Science
Scientific discoveries and research
Students with lower grades earn degrees more often when they belong to an academic major's majority group
Despite efforts to encourage broader participation, women earn about 25% of undergraduate engineering degrees and 18% of undergraduate computer science degrees—...
Same-sex marriages surged before Bolsonaro took office, Brazil data reveal
A new study has shown that the election of Jair Bolsonaro, known for his homophobic views, as president of Brazil in 2018 caused a temporary surge in the number...
Virus-like particles enable gene activity tracking over time in the same cells
In recent years, scientists have developed methods to measure a cell's transcriptome, or all the RNA produced by a cell, to study the cell's identity and geneti...
Sound waves and water droplets transform paper waste into higher-value chemical compound
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a fast, simple way to turn lignin, a plentiful plant-based byproduct of the papermakin...
Underlying mechanism of Atg2-mediated lipid transfer in autophagy identified
Autophagy is an intracellular degradation mechanism in eukaryotes. The autophagosome, which encloses damaged or excess cellular material for degradation, is con...
Particle shape and size predict asteroid strength, revealing Bennu's surface is 50 times weaker than ground coffee
In a new Nature Communications study, researchers developed a universal scaling framework for the strength of granular asteroids, showing that their tensile str...
From pets to zoos: How students perceive animal husbandry
Animals fulfill a wide range of roles in human society. They provide food, contribute to scientific research, live alongside people as companion animals, and pl...
Want a solution to plastic pollution? Scientists urge UN to require global reporting
Plastic is a wonder material that has molded itself to fit a wide variety of applications. But it comes with a host of drawbacks that aren't fully considered. T...
Archaea as 'flexitarians': Ammonia-oxidizing microbes also feed on amino acids
Symbiotic ammonia-oxidizing archaea in marine sponges are not strict specialists but true "flexitarians." A team led by microbiologists Bettina Glasl and Kathar...
Turbulent times for star formation in Stephan's Quintet
Star formation in galaxies is closely linked to molecular gas. In the distant past, when galaxy interactions were more common, these encounters compressed molec...
Mosque workshops help Muslim women discuss reproductive health in NSW
Governments across Australia have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars toward women's health services in recent months and years—but having more health servi...
'Hidden order in disorder' makes nanodevices easier to design
Augmented reality (AR) glasses, lenses thinner than a human hair, and holograms floating above your fingertips may sound like technologies from science fiction....