Science
Scientific discoveries and research
What makes a product 'Cool'?
A teenager in Shanghai will wait in line for hours to get a Labubu doll. Meanwhile, a shopper in Ohio might drive across town to buy a robotic vacuum. Although...
Extreme drought and heat from the last El Niño signal a 'new normal' for tropical forests
During the 2023–2024 El Niño, about 75% of the world's tropical forest areas experienced at least six months of unprecedented simultaneous drought and heat. Acc...
Conservationists are discovering 'bright spots' around the globe. Here's why they matter
Every few years, the elders of Muluk, a tiny coastal community in Papua New Guinea, close a stretch of their reef to fishing. They do this to give these underwa...
Children in improved homes face lower hospitalization risk, analysis finds
Children living in houses improved through the Healthy Homes Initiative were found to be 30% less likely to be hospitalized in the following five years, accordi...
Quantum computing shortcut makes particle collisions easier to simulate
Collisions between particles at high energies can sometimes produce new particles and shed light on interactions between the fundamental constituents of matter....
Plants, people and progress for native prairie seeds
Across much of the central United States, there are ongoing efforts to restore native prairie. Returning native plants to the landscape can improve soil health...
The mind of money: Mental accounting theory checks out
When it comes to money, humans are not always rational. First introduced decades ago, the influential concept of mental accounting posits that consumers make de...
Nobel Prize in chemistry awarded to Kagan and Soai for untangling mirror images in molecules
Scientists Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for untangling mysterious mirror images in molecules, a discovery that has b...
Amazon wildfires are generating ozone that weakens surviving trees' carbon uptake
Ozone pollution caused by Amazon wildfires is significantly reducing the rainforest's ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, new research reveals...
Petal 'windows' affect the abundance of microbes within flowers
Some flowers have petals with small semitranslucent sections. Research in New Phytologist reveals that these "windows" alter the amount of light and heat enteri...
Biodegradable nanoparticle technology may improve agricultural production
Farmers use a manufactured version of a natural plant hormone called gibberellic acid to improve the health and growth of crops, but it is highly sensitive to h...
Fierce lobbying in EU over 'forever chemicals'
The European Union is under pressure to ban "forever chemicals," but a battle is heating up in Brussels over the toxic substances known as PFAS, with industry g...