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

If drought in an area persists longer, elephants move closer to areas near human settlements. This is the finding of research by biologist Irene Bouwman of Radboud University. During short-term droughts, the animals remain close to rivers and lakes and move less than normal.

Scientists from the Department of Microbiology at the University of Malaga, who are also members of the Institute of Subtropical and Mediterranean Horticulture "La Mayora" (IHSM), have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that allows the bacterium Bacillus cereus, which is r

It is illegal to use paraquat in at least 74 jurisdictions worldwide, including the European Union, China, Malaysia, Brazil and, most recently, the U.S. state of Vermont.

A new "prescription for the planet" aims to address the deepening environmental crisis.

New research from the University of St. Andrews shows how sperm whale vocal dialects evolve as they adopt new calls while still remembering the old. An international team of researchers studying vocal dialects in the endangered population of sperm whales that live in the Mediterr

Companies may only need to send an acknowledgment message to boost repeat customer participation in recycling and reuse programs for used goods like laptops and coffee pods, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. The idea for the study arose over a cup of coffee—

Magnetic quantum oscillations have been unexpectedly observed in insulators, where freely moving charge carriers are not expected to exist. A joint study by researchers from Tokyo University of Science, The University of Tokyo and Kobe University investigated this puzzling behavi

There's more than one way a spider can spin its web. Some construct large vertical orb webs, while others build horizontal sheet webs or tangled cobwebs that ensnare crawling insects.

Smartphones, online learning, generative AI: The way we read has changed more in the last decade than in the previous century. So what do we actually know about what reading does for the mind? In his new book, Falk Huettig, senior investigator at the Max Planck Institute for Psyc

After nearly four decades of research, Mayo Clinic scientists have revealed the molecular structure of protein kinase C beta (PKCβ), a key protein linked to cancer and neurological diseases. The findings, published in Nature Communications, provide the first detailed view of how

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that can cause acute and chronic infections. Responsible for many hospital-acquired infections, it is also a major concern for people with cystic fibrosis, whose lungs are clogged with thick mucus that promotes its growth.

The black soldier fly converts organic waste into biomass. The cricket brings crunchy protein to the dinner plate. The mealworm can break down plastic.

Conventional wisdom says the best predictions are the ones that minimize mistakes, but new research suggests that is not necessarily how people see it. A study published in Management Science has found that when people make or evaluate predictions, they care more about the possib

In recent years, political polarization has received considerable attention, not least as an explanation for developments in the United States.

A new study reveals the dynamics of photosynthesis at the cellular level. Led by co-authors Professor Barry Bruce and Associate Professor Rajan Lamichhane, both of the Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology (BCMB) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville,

In many fish species, water temperature determines the sex of the fry. This biological mechanism threatens to wipe out entire populations because of a shortage of females in the face of global warming. However, an international study conducted in Spain, France and Brazil has foun

A new study has uncovered a fundamental link between brain size and offspring size, helping to solve a long-standing evolutionary puzzle: Why do birds lay such disproportionately large eggs?

When major infrastructure projects are built in rural areas, wildlife is often displaced and moved out of the way. This is called mitigation translocation, and it is a globally recognized method for moving animals. However, not everyone applies it the same way, or at all.

Researchers have developed a self-driving chemistry lab that can autonomously search through hundreds of catalyst recipes and reaction conditions to identify faster, more selective and more programmable ways to make important industrial chemicals. The work could accelerate cataly

Workers sweated in choking heat and pupils stayed home Tuesday as an early-summer heat wave smothered much of Europe, with France suffering its hottest day on record.

When many of us think about how drugs work in the body, we may first think about how a drug gets into the body, such as a pill versus an injection. In the Gellman Group at the UW–Madison Department of Chemistry, researchers are instead thinking about how a drug behaves after it r

Pterosaurs, the first vertebrates to fly, would have had more diverse wing shapes than current scientific reconstructions suggest, according to new University of Bristol-led research. The study is published in the journal Paleobiology.

Which farming strategies can help agricultural operations better manage yield risks caused by climate change and fluctuating prices in the agricultural product market? A new study by ZALF published in the journal Agricultural Systems uses model calculations to show that farms can

How could we noninvasively distinguish between healthy and cancerous tissue? And how could we increase the speed of wireless communications? These two seemingly unrelated questions may share the same answer: terahertz (THz) light. Spanning frequencies between 0.3 and 20 THz, THz

In a recent study, Manish Garg, independent group leader at Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research (MPI FKF), succeeded in probing the local properties of bright and dark excitons in the organic superconductor copper naphthalocyanine (CuNc). The findings are published in t

A new algorithm could drive breakthroughs in understanding cancer, Alzheimer's disease and other potentially fatal conditions. Researchers from the University of Waterloo developed the machine-learning algorithm, called RNovA, to detect changes in the proteins in human cells. The

In romantic relationships, touch is usually considered part of everyday life: a quick back rub while cooking dinner, a hug after a long day at work or a lingering kiss before falling asleep. It's a simple way to show support, express affection and communicate sexual desire.

Curtin University researchers have determined the most precise age yet for the oldest known impact crater on Earth, providing new insight into how meteorite strikes shaped the planet during its earliest history.