Leaders in the U.S. are getting older. For example, politicians in the House of Representatives are 20 years older than the average voter, and the country's 80-year-old President may stand for re-election. According to research from the University of Gothenburg, there is a risk t … | Continue reading
DNA can signal the presence of or predisposition to a slew of diseases, including cancer. The ability to flag down these clues, known as biomarkers, allows medical professionals to make critical early diagnoses and provide personalized treatments. The typical methods of screening … | Continue reading
A major analysis of the carbon footprint of universities and FE colleges has revealed for the first time the source and scale of their emissions. | Continue reading
Diversity, inclusion and equity policies are now broadly endorsed in Australian organizations. But not all diversities are equal. Our research suggests while programs for women and some racial minorities are being embraced, other diversities are excluded. | Continue reading
A team of astronomers using two Maunakea Observatories in Hawaiʻi—W. M. Keck Observatory and Subaru Telescope—have photographed a brown dwarf orbiting HIP 21152, a young sun-like star in the Hyades Cluster. | Continue reading
What is behind dark energy—and what connects it to the cosmological constant introduced by Albert Einstein? Two physicists from the University of Luxembourg point the way to answering these open questions of physics. | Continue reading
Scientists at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Russia), together with colleagues from the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics (Germany), the University of Graz & the Kanzelhöhe Observatory (Austria), the University of Zagreb and Zagreb Astronomical Observatory (Cr … | Continue reading
Venture capital firms (VCs), sophisticated investors in early-stage startups, are important players in the startup industry. The majority of startups exit through a Merger and Acquisition (M&A) deal. However, empirical evidence on private M&A contracting is limited due to data co … | Continue reading
Information processing devices such as smartphones are becoming more sophisticated because their information-recording density constantly increases, thanks to advances in microfabrication technology. In recent years, however, we are rapidly approaching the physical limits to proc … | Continue reading
Cells zealously protect the integrity of their genomes, because damage can lead to cancer or cell death. The genome—a cell's complete set of DNA—is most vulnerable while it is being duplicated before a cell divides. Cancer cells constantly are dividing, so their genomes are const … | Continue reading
Brazil's environment minister Marina Silva knows she has her work cut out to protect the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest that is shared among nine countries. | Continue reading
Research from an international team of scientists has cast new light on the physics of vitrification—the process by which glass forms. | Continue reading
Researchers of the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung have expanded the molecular toolbox for efficient, targeted syntheses: To do so, they use a very special catalyst—and the energy of light. The result of their work has now been published in Science. | Continue reading
Scientists working on laser application at the RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics (RAP) have demonstrated that GHz burst mode femtosecond laser pulses can create unique two-dimensional (2D) laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) on silicon substrates. | Continue reading
The occurrence of chemical reactions between like-charged compounds in aqueous solutions is very slow since particles repel each other. A recent breakthrough published in Nature Communications shows a new way to control chemical reactions by charge neutralization and increase in … | Continue reading
Unconnected strands of DNA must be sealed together during genome replication and repair, and a new KAUST-led investigation shows how the fastening enzyme involved gets the job done. | Continue reading
The second law of thermodynamics is often considered to be one of only a few physical laws that is absolutely and unquestionably true. The law states that the amount of 'entropy'—a physical property—of any closed system can never decrease. It adds an 'arrow of time' to everyday o … | Continue reading
Non-vascular bryophytes live in colonies that cover the ground and resemble tiny forests. In a real forest, plants compete for light in different layers of the canopy. If a plant does not receive enough sunlight, it stops lateral branching and instead grows vertically to reach th … | Continue reading
Rapid economic growth has pushed rare species of big carnivores to the brink of extinction, but ecologists have suggested our appetite to once again live alongside big cats is increasing. | Continue reading
The further out in time, the more unreliable a weather forecast. That's because small variations in initial weather conditions can completely change the entire system, making it unpredictable. Put another way, in the "butterfly effect," an insect can flap its wings and create a m … | Continue reading
A protein that prepares DNA for replication also prevents the replication process from running out of control, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. The work, published Jan. 5 in Molecular Cell, solves a mystery that has long puzzled biologists. | Continue reading
When it comes to creating ever more intriguing quantum systems, a constant need is finding new ways to observe them in a wide range of physical scenarios. JILA Fellow Cindy Regal and JILA and NIST Fellow Ana Maria Rey have teamed up with Oriol Romero-Isart from the University of … | Continue reading
The submarine volcano eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai that occurred on January 15, 2022, generated impulsive downward reaction forces on Earth, radiating seismic waves throughout the planet. Geologists analyzed the teleseismic waves and Rayleigh waves at approximately 50 se … | Continue reading
Stress isn't just the psychological pressure you feel in response to a looming deadline at work. It is also a description of the physical forces pushing, pulling, or twisting an object, structure, or material. Examples of stress include gravity dragging downward on a bridge, wind … | Continue reading
The European Commission will present a strategy to bolster the EU's security and defence efforts in space in March, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said Tuesday, with Russia's war in Ukraine raising tensions in space. | Continue reading
The EU on Tuesday announced proposals to try to reverse an "alarming decline" in the number of bees—and other insects that pollinate the bloc's crops—including by rewarding organic farming. | Continue reading
The "Doomsday Clock" symbolizing the perils to humanity moved its closest ever to midnight on Tuesday amid the Ukraine war, nuclear tensions and the climate crisis. | Continue reading
In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers from Northern Arizona University examined the core beliefs of the Chinese government, aiming to uncover opportunities to slow climate change by leveraging Beijing's political will for sustainability and conservation gains. | Continue reading
Endothelial cells (ECs) line blood vessels and can serve as specialized vascular niches for hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), a special environment where HSPCs reside and self-renew. A team of researchers found that endoderm-derived ECs contribute to zebrafish's fu … | Continue reading
Matter outflows in the form of jets are observed in astronomical systems at fast, medium and slow speeds. The fastest jets are highly relativistic, and travel very close to the speed of light. The origin, as well as many properties of the jets, is uncertain. Jet velocities seem t … | Continue reading
Physical systems evolve at a particular speed, which depends on various factors including the system's so-called topological structure (i.e., spatial properties that are preserved over time despite any physical changes that occur). Existing methods for determining the speed at wh … | Continue reading
The potential for being judged online could be affecting the ability of adolescents to concentrate on everyday tasks, a study by UNSW Sydney researchers finds. | Continue reading
Using the 6-meter telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) and the 2.5-meter telescope of the Caucasian Mountain Observatory (CMO), Russian astronomers have observed a giant galaxy known as NGC 2655. Results of the observational campaign, presented January 12 on t … | Continue reading
When imagining the deep sea, we often think of a cold, dark and empty wasteland, sparsely populated by monstrous-looking creatures of the deep. But in fissures along the seabed, ocean water superheated by the Earth's magma and enriched with minerals from the crust gushes upwards, … | Continue reading
In the age-old battle against mosquitos, DEET has proven effective at keeping this nemesis at bay, but the repellent is smelly and its protection is short-lived. Now, researchers report in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that they have designed safe alternatives th … | Continue reading
MSU researchers have traced the evolution of mint genomes for potential future applications that range from medicines to pesticides to antimicrobials. | Continue reading
A parasite believed to be present in more than 40 million people in the United States and often spread by domestic and wild cats could hamper ongoing conservation efforts in bighorn sheep. | Continue reading
Far below our feet, a giant may have started moving against us. | Continue reading
A huge iceberg nearly the size of Greater London has broken off the Antarctic ice shelf near a research station, the second such split in two years, researchers announced Monday. | Continue reading
The "Doomsday Clock," which represents the judgment of leading science and security experts about the perils to human existence, is to be updated on Tuesday against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and other crises. | Continue reading
Sea spiders can regrow body parts after amputation and not just limbs, according to a study released on Monday that may pave the way for further scientific research into regeneration. | Continue reading
New research led by University of Nevada, Reno Assistant Professor Joanna Blaszczak shows hypoxia in rivers and streams is generally much more prevalent across the globe than previously thought. Hypoxia is low or depleted oxygen levels in surface waters that can be harmful to aqu … | Continue reading
Federal environmental laws are failing to mitigate against Australia's extinction crisis, according to University of Queensland research. | Continue reading
A new study by researchers at Portland State University and the University of Wisconsin finds that a rich diversity of microorganisms live in interdependent communities in high-temperature geothermal environments in the deep sea. The study, which was published in the journal Micr … | Continue reading
The ancient Egyptians believed that when we died, our spiritual body sought out an afterlife similar to this world. But entry into this afterlife wasn't guaranteed; it first required a perilous journey through the underworld, followed by an individual last judgment. For this reas … | Continue reading
A newly-published hypothesis, led by a UCL researcher, suggests a momentary leap in a single species on a single day millions of years ago might ultimately have led to the arrival of mammals—and therefore humans. | Continue reading
One of the most exciting applications of quantum computers will be to direct their gaze inwards, at the very quantum rules that make them tick. Quantum computers can be used to simulate quantum physics itself, and perhaps even explore realms that don't exist anywhere in nature. | Continue reading
Heavy metals such as lead and cadmium are present in batteries, cosmetics, food and other things that are part of everyday life. They are toxic when they accumulate in the human organism, potentially causing several health problems, but detecting them in body fluids requires expe … | Continue reading