Science
Scientific discoveries and research
Scientists develop virtual tomato training arena for agricultural robots
Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University have developed a method for creating realistic virtual tomato farms that automatically generate data for training a...
First direct view tracks planet-forming disk spinning around AB Aurigae
The rotation of a protoplanetary disk (a disk where planets are being formed) has been observed directly for the very first time by mapping the emissions from t...
Cities are making it rain more—but not as much as scientists thought
After another spell of wet weather along Australia's east coast, with storms, heavy rain and flash flooding across Sydney and parts of New South Wales, it is na...
Box jellyfish reveal secret life cycle with implications for coastal safety
Box jellyfish are often feared as dangerous animals, with some species capable of causing severe or even fatal stings. However, box jellyfish nematocysts—organe...
How drought rewires roots, cutting iron uptake across major food crops
New research by scientists at the University of Calgary has found that plants, ranging from canola to rice to tomatoes, actively shut down their own ability to...
Blue Origin's lunar lander just passed its toughest test yet
There is a chamber at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston that is, in its own way, one of the most extraordinary rooms on Earth. Chamber A is one of the larg...
Precise polymer 'knots' uncover hidden slack for designing ultra-tough and responsive smart materials
From household plastic packaging to the flexible frameworks that support wearable electronics, polymer materials form the invisible backbone of modern life. At...
Why dirty farm plastic matters: Cleaner mulch film could cut landfill waste and fossil fuel use
Nearly a billion pounds of plastic film mulch is used in American agriculture each year, and most of it is dumped into landfills. New research from Washington S...
AI to rescue Australian wildlife research drowning in data
The power of AI has been harnessed to rapidly clear a photography bottleneck and bring greater coordination and computing power to efforts to save Australian an...
Fifty-year protein mystery breaks open as acid-driven water loss comes into view
Proteins systematically lose their protective hydration shell when their environment becomes more acidic. Until recently, this was just a theory. State-of-the-a...
Trees and greenery can cool cities by as much as 18°C—but only if they're the right type
Cities around the world are planting more trees to cope with rising urban heat. But our research shows trees alone are often not enough. In some cases, the wron...
Enzymes that assemble into droplets can speed up cellular reactions, biologists find
Within the past decade, biologists have discovered that one strategy cells use to keep their contents organized is a phenomenon known as phase separation. Simil...