Science, engineering, and discovery — the research and breakthroughs that matter.

The question of why females mate with multiple males has long puzzled evolutionary biologists. A new study of African foam-nest tree frogs, led by University of Wollongong (UOW) researchers, reveals polyandry could be the key to reproductive success and a safer home for offspring

The nocturnal mating rituals of hairy scarab beetles are helping pollinate one of Perth's most common native trees, in a discovery that highlights the unusual adaptations of Australian plants and the unexpected pollination strategies still to be discovered. A four-year study led

When China banned plastic waste imports in 2018, countries like the United States, the Netherlands, Australia, and Japan didn't stop exporting plastic waste—they diverted their shipments to countries in Southeast Asia.

A multi-year research project has provided new insight into greater amberjack. The Greater Amberjack Count was led by Sean P. Powers, Ph.D., fisheries ecology professor and Director of the Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences of the University of South Alabama.

Black holes, regions in space where gravity is so strong that nothing can escape, have been widely studied over the past decades, due to their unique and intriguing properties. Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that black holes obey a set of rules, known as the law

A severe tropical storm brought torrential rain to Tokyo on Wednesday, swelling rivers, grounding flights, and sparking calls to evacuate for hundreds of thousands of people across wide swaths of Japan.

Hookworms, intestinal parasites that infect hundreds of millions of people in under-resourced tropical regions around the globe, have evolved to survive inside the human gut for years, secreting molecules that enable coexistence with their hosts. Now, researchers at Washington Un

As SpaceX prepares its long-awaited stock market debut, investors everywhere are scrambling to get a piece of the action—through investment funds, related company stocks, and even online prediction markets.

A portion of one of the most ambitious ocean monitoring networks ever built will go dark this month when scientists board a research vessel and motor off the Oregon coast to pull a research buoy from deep out of the Pacific.

Urban estuaries can support thriving ecosystems despite bustling human activity. Noting that bird populations can serve as a key indicator of environmental health, researchers recently investigated trends in the New York–New Jersey Harbor, home to the largest breeding population

Ever since the JWST revealed a population of SMBH in the early universe that were overmassive, scientists have been working hard to explain them. These black holes existed when the universe was only about 2 billion years old, during Cosmic Noon, and according to our models of bla

Europe's agrifood system is under severe pressure. Climate change is causing droughts and floods, and agriculture is putting pressure on nature, the climate and the environment. Diet-related lifestyle diseases are placing a growing burden on health care systems. At the same time,

The physics of neutron stars are almost too fantastic to believe: something the weight of two suns compacted to a sphere the size of a city. Each teaspoon of its material would weigh billions of tons. If you've done any reading on the topic, you've heard these facts before. But d

A new study published in Nature Water finds that wetland loss across the United States has increased residential flood insurance claim payments by more than $10 billion since 1985, underscoring the critical role wetlands play in reducing riverine flood damage.

In nature, there exist structures that are mirror images of each other but cannot be perfectly superimposed. These are known as chiral objects, derived from the Greek word for "hand," since left and right hands share the same relationship. Although similar in structure, chiral mo

When rockets fire into space, the insides of their engines become an extreme environment where temperatures soar and tiny particles are thrown around at hypersonic speeds. These particles behave in ways that break long-held assumptions, according to new research that could help i

A new study published in the Journal of Raptor Research, titled "Factors Influencing Nestling Sex Ratios of Suburban and Rural Red-Shouldered Hawks, 2004–2016," finds that hawk parents prioritize producing female offspring when conditions are optimal. This means that higher quali

New research from the University of St Andrews has discovered that insects who conceal themselves as leaves also use their leafy camouflage to amplify mating calls, making themselves more attractive to the opposite sex. The research published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B

Researchers at Eurac Research have obtained a detailed picture of the microbial community associated with Ötzi, Europe's oldest known natural human mummy. The study provides insights into a complex microbiome, ranging from the gut flora of a Copper Age human to cold-adapted yeast

Sharks need healthy habitats, and some have a strong preference for locations jam-packed with food, according to FIU research. A recent study of Caribbean reef sharks in the Bahamas, where shark fishing has been banned for years, shows that the sharks don't seem to like places wh

Researchers from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences (FCMS) at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP) in Sorocaba, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, have developed a biomaterial containing jackfruit latex, pomegranate peel extract, and si

Cornell researchers have developed a new way to create moiré patterns—atomic-scale structures that can give materials unusual quantum behaviors—without relying on the traditionally used difficult-to-control twisting and stacking methods. The study is published in the Proceedings

Researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have developed a new method to predict coral bleaching five to six months before it occurs, giving reef managers valuable time to protect vulnerable ecosystems. In the new study, "Climate modes can be leveraged to for

Among the goals it has set for 2030, the European Union aims to ensure that at least one quarter of agricultural land is farmed using organic or ecological practices. In this race, Andalusia holds a significant advantage: over 50% of Spain's organic farming is concentrated in the

Researchers have discovered that atoms can be mixed, separated, and recombined within the same experiment, providing a pathway to a record-breaking catalyst for green hydrogen production. In their study, the team created nanoscale particles containing only a few dozen platinum an

Bowerbirds in an Australian city use a range of human items—from glass and plastic to banknotes and even a pair of handcuffs—to impress females, shows new research in Royal Society Open Science. Male bowerbirds create an intricate tunnel of twigs called a bower, then gather color

New research reveals that resident forest birds avoid intensive clearcut areas, highlighting the need for more sustainable forestry practices.

Networks of protein fibers play important roles in living cells. To understand the dynamical behavior of these networks, model networks are needed to perform in vitro studies. However, fabrication of protein networks similar to those in cells has proved difficult, as current meth