Science
Scientific discoveries and research
Paleontologists challenge use of bone growth rings to age crocodiles, dinosaurs
Do the bones of all Nile crocodiles have the same number of growth marks as their age? And can such growth rings be counted to accurately gauge the age of these...
The Black Death's counterintuitive effect: As human numbers fell, so did plant diversity
Between 1347 and 1353, Europe was gripped by the most catastrophic pandemic in its history: the Black Death. Killing many millions, the plague wiped out between...
Polymers that crawl like worms: How materials can develop direction without being told where to go
Researchers at the University of Vienna have uncovered a surprising phenomenon: polymer chains with segments that simply fluctuate at different intensities can...
Why are some stars always visible while others come and go with the seasons?
As a space scientist, every time I go outside with my family, I tell my children to look up at the sky. The front door of our home looks southeast, and on winte...
2025 was hotter than it should have been: Five influences and a dirty surprise offer clues to what's ahead
The past three years have been the world's hottest on record by far, with 2025 almost tied with 2023 for second place. With that energy came extreme weather, fr...
Researchers advance solvent-based recycling for flexible plastics
Polypropylene and polyethylene are two durable and affordable plastics commonly used as packaging materials, snack wrappers, microwave containers, and other, us...
Cleaner water, longer-lasting devices: New benchmark measures electrocatalysis oxidants in real time
From brightly colored textile dyes to persistent pesticides and antibiotics, many modern pollutants dissolved in water—such as Bisphenol A—resist traditional tr...
CEO turnover taxes analyst attention, skewing broader forecasts
When analyst attention is absorbed by CEO turnover, other companies in their portfolio pay the price, new Cornell research finds. The study, "Analyst Rational I...
How cells work together: The mathematics behind biological shapes
How do biological cells join forces to form a structure? In her Ph.D. research, Daphne Nesenberend uses mathematics to show how forces and cooperation between c...
Piecing together parasitic plant pathways
Genes that play a key role in the formation of an infectious organ used by parasitic plants have been identified by plant scientists at RIKEN. This discovery fi...
Cooling Dwight: Researchers are helping to address heat inequities in New Haven
During the hottest summer days in New Haven's Dwight neighborhood, the kids at Kensington Playground improvise a way to stay cool—wedging T-shirts along the spl...
Franconia's agriculture of the future: Olives and rice instead of barley and sugar beet?
Due to climate change, agriculture is facing an unprecedented transformation. While Germany was hardly affected by massive crop failures for decades, the pictur...