Science
Scientific discoveries and research
Satellite mapping reveals recent and large-scale habitat changes across the Southern Ocean's seascapes
New research reveals that changes following the recent and dramatic decline in Antarctic sea ice could help a low-nutritional species prosper, with major ramifi...
AI analysis of nanoribbon assembly reveals protein design principles
Two parallel experiments in protein self-assembly produced strikingly different results, demonstrating that protein designers should consider incorporating phys...
Molecular chains with bite: Customized carbon nanoribbons open a cleaner path to molecular electronics
The longest chains of the conductive polymer poly(p-phenylene; PPP) produced to date are just under one micrometer (thousandth of a millimeter) long—almost an o...
Cannibalism takes major bite out of young blue crabs, but the shallows offer a refuge
The Chesapeake Bay's most popular crustacean has a dark streak. Cannibalism is the No. 1 killer of juvenile blue crabs in mid-salinity waters where they are kno...
Origin of lowest density super-puff planet remains a hazy mystery
A thick layer of haze around the ultra-low-density planet Kepler-51d likely obscures not only the strange planet's composition, but also its origin, according t...
Extremely rare second-generation star discovered inside ancient relic dwarf galaxy
Discovered in the Pictor II dwarf galaxy, star PicII-503 has an extreme deficiency in iron—less than 1/40,000th of the sun. This signature makes it the clearest...
Paleontologists uncover a new Spinosaurus species by following a clue from a decades‑old book into the Sahara Desert
My fixation on a small, desolate locale in the heart of the Sahara Desert started with a single line buried in a 630-page tome in French about the rocks of the...
Sugar-processing enzyme has a hidden second job—controlling when cells divide
A metabolic enzyme studied for over seven decades has a hidden second function—it can unwind RNA and promote cell cycle progression, an additional function beyo...
Whale song remix: Study shows that humpbacks shift pitch when a neighbor joins in
A humpback whale alters the pitch of its song when joined by a neighboring singer, a finding that opens a new chapter in the ongoing effort to understand whale...
Ocean bacteria team up to break down biodegradable plastic
Biodegradable plastics could help alleviate the plastic waste crisis that is polluting the environment and harming our health. But how long plastics take to deg...
How big data is transforming what we know about the universe
Science in the modern era is increasingly reliant on enormous datasets and automated analysis. In astronomy, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Sp...
Sea turtles, shrinking beaches and rising seas: Study finds nesting sites running out of room
Sandy beaches account for approximately a third of the world's ice-free coastlines. These sandy shorelines are responsible for sediment and water retention, pro...