In a breakthrough for environmentally friendly chemical production, researchers have developed an economical way to make succinic acid, an important industrial chemical, from sugarcane. The team has created a cost-effective, end-to-end pipeline for this valuable organic acid by engineering a tough, acid-tolerant yeast as the fermenting agent, avoiding costly steps in downstream processing....

Agriculture in Syria started with a bang 12,800 years ago as a fragmented comet slammed into the Earth’s atmosphere. The explosion and subsequent environmental changes forced hunter-gatherers in the prehistoric settlement of Abu Hureyra to adopt agricultural practices to boost their chances for survival.

As the internet quickly fills with viral videos of futuristic robots darting and racing around like the animals they’re built to mimic, researchers say that there’s an element of their movement’s programming that should not be overlooked: rhythm.

The increasingly urgent climate crisis has led to a boom in commercial tree plantations in an attempt to offset excess carbon emissions. However, authors argue that these carbon-offset plantations might come with costs for biodiversity and other ecosystem functions. Instead, the authors say we should prioritize conserving and restoring intact ecosystems.

Scientists have developed a device smaller than a toddler's shoebox -- called Lattice --that can simulate any human disease in up to eight organs (cell cultures from a human organ) or test new drugs without ever entering -- or harming -- the body. It is a major advancement from current in vitro systems, which can only study two cell cultures simultaneously.

A new compound potentially could offer an alternative to injections for the millions of people who suffer from an eye condition that causes blindness.

Even as the world slowly begins to decarbonize industrial processes, achieving lower concentrations of atmospheric carbon requires technologies that remove existing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere — rather than just prevent the creation of it.

Researchers developed the first AI to date that can intelligently design robots from scratch by compressing billions of years of evolution into mere seconds. It's not only fast but also runs on a lightweight computer and designs wholly novel structures from scratch — without human-labeled, bias-filled datasets.

Cancer-related fatigue is a debilitating yet all-too-common condition, which can severely affect quality of life for patients undergoing treatment. For those struggling with CRF, there have been no effective pharmaceutical treatments for the constellation of symptoms that together define the syndrome. Researchers found that a metabolism-targeting drug called dichloroacetate (DCA) helped alleviate...

A new study posits that the large, approximately 5-kilometer-long mounds that dominate the appearance of the larger lobe of the pristine Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth are similar enough to suggest a common origin. The study suggests that these “building blocks” could guide further work on planetesimal formational models.

A clinical trial into treatment for gestational diabetes, involving more than 500 pregnant women, has revealed what the lead academic has described as a significant step forward for women. The research has found benefits for both mothers and their newborn babies, and alleviated concerns over the use of the drug metformin, including less weight gain for mothers; no evidence of increase in...

Climate change means the American West will have 17% fewer safe days to light prescribed fires for wildfire management, according to new research. Winter, however, will see a net 4% increase in the number of favorable days. Implementing controlled burns in the West will require changes to policy and the availability of firefighters.

Using a novel method, beams of laser light can be deflected using air alone. An invisible grating made only of air is not only immune to damage from the laser light, but it also preserves the original quality of the beam.

An individual diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at age 30 years could see their life expectancy fall by as much as 14 years, an international team of researchers has warned. Even people who do not develop the condition until later in life – with a diagnosis at age 50 years – could see their life expectancy fall by up to six years, an analysis of data from 19 high-income countries found.

Researchers have pushed forward the boundaries of biomedical engineering one hundredfold with a new method for DNA detection with unprecedented sensitivity.

The ability to have access to the Internet or use a mobile phone anywhere in the world is taken more and more for granted, but the brightness of Internet and telecommunications satellites that enable global communications networks could pose problems for ground-based astronomy. Scientists confirm that recently deployed satellites are as bright as stars seen by the unaided eye.

Researchers have combined earlier work on  painless microneedles with nanoscale sensors to create a wearable sensor patch capable of continuously monitoring the levels of a ‘last line of defense’ antibiotic.

In the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) first images of the universe’s earliest galaxies, the young galaxies appear too bright, too massive and too mature to have formed so soon after the Big Bang. Using new simulations, a team of astrophysicists now has discovered that these galaxies likely are not so massive after all. Although a galaxy’s brightness is typically determined by its...

Engineers and scientists look at how thoughtful design can reduce a sustainably-designed neighborhood’s energy vulnerability during power disruptions, as well as which design characteristics are needed if and when local populations need to move to shelters. Researchers  analyzed the design and energy characteristics of particular kinds of buildings and neighborhoods to assess their...

Novel brain biometrics could help inform whether an athlete is ready to return to play following a concussion, according to new research.

A shift in the way we think about the benefits mangroves provide to coastal regions could yield significant economic and biodiversity gains and protect millions from flooding, research has revealed.

In September 2022, new bivalent COVID-19 boosters became available in the United States, but less than 20% of the eligible population ultimately received one. A new study identified why so many Americans did not receive a booster.

Gut microbes found in wild wolves may be the key to alleviating a debilitating gastrointestinal condition common to domestic dogs.

Researchers have found that a genetic change that increases the risk of inflammation, through a process described as ‘explosive’ cell death, is carried by up to 3% of the global population.