Science
Scientific discoveries and research
Flickering glacial climate may have shaped early human evolution
Researchers have identified a "tipping point" about 2.7 million years ago when global climate conditions switched from being relatively warm and stable to cold...
Why some objects in space look like snowmen: Gravitational collapse may shed light on contact binaries
Astronomers have long debated why so many icy objects in the outer solar system look like snowmen. Michigan State University researchers now have evidence of th...
New 'scimitar-crested' Spinosaurus species discovered in the central Sahara
A paper published in Science describes the discovery of Spinosaurus mirabilis, a new spinosaurid species found in Niger. A 20-person team led by Paul Sereno, Ph...
Lab-in-the-loop framework enables rapid evolution of complex multi-mutant proteins
The search space for protein engineering grows exponentially with complexity. A protein of just 100 amino acids has 20100 possible variants—more combinations th...
Stronger scents and healthier crops: Unlocking plants' hidden potential through precision gene editing
Scientists have long sought to understand why some plants are fragrant powerhouses while others remain subtle. Now, a research team from the Hebrew University o...
Uncovering evolution at the center of cell division
Centromeres play virtually the same central role across the entire tree of life: They ensure the faithful segregation of chromosomes during cell division. Yet t...
Webb maps the mysterious upper atmosphere of Uranus
For the first time, an international team of astronomers have mapped the vertical structure of Uranus's upper atmosphere, uncovering how temperature and charged...
Mother-daughter bonds in red deer tied to survival and more surviving calves
Strong social networking plays an important role in human relationships. New research on female red deer shows that those bonds are also crucial for their repro...
How fast is the universe expanding? Supernova could provide the answer
That the universe is expanding has been known for almost a hundred years now, but how fast? The exact rate of that expansion remains hotly debated, even challen...
A new method to decode how DNA 'switches' control gene activity
DNA is the blueprint of life. Genes encode proteins and serve as the body's basic components. However, building a functioning organism also requires precise ins...
Female meiosis in plants can be directly observed with new method
A research team at the IPK Leibniz Institute has developed a method that enables the detailed observation of female meiosis—the process by which germ cells are...
Triplet superconductivity—physicists may have found the missing link for quantum computers
Many physicists are searching for a triplet superconductor. Indeed, we could all do with one, although we may not know it yet—or understand why. Triplet superco...