Science
Scientific discoveries and research
Half-billion-year-old fossils rewrite the origin story of starfish
Scientists have discovered several 518-million-year-old fossils that reshape understanding of the origins of the animal group containing starfish. The fossils s...
Dual findings reveal how to control coherence in plasmonic nanolasers
Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland have uncovered two complementary mechanisms that govern coherence in miniaturized lasers composed of metallic n...
Mathematician challenges a 2,000-year-old legend about the Parthenon's optical illusions
One of Athens' crowning jewels is the Parthenon, a classical temple on the Acropolis that overlooks the Greek capital. According to legend, many historians, tex...
Double dip: Sampling contaminants of emerging concern two ways improves accuracy
Two are better than one when it comes to sampling methods for tracking the location and timing of toxic chemical contamination in waterways, according to resear...
Growing up in poverty triples young people's likelihood of becoming NEET
Young people who grow up experiencing persistent poverty are more than three times as likely to be not in education, employment or training (NEET) at 17 or 23 (...
Caffeine pollution could disrupt crustacean defenses against predators
While most people are aware of how plastic, arsenic and various industrial chemicals can pollute bodies of water, the effects of caffeine on freshwater environm...
Microbes can produce adhesive materials from glucose instead of petroleum
KAIST researchers have demonstrated the potential of using microorganisms to produce a bio-based alternative to petroleum-derived materials for hot-melt adhesiv...
Three questions: Putting nuclear waste into perspective
For decades, one of the major complaints about nuclear power in the United States has been the argument that, after all this time, we still have not come up wit...
Heating mica to 200°C reveals friction independent of sliding speed
Through joint research with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Tokyo, NIMS for the first time experimentally demonstrated friction completely inde...
How bacteria hijack viruses to shuffle their own DNA
When you think of viruses, you probably think of flu-like symptoms and quarantines. Humankind has suffered from viral diseases ranging from smallpox to COVID-19...
Beach-burrowing beasties may shovel more sand than any other animal on Earth
At just an inch (2.5 centimeters) long, the sand hoppers skipping across California's Isla Vista Beach at dawn don't exactly look like a force of nature. But a...
The Mediterranean is getting warmer and saltier at an ever-faster pace—even thousands of meters below the surface
Across its basins and thousands of meters down, the Mediterranean Sea is getting warmer and saltier. Now, a new study finds it is also doing so at an increasing...