Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.
The impact of sustainability messages may depend not only on their content but also on the order in which they are presented. The emotional response created by one message may influence how people interpret the next message about green initiatives.
In most of the nation's 435 congressional districts, the general election is not much of a contest. With the vast majority of U.S. House seats considered safe for one party or the other, the primary usually determines who goes to Congress—and it is the election Americans know the least about. A new book co-authored by a researcher at the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania finds that voters are rarely the most important influence on the outcome.
A broken rib from Scotty, the largest known T. rex skeleton, contains an extraordinary fossilized network of blood vessels formed while the dinosaur was healing. Scientists used neutron and X-ray imaging to look inside the 66-million-year-old bone without damaging it, revealing details rarely preserved in fossils.
About 8 million children across East and Southern Africa could face acute hunger by early 2027, a rise of 30%, as one of the strongest El Niño weather events in recent years fuels a growing food crisis, according to a new analysis by Save the Children.
Soils harbor some of the most diverse life on Earth. Soil nematodes play crucial roles in maintaining ecosystem functions. Yet how their diversity changes across large landscapes, and what drives those changes, remains poorly understood.
Businesses hoping AI will solve their supply chain problems risk wasting their investment unless they first fix weaknesses in their data, skills and management, according to new research published in the Benchmarking: An International Journal.
In his recent address to the European Parliament, Prime Minister Mark Carney proposed that Canada join Erasmus+, a European Union program that supports education, training, youth and sports.
The Cascadia subduction zone and northern San Andreas fault may sometimes rupture in rapid succession, according to evidence preserved in 3,100 years of ocean sediments. Researchers identified unusual sediment layers suggesting that earthquakes on the two systems have occurred just minutes to hours apart, including around the massive Cascadia earthquake of 1700. If such synchronization happened again, several major West Coast cities could face emergencies at nearly the same time.
Developing new functional materials often requires testing numerous material combinations. Conventional experiments reach their limits quickly when many variants must be compared. To overcome this bottleneck, the new Energy Materials Acceleration Platform (E-MAP) at KIT automates key lab steps.
"One way or another, we are living the stories planted knowingly or unknowingly in us early in life, the stories that give our lives meaning."—Ben Okri, A Way of Being Free
Climate change is causing many fruit trees to flower earlier, increasing their exposure to damaging late spring frosts. A study led by the University of Göttingen shows that the plant growth regulator ethephon can delay flowering in Kordia, a sweet cherry variety, potentially protecting blossoms and developing fruitlets from frost. The treatment did not significantly delay flowering in a second sweet cherry variety or two apple varieties, highlighting the importance of crop and cultivar selection. The results are published in BMC Plant Biology.
Crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) are infamous in the marine world. Their toxin-loaded thorns give them a menacing appearance, and they have a reputation as destroyers of coral reefs. New research from the University of Sydney challenges the perception of COTS as purely destructive. The findings suggest controlled populations can have a positive impact on coral prevalence and diversity.
University of Phoenix scholars have published research examining how nontraditional undergraduate students use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in online higher education. The study found that more frequent GenAI use was significantly associated with higher academic performance and stronger confidence in technology skills. Lower confidence in reading, writing and math, and greater time demands from work, study or family responsibilities, did not significantly predict use.
Lawyers play a critical role in helping people with dementia plan for the future. A recent study identifies knowledge gaps in the legal profession and key capabilities needed to better support people with dementia.
Astrophysicists from The University of Hong Kong (HKU), working with a research team led by Beijing Normal University (BNU), have developed a more physically realistic approach to testing how ultralight, or "fuzzy," dark matter could influence gravitationally lensed images. The study is the first to make gravitational-lensing predictions directly from three-dimensional wave simulations of fuzzy dark matter.
When Caitlin Bloomer wrestled the massive Crawzilla crawdad—yes, that's its actual common name—out of the muck during a biological survey in Kentucky, she was convinced it was the largest crayfish ever recorded.
Exposure to hazardous chemicals can contribute to noncommunicable diseases and remains a key public health challenge. Most chemicals used in consumer products, including food packaging, lack sufficient data to determine whether they are safe. Current testing approaches cannot effectively check for all possible health outcomes, and many testing requirements check only for genotoxicity and examine one substance at a time. Yet evidence shows that consumers are simultaneously exposed to complex mixtures of chemicals from many types of products.
If approved, the test could help catch cancers early—but more research is still needed, experts say
A UK-led research collaboration has taken a significant step in the global effort to protect cereal crops from the devastating blast fungus. Researchers at the John Innes Centre explored a recently discovered class of plant defense receptors, showing at the molecular level how they limit blast pathogen attacks and how they might be bioengineered to provide broader, more durable immunity in wheat, barley and rice.
Magma moving beneath a volcano can make the ground rise, sink or shift sideways. Measuring these changes gives scientists clues about where magma is stored and how it travels. A study published in Geodesy and Geodynamics used satellite radar to examine the November 2025 eruption of Hayli Gubbi in Ethiopia's Afar Depression. Hayli Gubbi and nearby Erta Ale are separate volcanoes within the same volcanic zone, where three tectonic plates are pulling apart.