Editor’s note: This article was reported before the devastating earthquake in Morocco on 8 September. It isn’t yet known how the earthquake affected the underground tunnels described here. Underground tunnels, or khettara , have been shuttling water through Morocco’s harsh landscapes for millennia , allowing communities...

The intricate interplay of gene expression within living cells is akin to a well-orchestrated symphony, with each gene playing its part in perfect harmony to ensure cells function as they should. At the heart of this symphony are transcription factors (TFs), molecular maestros that regulate the expression of genes by binding to specific DNA sequences known as promoters.

Flexible working is key to creating a more diverse and inclusive workforce, according to a new report. The research into equality, diversity and inclusion in the UK insurance industry also found that excessive alcohol consumption at team building and client events fuels inequality, discrimination and harassment.

Is it an eagle? A birdie? No, it's a gator.

Would you help a complete stranger in desperate need of money, based solely on their social media posts? Simon Fraser University professor and bioethicist Jeremy Snyder examines the complex dimensions of this question in his new book, "Appealing to the Crowd: The Ethical, Political, and Practical Dimensions of Donation-Based Crowdfunding" (Oxford University Press, 2023), which highlights how...

There is a growing call among researchers, funding bodies and developers to integrate considerations of ecological connectivity in environmental assessments (EAs) of proposed development projects. This refers to the degree to which a natural landscape remains unbroken by a development project, be it a road, mine, transmission line or hydro dam. These projects have the potential to impede wildlife...

A significant share of voters see the EU as less democratic than it really is and believe the European Commission can steamroll its member states, a new study shows.

The Hintereisferner, located at the back of the Tyrolean Ötztal, has been closely monitored for more than 100 years, and there have been continuous records of its mass balance since 1952. This makes it one of the best-studied glaciers in the Alps and has been key to glacier and climate research at the University of Innsbruck for decades.

With its crushing atmospheric pressure, clouds of sulfuric acid, and searing surface temperature, Venus is an especially challenging place to study. But scientists know that observing its surface can provide key insights into the habitability and evolution of rocky planets like our own.

The international Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission is able to measure ocean features, like El Niño, closer to a coastline than previous space-based missions.

Though human-made ponds both sequester and release greenhouse gases, when added up, they may be net emitters, according to two related studies by Cornell researchers.

In 1994, Peter Shor created one of the first practical uses for a quantum computer: hacking the internet. Shor, an applied mathematician at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), showed how a quantum computer could be exponentially faster than a classical computer at finding the prime number factors of large numbers. Those primes are used as the secret keys that secure most...

James Rainbolt typically can tackle most problems at his rural water plant with some extra time or money.

The demand for rare raw materials, such as cobalt, is fueling the exploration of the deep-sea floor for mining. Commercial deep-sea mining is currently prohibited in areas beyond national jurisdiction, but companies are permitted exploratory operations in certain areas to assess their mineral wealth and measure environmental baselines.

A research study conducted by Hai-Lei Wei's research team at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in China has revealed significant insights into the biosynthesis and modulation of plant immunity by a novel cyclic lipopeptide called medpeptin, produced by Pseudomonas mediterranea.

The New Horizons spacecraft is perhaps most famous for revealing the icy world Pluto in 2015, flying by the distant dwarf planet and sending back stunning imagery of a dynamic world. But the spacecraft’s mission was far from over. This week, New Horizons and the Hubble Space Telescope are teaming up to observe Uranus andContinue reading "NASA needs you to observe Uranus and Neptune this week"...

Pacific Oscillation (APO), a dominant mode of atmospheric variability characterized by a seesaw variation in the upper-tropospheric temperature between Asia and the North Pacific, plays important roles in the atmospheric circulation and climate of East Asia. A recent study using state-of-the-art climate models projected a weakening of the winter APO in the expected warmer world of the second half...

No longer limited to the realm of science fiction, bio-computing is here, so now is the time to start considering how to research and apply this technology responsibly, an international group of experts says.

A team of scientists has developed a novel way to measure variations in the Earth's rotation. In their paper published in the journal Nature Photonics, the team explains how their new approach works and how well it did when tested. Caterina Cimminelli and Giusepeppe Brunetti have published a News & Views piece in the same journal that discusses the main study's findings.