Science
Scientific discoveries and research
Is hemp a thirsty crop? New research measures just how much water cannabis farming can use
In South Africa, it's been legal for several years for people to grow hemp (a type of Cannabis sativa with very low levels of the psychoactive compound THC) for...
New molecule class creates hardy, drought tolerant plants
As climate change causes water scarcity and temperatures to rise, crops around the world are feeling the heat. How can we prevent severe crop losses in these re...
SpaceX rocket stage believed to have slammed into the moon
A piece of a SpaceX rocket weighing four tonnes (4.4 tons) was believed to have unintentionally crashed into the moon on Wednesday, a collision that posed no da...
Human activity more than doubles Arctic fire occurrence, satellite analysis suggests
Fires in the Arctic are not solely a regional issue, as shown by the hazy skies in Switzerland last summer despite otherwise sunny weather. Smoke from major fir...
Avalanche cracks may appear globally supersonic while remaining locally subsonic
Can a crack be supersonic? Can the fracture that triggers an avalanche propagate faster than the limiting velocity predicted by classical fracture mechanics? Th...
Pumas make roads safer for drivers by changing prey behavior patterns
Living among large predatory carnivores could actually make you safer. A study published in the journal Current Biology found that pumas—wild cats also known as...
Turning one of the world's most difficult plastics into premium lubricant
Virginia Tech chemist and chemical engineer Guoliang "Greg" Liu and his lab have developed a process that converts the plastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into pol...
Tiny vortices discovered on the sun's surface
Researchers from the U.S. National Science Foundation National Solar Observatory (NSF NSO), the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany,...
Act now on microplastic risks, businesses urged
A new white paper released by experts at the UTS Business School highlights the risks businesses face if they ignore growing scientific evidence and consumer aw...
Backpack lab finds wastewater contamination and drug-resistant bacteria in Galápagos waters
From routine surgeries to cancer treatment, modern medicine depends on drugs that can fight infections caused by microbes such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and p...
Ancient armored fish that narrowly avoided meteorite strike reveals life before Earth's largest mass extinction
A rare fossil discovered near South America's largest known meteorite crater has been named a new species. Initially mistaken for a frog by locals, Leolepis mat...
Noisy bubbles hinder ultrasound-boosted chemical reactions, sonochemistry model shows
Ultrasound is a powerful way to drive chemical reactions. When high-frequency sound waves pass through a liquid, tiny bubbles form and then violently collapse i...