Stay informed about scientific discoveries, research developments and new findings from around the world.
Indonesia's Mount Anak Krakatau has erupted again this week, sending plumes of volcanic ash high into the sky and disrupting hundreds of flights. More than 300,000 passengers have been affected.
Microplastics are plastic particles smaller than 5 millimeters that originate either from manufactured products or from the breakdown of larger plastic items. They can now be found everywhere, from oceans and rivers to soils and indoor air. Because most plastics degrade very slowly, these particles can remain in the environment for decades or centuries.
As countries compete for skilled workers and grapple with aging populations and labor shortages, understanding who is moving across borders is increasingly important. A new study provides the first global data set of immigration composition disaggregated simultaneously by age, sex and educational attainment, offering a new basis for tracking brain gain and brain drain and improving population projections.
An international team of scientists has recreated a 1,000-year timeline documenting ecological changes and human impact on the area surrounding Crawford Lake, the famed location of the proposed Anthropocene.
Drinking this year's champagne might cause a heftier headache as France's record heat waves force some producers to increase alcohol levels, industry officials said Wednesday.
An experimental compound called AP503 significantly strengthened bones in mice by activating GPR133, a receptor that boosts bone formation while slowing bone loss. Because the same treatment has also been linked to stronger muscles, researchers see intriguing potential for combating age-related decline and osteoporosis.
Cannibalism was sometimes on the Neolithic menu, as numerous archaeological discoveries have revealed. But while ancient human bones show the practice took place, far less evidence exists about the forms it may have taken or why people occasionally consumed one another. Was it to stave off hunger during times of desperation? Did different tribes eat their defeated enemies? Or was cannibalism part of complex rituals?
The birds are up with the sunrise—warblers, flycatchers, sparrows and towhees calling across the treetops. Deer browse on tender buds emerging from dense shrubs. Black bears scrounge for roots, insects and other edibles.
Electronic voting, the use of electronic systems to cast, record or count votes, could potentially simplify the process of electing new political leaders or other representatives. While some countries have already started using internet-connected devices or electronic voting machines at polling stations, the trustworthiness, security and anonymity of electronic voting systems are still widely debated.
In research published in the journal Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, the electronic structures of organic molecules containing sp2-hybridized carbons in organic solvents were studied using C K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), termed "Soft-XAS-OS."
Robert Macfarlane to challenge humanity’s ‘superiority complex’ in BBC Reith Lectures Tom Almeroth-W… Wed, 09/09/2026 - 14:30 Making the announcement on 9 September, the BBC said: “At a time of ecological crisis, extreme weather events and a rapidly heating climate, Robert Macfarlane’s Reith Lectures will examine what is in his view one of the most consequential stories humans tell themselves: that our species stands above and apart from the rest of nature."Throughout the series, titled The Human Superiority Complex, Professor Macfarlane will argue that this belief has become deeply rooted in Western thought, and has helped bring the planet to the brink of catastrophe.Macfarlane, a Fellow of...
By studying chickadee cognition in the wild, researchers learned smarter birds stay smart in old age, produce more young and have better gut bacteria.
New research challenges the idea that career shocks are bad news for expatriate workers, finding that major personal, professional or societal disruptions can instead act as a catalyst for adaptation and resilience.
New research from Indiana University has uncovered a previously unknown vulnerability in how bacteria build the whip-like tails they use to move. The researchers found that building these tails can put stress on the protective wall surrounding a bacterial cell and uncovered systems bacteria use to keep that stress from becoming destructive.
Semaglutide, the drug found in Ozempic and Wegovy, was linked to nearly 40% fewer asthma attacks in a large real-world study. It was also associated with about 20% fewer COPD flare-ups. Researchers say GLP-1 drugs may offer respiratory benefits in addition to their effects on diabetes and obesity, but clinical trials are needed to confirm the findings.
Pounding surf lashing the swanky California enclave of Malibu on Tuesday opened a giant sinkhole in the driveway of a house reportedly belonging to U.S. actor Nicolas Cage.
A new study has demonstrated that regional microbial imprints can remain detectable under commercial winemaking conditions. The research, appearing in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, shows that inoculated fermentations do not "override" native microbial diversity and that vineyard management and environmental conditions affect wine quality. The study helps explain why wines from different regions taste distinct even when made with similar techniques and supports regional flavors and branding.
Wealth redistribution policies currently under discussion in international forums could avert between 6.6 million and 29.5 million deaths by 2030, according to a study published in The Lancet and led by ISGlobal in collaboration with other leading economic and health research institutions.
Fed up with funding restrictions surrounding her research on links between climate change and health, American epidemiologist Sheryl Magzamen has left the United States for Canada.
Some people seem naturally tidy. Their keys are always in the same place, clothes make it into the closet, and their kitchen counter remains mysteriously visible.
A new study shows that some U.S. police officers often use the term "bad guys" to describe people who commit crimes, especially when faced with ambiguity in their work. It is a label officers may use to reduce complex and morally challenging situations and contexts into a clearer, more legible framework.
In 2016, when Amazon workers began organizing at a warehouse in Chester, Virginia, the company tracked where employees gathered, posted anti-union messaging in bathroom stalls and held town halls to discourage them. The National Labor Relations Board forced Amazon to admit, in writing, that it had illegally surveilled and threatened workers. The union drive still failed.
Astronomers have found the first direct evidence that a wandering black hole can feed itself by dragging gas along in its wake as it moves through its galaxy. It's the first direct evidence of an accretion channel long predicted in theory but never before observed. The paper describing this discovery was posted to the arXiv preprint server on Aug. 11.
The construction of new data centers is shaping up to be a defining issue in the 2026 midterm elections. Politicians in both parties have been distancing themselves from data centers in the face of public discontent around the issue, with public backlash leading to the freezing of dozens of data center projects nationwide this year.