Scientists believe the gamma-ray emission, which lasted over 300 seconds, is the birth cry of a black hole, formed as the core of a massive and rapidly spinning star collapses under its own weight.

Growing concerns over the potential health effects of exposure to phthalates have led to a search for safer alternatives. Researchers found that the chemical acetyl tributyl citrate (ATBC) might not be the best replacement.

Sleep scientists' analyses show associations between early classes, less sleep, poor attendance and reduced grade point average. Studies in secondary and junior college students have shown that later start times can have positive impacts on grades.

Weight loss was associated with decreased risk factors for cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes for at least five years -- even if some weight was regained, according to a review of research on behavioral weight loss programs. People who lost weight through an intensive behavioral weight loss program had lower systolic blood pressure levels, total cholesterol-to-good cholesterol ratio and...

Asteroids sharing their orbits with the planet Neptune have been observed to exist in a broad spectrum of red color, implying the existence of two populations of asteroids in the region, according to a new study by an international team of researchers.

Researchers found that preschoolers prefer learning from what they perceive as a competent robot over an incompetent human. This study is the first to use both a human speaker and a robot to see if children deem social affiliation and similarity more important than competency when choosing which source to trust and learn from.

Researchers identify the most promising advancements and greatest challenges of artificial mitochondria and chloroplasts. The team describes the components required to construct synthetic mitochondria and chloroplasts and identifies proteins as the most important aspects for molecular rotary machinery, proton transport, and ATP production. The authors believe it is important to create artificial...

Astronomers have found the atmospheric compositions of giant planets out in the galaxy do not fit our own solar system trend.

An international team of researchers has used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to measure the temperature of the rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 b. The measurement is based on the planet's thermal emission: heat energy given off in the form of infrared light detected by Webb's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). The result indicates that the planet's dayside has a temperature of about 500 kelvins (roughly...

Female giant African pouched rats, used for sniffing out landmines and detecting tuberculosis, can undergo astounding reproductive organ transformations, according to a new study.

A new study using simulations identified two tipping points for the Greenland Ice Sheet: releasing 1000 gigatons of carbon into the atmosphere will cause the southern portion of the ice sheet to melt; about 2500 gigatons of carbon means permanent loss of nearly the entire ice sheet. Having emitted about 500 gigatons of carbon, we're about halfway to the first tipping point.

A nutrition scientist who has spent his career studying breast milk has demonstrated how beneficial microbes in the gut of infants use nitrogen from human milk to support pediatric nutrition and development.

The cold blast of an air conditioner can be a relief as temperatures soar, but 'A/C' units require large amounts of energy and can leak greenhouse gases. Today, scientists report an eco-friendly alternative -- a plant-based film that cools when exposed to sunlight and comes in many textures and bright, iridescent colors. The material could someday keep buildings, cars and other structures cool...

Black women and others with curly or kinky hair encounter a confusing array of haircare options. Advice on the best products to use for a certain type of hair is often contradictory, and the results can be highly variable. Now, scientists are bringing order to this chaos by identifying hair properties that could help users pick the perfect product and achieve consistent results.

If you've ever seen a shooting star, you might have seen a meteor on its way to Earth. Those that land here can be used to peek back in time, into the far corners of outer space or at the earliest building blocks of life. Scientists have conducted some of the most detailed analyses yet on the organic material of two meteorites.

Squids and octopuses are masters of camouflage. But some aspects of how they become reversibly transparent are still 'unclear,' because researchers can't culture cephalopod skin cells in the lab. Now, researchers have replicated the tunable transparency of squid skin in mammalian cells, which are more easily cultured.

A research group has discovered that near-infrared absorbing dyes, which had previously been considered to have closed-shell electronic structures, have an intermediate electronic structure, between closed- and open-shell structures. They also found that as the wavelength of near-infrared light that can be absorbed becomes longer the contribution of open-shell forms increases within the dye. These...

A new discovery changes ideas about the origin of branching in plants.

A new study reveals that art has a powerful effect on people's bodies and emotions.

Most climate models do not yet account for a recent discovery: methane traps a great deal of heat in Earth's atmosphere, but also creates cooling clouds that offset 30% of the heat.

Filters fitted to vehicle exhaust systems to remove particulate matter pollution have limited impact on ultrafine particles, new research shows.

Nuclear physicists have found a new way to see inside nuclei by tracking interactions between particles of light and gluons. The method relies on harnessing a new type of quantum interference between two dissimilar particles. Tracking how these entangled particles emerge from the interactions lets scientists map out the arrangement of gluons. This approach is unusual for making use of entanglement...

Many people who have dieted are familiar with the yo-yo effect: after the diet, the kilos are quickly put back on. Researchers have now shown in mice that communication in the brain changes during a diet: The nerve cells that mediate the feeling of hunger receive stronger signals, so that the mice eat significantly more after the diet and gain weight more quickly. In the long term, these findings...

Volcanic relics scattered throughout the Australian landscape are a map of the northward movement of the continent over a 'hotspot' inside the Earth, during the last 35 million years.