Predictive framework for 2D materials puts low-cost, printable electronics on the horizon
Imagine wearable health sensors, smart packaging, flexible displays, or disposable IoT controllers all manufactured like printed newspapers. The same technology could underpin communication circuits, sensors, and signal-processing components made entirely from solution-processed 2D materials. ⌘ Read more

Yuletide kissers, smooch without guilt: Research suggests your mistletoe didn’t harm its tree host
If mistletoe’s status as a nutrient-stealing freeloader has been cooling your holiday ardor, new research led by an Oregon State University scientist may help relight the fire. ⌘ Read more

Why SpaceX IPO plan is generating so much buzz
More than 20 years after founding SpaceX, the record-breaking company that transformed the global space industry, Elon Musk is planning to take the enterprise public. ⌘ Read more

Florida leads nation in cuts to environmental protection jobs, report says
Florida has cut more environmental protection jobs than any other state in the past 15 years, despite the challenges posed by increasingly intense hurricanes and sea level rise, according to a newly released national report. ⌘ Read more

Songbirds swap colorful plumage genes across species lines among their evolutionary neighbors
People typically think about evolution as a linear process where, within a species, the classic adage of “survival of the fittest” is constantly at play. New DNA mutations arise and get passed from parents to offspring. If any genetic changes prove to be beneficial, they might give those young a survival edge. ⌘ Read more

Laughing about science more important than ever: Ig Nobel founder
With science increasingly coming under attack, using humor as a way to get people interested in scientific research is more important than ever, the founder of the satirical Ig Nobel prizes said. ⌘ Read more

Indonesia floods were ‘extinction level’ for rare orangutans
Indonesia’s deadly flooding was an “extinction-level disturbance” for the world’s rarest great ape, the tapanuli orangutan, causing catastrophic damage to its habitat and survival prospects, scientists warned on Friday. ⌘ Read more

A 6.7 magnitude earthquake causes small tsunami waves off northeastern Japan
A 6.7 magnitude earthquake shook northeastern Japan and caused small tsunami waves but no apparent damage Friday, days after a stronger quake in the same region. ⌘ Read more

Conservationists connect with chimps in a Ugandan rainforest as they seek a sense of communion
The man tracking chimpanzee movements in a rainforest is required to follow the primates wherever they go—except up in the trees. ⌘ Read more

Almost 60% of pupils accidentally stumble on unverified Holocaust content on social media
Experts at UCL have raised concerns about online misinformation after new research found that over half of pupils have unintentionally encountered Holocaust-related content on social media. ⌘ Read more

The problem with the school smartphone debate
Amid concern about student screen time and mental health, new research indicates that most U.S. public schools already have policies regulating the use of smartphones in class. ⌘ Read more

Fungal allies arm plant roots against disease by rewriting the rules of infection
Scientists have discovered that beneficial root-dwelling fungi boost plant resilience to disease by remodeling the plant cell membrane at pathogen infection sites—offering critical new insights into how plants coordinate defenses in complex natural environments. ⌘ Read more

Politicians bank on people not caring about democracy—but research shows we do
Across the world, democracies are grappling with a widening gap between citizens and those who govern. Australia is no exception. ⌘ Read more

‘Artificial intelligence’ myths have existed for centuries—from the ancient Greeks to a Pope’s chatbot
It seems the AI hype has turned into an AI bubble. There have been many bubbles before, from the Tulip mania of the 17th century to the derivatives bubble of the 21st century. For many commentators, the most relevant precedent today is the dotcom bubble of the 1990s. Back then, a new technology (the World Wide Web) unleashed a wave of “irrational exuberance.” Investors poured billions … ⌘ Read more

From violence to sexism, the manosphere is doing real-world harm
There’s a lot of debate around the extent to which the manosphere is playing out in young people’s lives and relationships. ⌘ Read more

How to handle teen ‘big feelings’ as the social media ban kicks in
Watching your teenager grieve the loss of their social media account can be confronting. Many are genuinely distressed or struggling with the change, and many parents are unsure how to respond. ⌘ Read more

Twisting spins: Researchers explore chemical boundaries to create new magnetic material
Florida State University researchers have created a new crystalline material with unusual magnetic patterns that could be used for breakthroughs in data storage and quantum technologies. ⌘ Read more

More focus is needed on childhood sexual abuse to combat Australia’s suicide problem
One person dies from suicide every 40 seconds, according to the World Health Organization. ⌘ Read more

Why global environmental negotiations keep failing—and what we can do about it
In the past year alone, four major environmental negotiations have collapsed. ⌘ Read more

The solution to finding an atmosphere on TRAPPIST-1 e
The hunt is on for terrestrial exoplanets in habitable zones, and some of the most promising candidates were discovered almost a decade ago about 40 light-years from Earth. The TRAPPIST-1 system contains seven terrestrial planets similar to Earth, and four of them may be in the habitable zone. The star is a dim red dwarf, so the habitable zone is close to the star, and so are the planets. For that reason, astronomers expect them to be tidally-locked t … ⌘ Read more

Astronomers challenge 50-year-old quasar law
Compelling evidence that the structure of matter surrounding supermassive black holes has changed over cosmic time has been uncovered by an international team of astronomers. ⌘ Read more

Ear piercings marked one of the earliest Maya rites of passage, research shows
In a recent study, Ph.D. candidate Yasmine Flynn-Arajdal studied iconographic representations of children in the Classic (ca. 250–950 AD) and Post-classic (ca. 950–1539 AD) imagery, as well as in ethnohistoric and ethnographic literature, to determine the importance of ear ornaments in Maya childhood and by what age they were received. ⌘ Read more

A new species of tiny orange frog discovered in Brazil’s cloud forests
Despite the vast numbers of animal species already identified, the natural world is still capable of springing a few surprises. Deep in the cloud forests of the Serra do Quiriri mountain range in the southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest, an international team of scientists has discovered an entirely new species of tiny frog, named Brachycephalus lulai. ⌘ Read more

Child sexual exploitation, abuse online surges amid rapid tech change: New tool for preventing abuse unveiled
Societal and behavioral shifts, including growing recognition of children displaying harmful sexual behaviors and links to extremism, violence and financial scams are driving child sexual exploitation and abuse online, according to a new report. ⌘ Read more

Canary Islands may be ‘missing link’ in global sea urchin killer pandemic
Sea urchins are ecosystem engineers, the marine equivalent of mega-herbivores on land. By grazing and shredding seaweed and seagrass, they control algal growth and promote the survival of slow-growing organisms like corals and some calcifying algae. They are likewise prey for a plethora of marine mammals, fish, crustaceans, and sea stars. ⌘ Read more

Roman urbanism was bad for health, new study confirms
Analysis of skeletal remains from England before and during Roman occupation confirms theories that the population’s health declined under Roman occupation, but only in the urban centers, suggesting pre-Roman traditions continued in rural parts of Roman Britain while those in cities suffered long-term consequences. ⌘ Read more

New iron telluride thin film achieves superconductivity for quantum computer chips
If quantum computing is going to become an every-day reality, we need better superconducting thin films, the hardware that enables storage and processing of quantum information. Too often, these thin films have impurities or other defects that make them useless for real quantum computer chips. ⌘ Read more

Fossils reveal sea cows have engineered Arabian Gulf’s seagrass ecosystems for over 20 million years
Today, the Arabian Gulf is home to manatee-like marine mammals called dugongs that shape the seafloor as they graze on seagrasses. A newly described fossil site in Qatar reveals that ancient sea cows engineered aquatic ecosystems in a similar way more than 20 million years ago. ⌘ Read more

Rage bait: The psychology behind social media’s angriest posts
“Rage bait” has been named the word of the year by the Oxford University Press. It means social media content that is designed to create a strong and negative reaction. ⌘ Read more

Will Scotland’s planned four-day week for teachers work?
The Scottish government recently announced plans to pilot a four-day school week. The proposal comes amid growing concerns about teacher supply and well-being. ⌘ Read more

Adult female bark spiders produce superior and tougher silk than males do
Dragline silk or major ampullate (MA) silk, the part of a spider’s web that forms the main frame and spokes, is one of the toughest materials known to science. That is, it can absorb massive amounts of energy from a sudden impact without breaking, outperforming most other natural materials and synthetic materials we’ve created, such as steel and Kevlar. ⌘ Read more

How oxygen first reached Earth’s oceans
For roughly 2 billion years of Earth’s early history, the atmosphere contained no oxygen, the essential ingredient required for complex life. Oxygen began building up during the period known as the Great Oxidation Event (GOE), but when and how it first entered the oceans has remained uncertain. ⌘ Read more

Primed to burn: What’s behind the intense, sudden fires burning across New South Wales and Tasmania?
Dozens of bushfires raged over the weekend as far afield as the mid-north coast of New South Wales and Tasmania’s east coast. A NSW firefighter tragically lost his life, 16 homes burned down in the NSW town of Koolewong and four in Bulahdelah, and another 19 burned down in Tasmania’s Dolphin Sands. ⌘ Read more

Black hole ejects matter at 20% light speed in sun-like magnetic event
An international team of astronomers, led by SRON, has observed a sudden outburst of matter near the supermassive black hole NGC 3783 at speeds reaching up to 20% of the speed of light. During a 10-day observation, mainly with the XRISM space telescope, the researchers witnessed its formation and acceleration. Scientists often find that these outbursts are powered by strong radiation, but this time the most likely cause is a sudden … ⌘ Read more

Gen Z is burning out at work more than any other generation. Here’s why and what can be done
Gen Z workers are reporting some of the highest burnout levels ever recorded, with new research suggesting they are buckling under unprecedented levels of stress. ⌘ Read more

A new nuclear ‘island’ where magic numbers break down
For decades, nuclear physicists believed that “Islands of Inversion”—regions where the normal rules of nuclear structure suddenly break down—were found mostly in neutron-rich isotopes. In these unusual pockets of the nuclear chart, magic numbers disappear, spherical shapes collapse, and nuclei unexpectedly transform into strongly deformed objects. So far, all such islands have been exotic nuclei such as beryllium-12 (N = 8), magnesium-32 (N = 20), and chromiu … ⌘ Read more

DNA nanostructures get an ionic ‘protective suit’ for harsh biological environments
DNA nanostructures are exciting new biomedical tools with myriad potential in treatment, diagnosis and disease prevention. Made of folded DNA, these nanostructures are highly programmable and have been used in bioengineering professor Xing Wang’s lab before for virus rapid detection tests, potent inhibition and targeted cancer drug delivery. ⌘ Read more

When climate risk hits home, people listen: Local details can enhance disaster preparedness messaging
A subtle change in how climate risk is communicated—mentioning a person’s local area—can significantly increase attention to disaster preparedness messages, according to a new study by researchers at the Stockholm School of Economics and Harvard University, published in Nature Human Behaviour. The findings offer a practical, low-cost strategy for governments, insurers and local authorities seeking … ⌘ Read more

A sound defense: Noisy pupae puff away potential predators
Insect pupae hiss like snakes for defense. A Kobe University team now reveals the mechanisms, opening the door to further studies involving predator reactions to defensive sounds. ⌘ Read more

Study measuring impacts of deep-sea mining machine finds abundance of animals at the site decreased by 37%
A new report reveals the results of a study exploring biodiversity in a region targeted for seabed mining—capturing baseline data, tracking natural changes and assessing the impacts of a polymetallic nodule mining machine. This represents the largest study of the impacts of deep-sea mining on seafloor animals. ⌘ Read more

Spain probes five labs in hunt for source of swine fever
Spanish authorities said Saturday they are investigating five laboratories in an effort to find the source of an African swine fever outbreak that has unnerved Europe’s leading pork-producing nation. ⌘ Read more

Sri Lanka unveils cyclone aid plan as rains persist
Disaster-hit Sri Lanka has unveiled a major compensation package to rebuild homes damaged by a deadly cyclone, even as the island prepared on Saturday for further landslides and flooding. ⌘ Read more

Sick ant pupae emit chemical signals to prompt their own destruction
Sick young ants release a smell to tell worker ants to destroy them to protect the colony from infection, scientists said Tuesday, adding that queens do not seem to commit this act of self-sacrifice. ⌘ Read more

Ghostwriters, polo shirts, and the fall of a landmark pesticide study
A flagship study that declared the weedkiller Roundup posed no serious health risks has been retracted with little fanfare, ending a 25-year saga that exposed how corporate interests can distort scientific research and influence government decision-making. ⌘ Read more

AI can dramatically speed up digitizing natural history collections
A new study from UNC-Chapel Hill researchers shows that advanced artificial intelligence tools, specifically large language models (LLMs), can accurately determine the locations where plant specimens were originally collected, a process known as georeferencing. ⌘ Read more

Probing the existence of a fifth force via neutron star cooling
Neutron stars are ultra-dense star remnants made up primarily of nucleons (i.e., protons and neutrons). Over the course of millions of years, these stars progressively cool down, radiating heat into space. ⌘ Read more

Extremely rare ‘dinosaur mummy’ makes its way to Minnesota for study
The fossil called “Medusa” could be a dinosaur mummy—the remains of an Edmontosaurus about 66 million years old that researchers believe contains a significant amount of skin and tendon tissue. ⌘ Read more

Italy to open Europe’s first marine sanctuary for dolphins
The Mediterranean’s first sanctuary for dolphins that have lived in captivity will open off Italy next year, as demand for re-homing rises with the closure of marine parks across Europe. ⌘ Read more

A new jaguar spotted in Arizona points to progress in the endangered species’ recovery
The spots gave it away. Just like a human fingerprint, the rosette pattern on each jaguar is unique so researchers knew they had a new animal on their hands after reviewing images captured by a remote camera in southern Arizona. ⌘ Read more

A brown pelican ‘feeding frenzy’ is an encouraging sign for the often-struggling large seabirds
On a jagged coastline in Central California, brown pelicans gather on rock promontories, packed in like edgy commuters as they take flight to feed on a vast school of fish just offshore. The water churns in whitecaps as the big-billed birds plunge beneath the surface in search of northern anchovies, Pacific sardines and mackerel. ⌘ Read more