Explore the latest scientific discoveries, science news, breakthroughs and developments from around the world.
New research shows how artificial intelligence, combined with advanced experimental science, can help find "hidden" and unexplored proteins in the human body and reveal what they actually do, according to a new study published in Nature.
Researchers from the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMCAS) have characterized the structural and functional properties of the emerging SARS-CoV-2 sublineage BA.3.2.2 by studying RE.2.2, the lineage designation for the BA.3.2.2 branch gaining prevalence after prolonged low detection in European surveillance datasets.
Researchers from Aarhus University and the Danish Technological Institute have taken a new approach in the search for enzymes capable of breaking down some of the most difficult types of plastic to recycle. They collected millions of bacteria from a landfill in Kenya, Randers Regnskov Tropical Zoo, the guts of larvae and a compost heap near Aarhus—and examined their enzymes. They found 12 that work.
Loose fibers from functional clothing, discarded PET bottles or abandoned packaging: When such plastic materials enter the environment, they often persist there for a long time. UV radiation, precipitation and ozone cause them to become brittle—and over time, mechanical forces break them down into increasingly smaller particles. Swirled up by the wind, they are carried farther through the atmosphere. Until now, it was unclear how much microplastic ends up back in Swiss soil and water bodies through this process.
Research teams from INRAE, the University of Clermont Auvergne and the CNRS have reconstructed 10 ancient genomes (paleogenomes) that are the common ancestors of 84 botanical species of agronomic interest. Their work makes it possible to identify particular genes, shared across different species of plants and retained throughout their evolutionary history, that might play a key role in adapting to environmental constraints such as drought.
Does the academic discipline of a scientist's doctorate accurately capture their disciplinary affiliation decades later? Consider a scientist who earned a doctorate in physics 25 years ago who now studies climate change, publishes primarily in interdisciplinary journals and considers herself a climate scientist. Does "physics" still accurately describe where she fits in science?
When will the glacier in your valley disappear? Will the glacier you visited as a child still exist in 2050? And how much difference would limiting global warming make?
Life is not always easy for a bee: Not all plants place their pollen outside. Some flowers have to be set to vibrating before the pollen can get out of their tube-like stamens. Certain bee species have developed a special technique for this: They bite on the flower and use their flight muscles to generate rapid vibrations. The stamen is shaken and the pollen is released. This phenomenon is known as "buzz pollination."
While chemical bonds usually determine the structure and properties of a material, bonds between neighboring metal atoms can also change as temperature or other conditions change. These changes can lead to unusual electronic and magnetic behaviors.
Scientists have identified the mechanisms that allow plants to change their root anatomy to maximize survival when nutrients are scarce. The findings could pave the way for developing new ways to improve beneficial plant-microbe interactions in agriculture.
OpenAI is at the center of another controversy over machines tackling big math problems. This one’s about the twin prime conjecture.
Scientists have discovered that there is ice deep inside planets like Neptune and Uranus and want to find out what form it takes and how it behaves. They cannot dig for it and transport it all the way back to Earth, so they do the next best thing: recreate those extreme conditions in the lab.