Science
Scientific discoveries and research
RNA-guided CRISPR system activates gene expression
In back-to-back studies published in Nature, researchers from Purdue University and Columbia University report a naturally evolved gene-editing system that can...
Is nectar naturally spiked? What widespread low-level ethanol could mean for pollinators
As bees and hummingbirds flit from flower to flower, greedily sipping nectar in exchange for pollination, the animals often get another treat: alcohol. In the f...
Celluloid: The story of the plastic that made Hollywood
History can sometimes take an unexpected turn. One of these curious, revolutionary twists came in the mid-19th century, when the tale of an unassuming everyday...
Importance of sublimation for the Rocky Mountain snowpack highlighted in study
This past winter, the Rocky Mountains experienced an historic snow drought, a worrying development for the tens of millions of people in the arid American West...
Making quantum vibrations nonlinear to enable phonon-phonon interactions
Phonons are the quantum units of mechanical vibration. They describe how motion propagates through a solid at the smallest possible scales, in much the same way...
What the historic snow drought means for water, wildfires and the future of the West
Across much of the Western United States, winter 2026 was the year the snow never came. Many ski resorts got by with snowmaking but shut down their winter opera...
A forest cleanup crew at risk? What hotter Amazon lowlands could mean dung beetles
Dung beetles remove feces from wild animals in forests and thus inhibit the spread of parasites. They work the dung into the soil and thus supply nutrients to p...
XRISM clocks hot wind of galaxy M82 at 2 million mph
For the first time, astronomers have directly measured the speed of superheated gas billowing from a cauldron of stellar activity at the heart of M82, a nearby...
Finding order in disorder: New mechanism amplifies transverse electron transport
For decades, it has been widely believed that electrons move most efficiently in materials that are clean and highly ordered. Much like water flowing more easil...
Why some reefs recover faster than others—mathematical model spotlights coral recruitment patterns
Climate-driven disturbances such as marine heat waves are rapidly reducing coral cover and degrading reef ecosystems worldwide. Using a mathematical model, a re...
Plastic washing at recycling plants can spike phthalates in wastewater, study suggests
Potentially harmful chemicals can contaminate untreated water used in recycling plants to clean plastics before they're processed into new products, according t...
Parental advice on interacting with police varies widely by race
The birds and the bees. Say no to drugs. Advice from parents is an expected—if cringeworthy—part of growing up. But for some children, the odds of receiving one...