Neuroscientists have identified a brain circuit critical for learning to make decisions that require evaluating the cost or reward of an action. They showed this circuit is negatively affected by aging and in Huntington's disease.

A liquid nanofoam liner undergoing testing could prolong the safe use of football helmets, says a researcher.

In the nearly two centuries since German physician Carl Wunderlich established 98.6°F as the standard 'normal' body temperature, it has been used by parents and doctors alike as the measure by which fevers -- and often the severity of illness -- have been assessed.

Physicists have found a way to circumvent a 178-year old theory which means they can effectively cancel magnetic fields at a distance. They are the first to be able to do so in a way which has practical benefits.

Election forecasting is an innately challenging endeavor, with results that can be difficult to interpret and may leave many questions unanswered after close races unfold. Researchers have now borrowed ideas from epidemiology to develop a new method for forecasting elections. The team hoped the multidisciplinary nature of their infectious disease model could expand the community that engages with...

Scientists have discovered and confirmed a method which could serve as an easy but reliable way to test the quality of graphene and other 2D materials.

A single-step, plasma-enhanced catalytic process to convert sulfur dioxide to pure sulfur from tail gas streams may provide a promising, more environmentally-friendly alternative to current multistage thermal, catalytic and absorptive processes, according to scientists.

Researchers have generated a global coral reef extent map using a single methodology capable of predicting the location of shallow coral reefs with nearly 90% accuracy.

Leaving more big fish -- like tuna, sharks, mackerel and swordfish -- in the sea reduces the amount of carbon dioxide released into the Earth's atmosphere. This is because when a fish dies in the ocean it sinks to the depths and sequestrates all the carbon it contains with it. This is a form of 'blue carbon'. Big fish are about 10 to 15 percent carbon.

Engineers have developed a drone with a feathered wing and tail that give it unprecedented flight agility.

A new multi-drone imaging system was put to the test in Antarctica. The task? Documenting a colony of roughly 1 million Adélie penguins.

An instrument on NASA's Juno mission spacecraft may have detected transient luminous events -- bright flashes of light in the gas giant's upper atmosphere.

We're told not to eat too much sugar, but in reality, all of our cells are covered in sugar molecules called glycans. Glycans regulate many important processes including infection by bacteria and viruses, but little is known about them because their structures are highly complex. A team has now created a new suite of deep learning and bioinformatics tools that enable the comprehensive study of...

If you've visited the beach recently, you might think sand is ubiquitous. But in construction uses, the perfect sand and gravel is not always an easy resource to come by.

Stromboli, the 'lighthouse of the Mediterranean', is known for its low-energy but persistent explosive eruptions, behaviour that is known scientifically as Strombolian activity. Occasionally, however, more intense and sudden explosions occur, most recently in July and August last year (2019). These are known as 'Strombolian paroxysms'. During such events several of Stromboli's craters are active...

Biologists are unlocking the genomes of creepy agricultural pests like screwworms that feast on livestock from the inside out and thrips that transmit viruses to plants.

A team of astronomers, earlier this year announced their discovery of activity emanating from Centaur 2014 OG392, a planetary object first found in 2014. As a result of the team's discovery, the Centaur has recently been reclassified as a comet, and will be known as 'C/2014 OG392 (PANSTARRS).'

Most detailed every study into how animals evolve to better suit their environments shows that pterosaurs become more efficient at flying over millions of years before going extinct with the dinosaurs.

Society will require more food in the coming years to feed a growing population, and seafood will likely make up a significant portion of it. At the same time, we need to conserve natural habitats to ensure the health of our oceans. It seems like a conflict is inevitable.

Researchers are discovering that social isolation affects the health of men and women in different ways -- including placing women at higher risk of high blood pressure.

An international team of researchers has created a new technique for magnetization switching -- the process used to 'write' information into magnetic memory -- that is nearly 100 times faster than state-of-the-art spintronic devices. The advance could lead to the development of ultrafast magnetic memory for computer chips that would retain data even when there is no power.

Membraneless compartments -- models for a potential step in the early evolution of cells -- have been shown to persist or form, disappear, and reform in predictable ways through multiple cycles of dehydration and rehydration.

Knee replacement surgery, also known as total knee arthroplasty (TKA), is increasing among patients 65 and younger. One study projects a potential 183% increase in the number of TKA and revision TKA surgeries by the year 2030 in that age group, raising concerns about poorer clinical outcomes, lower patient satisfaction and diminished joint survival compared to an older patient population.

New research examines the properties of the mucus of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and the role it plays in a pathogens' ability to survive. The new information could have important implications for CF treatment.