Today's Science News

October 11, 2024

Weather Forecasting Is Deadly for Marine Wildlife - On a fall day in 2023, a juvenile Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross was lying listless in southeastern Brazil’s Santos Basin.

Gravitational waves and fast radio bursts: it started as a thought experiment - This week Professor Matthew Bailes won the Prime Minister’s 2024 Prize for Science for his ground-breaking work on gravitational waves and fast radio bursts.

pH-Engineered Venom-Fighting Antibodies - A combinatorial approach enabled researchers to develop antibodies with improved catch-and-release abilities against snake venom toxins.

Breakdancers may risk ‘headspin hole’ caused by repetitive headspins, doctors warn - Breakdancers risk developing unique scalp issues, like ‘breakdance bulge,’ due to headspins, necessitating recognition and possible surgical treatment.

Flurry or spiral? Snowflake falls influence forecasts - The motion of falling snowflakes can be used to help predict precipitation, according to a new study.

Satellites are Tracking the Ongoing Sea Level Rise Swamping Pacific Island Nations - The small island nations of the South Pacific are facing the harsh reality of sea level rise.

October 10, 2024

Can Ecstasy Save a Marriage? - A new wave of experimental therapy is enlisting MDMA in relationship counseling.

Breakdancer’s “headspin hole” fixed with surgery - A breakdancer who had been headspinning for more than 19 years developed a growth on his scalp that needed surgical removal.

Breakdancers at risk for “headspin hole,” doctors warn - Headspin power move is showy but can lead to hair loss, inflammation, and bulging scalp.

Man developed a 'headspin hole' after years of breakdancing, case report says - Doctors describe "breakdance bulge," a unique head injury among dancers, in a new case report.

In a rare disclosure, the Pentagon provides an update on the X-37B spaceplane - "This first of a kind maneuver from the X-37B is an incredibly important milestone."

Gaia space telescope discovers 55 'runaway' careening away from stellar cluster at 80 times the speed of sound - Using the Gaia space telescope, astronomers have observed 55 massive stars ejected from their home star cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud at speeds equivalent to 80 times the speed of sound.

Why Hurricane Milton Caused So Many Tornadoes - As Hurricane Milton barreled across Florida, it triggered dozens of tornadoes.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot is being squeezed, Hubble Telescope finds — and nobody knows why (video) - The Hubble Space Telescope has seen Jupiter's Great Red Spot oscillating in width as it drifts around the planet.

Sail Along with NASA’s Solar Sail Tech Demo in Real-Time Simulation - NASA invites the public to virtually sail along with the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System‘s space journey using NASA’s “Eyes on the Solar System” visualization tool, a digital model of the solar system.

Exoplanet Discovered in a Binary System Could Explain Why Red Dwarfs Form Massive Planets - In recent years, the number of known extrasolar planets (aka.

Igniting Inspiration: Jennifer Becerra’s STEM Legacy at Johnson - Jennifer Becerra has nearly three decades of experience in education, both in the classroom and within the NASA community.

Parasitic worms cause terrible diseases — could the viruses they carry be to blame? - Roundworms harbor viruses, which could be responsible for these parasites' painful symptoms in humans, scientists theorize.

Nihilism with a Purpose - Rachel Kushner’s Creation Lake reveals why politics won't save us.

NASA Awards Aerospace Research, Technology, and Simulations Contract - NASA has selected Metis Technology Solutions Inc. of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to provide engineering services as well as develop and maintain software and

Hopes dim for another bright October comet after Tsuchinshan-ATLAS - There's been talk of another spectacular comet putting on a show in our sky after Tsuchinshan-ATLAS.

NASA Highlights Low Earth Orbit, Sustainability at Space Conference - NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy will lead the agency’s delegation at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) from

Work to focus on engaging communities during the energy transition - Chris Gibson is a Senior Professor in the School of Geography and Sustainable Communities at the University of Wollongong.

Solar storm bombarding Earth now may reach 'extreme' levels, sparking auroras down to Alabama and straining hurricane-weakened power grids - A severe solar storm sparked by an intense flare from the sun could reach "extreme" levels as it bombards Earth, NOAA officials warned Thursday (Oct. 10).

How Reality Shapes Our Language—and Vice Versa - A conversation with UCLA philosophy professor Josh Armstrong.

Octopus Suckers Inspire New Grippy Material to Help Grab Objects - Examining the cephalopod’s sucker structure was key to its creation.

What's next for Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship rocket? - The world's most powerful rocket is expected to be back in action again soon

NASA secures Europa Clipper probe as Hurricane Milton sweeps over Kennedy Space Center (photos) - The Europa Clipper probe rode out the arrival of Hurricane Milton Oct. 9 inside a SpaceX hangar, as NASA's Kennedy Space Center experienced strong winds.

First Greenhouse Gas Plumes Detected With NASA-Designed Instrument - The imaging spectrometer aboard the Carbon Mapper Coalition’s Tanager-1 satellite identified methane and carbon dioxide plumes in the United States and internationally.

Early development is inherently 'chaotic,' new atlas of mammal embryos reveals - A new "atlas" of early embryonic development in mammals suggests that the process is highly chaotic — but there is some method to the madness.

Ring Around the Mountain - On June 10, 2023, the Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8 acquired this image of Mount Taranaki, a snow-capped mountain in New Zealand that is ringed by a dark green forest.

Monstrous Hurricane Milton captured in 4K video by new Sen cameras on ISS - New cameras aboard the International Space Station captured stunning 4k views of Hurricane Milton as it churned across the Gulf of Mexico.

Sixty Years Later, and Thalidomide Is Still With Us - Decades after FDA medical examiner Frances Oldham Kelsey stopped thalidomide from going on the market in the U.S., the legacy of the drug persists

Underwater Caves in Sicily Show Signs of Early Humans From 17,000 Years Ago - Underwater cave discovery indicates the island was likely a stepping stone for early humans to settle the Mediterranean.

Chinese astronauts zoom in on their nation's launch sites from orbit (video) - In a new video, China's Shenzhou 18 astronauts zoom in on their nation's launch sites from the Tiangong space station in low Earth orbit.

Lunar Autonomy Mobility Pathfinder: An OTPS-Sponsored Workshop - NASA's Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS), is hosting a Lunar Autonomy Mobility Pathfinder (LAMP) workshop on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, to

Underwater caves yield new clues about Sicily’s first residents - Researchers at Washington University identify vital archaeological sites in southern Sicily, shedding light on early human migrants' colonization patterns.

A look into 'mirror molecules' may lead to new medicines - A University of Texas at Dallas chemist and his colleagues have developed a new chemical reaction that will allow researchers to synthesize selectively the left-handed or right-handed versions of "mirror molecules" found in nature and assess them for potential use against cancer, infection, depression, inflammation and a host of other conditions.

Post-Prime Day telescope deal: 34% off the Celestron NexStar 4SE - The Celestron NexStar 4SE is one of the best telescopes on the market and now it's at its lowest price in years, 34% off post-Prime Day.

Kathryn Sullivan: The First American Woman to Walk in Space - Forty years ago, in October 1984, Kathryn D. Sullivan became the first American woman to walk in space.

Flooded Industrial Sites and Toxic Chemical Releases From Recent Hurricanes Are Growing Threats - "Hundreds of industrial facilities with toxic pollutants are in Hurricane Milton’s path as it heads toward Florida."

FEMA Spent Nearly Half Its Disaster Budget in Just 8 Days with Hurricane Helene - Without more funding, FEMA may be forced to restrict spending and suspend rebuilding projects

Does Distant Planet Host Volcanic Moon Like Jupiter’s Io? - The existence of a moon located outside our solar system has never been confirmed but a new NASA-led study may provide indirect evidence for one.

Google's Sycamore quantum computer chip can now outperform the fastest supercomputers, new study suggests - Experiments on Google's 67-qubit Sycamore processor showed operations entering a new "weak noise phase" in which calculations were complex enough to outperform supercomputers, based on benchmark testing.

Toothbrushes and showerheads are teeming with viruses unknown to science, study shows - Scientists identified more than 600 viruses in samples taken from bathrooms in the United States.

Researchers regulate microenvironment in boron-imidazolate frameworks to enhance CO₂ electroreduction to C₂H₄ - Crystalline boron imidazolate frameworks (BIFs) are a lightweight zeolite-like metal-organic framework (MOF) developed to simulate the zeolite molecular sieve structure.

How Heat Death Threatens Earth, Even If We Achieve Net Zero - And why other civilizations might already have suffered the same fate.

What's inside the moon? Gravity measurements suggest a layer of molten rock - In between the moon's solid core and external surface may swirl a partially molten layer of rock.

Watch atoms fuse into world's 'smallest bubble' of water in 1st-of-its-kind 'nanoscale' video - A new study captured never-before-seen footage of hydrogen and oxygen atoms combining to form a miniature water droplet out of "thin air."

Uncrackable: Scorpions and sponges inspire sustainable design - Humans are by no means alone in the search for more sustainable materials.

Misinformation: how the printing press fuelled witch trials - The printing press – and a particular manual it printed – played a big role in early modern witch trials, according to a fascinating new study.

Hurry! These Prime Day science deals are still live today - Act fast and save big on fitness trackers from Garmin, Samsung, and Fitbit with these anti-Prime Day deals.

Hurricane Milton is tied for the fastest-forming Category 5 hurricane on record. It could become the new normal. - Hurricane Milton captured by NASA's GOES-East satellite as it made landfall on Florida's west coast.

Loss of lake ice has wide-ranging environmental and societal consequences - The world's freshwater lakes are freezing over for shorter periods of time due to climate change.

How a bunch of seemingly disorganized cells go on to form a robust embryo - Embryo development starts when a single egg cell is fertilized and starts dividing continuously.

DAILY DOSE: Hurricane Milton Strikes Florida Leaving Widespread Destruction; Climate change making hurricanes stronger. - Hurricane Milton struck Florida as a Category 3 storm, causing destruction and power outages while intensifying to Category 5 earlier.

Scientists discover bright 'sungrazer' comet that could be visible with the naked eye this month — after Tsuchinshan–ATLAS - Newfound comet C/2024 S1 will light up Earth's skies in late October before a super close slingshot around the sun.

Innovative approach to catalytic alkane activation offers new chemical pathways - Researchers at Hokkaido University in Japan have made a significant breakthrough in organic chemistry by developing a novel method to activate alkanes, which are compounds that play a crucial role in the chemical industry.

What Is Hurricane Storm Surge, and Why Can It Be So Catastrophic? - Storm surge can push water levels well above normal sea level during a hurricane.

How Can Math Help Beat Cancer? - Cancer treatment has come a long way in recent decades.

Scientists Are Still Pondering These Mysteries of the Moon - Studying the Moon uncovers Earth's hidden history, offering a preserved record of events long erased from our planet.

Mercury Emissions Are In Decline Yet Doomsday Prophets Claim They Are Up - If you read environmental groups, we are closer to our doom than ever.

A stiff material that stops vibrations and noise - Materials researchers have created a new composite material that combines two incompatible properties: stiff yet with a high damping capacity.

Spectroscopy study determines how catalysts remove dangerous nitrogen oxides - Catalysts belonging to the zeolite family help to remove toxic nitrogen oxides from industrial emissions.

Most Mars Meteorites Came From Five Craters - We've learned a tremendous amount about Mars because samples from the Red Planet have already been delivered to Earth: meteorites.

NASA Reveals the Mind-Boggling Scale of Hurricane Milton seen from Space - We often talk about Jupiter’s Great Red Spot quite candidly but forget that hurricanes can be devastating, destructive forces here on Earth.

The ‘Stable Marriage Problem’ Solution Underpins Dating Apps and School Admissions - An elegant matchmaking algorithm called Gale-Shapley can find the best possible pairings for everybody

2024 Election Will Define America’s Stance on Immigration, with Consequences for Science and Technology - Both presidential candidates would restrict immigration but Donald Trump would try to implement an extreme anti-immigrant agenda

In 2024, bird flu posed big risks ­— and to far more than birds - Cows, elephant seals and polar bears are among unexpected bird flu casualties.

Can furry pets get H5N1 bird flu and spread it to us? - The 2024 pandemic-style bird flu circulating in birds has shown up in cats and other pet species.

Predatory birds from the same fossil formation as SUE the T. rex - Scientists have identified two new predatory bird species from foot bones in the Hell Creek Formation, enhancing knowledge of ancient ecosystems.

A New Way to Detect Rocky Exoplanet Atmospheres - The total number of exoplanets discovered to date totals 5,288.

Inspired by Spider-Man, researchers recreate web-slinging technology - Every kid who has read a comic book or watched a Spider-Man movie has tried to imagine what it would be like to shoot a web from their wrist, fly over streets, and pin down villains.

Evidence of Assyrians' conquest of Holy Land discovered in Jerusalem - The discovery of a building that the Assyrians likely tore down in the eighth century B.C.

How Did Mars Become Uninhabitable? - Mars has captured our imagination for centuries.

Barnacle-inspired polymers could present new way to design antibiotics, researchers say - Scientific literature has shown that barnacles that cling to rocks at the seashore use naturally occurring chemicals to clear rock surfaces of bacteria in preparation for laying down their sticky "glue."

The changing geography of “energy poverty” - An MIT study reveals increasing energy burdens in southern U.S. households due to climate change, while federal aid distribution lags behind these trends.

The Salty, Sun-Dried Shrimp Paste That Tastes Like Home - Our dungi, a six-meter-long dugout canoe, chugs mechanically along the western coastline of India’s North Andaman island.

Why people think they’re right, even when they are wrong - If you smugly believe you’re right in a disagreement with a friend or colleague, a new study suggests why you may actually be wrong.

Pioneering work in proteins recognised with Nobel Prize in Chemistry - A trio of scientists have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their groundbreaking work using computing and artificial intelligence to unlock the secrets of protein structure.

Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems - Whether it's battling tumors or breaking down plastic, American scientist David Baker, co-recipient of this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry, has an answer: engineering proteins that don't naturally exist—a concept once dismissed as "crazy."

Why Timing Matters When Taking Medicines - Human liver cells follow their own circadian rhythms, which regulate drug metabolism and infection.

Herbicide halt: chlorthal dimethyl, Dacthal, cancelled by AVPMA - The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) has announced the immediate cancellation of the controversial herbicide chlorthal dimethyl, also known as Dacthal or DCPA.

Researchers discover new insights into bacterial photosynthesis - Researchers unveil detailed structures of bacterial photosynthetic proteins, enhancing understanding of energy conversion and potential clean energy applications.

Explorer Shackleton’s lost ship as never seen before - A new 3D scan shows Endurance exactly as it is 3,000m down in Antarctica’s icy waters.

Wildlife numbers fall by 73% in 50 years, global stocktake finds - Global wildlife populations have shrunk by an average of 73% in the past 50 years, data shows.

Fossils and fires: Insights into early modern human activity in the jungles of Southeast Asia - Studying microscopic layers of dirt dug from the Tam Pa Ling cave site in northeastern Laos has provided a team of archaeologists further insights into some of the earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in mainland Southeast Asia.

October 9, 2024

NASA’s Hubble watches Jupiter’s Great Red Spot behave like a stress ball - Hubble's new observations reveal Jupiter's Great Red Spot oscillates in size and motion, challenging previous assumptions about its stability and dynamics.

Step aside Little Mermaid: Uranus moon reveals possible sub-surface ocean - Evidence is mounting that Uranus moon Ariel may be the latest world found to have, or once have had, a subsurface ocean, scientists have revealed at a meeting in Idaho in the US today.

The Marshall Star for October 9, 2024 - By Rick Smith

The new fashion: Clothes that help combat rising temperatures - A team of international researchers has developed a natural fabric that urban residents could wear to counter rising temperatures in cities worldwide, caused by buildings, asphalt, and concrete.

Inspired by Spider-Man, a lab recreates web-slinging technology - Researchers took the imaginary scenes from Spider-Man seriously and created the first web-slinging technology in which a fluid material can shoot from a needle, immediately solidify as a string, and adhere to and lift objects.

Rapid analysis finds climate change’s fingerprint on Hurricane Helene - 1.3° C of warming means rainfall like this may now be expected every 70 years.

Drug makers can’t make knockoff weight-loss drugs anymore—and they’re mad - Compounding pharmacies could make knockoffs during shortage.

'Severe' solar storm that hit Earth Thursday could be 'global phenomenon' with auroras as far south as California - A powerful solar outburst hit Earth Thursday, triggering a "severe" geomagnetic storm.

A gun safety paradox: Study finds some precautions linked to riskier storage practices - Rutgers Health's study finds parents teaching firearm handling often store loaded guns unsafely, increasing risks of child firearm injuries.

7 of the World’s Strangest Plants - These plants feature some seriously funky adaptations.

Predicting and designing protein structures wins a 2024 Nobel Prize - A biochemist and two computer scientists using AI shared the top award in chemistry.

Carbon storage gets thorough scrutiny in the Otways - In a field 40km down the road from Warrnambool in Western Victoria, scientists are beginning the next stage of a long-term carbon storage project.

Octopus suckers inspire new tech for gripping objects underwater - New adhesive system could be powerful tool for underwater salvage, rescue operations.

Hurricane Milton Reveals the Physical and Psychological Challenges of Evacuations - As Hurricane Milton approaches Florida, people in recently storm-stricken areas grapple with the physical and mental health tolls of evacuating and seeking shelter

NASA's Hubble watches Jupiter's Great Red Spot behave like a stress ball - Astronomers have observed Jupiter's legendary Great Red Spot (GRS), an anticyclone large enough to swallow Earth, for at least 150 years.

Hurricane Milton Slams into Florida as a Category 3 Storm - Hurricane Milton hit Florida as a major storm, bringing devastating storm surge and rainfall to the state

2024 Chemistry Nobel Awarded for Cracking the Secret Code of Proteins - The Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to biochemist David Baker, and Google DeepMind scientists Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, for predicting protein shapes and functions— and for creating entirely new ones that can improve health and the environment

Nobel Prize in Chemistry for Work on Proteins - David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John Jumper share this year’s Chemistry award for their research on protein design and structure prediction.

Treatments for Acne and Rosacea Pose Potential Cancer Risk When Improperly Stored - Researchers found that topical treatment products containing benzoyl peroxide can degrade into the carcinogen benzene if improperly transported or stored.

Google identifies low noise “phase transition” in its quantum processor - Benchmark may help us understand how quantum computers can operate with low error.

Novel detection technology alerts health risks from TNT metabolites - Recently, a research group from the Hefei lnstitutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed an approach that can facilitate rapid detection of both positive and negative ions of four toxic metabolites derived from 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), allowing for the detection of residual metabolites in the human body and providing valuable health warnings.

Unveiling a new technique for preparing ionic liquid-based membranes for mixture separation - Separating mixtures into their constituent substances is essential in many fields.

Low-temperature synthesis technique uses upcycled textile waste to create green, safe waterproof coating - A new technique could create waterproof coatings for clothes from discarded textiles—far safer for humans and the environment than current coatings, which are typically made with harsh chemicals and carcinogens.

75 Years Ago, Physicists Discovered 'Magic Numbers' of Protons and Neutrons in Stable Atoms - "The word magic is not often used in the context of science.

Mama bear beats rival who killed her cub to win Fat Bear Week - The brown bear, named 128 Grazer, also defeated her rival, Chunk, last year to win the title.

NOAA drops scientist’s ashes into the eye of Category 5 Milton - Hurricane hunter Peter Dodge's last flight into the storms he spent his life studying.

Hurricane Milton Will Turn Helene’s Debris into Lethal Projectiles in Florida - Florida is scrambling to clear storm-damaged areas before Hurricane Milton makes landfall

Protein structure and design software gets the Chemistry Nobel - One academic and two people from DeepMind take home the Nobel.

Underwater caves yield new clues about Sicily's first residents - Archaeological surveys suggest that coastal and underwater cave sites in southern Sicily contain important new clues about the path and fate of early human migrants to the island.

Newly discovered Late Cretaceous birds may have carried heavy prey like extant raptors - Newly discovered birds from Late Cretaceous North America were hawk-sized and had powerful raptor-like feet, according to a new study.

The ‘Beautiful Confusion’ of the First Billion Years Comes Into View - Astronomers are reveling in the James Webb Space Telescope’s discoveries about the formative epoch of cosmic history.

Did the physics Nobel committee get swept up in the AI hype? - The worlds of physics and computer science are abuzz as this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics has gone to two trailblazers in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies.

Vizgen and Ultivue Merge to Enable Deeper Insights into Disease Mechanisms and Drive Innovation in Spatial Multi-Omics - Combined single-cell spatial genomics and multiplex proteomic profiling technologies position merged company to accelerate discoveries in foundational and clinical research

Why Wildfires Started by Human Activities Can Be More Destructive and Harder To Contain - Heavy equipment working near dry brush sparked a destructive wildfire near Riverside, Calif., in September 2024.

What are proteins again? Nobel-winning chemistry explained - The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded on Wednesday to three scientists who have help unravel some of the enduring secrets of proteins, the building blocks of life.

Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs - The winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work revealing the secrets of proteins through artificial intelligence said Wednesday they hoped their research would "open the door to many incredible scientific breakthroughs".

Viruses in bathrooms “absolutely wild” - Your closest biodiversity hotspot could be found no further than the bathroom.

Good News. Comet Encke Only Threw a Handful of Giant Space Rocks in our Direction - As comets travel along their orbit they dump material along the way.

How Different Stars Affect the Habitability of Their Planets - Earth resides within the sun's habitable zone, ensuring our planet sustains life.

Reprogramming wood-degrading mushroom enzymes for the biorecycling of plastic - Plastic pollution is ubiquitous in the environment and managing plastic waste is a global problem.

Do fungi recognize shapes? - Fungi don't have eyes or a brain, but their intelligent behaviors may surprise you.

Viruses are teeming on your toothbrush, showerhead - Microbiologists found that showerheads and toothbrushes are teeming with an extremely diverse collection of viruses -- most of which have never been seen before.

Adding vagus nerve stimulation to training sessions may boost how well sounds are perceived - Just as a musician can train to more sharply distinguish subtle differences in pitch, mammals can improve their ability to interpret hearing, vision, and other senses with practice.

Demis Hassabis, from chess prodigy to Nobel-winning AI pioneer - Long before Demis Hassabis pioneered artificial intelligence techniques to earn a Nobel prize, he was a master of board games.

NASA Announces a New Class of Space Missions: Probe Explorers - NASA has sent a whole host of spacecraft across the Solar System and even beyond.

Study probes how eating less can extend lifespan - Researchers tracked the health of nearly one thousand mice on a variety of diets to see if these diets would extend the mice's lifespan.

Ultra-sensitive robotic 'finger' can take patient pulses, check for lumps - Researchers have developed a soft robotic 'finger' with a sophisticated sense of touch that can perform routine doctor office examinations, including taking a patient's pulse and checking for abnormal lumps.

Over 160,000 new viruses discovered by AI - 161,979 new RNA viruses have been discovered using a machine learning tool that researchers believe will vastly improve the mapping of life on Earth and could aid in the identification of many millions more viruses yet to be characterized.

A matter of taste: Electronic tongue reveals AI 'inner thoughts' - Researchers recently developed electronic tongue capable of identifying differences in similar liquids, such as milk with varying water content; diverse products, including soda types and coffee blends; signs of spoilage in fruit juices; and instances of food safety concerns.

Another step towards decoding smell - We often only realize how important our sense of smell is when it is no longer there: food is not as tasty as it once was, or we no longer react to dangers such as the smell of smoke.

Uncovering the Secrets Behind Hummingbirds' Extreme Lifestyle - Here's how the aerial acrobats are able to survive on a nearly all-sugar diet, fly higher than many helicopters can and migrate over the open ocean

Whooping Cough Is Spreading, and You Might Need a Vaccine Booster - Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is on the rise after a lull at the beginning of the COVID pandemic

How Mars became uninhabitable: Curiosity investigates - NASA’s Curiosity rover has found new details in Mars’s Gale crater which helps explain how the Red Planet went from one with a climate with liquid water to the inhospitable place it is today.

We’re finally going to the Solar System’s most intriguing but unexplored frontier - If you've been waiting for a real mission of discovery into the unknown, this is it.

Researchers discover atomic-level mechanism in polycrystalline materials - Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and other international institutions have for the first time achieved atomic-scale observations of grain rotation in polycrystalline materials.

Chirality determines the strength of a coupling between nuclear spins, study finds - The strength of a coupling between nuclear spins depends on chirality, or handedness, of the molecule, according to a new study by researchers at UCLA, Arizona State University, Penn State, MIT and Technische Universität Dresden.

Can Overpriced Peaches Convince Us That Fukushima Is Safe? - Years after a nuclear disaster wiped out Fukushima’s agriculture, peach growers are banking on Harrods to sell the area’s recovery story

A Century-Old Question Is Still Revealing Answers in Fundamental Math - Mathematicians have made lots of recent progress on a question called the Mordell conjecture, which was posed a century ago

Africa must champion HIV response to secure success - Africa must take ownership of its HIV response by prioritising domestic funding, research and innovation.

Explainer: What is generative AI? - New bots are emerging all the time that can create — at your direction — images, computer code, articles, ads, songs and more.

ChatGPT and other AI tools are full of hidden racial biases - In tests, AI programs would recommend people who use African American English for less prestigious jobs and harsher punishments for serious crime.

Understanding the High Winds and Drastic Downpours of the 2024 Hurricane Season - Downpours from hurricanes are worsening—and leaving even “climate havens” vulnerable.

Google DeepMind boss wins Nobel for proteins breakthrough - Three scientists share the prize for their revolutionary work on proteins, the buildings blocks of life.