write simple statements. Low literacy can be due to reading impairments such as dyslexia or little or no reading practice. For developing countries with low literacy rates, voice recognitio … | Continue reading
All across the United States, many households receive energy bills comparing their use to that of similar neighbors to remind them to use less energy. At most companies, employees are automatically enrolled in 401(k) plans unless they choose to opt-out, helping employees easily s … | Continue reading
Tomato breeders have traditionally emphasized traits that improve production, like larger fruits and more fruits per plant. As a result, some traits that improved other important qualities, such as flavor and disease resistance, were lost. | Continue reading
IIASA researchers collaborated with colleagues in Japan to clarify the impacts of stringent climate mitigation policies on food security. The team identified smart and inclusive climate policy designs where the risk of food-security for hundreds of millions of people could be add … | Continue reading
Over the course of a school year, elementary school children lose confidence that they can "be scientists," but remain more confident that they can "do science," finds a new psychology study by researchers at New York University and Princeton University. | Continue reading
The Supreme Court is allowing consumers to pursue an antitrust lawsuit that claims Apple has unfairly monopolized the market for the sale of iPhone apps. | Continue reading
In 2017, the group from the Optics of Photosynthesis Lab (OPL) developed a new method to measure a small but important signal produced by all plants, and in this case trees. This signal is called chlorophyll fluorescence and it is an emission of radiation at the visible and near- … | Continue reading
A system developed by EPFL spin-off TreaTech can turn sludge from wastewater treatment plants into mineral salts – which could be used in fertilizer, for example – and biogas. The firm's research is being funded by several private- and public-sector entities, and a large-scale pi … | Continue reading
Private equity firm Onex announced Monday its purchase of Canada's second-largest airline WestJet for about Can$5 billion (US$3.7 billion) including assumed debt. | Continue reading
Unravelling the secrets of the relationship between coral and the algae living inside it will help prevent coral bleaching, University of Queensland researchers believe. | Continue reading
Wild pigs—a mix of wild boar and domestic swine—are spreading rapidly across Canada, threatening native species such as nesting birds, deer, agricultural crops, and farm livestock, research by the University of Saskatchewan (USask) shows. | Continue reading
In the past several decades, militaries have worked hard to develop technologies that simultaneously protect infantry soldiers' hearing and aid in battlefield communication. However, these advanced Tactical Communication and Protective Systems, or TCAPS—earmuffs or earplugs with … | Continue reading
New Delhi suffered a rare summer air pollution alert Monday as dust storms and heat over northern India took smog to hazardous levels. | Continue reading
In a recent study, a team of researchers has presented new direct-detection constraints on eV-to-GeV dark matter interacting with electrons, using a new prototype detector developed as part of the Sub-Electron-Noise Skipper-CCD Experimental Instrument (SENSEI) project. The SENSEI … | Continue reading
Uber shares are down 7% and trading below $40 before the opening bell. | Continue reading
By combining transit photometry, radial velocity observations, and asteroseismology, astronomers have gathered important information about the properties of a highly eccentric, eclipsing binary system known as KOI-3890. The new findings are presented in a paper published April 30 … | Continue reading
Millions of cryptocurrency investors have been scammed out of massive sums of real money. In 2018, losses from cryptocurrency-related crimes amounted to US$1.7 billion. The criminals use both old-fashioned and new-technology tactics to swindle their marks in schemes based on digi … | Continue reading
Extreme floods across the continental United States are associated with four broad atmospheric patterns, a machine-learning based analysis of extreme floods found. | Continue reading
Mangrove forests on the coasts of Saudi Arabia act as litter traps, accumulating plastic debris from the marine environment, according to new research from KAUST. The study offers an explanation for the fate of missing marine plastic litter and highlights the threat it poses to c … | Continue reading
Billions of dollars are being spent by aviation giants and aerospace startups to create driverless flying vehicles that can meet the growing need for rapid and flexible travel and delivery. Anyone who has tried to navigate major metro areas like New York City or Los Angeles knows … | Continue reading
The global ocean represents the most important component of the Earth climate system. The oceans accumulate heat energy and transport heat from the tropics to higher latitudes, responding very slowly to changes in the atmosphere. Digital gridded climatologies of the global ocean … | Continue reading
The level of scientific literacy in the United States is low by so many measures there isn't a reason to rollout the data on science education in the United States to make the point. With a determined effort, we could overcome our science literacy problem, but I see no sign of de … | Continue reading
During World War I, William Lawrence Bragg led a team of engineers in the development of an acoustic method to locate enemy artillery, work that was so successful that it was soon used widely throughout the British army. | Continue reading
A trio of researchers with the University of Wollongong, in Australia, has published an outline of the current state of potassium-ion battery technology. In their Review piece published in the journal Science Advances, Wenchao Zhang, Yajie Liu, and Zaiping Guo highlight the curre … | Continue reading
Global climate change has strongly increased the worldwide frequency of extreme heat (EH) in recent decades. South Korea and southern-central Japan are also frequently affected by extreme heat, and the extreme heat in these two regions tend to occur simultaneously. A scientific c … | Continue reading
Ultrasound has long been an important tool for medical imaging. Recently, medical researchers have demonstrated that focused ultrasound waves can also improve the delivery of therapeutic agents such as drugs and genetic material. The waves form bubbles that make cell membranes—as … | Continue reading
What does it mean for a citizen to be literate in astronomy? Astronomers who participate in outreach to the general public experience various degrees of astronomical knowledge among people. But so far, there had not been a systematic evaluation and definition of what astronomical … | Continue reading
A super-slippery coating being developed at a University of Wisconsin–Madison lab could benefit medical catheters, factory equipment, and even someday, oil tankers. | Continue reading
If trust in our politicians is at an all time low, maybe it's time to reconsider how we elect them in the first place. | Continue reading
While vehicle manufacturers invest in research, authorities are working to improve charging infrastructure to support consumers' growing interest in the sector. The day when electric cars dominate the passenger transport market no longer seems quite so distant. | Continue reading
The Great Australian Bight is home to a unique array of marine life. More than 85% of species in this remote stretch of rocky coastline are not found anywhere else in the world. It's also potentially one of "Australia's largest untapped oil reserves," according to Norwegian energ … | Continue reading
Wondering why you can't get a seat on the train? Perhaps it's because we don't actually know how many extra people will use public transport when new building developments are planned. As a result, you're probably in for a bit of a crush. | Continue reading
Street food vendors are ubiquitous in low- and middle-income countries. They offer up quick, cheap and diverse food and drink, while also serving as sources of employment and socialization. Yet because the stalls block sidewalks and supposedly drag down real estate values, urbani … | Continue reading
The process of stamping metal sheets to create parts used in automotive products such as car doors has received a virtual upgrade in the form of a simulation method devised by Kanazawa University-based researchers. Their simulation can be used to optimize a metal stamping press i … | Continue reading
Securing scientific information online and worldwide with no risk of manipulation is now possible, thanks to the decentralized blockchain infrastructure Bloxberg. | Continue reading
Biting insects use a range of tools when sucking blood from hosts to maximize their chances of a good meal. Only female mosquitos feed on blood, which provides a high level of nutrients for egg production. The saliva of biting insects contains proteins that stop host blood from c … | Continue reading
When it comes to making a lasting impression in geological history, the medium makes all the difference, especially in the Earth's paleo-oceans. Here, during the Archean Eon (4,000-2,500 million years ago) and at times during the Proterozoic (2,500-541 million years ago), when ox … | Continue reading
Maintaining soil organic matter is critical to tackling climate change because soil organic matter is rich in carbon. Soil carbon is also the keystone element controlling soil health, which enables soils to be resilient as droughts and intense rainfall events increasingly occur. | Continue reading
Awareness and concern over climate change and its impacts has risen sharply in recent years. According to a December 2018 survey by Yale University, 73 percent of Americans now say that global warming is real, up 10 percentage points in just three years. Investors have followed, … | Continue reading
It is believed that the formation and growth of most galaxies across the history of the universe has been fueled by supermassive black holes growing together with their host galaxy as they collect matter to attain millions of solar masses. Chasing the early stages of these extrem … | Continue reading
Amazon, which is racing to deliver packages faster, is turning to its employees with a proposition: Quit your job and we'll help you start a business delivering Amazon package. | Continue reading
China car sales fell 14.6 percent in April, an official industry association said on Monday, extending a slump in a massive auto market that has long been a cash cow for the industry. | Continue reading
In an ancient ceremony that occurs only once every imperial era, Japanese palace courtiers in traditional robes and hats decided on Monday where best to grow royal rice—using shells from endangered turtles. | Continue reading
Indigenous residents of low-lying islands off northern Australia will submit a landmark complaint with the United Nations on Monday accusing the government of violating their human rights by failing to tackle climate change. | Continue reading