Science
Scientific discoveries and research
Falling birth rates mean schools are closing—affecting whole communities
As another academic year ends, some schools will be closing their doors permanently because of declining numbers of children. In England, declining birth rates...
Fire can destroy peatlands. But in Australia, it can also help protect them
Peatlands are the unsung heroes of nature. These ancient wetlands form when dead and decaying plants partly decompose in wet, low-oxygen conditions. Over thousa...
AI-designed SARS-CoV-2 variants escape prevalent antibodies
While headlines warn that AI could unleash future biological threats, the technology also offers our best defense: a way to anticipate viral evolution and stres...
Evidence of giant rings in Venus's atmosphere uncovered in archived observations
In 2010, scientists waiting to use the William Herschel Telescope in the Canary Islands captured a brief 36 minutes of images of Venus. They were waiting for th...
Researchers examine academic success for new immigrant high schoolers
High schools in Massachusetts are struggling to accomplish the dual goal of helping immigrant newcomers progress toward English language proficiency and master...
Similarity between human and bovine cells could advance drug discovery
Apoptosis is the natural process by which damaged or no longer needed cells are eliminated from the body. Researchers have long investigated how this mechanism...
Self-cleaning nanoscale sensor could transform personalized medicine
Imagine a smart bandage that could continuously monitor an infected wound, alerting doctors when bacteria spread or when treatment begins to work. That vision i...
Supporters of losing political parties express less trust in fellow citizens, study says
Supporters of losing parties express more distrust of their fellow citizens after elections than do supporters of winning parties, a new study has found, with v...
A lipid switch that blocks anthrax from entering cells
Every cell carefully builds and positions thousands of proteins that allow it to sense and respond to its surroundings. Even small changes to these proteins oft...
New report shows nation's population growth is slowing
An estimated 370 million people will live in the United States in 2050, with more than 40% living in the South, according to national and 50-state population pr...
New research shows how 'hot electrons' can reshape metals in billionths of a second
Researchers at The University of Manchester have revealed how intense electronic excitation can trigger rapid structural changes in metals—without heating the a...
A way to read quantum bits faster and with less hardware
Quantum computers process information in a fundamentally different way from conventional computers, using quantum bits, or qubits, that can exist in multiple st...