Explore the latest scientific discoveries, science news, breakthroughs and developments from around the world.
It's spring, and Australian birds are building their nests. But with what? Alongside grass and twigs, birds are collecting our trash. In 2023, a global study found litter in the nests of 176 different bird species, with common culprits including cigarette butts, plastic bags and fishing nets.
In a study published in Nature Chemistry, an international team of researchers from Germany and the U.K., including chemists from The University of Manchester, has synthesized and characterized what they describe as the first isolable uranium Fischer-type carbyne, a compound in which carbon forms an unusual triple-bond interaction with uranium.
More than 55% of publishers of independent local news organizations cite burnout as a concern, and about 52% view balancing journalism with business operations as one of their most pressing challenges, a new survey finds.
Imagine a proton catching a wave and surfing it to gain speed. While the imagery may seem wild, the premise of laser-driven ion acceleration has promise as an alternative to conventional accelerators. However, the ultrathin targets used to drive this increase in ion energy are vulnerable to the weak prepulse that precedes the main high-intensity laser pulse, meaning an adaptation in the process is necessary.
It's a sight to behold.
The success of a large-scale recovery program for wΔtΔpunga/Little Barrier giant wΔtΔ, New Zealand's heaviest insect, has been officially documented in the New Zealand Journal of Zoology.
Uneven supernova explosions may explain the unusual mix of elements in Milky Way stars once thought to be evidence of hypernovas.
AI models are solving mathematics problems with increasing pace, and a technique called formalisation is key to demonstrating that their claimed solutions are indeed correct. But can we trust the formalisation process?
Birds calling back and forth in the morning make up one of the defining sounds of tropical forests. We're likely to assume that hearing or seeing more types of birds indicates a healthy forest.
Masaya volcano in Nicaragua sits within 13 miles (21 kilometers) of 2 million people and is a popular tourist destination due to its lava lake. Penn State researchers recently found evidence of two new magma sources under the active volcano, highlighting what they called the critical importance of understanding transitions in volcanic behavior and shallow magma processes, especially when they potentially pose hazards to local communities.
A large part of urban planning involves navigating how people experience a place. That kind of insight can require collecting data at a level of detail that large-scale datasets cannot provide.
EPFL researchers have developed a chip-based laser that keeps a very stable frequency across its tested operating range, without needing active electronic control. Their research is published in the journal Nature Photonics.