Patents can help researchers understand wildlife trade trends, new study shows
Researchers from the Oxford Martin Program on Wildlife Trade at the University of Oxford have demonstrated that patent data could provide a novel source of evidence that can help identify future commercial trends associated with the overharvesting of wildlife. ⌘ Read more

New technology protects crops by testing the air for the DNA of plant diseases
Plant infections can now be detected in our crops before they’re even visible. ⌘ Read more

Astronomers discover new supergiant-rich stellar cluster
Astronomers report the discovery of a new galactic stellar cluster located some 24,000 light years away. The newfound cluster, which received the designation Barbá 2, turns out to host at least several supergiant stars. The finding was detailed in a research paper published July 30 on the arXiv preprint server. ⌘ Read more

The race to discover biodiversity: 11 new marine species and a new platform for rapid species description
A new paper, the Ocean Species Discoveries (OSD), describes a ground-breaking experiment that united 25 independent taxonomists from ten countries. The initiative boasts the discovery of eleven new marine species from all over the globe, occurring at depths from 5.2 to 7081 meters. It also represents a significant step forward in accelerating the pace at which new marine species are des … ⌘ Read more

New research shows dance and movement therapy can increase emotional and social intelligence in middle school students
Bullying is the most common manifestation of violence in schools. With globalization and immigration increasing classroom diversity in schools across the United States, ethnic bullying—bullying that targets another’s ethnic background or cultural identity, including racial taunts/slurs and insulting references to culturally specific customs, foods, clothing, and accents … ⌘ Read more

Southport attacks: What we know about knife crime in the UK and how to solve it
The knife attack on a dance class of children in Southport has left the country horrified. We do not yet know much about what happened, but a male aged 17 has been charged with the murder of three girls and 10 counts of attempted murder. ⌘ Read more

Scientists reveal strategically applied livestock grazing can benefit sagebrush communities
While a cow grazing in a field isn’t typically remarkable, United States Department of Agriculture scientists have identified potential ecological benefits of strategically applied livestock grazing in sagebrush communities across U.S. western rangelands. ⌘ Read more

The Higgs particle could have ended the universe by now—here’s why we’re still here
Although our universe may seem stable, having existed for a whopping 13.7 billion years, several experiments suggest that it is at risk—walking on the edge of a very dangerous cliff. And it’s all down to the instability of a single fundamental particle: the Higgs boson. ⌘ Read more

Misinformation, abuse and injustice: Breaking down the Olympic boxing firestorm
In a preliminary women’s under 66kg boxing match at the Paris Olympics last week between Algerian Imane Khelif and Italian Angela Carini, a powerful punch to the face resulted in Carini withdrawing after 46 seconds. ⌘ Read more

New model refutes leading theory on how Earth’s continents formed
The formation of Earth’s continents billions of years ago set the stage for life to thrive. But scientists disagree over how those land masses formed and if it was through geological processes we still see today. ⌘ Read more

Ultrafast electron microscopy technique advances understanding of processes applicable to brain-like computing
Today’s supercomputers consume vast amounts of energy, equivalent to the power usage of thousands of homes. In response, researchers are developing a more energy-efficient form of next-generation supercomputing that leverages artificial neural networks. ⌘ Read more

A renewed bid to protect burrowing owls is advancing: What changed?
Western burrowing owls are diminutive, adorable and goofy—and conservation organizations have renewed calls for the state to protect them before it’s too late. ⌘ Read more

Using small black holes to detect big black holes
An international team of astrophysicists with the participation of the University of Zurich proposes a novel method to detect pairs of the biggest black holes found at the centers of galaxies by analyzing gravitational waves generated by binaries of nearby small stellar black holes. The research is published in the journal Nature Astronomy. ⌘ Read more

UK beekeepers and scientists tackle sticky problem of honey fraud
Lynne Ingram cuts a peaceful figure as she tends to a row of humming beehives in a leafy corner of Somerset, southwest England. ⌘ Read more

Streetlights running all night makes leaves so tough that insects can’t eat them, threatening the food chain
Light pollution disrupts circadian rhythms and ecosystems worldwide—but for plants, dependent on light for photosynthesis, its effects could be profound. Now scientists writing in Frontiers in Plant Science have found that exposure to high levels of artificial light at night makes tree leaves grow tougher and harder for insects to eat, threatening urban food chains. ⌘ Read more

Dormice are declining but current nest surveys don’t tell the real story
British dormice have declined by a shocking 70% between 2000 and 2022, according to the latest report by the national dormouse monitoring program. But my research indicates that this decline might not be that catastrophic. ⌘ Read more

Four key things our study of 25 years of data revealed about entrepreneurs in the UK
Over the past 25 years, the world has lived through major shocks from the 9/11 terror attacks to the global financial crisis to COVID. More recently, the UK—like many other countries—has faced a rising cost of living and stagnant growth. ⌘ Read more

Oceans without sharks would be far less healthy, says new research
There are more than 500 species of sharks in the world’s oceans, from the 7-inch dwarf lantern shark to whale sharks that can grow to over 35 feet long. They’re found from polar waters to the equator, at the water’s surface and miles deep, in the open ocean, along coasts and even in some coastal rivers. ⌘ Read more

Giant pangolin rediscovered in Senegal
In March 2023, temperatures in eastern Senegal soared to 40°C, with the cooling rains still months away. Yet, for the dedicated field team from the NGO Panthera—committed to global feline conservation—and the Direction des parcs nationaux du Sénégal (DPN) (Senegal National Parks team), led by Mouhamadou Ndiaye, the work continued unabated. ⌘ Read more

Climate risks from exceeding 1.5°C reduced if warming swiftly reversed, says study
Earth systems could be “tipped” into unstable states if warming overshoots the 1.5°C target, but impacts could be minimized if warming is swiftly reversed. ⌘ Read more

Born to modulate: Researchers reveal origins of climate-controlling particles
Aerosol particles are tiny. Swirling suspended in the air around us, most are smaller than the smallest bug, thinner than the thinnest hair on your head, gossamer specks practically invisible to the naked eye. Newly formed ones are nano-sized. Yet their influence is gargantuan. ⌘ Read more

Major energy companies conceal 47% of biodiversity damage, according to research
A study by the UPV/EHU’s Research Group on Circular Economy, Business Performance and Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals reveals that energy companies conceal 47% of the damage wrought on biodiversity as a result of their activity. The study is published in the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance. ⌘ Read more

Big sharks equal big impact, but there’s a big problem: Those most affected by fishing are most needed for ocean health
Shark conservation must go beyond simply protecting shark populations—it must prioritize protecting the ecological roles of sharks, according to new research published in Science. ⌘ Read more

‘Screaming Woman’ mummy may have died in agony 3,500 years ago
In 1935, the Metropolitan Museum of New York led an archaeological expedition to Egypt. In Deir Elbahari near Luxor, the site of ancient Thebes, they excavated the tomb of Senmut, the architect and overseer of royal works—and reputedly, lover—of the famed queen Hatschepsut (1479–1458 BCE). Beneath Senmut’s tomb, they found a separate burial chamber for his mother, Hat-Nufer, and other unidentified relatives. ⌘ Read more

Microscopy breakthrough promises better imaging for sensitive materials
An international team of scientists, led by Trinity College Dublin, has devised an innovative imaging method using state-of-the-art microscopes that significantly reduces the time and radiation required. Their work represents a significant breakthrough that will benefit several disciplines, from materials science to medicine, as the method promises to deliver improved imaging for sensitive materials such as bio … ⌘ Read more

When it comes to DNA replication, humans and baker’s yeast are more alike than different, scientists discover
Humans and baker’s yeast have more in common than meets the eye, including an important mechanism that helps ensure DNA is copied correctly, reports a pair of studies published in the journals Science and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ⌘ Read more

Study shows link between asymmetric polar ice sheet evolution and global climate
Joint research led by Professor An Zhisheng from the Institute of Earth Environment of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has revealed the pivotal role of the growth of the Antarctic ice sheet and associated Southern Hemisphere sea ice expansion in triggering the mid-Pleistocene climate transition (MPT). It has also shown how asymmetric polar ice sheet evolution affects global climate. ⌘ Read more

Retreating Andean rocks signal the world’s glaciers are melting far faster than predicted, report scientists
Rocks recently exposed to the sky after being covered with prehistoric ice show that tropical glaciers have shrunk to their smallest size in more than 11,700 years, revealing the tropics have already warmed past limits last seen earlier in the Holocene age, researchers from Boston College report in the journal Science. ⌘ Read more

Plant biologists discover an ancient gene family is responsible for plant prickles across species
According to Greek mythology, red roses first appeared when Aphrodite pricked her foot on a thorn, spilling blood on a white rose. Since then, roses’ thorns have captured the imaginations of countless poets and forlorn lovers. ⌘ Read more

Researchers uncover 500 million-year-old mollusk ancestor
A team of researchers including scientists from the University of Oxford have made an astonishing discovery of a new species of mollusk that lived 500 million years ago. The new fossil, called Shishania aculeata, reveals that the most primitive mollusks were flat, shell-less slugs covered in a protective spiny armor. The findings have been published in the journal Science. ⌘ Read more

3D terrestrial laser scanner assists in reconstructing glacier’s mass balance sequence
Complex topography of glacier surfaces under accelerating global warming presents unprecedented challenges to traditional methods of glaciological observation due to intense fragmentation and differential melting. ⌘ Read more

Sea level changes shaped early life on Earth, fossils show
A newly developed timeline of early animal fossils reveals a link between sea levels, changes in marine oxygen, and the appearance of the earliest ancestors of present-day animals. ⌘ Read more

New insights into one of Europe’s oldest dinosaurs
A comprehensive new description of Plateosaurus trossingensis provides valuable information on the evolution, lifestyle and family tree of early dinosaurs. During this analysis, bone injuries were discovered, which paleontologists investigated in more detail. ⌘ Read more

Researchers find unknown effects of existing drugs by mapping protein interactions
Fewer side effects, improved chances of healing: The goal of precision medicine is to provide patients with the most individualized treatment possible. This requires a precise understanding of what is happening at the cellular level. ⌘ Read more

A higher-dimensional model can help explain cosmic acceleration without dark energy
Dark energy remains among the greatest puzzles in our understanding of the cosmos. In the standard model of cosmology called the Lambda-CDM, it is accounted for by adding a cosmological constant term in Einstein’s field equation first introduced by Einstein himself. This constant is very small and positive and lacks a complete theoretical understanding of why it has such a tiny value. Moreover, dark energy has so … ⌘ Read more

One dead in Colorado blaze as fires ravage US west
One person has died in a Colorado wildfire, officials said Wednesday, as around a hundred infernos continue to blaze across western US states and a dangerous new heat wave looms. ⌘ Read more

Reclaimed by floods, wildlife returns to Romania’s Danube Delta
Tour guide Eugen Grigorov steered his boat past half-underwater combine harvesters and last year’s flooded crops in a part of Romania’s Danube Delta reclaimed by the great river. ⌘ Read more

Researchers explore cancer susceptibility in birds
In one of the largest studies of cancer susceptibility across bird species, researchers at Arizona State University describe an intriguing relationship between reproductive rates and cancer susceptibility. ⌘ Read more

How AI and satellite imaging are helping detect wildfires in Colorado before they grow
A new artificial intelligence program will help identify wildfires as small as an acre by scanning images taken by weather satellites orbiting about 22,000 miles above the Earth’s surface. ⌘ Read more

Cryomodule assembly technicians rev up Jefferson Lab’s electron-beam racetrack
At the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, the underground Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) more closely resembles a racetrack than it does a racecar. As a DOE Office of Science user facility, CEBAF includes a particle accelerator that enables the research of more than 1,900 nuclear physicists worldwide. ⌘ Read more

Bright prospects for engineering quantum light
Computers benefit greatly from being connected to the internet, so we might ask: What good is a quantum computer without a quantum internet? ⌘ Read more

High-performance computing and quantum chemistry advances drug discovery
Led by University of Melbourne theoretician and HPC expert Associate Professor Giuseppe Barca, a research team has achieved the first quantum simulation of biological systems at a scale necessary to accurately model drug performance. ⌘ Read more

Newly discovered sheets of nanoscale ‘cubes’ found to be efficient catalysts
Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have created sheets of transition metal chalcogenide “cubes” connected by chlorine atoms. While sheets of atoms have been widely studied, e.g. graphene, the team’s work breaks new ground by using clusters instead. The research is published in the journal Advanced Materials. ⌘ Read more

Monarch butterflies need help, and research shows a little bit of milkweed goes a long way
Monarch butterflies, with their striking orange and black wings, are some of the most recognizable butterflies in North America. But they’re in trouble. ⌘ Read more

Scientists discover entirely new wood type that could be highly efficient at carbon storage
Researchers undertaking an evolutionary survey of the microscopic structure of wood from some of the world’s most iconic trees and shrubs have discovered an entirely new type of wood. ⌘ Read more

Green synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles from mangifera indica: A solution for agricultural disease management
A research team has successfully synthesized green copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO.NPs) from Mangifera indica (M. indica) leaf extract. The CuO.NPs showed potent activity against gram-positive and negative bacteria, as well as fungicidal effects on persimmon fruit pathogens. This advancement holds significant value for agriculture, offering a biocompatible and eco-friendly met … ⌘ Read more

I studied ShotSpotter in Chicago and Kansas City—here’s what people using this technology should know
Like many large cities in the U.S., Detroit’s gun violence rate has fluctuated since the COVID-19 pandemic and the unrest after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. The city’s murder rate increased nearly 20% that year, meaning the city had the second-highest violent crime rate after Memphis, Tennessee, among cities with more than 100,000 residents. ⌘ Read more

Organic nanozymes have broad applications from food and agriculture to biomedicine
Nanozymes are tiny, engineered substances that mimic the catalytic properties of natural enzymes, and they serve a variety of purposes in biomedicine, chemical engineering, and environmental applications. They are typically made from inorganic materials, including metal-based elements, which makes them unsuitable for many purposes due to their toxicity and high production costs. ⌘ Read more

Astronomers observe eclipses of pulsar PSR J0024−7204O
Using the MeerKAT radio telescope, astronomers have observed eclipses in the radio emission of a pulsar known as PSR J0024−7204O. Results of the observational campaign, published on the preprint server arXiv, could help us better understand the nature and behavior of this pulsar. ⌘ Read more

Evacuations, destruction as California’s largest fire of year rages
Throngs of firefighters were mobilized in California Monday to battle the state’s largest blaze of the year, which has prompted thousands of evacuations and already burned an area larger than the city of Los Angeles. ⌘ Read more