Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.
The earliest animals may have evolved hundreds of millions of years before their first unmistakable fossils appear in the fossil record, according to a new study led by the University of Oxford. The findings, published in Science Advances, suggest animals may have originated deep in the Neoproterozoic Era, even before some of the most extreme ice ages in Earth's history.
While scientists are known for their dedication to their research, crawling on the floor to avoid electrocution for the sake of a measurement seems a little excessive. But this is what British physicist John Cockcroft and Irish physicist Ernest T.S. Walton had to do in the early 1930s while studying the structure of atomic nuclei. Luckily, their efforts led to their receiving the Nobel Prize in 1951.
The first animals may have appeared on Earth hundreds of millions years earlier than their fossils suggest, a new modeling study suggests. Previously, the earliest fossil evidence of animals dated to around 574 million years ago, during the Ediacaran period (635 million to 538 million years ago). In the new paper, a research team argues that we can't just rely on the spotty fossil record, and suggests that animals first appeared up to 200 million years earlier than the oldest known animal fossils. In the study, published Friday (Oct. 2) in the journal Science Advances, the researchers argue that the absence of animal fossils in some exceptionally well-preserved ancient rocks doesn't mean the...
Research led by a group from the University of Newcastle has found a new way to make silicone surfaces—and control how slippery they are. The work was published in the journal Chemistry of Materials.
Knowledge workers such as scientists, teachers, lawyers and business leaders are increasingly using generative artificial intelligence applications for tasks that demand imagination, creativity and problem-solving. Ironically, perhaps, recent research shows that people who interact with generative AI for work tasks can end up not thinking critically. They can surrender to AI's quick and confident answers, which can lead to speedy but low-quality solutions.
Earth's poles do not always stay in the same place. For example, a region once near the North Pole can end up near the equator, and an area near the equator can shift up toward the pole. This is known as true polar wander (TPW), and it's when Earth's crust and mantle shift together relative to its spin axis.
Many natural plant compounds have promising health-related properties, but their poor water solubility can limit how effectively they are absorbed and used. In previous work, researchers discovered an enzyme from Bacillus subtilis, called phenolic phosphate synthetase (BsPPS), that can attach phosphate groups to a broad range of phenolic compounds. This modification can help make these compounds more water-soluble and support the development of improved nutraceuticals and related products.
Databases around the world contain information on millions upon millions of enzymes that have the potential to degrade pollutants like plastic. Scientists at Murdoch University's Bioplastics Innovation Hub are combining machine learning technology and biochemistry to identify which of these enzymes have the potential to break down plastic and other harmful pollutants.
On Pakistan's Indus delta coast, a 350,000-hectare (865,000-acre) mangrove project is turning a growing forest into something that can be sold to companies thousands of miles away: carbon credits.
As Americans prepared to celebrate the nation's 250th birthday on the morning of July 4, sobering images flashed across their phones and TV screens. Hundreds of masked men marched through the streets of Washington carrying flags and chanting "Reclaim America!" It soon became clear from the logos on their identical baseball caps that the marchers were members of Patriot Front, a white nationalist group.
Thanks to enzyme-based biocatalysis, an enormous range of pharmaceutical active ingredients and other complex molecules can be synthesized in an environmentally friendly manner. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now developed a technology that allows to assemble enzymes into millimeter-sized, storable beads. In this process, the enzymes not only act as catalysts but also constitute the beads' material itself. In a further variant, the enzyme networks can be combined with living cells. A patent application has been filed for the technology. The results have been published in Advanced Materials.
An unexplained high-energy neutrino detected three years ago could be linked to a primordial black hole, perhaps one more even unusual than previously thought
Nearly 3,000 years ago, in central Italy, dozens of Picene people were laid to rest curled up on their sides, as if asleep. When their eternal slumber was disturbed thousands of years later, researchers noted a curiously familiar pattern, one many modern parents and doctors fret over: As infants, many of them had developed a flat spot on their heads.
A waterborne pathogen flourishes while toads shelter underground. The finding may help conservationists rethink how to protect the threatened species.
Unlike most modern mammals, which get just two sets of teeth in their lifetime, an ancient species from the Cretaceous, found in China, appears to have had the ability to replace its teeth throughout its life
As humanity looks toward future bases on the moon, plant cultivation will be critical for sustaining life there. Plants can provide food, oxygen, medicine, water purification and waste recycling, making them indispensable for lunar development.
The U.K.'s National Year of Reading is asking people across the country to "go all in" on reading. But this invitation raises questions for many families: reading what, in which language and in what form?
The nonprofit start-up Pioneer Labs claims to have made the first-ever “microbe for Mars.” Other experts aren’t so sure
The world's oceans behave like a thermometer: As the water warms, it expands and sea levels rise. Geodesy researchers at the University of Bonn are able to measure this and determine how much the oceans are warming. For individual ocean basins, their method has revealed significant deviations from model calculations—in some cases in the double-digit percentage range.
Nations should do more to reduce uncertainty about the legal value of their positions on cyber activities, a new study says.