Science
Picosecond pulses push superconductors beyond their critical-current limit
Superconductors can carry electrical current without resistance, but only up to a maximum value known as the critical current. The critical current is a crucial figure of merit fo…
On ancient Madagascar, large native herbivores paid the price as introduced livestock spread
New analyses of ancient cattle, sheep and goat bones on Madagascar suggest the rapid spread of introduced livestock on the island 1,200 years ago coincided with forest loss and po…
Engineers just designed a better 'shock absorber' for spacecraft
Rocket launches are among the most violent ways humans have devised to travel. They generate millions of pounds of thrust and subject passengers to intense g-forces. Humans must u…
Machine learning helps identify chemicals that repel honey bees from pesticides
In a win for pollinator conservation, researchers at the University of California, Riverside, have developed a machine learning-based method to identify chemical compounds that ca…
Gut bacteria-derived metabolite extends the lifespan of fruit flies
Gut microbiota influence multiple aspects of host physiology, including metabolic and immune functions. Many metabolites produced by gut bacteria can cross the intestinal epitheli…
Vertical quantum sensor could reveal nanoscale magnetic patterns in quantum materials
Quantum materials do things ordinary materials cannot. They carry current without any loss, or conduct only along their outer edge while the inside insulates. Future quantum compu…
Physicists define new material blueprint for next-generation microchip encryption
Behind every secure online transaction or encrypted message lies a string of completely unpredictable numbers. A team of physicists has now proposed a theoretical way around a lon…
One-atom-high rails steer superconducting vortices, with temperature and magnetic field tuning their guidance
Researchers at the Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), a center within Japan's National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), discovered that atomic-scale s…
A treasure map to search for past marine life
Fossils offer a glimpse into Earth's distant past. They provide insights into extinct animals and plants, as well as past ecosystems. However, the fossil record is incomplete: Fos…
NASA Unveils Winning Designs for Mars Space Food Systems Challenge
NASA announced the winners of the Deep Space Food Challenge: Mars to Table Thursday, with the top $300,000 prize being awarded to Chinyere Ukeje of Philadelphia, Pa. for the Adapt…
Dog brains track consonant patterns in speech, a first outside humans
Dog brains segment speech into words in a way previously seen only in humans, a new study from Hungary finds. This suggests that efficient speech processing is not necessarily a c…
Learning style predicts survival skills in young orangutans
Orangutan infants spend their first eight years with their mothers, and throughout this time, they can draw on their knowledge. After that, however, orangutans are entirely on the…
New catalogs map the quantum possibilities of atomically thin materials
Twistronics has become a new alchemy of materials. By choosing atomically thin layers, stacking them and changing their relative angle, researchers can create electronic behavior …
A new venomous British snake? Why there's no need to panic
Great Britain has long been thought to be home to a single venomous snake species, the adder. Although its bites are rarely life-threatening, they require a trip to the emergency …
New AlphaFold Database release adds viral protein complexes to support pandemic preparedness
AI-predicted protein complex structures for more than 2,800 viruses are now openly available in the AlphaFold Database. To better understand and protect against emerging pathogens…
Sharks can hear sounds nearly 250 feet away and find the source
Sound travels through the ocean carrying clues about potential prey, predators and other animals, giving sharks an important way to detect what they cannot yet see. But exactly ho…
The Guardian view on a supersized El Niño: a natural phenomenon and human folly are a lethal combination | Editorial
Hundreds of thousands are expected to die, millions to go hungry. This is not just about weather patterns, but about injusticeSome warnings are so grave that it is almost impossib…
Is the universe twisted? A new check on a possible twist in the universe's oldest light
The cosmic microwave background (CMB) is the universe's oldest light, leftover thermal radiation from about 380,000 years after the big bang. Maps of the CMB offer a picture of th…
Montreal's squirrels provide insight into evolutionary change in urban species
By comparing variations in the coat colors of eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) in Montreal city parks, researchers found that hyperlocal conditions appear to play a b…
New ways to protect crops by targeting pathogen weaknesses
Scientists from the Biosciences Department at Durham University have outlined possible new approaches to protecting crops from devastating diseases by finding common weaknesses in…
NASA’s Machines for Mars Make Beer Bubbly
Carbon-capture technology repurposed for breweries spreads and finds new applications
Mistletoe berry glue bonds even nonstick Teflon and can be reactivated with heat
Mistletoe is best known from winter traditions as a symbol of luck and affection. For trees, however, the hemiparasitic plant can be a burden: It draws water and nutrients from it…
Practicing for Safe Landings on the Moon and Beyond
In this Aug. 27, 2026, image, an Alta-X drone flies an advanced guidance and navigation system known as the Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) e…
Supernova or black hole: Neutrino 'flavor' may determine the fate of dying stars
As a star nears the end of its life, it faces two very different fates: It can explode as a supernova, leaving behind a neutron star, or collapse and become a black hole. What det…