You might not be able to stomach soybeans for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but the animals you eat do. Cultivation of the staple crop takes up an area five times the size of the UK, and 85% of that area is used for animal feed. Thanks to projected rapid growth in both world popul … | Continue reading
Move aside electric cars, another disruption set to occur in the next decade is being ignored in current Australian transport infrastructure debates: electric aviation. Electric aircraft technology is rapidly developing locally and overseas, with the aim of potentially reducing e … | Continue reading
Bioinspired materials are designed and engineered to mimic the biological functions of nature; however fast actuation is an important but challenging task to recreate in the lab. In a recent study, Wenxin Fan and co-workers in the interdisciplinary departments of materials scienc … | Continue reading
University of Copenhagen researchers have developed a nanocomponent that emits light particles carrying quantum information. Less than one-tenth the width of a human hair, the miniscule component makes it possible to scale up and could ultimately reach the capabilities required f … | Continue reading
Clean air is something that we are continuously proud of in our little Estonia, and it has been called, partly in jest, one of the most important exports. Unfortunately, the environment, including the air, around us is becoming increasingly polluted. | Continue reading
A team of researchers with members from Finland, Japan, the U.K., Germany and Singapore has found that people from the U.K. have similar touching rules as people who live in Japan. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group describes their study tha … | Continue reading
The cycad Cycas revoluta is a palm-like plant that grows on rocky coastal cliffs in the sub-tropics and tropics. It has a symbiotic relationship with the Nostoc species of bacteria that can convert nitrogen from the atmosphere into ammonia, which the host plant can then use for i … | Continue reading
The insecticide clothianidin affects different species of bees in different ways. While it has no demonstrably negative effect on honeybees, it disrupts the growth of bumble bees and threatens the survival of entire colonies. However, the insecticide does not make either species … | Continue reading
Plant cells absorb many important substances through a process called endocytosis. In plants, endocytosis is essential for nutrient uptake, passing on cellular signals and plant-microbe interactions. However, the vital nature of endocytosis makes it challenging to study using met … | Continue reading
Researchers led by Francesca Ferlaino from the University of Innsbruck and the Austrian Academy of Sciences report in Physical Review X on the observation of supersolid behavior in dipolar quantum gases of erbium and dysprosium. In the dysprosium gas these properties are unpreced … | Continue reading
Japanese scientists, including researchers at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) and Yokohama National University, have identified the molecular mechanism that gives the skin secretions of a species of frog effective antimicrobial properties. Their findings wer … | Continue reading
Researchers from ETH Zurich demonstrate that genetically identical cells exhibit differing responses in their motility towards chemical attractants. Average values hide the full picture when it comes to describing the behavior of bacteria. | Continue reading
In a joint collaboration, researchers from Denmark and Switzerland have shown that bacteria produce a specific stress molecule, divide more slowly, and thus save energy when they are exposed to antibiotics. The new knowledge is expected to form the basis for development of a new … | Continue reading
Finding shipwrecks isn't easy – it's a combination of survivor reports, excellent archival research, a highly skilled team, top equipment and some good old-fashioned luck. | Continue reading
The ominous warning – "winter is coming", popularised by fantasy series Game of Thrones – applies equally well to Pluto. | Continue reading
Exploring how a hazardous fungal pathogen 'tastes' its surroundings within a wheat plant to coordinate virulence could be the key to developing new control strategies, scientists believe. | Continue reading
Scientists are excited by the prospect of stripping catalysts down to single atoms. Attached by the millions to a supporting surface, they could offer the ultimate in speed and specificity. | Continue reading
As the saying goes, last in, first out. It's particularly true for young workers in recessions when the impact on their earnings can last a lifetime. | Continue reading
A trio of researchers from Texas A&M University and Wichita State University has found evidence of an early hunter-gatherer eating an entire venomous snake. In their paper published in Journal of Archaeological Science, Elanor Sonderman, Crystal Dozier and Morgan Smith describe t … | Continue reading
Anyone who has a rear-view mirror that automatically dims blue in reaction to annoying high-beam headlights glaring from behind has seen an electrochromic film in action. | Continue reading
Researchers at the University of Fribourg's Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI) and Hokkaido University in Japan have developed a method to tailor the properties of stress-indicating molecules that can be integrated into polymers and signal damages or excessive mechanical loads with a … | Continue reading
The sonar system of bats exploits spatial information in a way similar to our sense of sight, despite the different anatomy of eyes and ears. In a new study, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen and the Ludwig Maximilians University Munich have now … | Continue reading
Ovarian cancer is usually diagnosed only after it has reached an advanced stage, with many tumors spread throughout the abdomen. Most patients undergo surgery to remove as many of these tumors as possible, but because some are so small and widespread, it is difficult to eradicate … | Continue reading
A startup with a cheap technology for purifying textile wastewater and another with a system to help reduce methane emissions from cattle were named co-winners of the MIT Water Innovation Prize on Thursday. | Continue reading
The human body is held together by an intricate cable system of tendons and muscles, engineered by nature to be tough and highly stretchable. An injury to any of these tissues, particularly in a major joint like the shoulder or knee, can require surgical repairs and weeks of limi … | Continue reading
From a distance of five million kilometres to within 20 metres, ESA's Rosetta spacecraft captured images of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from all angles. | Continue reading
Domestic dogs come in all shapes and sizes, but the animals we now regard as man's best friend may have originated from just two populations of wolves, research suggests. The findings, along with studies on other domesticated animals, are providing new insights into how our ances … | Continue reading
Most people wouldn't think to teach five-year-olds how to hit a baseball by handing them a bat and ball, telling them to toss the objects into the air in a zillion different combinations and hoping they figure out how the two things connect. | Continue reading
In a recent study in mice, researchers found a way to deliver specific drugs to parts of the body that are exceptionally difficult to access. Their Y-shaped block catiomer (YBC) binds with certain therapeutic materials forming a package 18 nanometers wide. The package is less tha … | Continue reading
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Tuesday voted to not change its rule for a film's Oscars eligibility, sparing Netflix after months of pressure to exclude the streaming titan. | Continue reading
Beijing plans to send a manned mission to the moon and to build a research station there within the next decade, state media reported Wednesday, citing a top space official. | Continue reading
Egypt says archaeologists have uncovered an ancient tomb with mummies believed to date back about 2,000 years in the southern city of Aswan. | Continue reading
The precious chemistry of a plant used for 2000 years in traditional Chinese medicine has been unlocked in a project that raises the prospect of rapid access to a wide array of therapeutic drugs. | Continue reading
British Prime Minister Theresa May has given the go-ahead for China's Huawei to help build a 5G network, shrugging off security warnings from senior ministers and Washington, the Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday. | Continue reading
Societies and schools are facing new, culturally diverse populations and how they respond to these changes can have lasting impacts for everyone involved. Examining middle school diversity policies, a team of researchers from the University of Leuven, Belgium and the Queen's Univ … | Continue reading
We've all heard about the magical combination of being in the right place at the right time. Well for fertilizer, it's more accurate to say it should be in the right place at the right rate. A group of Canadian scientists wanted to find the perfect combination for farmers in thei … | Continue reading
A rifle resting on his shoulder, Tatji Arara looks despondent as he steps over the trunks of huge trees felled by timber traffickers in the heart of Brazil's Amazon rainforest, now the scene of numerous land conflicts. | Continue reading
Japan's Softbank is to invest 900 million euros ($1 billion) in beleaguered German financial technology firm Wirecard, or a stake of about 5.6 percent, Wirecard announced Wednesday. | Continue reading
South Korea's largest automaker Hyundai Motor bounced back in the first three months from its first quarterly loss in eight years on strong domestic demand for its new sport utility vehicles, the company said Wednesday. | Continue reading
Canada's oil sands CO2 emissions are significantly higher than indicated by industry data collected using internationally recommended methods, according to a study published Tuesday. | Continue reading
Nissan issued a profit warning on Wednesday, deepening the woes of the Japanese car giant as it seeks to recover from the shock of former boss Carlos Ghosn's arrest. | Continue reading
When Boeing releases first quarter results Wednesday, investors will be looking beyond profit and revenue numbers to clues about the fate of the company's best-selling plane and when it might fly again. | Continue reading
Tesla has lost nearly $6 billion since setting out to revolutionize the auto industry 15 years ago, but CEO Elon Musk foresees a profitable future fueled in part by a ride-hailing service made up of electric cars driven by robots. | Continue reading
Coral reefs worldwide are threatened by a variety of human impacts. Fishing is among the most pressing threats to reefs, because it occurs on most reef systems and fundamentally alters food webs. Meanwhile, observing coral reefs, particularly remote, hard-to-access locations such … | Continue reading
Zoologists from Trinity College Dublin, working with partners from Halu Oleo University (UHO) and Operation Wallacea, have discovered two beautiful new bird species in the Wakatobi Archipelago of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Details of their discovery—of the Wakatobi white-eye and the Wa … | Continue reading
American seismologists say a magnitude 5.9 earthquake has shaken a remote part of India near the border with China in a region that has experienced huge quakes in the past. | Continue reading
Twitter shares flew higher Tuesday after a surprisingly robust quarterly report, which sparked a fresh tirade from President Donald Trump over his claims of unfair treatment by social media. | Continue reading
Even light rain significantly increases your risk of a fatal car crash, a new study finds. | Continue reading