Scientists working with NASA's Curiosity Mars rover have been excited to explore a region called "the clay-bearing unit" since before the spacecraft launched. Now, the rover has finally tasted its first sample from this part of Mount Sharp. Curiosity drilled a piece of bedrock ni … | Continue reading
A study of after-school programs in Connecticut led by UConn researchers suggests that students who participate for several years in programs sponsored by 21st Century Community Learning Centers have higher attendance in school and higher academic performance. | Continue reading
A new Massey University study shows many top executives are failing to capitalise on the benefits of big data, preferring to rely on their own intuition. | Continue reading
A research team in Ehime University characterized the complex composition of chlorinated, brominated and mixed halogenated dioxins as well as their major precursors in soils from e-waste burning and dismantling areas in Agbogbloshie (Accra, Ghana), a major hub of informal e-waste … | Continue reading
Experimental molecular assays with single-cell resolution generate big and complex data. Researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technical University of Munich are now presenting their computer algorithm PAGA. They create data-driven, easily interpretable maps that revea … | Continue reading
A NASA study of a US astronaut who spent a year in space while his twin brother remained on Earth is providing valuable insights into the effects of extended spaceflight on the human body, a key to planning a future manned mission to Mars, researchers said Thursday. | Continue reading
With electric cars back in the headlines, it's time to remember why we should bother making the transition away from oil. | Continue reading
ESA's 35-metre radio antenna in Malargüe, Argentina, has had a major refurbishment. Extenstive modifications made will now allow the ESTRACK network to support future missions like Euclid, launching in 2022, and to transfer data at much higher rates. | Continue reading
A research team from the University of Greifswald and Helmholtz-Zentrum-Berlin (HZB) has solved the molecular structure of the enzyme MHETase at BESSY II. MHETase was discovered in bacteria, and together with a second enzyme, PETase, is able to break down the widely used plastic … | Continue reading
The origin of so-called Kiruna-type apatite-iron oxide ores has been the topic of a longstanding debate for over 100 years. In a new article published in Nature Communications, a team of scientists presents new and unambiguous data in favour of a magmatic origin for these importa … | Continue reading
Although several past studies have investigated the formation of crystals from identical particles, the conditions under which non-uniform particles crystallize and the crystals resulting from this process are still poorly understood. In a recent study published in Physical Revie … | Continue reading
Brassica rapa plants pollinated by bumblebees evolve more attractive flowers. But this evolution is compromised if caterpillars attack the plant at the same time. As bees pollinate them less effectively, the plants increasingly self-pollinate. In a greenhouse evolution experiment … | Continue reading
At some point, every person is likely to experience an inflammatory condition. There are many causes of inflammation, and just as many treatments. Some types of inflammation disappear by themselves, while others require medical treatment. | Continue reading
During mating, both males and females sometimes evolve creative strategies to pursue their interests. Researchers from Münster (Germany) and Lausanne (Switzerland) now report that male flies manipulate their partners primarily in order to increase their own chances in reproductiv … | Continue reading
The submersible dropped from the ocean's surface faster than I had expected. With a loud "psssssss" the air escaped from the ballast tanks and the small craft suddenly tilted forward. | Continue reading
A new type of pocket-sized antenna, developed at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, could enable mobile communication in situations where conventional radios don't work, such as under water, through the ground and over very long distances through air … | Continue reading
Using cryptography and virtual drop boxes, Julian Assange's WikiLeaks created a revolutionary new model for media to lure massive digitized leaks from whistleblowers, exposing everything from US military secrets to wealthy tax-dodgers' illicit offshore accounts. | Continue reading
In coral reef ecosystems, amid stony corals, fronds of algae and schools of fish, microorganisms are essential for recycling nutrients—transforming bits of organic matter into forms of nitrogen and phosphorus, for example, that are useful to photosynthetic organisms. | Continue reading
Microsoft has been collaborating with researchers linked to a Chinese military-backed university on artificial intelligence, elevating concerns that US firms are contributing to China's high-tech surveillance and censorship apparatus. | Continue reading
A major new survey of Indonesia's eastern seafloor has been approved by the Royal Society in a move that it's hoped will boost the country's resilience to deadly tsunamis. | Continue reading
Advanced robotics sensitive touch or next-generation wearable devices with sophisticated sensing capabilities could soon be possible following the development of a rubber that combines flexibility with high electrical conductivity. | Continue reading
A new finding by researchers at the University of Chicago promises to improve the speed and reliability of current and next generation quantum computers by as much as ten times. By combining principles from physics and computer science, the researchers developed a new scalable co … | Continue reading
Climbers with pressing needs on Mount Everest will soon find an "eco-friendly" toilet at a Chinese campsite 7,028 metres (23,058 feet) above sea level in an ongoing campaign to deal with the peak's waste problem. | Continue reading
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Thursday it would meet with American commercial airlines that use the Boeing 737 MAX, which has been grounded worldwide since mid-March following two accidents that killed 346 people. | Continue reading
The Space Force that President Donald Trump wants to launch ran headlong on Thursday into skeptical lawmakers who questioned the need for a stand-alone military wing. | Continue reading
The Amazon-Walmart battle for retail supremacy veered into a trash-talk phase on Thursday over worker pay and alleged tax shirking. | Continue reading
Uber filed documents Thursday for its much-anticipated public share offering expected to be the largest in the tech sector in years, and a bellwether for other venture-backed startups eyeing Wall Street listing. | Continue reading
An Israeli spacecraft crashed into the moon Thursday just moments before touchdown, failing in an ambitious attempt to make history as the first privately funded lunar landing. | Continue reading
Disney announced Thursday that its video streaming service would launch in the US in November, spotlighting its blockbuster-making studios as it takes on powerhouse Netflix. | Continue reading
After the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London, his lawyer was quick to characterize it as an assault against the rights of journalists all over the world who seek to uncover secrets. | Continue reading
SpaceX launched its second supersized rocket and for the first time landed all three boosters Thursday, a year after sending up a sports car on the initial test flight. | Continue reading
If you've ever tended a garden or potted a plant, you know a few simple truths about green things—they require water and nutrients to survive and their roots are good indicators of their overall health. So we water on a regular schedule, provide for root growth and add nutrient-r … | Continue reading
A patent was issued to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday for a novel generator that buzzes in a light breeze. | Continue reading
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory scientists have developed and patented the fabrication of transparent, luminescent material they say could give smartphone and television screens flexible, stretchable, and shatterproof properties. | Continue reading
Scientists at Scripps Research have identified a group of small molecules that prevent structural changes to proteins that are at the root of AL amyloidosis, a progressive and often fatal disease. | Continue reading
Scientists from the University of East Anglia have discovered a unique oil eating bacteria in the deepest part of the Earth's oceans—the Mariana Trench. | Continue reading
Boeing has made 96 flights to test a software update for its troubled 737 Max jet, according to the company's CEO. | Continue reading
More than 2.7 million Californians live in areas that are at very high risk for wildfires, according to our analysis of census data and state fire maps. They live in more than 1.1 million housing units, or in about one in 12 of the state's homes. | Continue reading
Walmart says it's buying San Francisco-based ad tech startup Polymorph Labs as it looks to better compete with online rival juggernaut Amazon in targeting shoppers online. | Continue reading
Israel's attempt at a moon landing failed at the last minute Thursday when the craft suffered an engine failure as it prepared to land and apparently crashed onto the lunar surface. | Continue reading
Scientists have captured the first "snapshot" of two proteins involved in delivering a bacterial stress-response master regulator to the cell's recycling machinery. | Continue reading
An El Niño that began to form last fall has matured and is now fully entrenched across the Pacific Ocean. Changes in sea surface temperatures (SSTs) brought about by an El Niño affect the atmosphere, resulting in distinctive changes in the rainfall pattern across the Pacific Basi … | Continue reading
Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and engineers at UC San Diego have used new imaging software to detect dramatic recovery after a bleaching event on the reefs surrounding remote Palmyra Atoll in the tropical Pacific. The research was published April 5 in Coral R … | Continue reading
In 1989, two undergraduate students at the Free University of Brussels were asked to test frozen blood serum from camels, and stumbled on a previously unknown kind of antibody. It was a miniaturized version of a human antibody, made up only of two heavy protein chains, rather tha … | Continue reading
Inflammation is a balanced physiological response—the body needs it to eliminate invasive organisms and foreign irritants, but excessive inflammation can harm healthy cells, contributing to aging and chronic diseases. To help keep tabs on inflammation, immune cells employ a molec … | Continue reading
Studying the movement of tiny cells is no small task. For chromatin, the group of DNA, RNA, and protein macromolecules packed within our genome, motion is an integral part of its active role as a regulator of how our genes get expressed or repressed. | Continue reading
Companies that hope to avoid long-term stagnation can jolt employees into creative thinking by forcing them to sit alongside unfamiliar coworkers in open work spaces, according to new research from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University. | Continue reading