Top Science News

Feb. 21, 2025 — Researchers have discovered a fundamental mechanism that affects the size of the pupil, namely our breathing. The study shows that the pupil is smallest during inhalation and largest during exhalation -- something that could affect our ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — A new study analyzes the disease burden and the risk factors for severity among people who suffer from a condition called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. Researchers say the condition occurs in people who are long-term regular consumers of cannabis and causes nausea, uncontrollable vomiting and excruciating pain in a cyclical pattern that often leads to repeated trips to the ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — Fetal acetaminophen exposure increases the likelihood that a child will develop attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a new ...

Feb. 19, 2025 — Engineers have developed a versatile swimming robot that nimbly navigates cluttered water surfaces. Inspired by marine flatworms, the innovative device offers new possibilities for environmental monitoring and ecological ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — In a leap forward for quantum computing, physicists unveiled an eight-qubit topological quantum processor, the first of its kind. The chip, built as a proof-of-concept for the scientists' design, opens the door to the development of the long-awaited topological quantum ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — Rapid, localized heat management is essential for electronic devices and could have applications ranging from wearable materials to burn treatment. While so-called thermoelectric materials convert temperature differences to electrical voltage and vice versa, their efficiency is often limited, and their production is costly and wasteful. Researchers have now used a 3D printing technique to ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — An international research collaboration has overturned the long-standing belief that the atomic nucleus of lead-208 is perfectly spherical. The discovery challenges fundamental assumptions about nuclear structure and has far-reaching implications for our understanding of how the heaviest elements are formed in the ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — Research on the vanishing coastlines of Alexandria, Egypt, offers nature-based solutions for protecting coastal cities globally, including those in ...

Feb. 21, 2025 — Sweden's Viking Age population appears to have suffered from severe oral and maxillofacial disease, sinus and ear infections, osteoarthritis, and much more. This is shown in a study in which Viking skulls were examined using modern X-ray ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — A novel system that chases larval zebrafish around an arena with predator robots is enabling scientists to understand how these days-old fish quickly learn in the real ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — A team of researchers has outlined a new approach for better understanding the depths of animal consciousness, a method that may yield new insights into the similarities and differences among living ...

Feb. 21, 2025 — Infection with Zika virus in pregnancy can lead to neurological disorders, fetal abnormalities and fetal death. Until now, how the virus manages to cross the placenta, which nurtures the developing fetus and forms a strong barrier against microbes and chemicals that could harm the fetus, has not been clear. Researchers now report a strategy Zika ...

Feb. 21, 2025 — Researchers have investigated how microbubbles tiny gas bubbles can deliver drugs into cells in a targeted manner using ultrasound. For the first time, they have visualized how tiny cyclic microjets liquid jets generated by microbubbles penetrate the cell membrane enabling the drug ...

Feb. 21, 2025 — Researchers have developed a fully biobased hair conditioner using lignin gel emulsions, offering a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional haircare ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — Seeking mental health help is a significant step, but that first intake session can often feel more like paperwork than progress, and a significant proportion of people 'drop out' or never return for a second visit, previous research has shown. In a new review investigators confirmed that single-session interventions (SSIs) can significantly improve mental health outcomes in both youth and ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — Human evolution has revolved around food, from identifying and foraging for it to growing and preparing it. Researchers have identified a region in the brain's visual cortex that responds to food and have developed a theoretical framework that could explain the origins of this selectivity. The team outlines how visual and nonvisual signals contribute to the brain's cortical responses when people ...

Feb. 19, 2025 — Research has found that people who strive for dominance, whether in personal or professional life, are more confident in their decision-making but are no more accurate in their choices than those of a lower social ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — Repurposing amlodipine, a commonly used blood pressure medicine, could help manage attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, according to an international ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — A longer paternity leave after the birth of a child can improve the co-parenting relationship between moms and dads in a key way, a new study finds. Researchers found that mothers were less likely to discourage fathers' involvement in parenting if the dads had taken more time off after their child was ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — A little movement could help prevent dementia, even for frail older adults, suggests a new ...

Feb. 19, 2025 — Breast cancer incidence trends in U.S. women under 40 vary by geography and supports incorporating location information with established risk factors into risk prediction, improving the ability to identify groups of younger women at higher risk for early-onset breast ...

Feb. 18, 2025 — The rise in human life expectancy has slowed down across Europe since 2011, according to new research. A new study reveals that the food we eat, physical inactivity and obesity are largely to blame, as well as the Covid pandemic. Of all the countries studied, England experienced the biggest slowdown in life expectancy. It means that rather than looking forward to living longer than our parents or ...

Feb. 21, 2025 — Rubidium could be the next key player in oxide-ion conductors. Researchers have discovered a rare rubidium (Rb)-containing oxide-ion conductor with exceptionally high conductivity. Identified through computational screening and experiments, its superior performance stems from low activation energy and structural features like large free volume and tetrahedral motion. Its stability under various ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — Researchers developed a low-cost, scalable terahertz amplifier that could be used to make antenna arrays that can steer and focus high-frequency terahertz waves, for applications like high-resolution radar, high-speed communications, and medical ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — After a cyber attack or natural disaster, a backup network of decentralized devices -- like residential solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles, heat pumps, and water heaters -- could restore electricity or relieve stress on the grid, engineers ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — Researchers have found that stars in the early universe may have formed from 'fluffy' molecular clouds. Using the ALMA telescope to observe the Small Magellanic Cloud -- whose environment is similar to the early universe -- they observed that about 60% of the observed clouds had the common filamentary structure, while the remaining 40% had a 'fluffy' shape. These results could provide new ...

Feb. 19, 2025 — Within the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument's early data, scientists have uncovered the largest samples ever of intermediate-mass black holes and dwarf galaxies hosting an active black hole, more than tripling the existing census of both. These large statistical samples will allow for more in-depth studies of the dynamics between dwarf galaxy ...

Feb. 18, 2025 — Astrophysicists have observed our central supermassive black hole. They found the accretion disk is constantly emitting flares without periods of rest. Shorter, faint flares and longer, bright flares appear to be generated by separate ...

Feb. 18, 2025 — Lobster-eye satellite Einstein Probe captured the X-ray flash from a very elusive celestial pair. The discovery opens a new way to explore how massive stars interact and evolve, confirming the unique power of the mission to uncover fleeting X-ray sources in the ...

Feb. 21, 2025 — Groundbreaking study shows machine learning can decode emotions in seven ungulate species. A game-changer for animal welfare? Can artificial intelligence help us understand what animals feel? A pioneering study suggests the answer is yes. Researchers have successfully trained a machine-learning model to distinguish between positive and negative emotions in seven different ungulate species, ...

Feb. 21, 2025 — Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly large language models like GPT-4, has shown impressive performance on reasoning tasks. But does AI truly understand abstract concepts, or is it just mimicking patterns? A new study reveals that while GPT models perform well on some analogy tasks, they fall short when the problems are altered, highlighting key weaknesses in AI's reasoning ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — A research team has unveiled a new artificial intelligence (AI) system that uses satellite imagery to track urban green spaces more accurately than prior methods, critical to ensuring healthy ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — Researchers have developed Deep Nanometry, an analytical technique combining advanced optical equipment with a noise removal algorithm based on unsupervised deep learning. Deep Nanometry can analyze nanoparticles in medical samples at high speed, making it possible to accurately detect even trace amounts of rare particles. This has proven its potential for detecting extracellular vesicles ...

Feb. 21, 2025 — Using the microscopic structures found on the wings of the Morpho butterfly, researchers have developed a simple and inexpensive way to analyze cancer biopsy samples that could make cancer diagnosis faster, more accurate and more accessible ...

Feb. 21, 2025 — Scientists outline the urgency to better identify the significant damage sand extraction across the world heaps upon marine ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — One of nature's most disliked creatures may very well unlock a breakthrough in disaster response. A multidisciplinary research team is recreating mosquito antennae to better study their sensitivity to ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — Biologists, using a technique that explores both genes and structural characteristics, have introduced 10 new species of marine sponge. Despite their distinction as one of Earth's oldest lifeforms and the key role they play in sustaining coral reef ecosystems, marine sponges are vastly ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — Chemical engineers have discovered that adding nickel atoms to silver catalysts could revolutionize the production of ethylene oxide by eliminating the need for toxic chlorine while maintaining efficiency. The breakthrough could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the $40 billion global ethylene oxide industry, which currently produces this crucial chemical used in plastics, ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — Researchers have succeeded in establishing a method for producing recycled liquid fertilizer that contains high concentrations of ...

Feb. 20, 2025 — Highly valued economically, ecologically and culturally, the white oak (Quercus alba) is a keystone forest species and is one of the most abundant trees across much of eastern North America. It also faces declining seedling recruitment in many parts of its range. Researchers describe the species' complex genome, providing insights into fundamental questions about plant evolution, tree breeding ...

Feb. 14, 2025 — The cool conditions which have allowed ice caps to form on Earth are rare events in the planet's history and require many complex processes working at once, according to new ...

Feb. 13, 2025 — The field of evolution examines how organisms adapt to their environments over generations, but what about the evolution of evolution ...

Feb. 14, 2025 — Humanity may not be extraordinary but rather the natural evolutionary outcome for our planet and likely others, according to a new model for how intelligent life developed on ...

Feb. 11, 2025 — Researchers have uncovered the origins and genetic diversity of the Fulani, one of Africa's largest pastoral populations. The study reveals a complex genetic ancestry with influences from both North and West Africa, shaped by historical migrations that have left a lasting impact on their genetic ...

Feb. 19, 2025 — The new post-pandemic national hospital occupancy average is 75% -- a full 11 percentage points higher than the pre-pandemic average, largely due to a reduction in staffed hospital beds. This puts the U.S. on track for a severe shortage of hospital beds by 2032 unless action is ...

Feb. 19, 2025 — Scientists across Africa, America, Asia, Australia, and Europe outline for the first time how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can transform the landscape of infectious disease research and improve pandemic ...

Feb. 18, 2025 — A new psychological therapy has been found to reduce rates of violence and aggression among male offenders with antisocial personality disorder ...

Feb. 18, 2025 — New research adds evidence that learning a successful strategy for approaching a task doesn't prevent further exploration, even if it reduces ...

Feb. 13, 2025 — Many Japanese mothers are reluctant to send their children to childcare before the age of three due to the 'Three-Year-Old Myth,' which suggests that healthy development requires a child to stay at home and be raised by their mother. However, a recent study has shown that enrolling a child in kindergarten before they turn three may actually benefit their social, motor, and problem-solving ...

Feb. 7, 2025 — Embedded counseling services are becoming increasingly common in veterinary medical programs, but their effectiveness has not historically been measured. A new study revealed that these programs may not only enhance access to mental health care but also lead to significant reductions in psychological distress among veterinary ...

Feb. 5, 2025 — Students attending schools that ban the use of phones throughout the school day aren't necessarily experiencing better mental health and wellbeing, as the first worldwide study of its kind has found that just banning smartphones is not enough to tackle their negative ...

Feb. 14, 2025 — Companies around the world are underestimating their total greenhouse gas footprints because of inconsistent accounting standards for methane emissions, finds a new ...

Feb. 5, 2025 — A study by economists shows a wide gap between the kinds of math problems kids who work in retail markets do well and the kinds of problems kids in school do ...

Feb. 4, 2025 — Is it better to work in large groups? Smaller ones? With other people who are similar or different? New research offers insight into these questions -- and some of the results are not what you'd ...

Feb. 3, 2025 — A recent study by management scholars underscores the importance of organizations' dynamic capabilities for greener business practices. Analyzing data from 139 manufacturing companies, the research reveals that financial and technological expertise combined with adaptability to regulations and evolving consumer demands, are key to advancing the ...