Science
Scientific discoveries and research
Flipping the K⁺ switch: First potassium-gated ion channel discovered in animal
Researchers from the National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Nagoya City University, and Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science in Japan have id...
Decades-long study finds 'stable' soil carbon degrades
After nearly four decades, the world's longest-running soil warming experiment is revealing a surprising result: even "stable" carbon in forest soils can break...
New microscope reveals previously hidden differences in photosynthetic light-harvesting antennae
How do photosynthetic organisms harvest light so efficiently? To help answer this question, researchers have developed an ultrafast transient absorption microsc...
How a free flow of information can amplify incorrect ideas
The idea that information should flow freely is deeply embedded in the design of social media. The assumption is that the more information is produced and share...
Thinner than hair and stretchable like rubber, this new shield tackles a space-age problem in one layer
Shielding materials are essential in key modern industrial settings—such as spacecraft, nuclear power plants, semiconductor equipment, and advanced medical devi...
Europe's seafloor fishing looks profitable until societal costs turn the math upside down
The first study to measure the full economic value of bottom trawling in Europe's waters calculates that the destructive fishing practice imposes up to €16 bill...
Light can now be shaped in empty space, and it could simplify sensing and boost data links
Scientists at the University of East Anglia have uncovered a hidden property of light that allows it to twist, spin and behave differently—without mirrors, mate...
Urban birds fear women more than men, and scientists don't know why
An international team of researchers have made the surprising discovery that urban birds—such as great tits, house sparrows and blackbirds—flee sooner when appr...
Hidden stripe pattern lets microscopes auto-focus across 400 times deeper range
Anyone who has ever used a microscope knows that it takes time to bring a sample into sharp focus. Each time you move the slide, the image blurs, and you have t...
Egg-scanning AI may let hatcheries sort life, death and sex before chicks emerge
Eggs and poultry provide important sources of protein globally, driving a major industry with large economic impacts. Challenges to hatchery operations include...
Natural rubber process boosts tire toughness about tenfold while preserving stiffness
Natural rubber, tapped from trees as latex, is the world's most widely used bio-elastomer. Comprising long molecular chains that make it pliable and stretchy ye...
Conquering the final frontiers in nanographene synthetic methodologies
Nanographenes are organic semiconductor materials used in smartphones, OLED displays, and solar cells. At the molecular level, they are composed of polycyclic a...