Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.
Children across Europe have returned to school after a summer of extreme heat. As the climate warms, one question is becoming harder to ignore: How can students learn when classrooms become dangerously hot?
In 2022, researchers detected a very odd photon from an enormous gamma ray burst that should have been destroyed on its way to Earth
Geochemical studies of volcanic rocks from Baffin Island, Canada, and Iceland suggest that some of the water dating back to Earth's formation may still be preserved deep within the planet. However, it has remained unclear which minerals could store such quantities of water under the extreme conditions of Earth's interior.
The catastrophic flood along the Nepal–China border that killed more than 1,400 people and left nearly 6,000 people missing devastated communities and infrastructure and renewed questions about how Himalayan countries prepare for environmental hazards that can unfold rapidly and cross-national borders.
Climate change is driving rapid declines in seaweed forests globally, outpacing restoration efforts and undermining seaweed restoration as a viable carbon dioxide removal strategy, according to an essay by Karen Filbee-Dexter at the University of Western Australia and colleagues, published Sept. 8 in the journal PLOS Biology.
All over the world, from Oregon's old-growth forests to Queensland's eucalyptus groves, creatures depend on trees for shelter. A new analysis from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign suggests that as the climate destabilizes, the world's trees may become an even more important respite. That's because the study finds trees everywhere buffer their animal tenants from temperature extremes. The work is published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management.
The five Platonic solids are the epitome of perfection—at least in mathematics. Topology explains why there are only five of them
One of the trickiest problems in mathematics has now fallen to AI after just days of work. The groundbreaking result was announced amid rumour after similar, but less complete work, also created with AI, was announced just hours before
This summer, you may have wondered why you are seeing so few insects squished on your car's windshield compared with a road trip several years ago.
Bear baiting in England became more popular after the Norman Conquest in 1066, new research shows. The study by Cardiff University and the University of Nottingham brings together archaeological analysis of bear bones and archival records to show the prevalence of the animals in England and northern France during medieval times. The study is published in the journal Society & Animals.
A new study shows that measures to stop AI's claims of consciousness have unintended consequences for non-human entities
Women's faces are rated as more attractive than men's across cultures, age groups and sexual orientations. This effect, known as the "Gender Attractiveness Gap" (GAP), was recently demonstrated in a large-scale study led by the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (MPIEA) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. A new article in Current Opinion in Psychology takes a closer look at the underlying data.
How will global access to food, water and energy evolve in coming decades? A new study coauthored by MIT researchers suggests the answers could be very different depending on region, resource and income.
Drylands are defined as regions where rainfall is low relative to the atmosphere's ability to draw water from soil and plants. Expanding boundaries of these regions are frequent concerns in climate change considerations. While they can support large populations and ecosystems, dryland expansion can worsen water scarcity, land degradation and desertification.
Extreme heat waves disrupt life in soil. Soil bacteria that produce and resist antibiotics switch into survival mode, temporarily reducing the number of resistance genes. At the same time, heat and drought are causing significant damage to soils and ecosystems, especially in cold, wet regions such as the Netherlands. This is evident from a large-scale European study by soil ecologist Franciska de Vries (University of Amsterdam) and colleagues. The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Arthropods are small, but they could play an outsized role in tackling some of the world's biggest challenges.
An analysis of sound-making structures on preserved wings reveals the mating calls of ancient Jurassic insects, re-creating part of an ancient soundscape.
Some have claimed cultivating seaweed could remove hundreds of millions of tonnes of CO2. But as warming waters kill off kelp, we need to refocus on preserving what we have, a study argues
Bursts of electrical stimulation to a nerve in the face seem to improve signalling between neurons and people's performance on a memory test
Trade routes and ports have shaped the history of human civilization, with the Mediterranean network among the most prominent and influential. Yet our understanding of its past is shaped largely by what remains visible on land rather than by the sea itself. Stone-built structures such as docks, quays and breakwaters give us important clues, but they do not always reveal the full picture.