Scientists rely increasingly on models trained with machine learning to provide solutions to complex problems. But how do we know the solutions are trustworthy when the complex algorithms the models use are not easily interrogated or able to explain their decisions to humans?

A dash of ruthenium atoms on a mesh of copper nanowires could be one step toward a revolution in the global ammonia industry that also helps the environment.

Precipitation more than temperature influenced the distribution of herbivorous dinosaurs in what is now Alaska, according to new research published this month.

Simon Fraser University researchers are yielding new insights into how chemical reactions can be understood and guided. Results of their interdisciplinary approach have been published in Physical Review Letters.

An international research team, including scientists at Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, has used a new observation technique to discover the brightest extragalactic pulsar known, and it could even be the most luminous one ever found.

In 2017, a group of scientists raised alarm bells by showing that flying insects had declined in Germany by more than 70% in the three preceding decades. Studies before and since then have shown similar patterns in insects on a global scale. But with 1 million known species—and conservative estimates indicating there are millions more awaiting discovery—there aren't nearly enough entomologists...

Elisabeth Gilmore compares the world's urgent need to find alternatives to remove excess carbon dioxide from the air to a family bank balance depleted by a shopping spree.

A cross-disciplinary University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) team has demonstrated a major breakthrough in using automated synthesis to discover new molecules for organic electronics applications.

Corals are keystone species for reef and marine ecosystems but coral bleaching due to climate change and ocean warming is killing them. A new open access study by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, aims to shed light on how to reverse the damage and save corals.

Engineering enzymes to perform reactions not found in nature can address longstanding challenges in the world of synthetic chemistry, such as upgrading plant-based oils into useful biochemicals.

The pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii can survive on hospital surfaces—without water—for months, an ability that has helped it become a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections.

Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) scientists working on CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing technology have developed a method to increase efficiency of editing while minimizing DNA deletion sizes, a key step toward developing gene editing therapies to treat genetic diseases.

Safeguarding native tree diversity through improved conservation and restoration efforts is at a critical juncture in Southeast Asia, as many tree species face threats from habitat loss, fire and climate change, among other human-caused threats. A new study has used a spatially explicit framework to identify species-specific priority areas for conservation and restoration among rosewood species in...

A University of Arizona tree-ring expert is closer than ever to pinning down the date of the infamous Thera volcano eruption—a goal she has pursued for decades.

Cryptographic systems and information security rely on unpredictable, unmanipulable random bits that are physical in nature. Especially in the context of private key systems that enable unconditional security via "one-time-pad" cryptography, the real-time generation rate of physical random bits critically determines the secure communication rate.

Companies that utilize augmented reality (AR) glasses as a new training and workforce tool to increase worker productivity risk stunting workforce innovation and ingenuity, according to new research findings published in the INFORMS journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management.

In the time since the first exoplanet was discovered in 1992, astronomers have detected more than 5,000 planets orbiting other stars. But when astronomers detect a new exoplanet, we don't learn a lot about it: We know that it exists and a few features about it, but the rest is a mystery.

As the world turns its attention to electric vehicles as a replacement for gas-powered cars and trucks, some vehicles such as long-haul trucks and planes will need a bridge between gas and electric.

A new study describes a period of rapid global climate change in an ice-capped world much like the present—but 304 million years ago. Within about 300,000 years, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels doubled, oceans became anoxic, and biodiversity dropped on land and at sea.

As the world sees rising ocean temperatures, it will also see more cases of coral bleaching. When corals bleach, they become more vulnerable to other stressors such as water pollution. However, many reefs harbor corals that persist despite warming oceans. Unraveling the complex issue of coral bleaching and its impact on their survival or death may be key to conserving coral reefs— ecosystems...

In the summer of 1984, investigators peered into a cave dug beneath the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles and found dozens of rusted 55-gallon barrels filled with toxic chemicals.

The sun emitted a strong solar flare on April 30, 2022, peaking at 9:47 a.m. EDT. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event.

Two-pore channels (TPCs) are ancient ion channels present in the cells of both animals and plants. In animals, including humans, these ion channels play important roles in biological activities in various tissues, such as in the brain and nervous system. All land plant species contain TPC genes; in many higher vascular plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) and Oryza sativa (rice), a...

Converting agroindustrial waste into molecules of interest to society, such as biofuels and biochemicals, is one of the ways to mitigate dependence on oil and other fossil fuels. As one of the world's largest producers of plant biomass, Brazil is well-placed to lead this transition, but lignocellulosic raw materials (containing lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose) are hard to deconstruct, or (more...