Vocal fry has a bad reputation in American English. A subtype of creaky voice, a feature of speech that sounds gravelly and pulse-like, this manner of speech is sometimes used to form judgment about the speaker. In many languages, the creaky tone changes the meaning of words, as exhibited in Lango spoken in South Sudan or Jalapa Mazatec spoken in Mexico.

Anna Mani, one of India's first women scientists, broke barriers to blaze a trail in meteorology.

The Dendrobium orchid is sacred to Taiwan's Tsou tribe, but it is getting harder and harder to find.

President Joe Biden today stepped into a long-running debate about whether the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has legal authority to override an exclusive patent license granted to drug developers if they charge too much for treatments that relied on agency-funded research. In draft policy guidance, the Biden administration says federal agencies would be able to use so-called...

A challenge among three housemates to identify species around their inner-Brisbane home has resulted in an academic research paper, showcasing the rich biodiversity in urban landscapes.

Most ornamental crops can be classified as long-day, short-day, or day-neutral plants based on their flowering responses to the photoperiod (which is the day length), or the skotoperiod (which is the night length). Chrysanthemum is a common ornamental crop with an obligate short-day flowering response and only flowers when the night length is consistently longer than a critical duration.

In the colorful world of avian courtship, the ruff (Calidris pugnax) is in a league of its own. Breeding in marshes and wet meadows across Eurasia, the males of this medium-sized sandpiper species are well-known for their distinctive mating strategies, which range from flamboyant territorial displays to cunning mimicry.

Chemicals—from antibiotics used to keep livestock healthy to pesticides that shield crops from insects and other pests—play an important role in modern agriculture. However, many of these substances accumulate in cow manure used as fertilizer, where they contaminate crops, leach into groundwater, and pollute waterways, posing a threat to human health and the environment.

The EU countries have decided that the EU is to be climate neutral by 2050. By 2030, greenhouse gas emissions must have been reduced by at least 55% compared to 1990. To meet this target, continued vigorous efforts are needed to reduce emissions, but that alone will not be enough.

A team of researchers has reviewed a unique method for reforming the structures of ultra-small nanomaterials. These nanomaterials, called metal nanoclusters, bridge the gap between the metal atom and the bulk metal, making them highly useful in both basic and applied research. Metal nanoclusters have the potential for wide-ranging applications in the biomedical fields.

Stir-frying yields more than just tasty dishes like Kung Pao chicken and Hunan beef. It also emits an invisible mixture of gases and particles that pollute indoor air and can be detrimental to human health. Correctly estimating such cooking emissions in a variety of settings is critical for simulating exposure and informing health guidelines aimed at keeping people safe.

Despite the Roman Empire's extensive military and cultural influence on the nearby Balkan peninsula, a DNA analysis of individuals who lived in the region between 1 and 1000 CE found no genetic evidence of Iron Age Italian ancestry. Instead, a new study has revealed successive waves of migrations from Western Anatolia, central and northern Europe, and the Pontic-Kazakh Steppe during the Empire's...

A new study of paper wasps suggests social interactions may make animals smarter. The research offers behavioral evidence of an evolutionary link between the ability to recognize individuals and social cooperation.

Researchers re-examined a plant fossil found decades ago in Colombia and realized that it wasn't a plant at all: it's a fossilized baby turtle. It's a rare find, because juvenile turtles' shells are soft and often don't fossilize well.