Science
Scientific discoveries and research
Alfvén waves act as the power source behind Earth's auroral displays, research reveals
The dazzling lights of the aurora are created when high-energy particles from space collide with Earth's atmosphere. While scientists have long understood this...
Study reveals shrinking package sizes hide significant food inflation
A new study led by a University of Massachusetts Amherst economist shows that shrinking package sizes at U.S. grocery stores have played a hidden but important...
Strength-in-numbers X-ray technique can map previously unattainable atomic structures
For many decades, the method to obtain atomic-level descriptions of chemical compounds and materials—be it a drug, a catalyst, or a commodity chemical—has been...
Fast-growing trees are taking over the forests of the future and putting biodiversity, climate resilience under pressure
Trees play a central role in life on Earth. They store CO₂, provide habitats for animals, fungi, and insects, stabilize soils, regulate water cycles, and supply...
Roadkill offers an ethical alternative to live wildlife in scientific research
A recent review of over 312 studies has identified dozens of unique uses of roadkill in scientific research. The review, published in Biology Letters, discusses...
Hearing tests uncover unexpected humpback sensitivity to high-frequency noise
University of Queensland hearing tests conducted across kilometers of ocean off the Australian coast show humpback whales react to higher frequency sounds than...
Subtle rotations in ancient light: Decoding the universe's symmetry
A team of researchers studying the uncertainties associated with a phenomenon known as cosmic birefringence has developed a method to reduce uncertainties in it...
A possible ice-cold Earth discovered in the archives of the retired Kepler Space Telescope
Scientists continue to mine data gathered by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, retired in 2018, and continue to turn up surprises. A new paper reveals the latest:...
Great white sharks grow a whole new kind of tooth for slicing bone as they age
A great white shark is a masterwork of evolutionary engineering. These beautiful predators glide effortlessly through the water, each slow, deliberate sweep of...
New ABF crystal delivers high-performance vacuum ultraviolet nonlinear optical conversion
Vacuum ultraviolet (VUV, 100–200 nm) light sources are indispensable for advanced spectroscopy, quantum research, and semiconductor lithography. Although second...
Chip-sized optical amplifier can intensify light 100-fold with minimal energy
Light does a lot of work in the modern world, enabling all types of information technology, from TVs to satellites to fiber-optic cables that carry the internet...
Laser beam flips a ferromagnet's polarity without heating the material
Researchers at the University of Basel and the ETH in Zurich have succeeded in changing the polarity of a special ferromagnet using a laser beam. In the future,...