New findings settle the dispute: phonons can be chiral. This fundamental concept, discovered using circular X-ray light, sees phonons twisting like a corkscrew through quartz.

Astronomers challenge longstanding beliefs about the isolation of 'hot Jupiters' and proposes a new mechanism for understanding the exoplanets' evolution.

Recent scientific discoveries have shown that Neanderthal genes comprise some 1 to 4% of the genome of present-day humans whose ancestors migrated out of Africa, but the question remained open on how much those genes are still actively influencing human traits -- until now.

A study finds that deficiency of taurine, a molecule produced in our bodies, drives aging, and taurine supplements can improve health and increase lifespan in animals.

Without more legally binding and well-planned net-zero policies, the world is highly likely to miss key climate targets.

Scientists have developed synthetic molecules that resemble real organic molecules. A collaboration of researcher can now simulate the behavior of real molecules by using artificial molecules.

A team of scientists has discovered that IL-17 protein plays a central role in skin aging. The study highlights an IL-17-mediated ageing process to an inflammatory state.

Working with live squid hatchlings, scientists find the animals can tune their proteome on the fly in response to changes in ocean temperature via the unique process of RNA recoding. The findings inspire new questions about basic protein function.

Family and loved ones may be conspiring to sabotage your weight loss journey, according to a new study. The study is part of a growing body of evidence which suggests that not all social support results in positive health outcomes.

Socially tolerant species are better at controlling their emotions and behaviors, according to a new study of one of humanity's closest relatives.

Human-induced warming, largely caused by the burning of fossil fuels, reached an average of 1.14°C for the most recent decade (2013 to 2022) above pre-industrial levels. This is up from 1.07°C between 2010 and 2019. Human-induced warming is now increasing at a pace of over 0.2°C per decade. The analysis also found that greenhouse gas emissions were 'at an all-time high', with human activity...

The Daitari greenstone belt shares a similar geologic make-up when compared to the greenstones exposed in the Barberton and Nondweni areas of South Africa and those from the Pilbara Craton of north-western Australia.

Astronomers have clearly identified the existence of four new exoplanets. The four mini-Neptunes are smaller and cooler, and more difficult to find than the so-called Hot Jupiter exoplanets which have been found in abundance.

Keeping track of everything you eat and drink in a day is a tedious task that is tough to keep up with over time. Unfortunately, dutiful tracking is a vital component for successful weight loss, however, a new study finds that perfect tracking is not needed to achieve significant weight loss.

New research shows that clear-air turbulence increased in various regions around the world from 1979 -- 2020.

Nutrition is an important part of any top athlete's training program. And now, a new study proposes that supplementing the diet of athletes with colorful fruits and vegetables could improve their visual range. The paper examines how a group of plant compounds that build up in the retina, known as macular pigments, work to improve eye health and functional vision.

Large study in children reveals Selenomonas sputigena as a key partner of Streptococcus in cavity formation.

Octopuses don't thermoregulate, so their powerful brains are exposed to -- and potentially threatened by -- changes in temperature. Researchers report that two-spot octopuses adapt to seasonal temperature shifts by producing different neural proteins under warm versus cool conditions. The octopuses achieve this by editing their RNA, the messenger molecule between DNA and proteins. This rewiring...

Poems, essays and even books -- is there anything the OpenAI platform ChatGPT can't handle? These new AI developments have inspired researchers to dig a little deeper: For instance, can ChatGPT also design a robot? And is this a good thing for the design process, or are there risks?

Researchers have revealed the mechanisms that cause lithium metal solid-state batteries to fail. The new insights could help overcome the technical issues with solid-state batteries, unlocking a game-changing technology for electric vehicles and aviation.

Take a lattice -- a flat section of a grid of uniform cells, like a window screen or a honeycomb -- and lay another, similar lattice above it. But instead of trying to line up the edges or the cells of both lattices, give the top grid a twist so that you can see portions of the lower one through it. This new, third pattern is a moiré, and it's between this type of overlapping arrangement of...

A genomic analysis of ancient human remains from Morocco in northwest Africa revealed that food production was introduced by Neolithic European and Levantine migrants and then adopted by local groups.

A newly discovered plant-eating dinosaur may have been a species' 'last gasp' during a period when Earth's warming climate forced massive changes to global dinosaur populations.

Last year, telescopes around the world registered the brightest cosmic explosion of all time. Astrophysicists can now explain what made it so dazzling.

A new paper argues that materials like wood, bacteria, and fungi belong to a newly identified class of matter, 'hydration solids.' The new findings emerged from ongoing research into the strange behavior of spores, dormant bacterial cells.

Newly discovered biomarker signatures point to a whole range of previously unknown organisms that dominated complex life on Earth about a billion years ago. They differed from complex eukaryotic life as we know it, such as animals, plants and algae in their cell structure and likely metabolism, which was adapted to a world that had far less oxygen in the atmosphere than today.

Researchers used data from NASA's Parker Solar Probe to explain how the solar wind is capable of surpassing speeds of 1 million miles per hour. They discovered that the energy released from the magnetic field near the sun's surface is powerful enough to drive the fast solar wind, which is made up of ionized particles -- called plasma -- that flow outward from the sun.

'Meaning of manual labor' causes consumers to reject autonomous products.

While studying classical novae using the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), a graduate researcher uncovered evidence the objects may have been erroneously typecast as simple. The new observations detected non-thermal emission from a classical nova with a dwarf companion.

Shallow lakes and ponds emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, but emissions from these systems vary considerably and are not well understood.

A simple sponge has improved how robots grasp, scientists have found.

Geochemists report findings from collected and analyzed helium and carbon isotopic data from springs along a nearly 250-mile segment of Alaska's Denali Fault. The fault's mantle fluid flow rates, they report, fall in the range observed for the world's other major and active strike-slip faults that form plate boundaries.

Researchers have created a new type of wound dressing material using advanced polymers. This new dressing could enhance the healing process for burn patients and have potential applications for drug delivery in cancer treatment as well as in the cosmetic industry.

A new study brings together two schools of thought on the function of the neurotransmitter dopamine: one saying that dopamine provides a learning signal, the other saying that dopamine drives motivation.

Dreams have been considered a hallmark of human sleep for a long time. Latest findings, however, suggest that when pigeons sleep, they might experience visions of flight. Researchers studied brain activation patterns in sleeping pigeons, using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The study revealed that similar to mammals, most of the brain is highly active during REM sleep. However, this...

An international team of astronomers observed the second one of the two supermassive black holes circling each other in an active galaxy OJ 287.

A research collaboration between Cornell and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems has found an efficient way to expand the collective behavior of swarming microrobots: Mixing different sizes of the micron-scale 'bots enables them to self-organize into diverse patterns that can be manipulated when a magnetic field is applied. The technique even allows the swarm to 'cage' passive objects...

Burning coal doesn't only pollute the air. The resulting ash can leach toxic chemicals into the local environments where it's kept. New research shows that the toxicity of various ash stockpiles relies heavily on its nanoscale structures, which vary widely between sources. The results will help researchers predict which coal ash is most environmentally dangerous.

A team of experimental neurobiologists and theoretical biologists has managed to solve a mystery that has been baffling scientists for decades. They have been able to determine the nature of the electrical activity in the nervous system of insects that controls their flight. They report on a previously unknown function of electrical synapses employed by fruit flies during flight.

When it comes to supplying energy for space exploration and settlements, commonly available solar cells made of silicon or gallium arsenide are still too heavy to be feasibly transported by rocket. To address this challenge, a wide variety of lightweight alternatives are being explored, including solar cells made of a thin layer of molybdenum selenide, which fall into the broader category of 2D...

Researchers have demonstrated that a single dose of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) gene therapy can induce long-term contraception in the domestic cat, potentially providing a safe and effective alternative to surgical spaying.

Microscopic algae that corals need for survival harbor a common and possibly disease-causing virus in their genetic material.

Do whales increase the removal of carbon from the atmosphere? Despite some hope that this would be the case, a new study has found the amount of potential carbon capture by whales is too little to meaningfully alter the course of climate change. The team found the amount potentially sequestered by the whales was too minimal to make significant impact on the trajectory of climate change.

Researchers have trained a robotic 'chef' to watch and learn from cooking videos, and recreate the dish itself.

Night-time pollinators such as moths may visit just as many plants as bees, and should also be the focus of conservation and protection efforts, a new study suggests.

Diverting streams and rivers to irrigate crops or provide drinking water may significantly extend the time microplastics spend in river catchments before they flow into our oceans, a new study reveals.

Scientists using artificial intelligence technology may be inviting unwanted noise into their genome analyses. Now, researchers have created a computational correction that will allow them to see through the fog and find genuine DNA features that could signal breakthroughs in health and medicine.

Extreme weather events have affected moth and butterfly activity more than the average increase in global temperature over the last several decades.

Genes that make bacteria resistant to antibiotics are much more widespread in our environment than was previously realized. A new study shows that bacteria in almost all environments carry resistance genes, with a risk of them spreading and aggravating the problem of bacterial infections that are untreatable with antibiotics.