The housing crisis is forcing Americans to choose between affordability and safety
Picture this: You’re looking to buy a place to live, and you have two options. ⌘ Read more

TikTok still delivering self-harm and suicidal content in France, research finds
Within five minutes of joining TikTok, the French “teens” watched a video expressing sadness. ⌘ Read more

More access to nature data does not guarantee responsible use policies
Norwegian municipalities are collecting more and more data on how what they do affects the natural world, but do not always know what to do with it. They wade in green facts, but continue to sacrifice the environment, coloring the landscapes gray. ⌘ Read more

Jaw versatility enabled the ecological success of amniotes, paleontologists find
New research conducted by paleontologists from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (MfN) and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin reveals a burst in jaw variety in the earliest amniotes—which includes the ancestors of all reptiles, birds and mammals. The international team led by former MfN doctoral student Dr. Jasper Ponstein analyzed more than 200 fossilized jaws from periods when tetrapods first adapted to life on la … ⌘ Read more

Iron-based magnetic material achieves major reduction in core loss
A research team from NIMS, Tohoku University and AIST has developed a new technique for controlling the nanostructures and magnetic domain structures of iron-based soft amorphous ribbons, achieving more than a 50% reduction in core loss compared with the initial amorphous material. ⌘ Read more

Fullerenes could improve MRI clarity by enabling more efficient dynamic nuclear polarization
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is invaluable in the medical world. But despite all the good it does, there is room for improvement. One way to enhance the sensitivity of MRI is dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP), where target molecules for imaging are modified so they form clearer images when scanned with an MRI machine. But this technique requires special crystalline materials mixed with polarizin … ⌘ Read more

From static papers to living models: Turning limb development research into interactive science
The choreographed movements that cells perform to form complex biological shapes, like our hands, have fascinated scientists for centuries. Now, researchers at EMBL Barcelona have launched LimbNET, an open-access online platform that allows scientists to directly choreograph this dance by computationally simulating how genes guide these intricate growth processes. ⌘ Read more

Magnetism switching in antiferromagnets: Two distinct mechanisms successfully visualized
A research team led by Ryo Shimano of the University of Tokyo has successfully visualized two distinct mechanisms through which up and down spins, inherent properties of electrons, switch in an antiferromagnet, a material in which spin alignments cancel each other out. One of the visualized mechanisms provides a working principle for developing ultrafast, non-volatile magnetic memory an … ⌘ Read more

Global sports industry holds untapped potential for wildlife conservation
A recently published article in the journal BioScience has revealed a surprising opportunity for conserving threatened species: sports teams and their branding. ⌘ Read more

Sargasso Sea shift reveals dramatic decline in some historic seaweed populations
A study led by researchers at the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science has found that certain populations of the seaweed sargassum have experienced a significant decline over the past decade, even as increased abundance of sargassum in the tropical Atlantic has caused large mats of the seaweed to inundate beaches across the Caribbean and Gulf regions. ⌘ Read more

Chlorine and potassium found in supernova remnant at unexpectedly high levels
“Why are we here?” is humanity’s most fundamental and persistent question. Tracing the origins of the elements is a direct attempt to answer this at its deepest level. We know many elements are created inside stars and supernovae, which then cast them out into the universe, yet the origins of some key elements has remained a mystery. ⌘ Read more

Why protests can bring people together across political divides
How can people with diametrically opposed views suddenly stand shoulder to shoulder in protest? Researchers from Copenhagen, Oslo and Mainz have investigated this question. The starting point is the COVID protests, which were driven by three unifying strategies. ⌘ Read more

Social media algorithms target lower-income youth with risky ‘easy money’ ads, study shows
Young people with fewer financial resources, especially boys, are the most exposed to advertising about how to make easy money. So confirms a pioneering study by Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), which has for the first time analyzed how the socioeconomic level and gender of young people influences the customized advertising they receive on TikTok and Instagram. Among other data, the study reveals that the per … ⌘ Read more

Open-access platform explores epigenetic regulation of plant long non-coding RNAs
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are RNA transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides that do not code for proteins. Once considered mere transcriptional noise, lncRNAs are now known to play vital roles in plant growth, development, and responses to environmental stress. However, few studies have used epigenomic data to investigate the functions of lncRNAs in plants. ⌘ Read more

Embryos show specialized asymmetry as the earliest stage
As nearly one in six couples experience fertility issues, in-vitro fertilization (IVF) is an increasingly common form of reproductive technology. However, there are still many unanswered scientific questions about the basic biology of embryos, including the factors determining their viability, that, if resolved, could ultimately improve IVF’s success rate. ⌘ Read more

Precise catalyst design boosts hydrogen gas production efficiency and affordability
A recent advance in the science of hydrogen fuel production could enable higher output and more sustainable production of this renewable energy source, researchers with Stockholm’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology report. ⌘ Read more

X-ray imaging reveals how silicon anodes maintain contact in all-solid-state batteries
All-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) using silicon (Si) anodes are among the most promising candidates for high-energy and long-lasting power sources, particularly for electric vehicles. Si can store more lithium than conventional graphite, but its volume expands by roughly 410% during charging. This swelling generates mechanical stress that cracks particles and weakens their contact with the solid electrolyte, disr … ⌘ Read more

AI-powered vision gives meaning to wildfire chaos
How wildfires spread is more variable and unpredictable than Canada’s standard models assume, new research from UBC Okanagan data scientists shows. ⌘ Read more

Captive bottlenose dolphins vary vocalizations during enrichment activities
Dolphins produce a range of vocalizations used for echolocation and communication. These vocalizations vary with social context, environmental conditions, external stimuli, and communication, reflecting their cognitive and behavioral complexity. ⌘ Read more

Over 16,000 dinosaur footprints identified along a Bolivian shoreline
A fossil site in Bolivia preserves thousands of traces of dinosaurs who walked, ran, and swam along an ancient coastline, according to a study by Raúl Esperante of the Geoscience Research Institute, California, U.S., and colleagues. ⌘ Read more

Sperm tails and male infertility: Critical protein revealed via ultrastructure expansion microscopy
Male infertility is a major issue worldwide and its causes remain unclear. Now, an international team of researchers led by Hiroki Shibuya at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) in Japan has discovered a key structure in the germ cells of male mice, that when disturbed, leads to deformations in sperm flagellum—the tail that allows sperm to swim. ⌘ Read more

Bumble bees launch a three-stage defensive response when their nest is disturbed
Bumble bees respond to physical disturbance of their nest with a sequence of defensive behaviors that lasts up to 10 minutes, according to a study by Sajedeh Sarlak at the University of Konstanz, Germany, and colleagues. ⌘ Read more

Smart material instantly changes colors on demand for use in textiles and consumer products
Scientists have developed a revolutionary technique for creating colors that can change on command. These are structural colors that don’t rely on dyes or pigments and can be used for display signage, adaptive camouflage and smart safety labels, among other applications. ⌘ Read more

Electrical oscillations in microtubules link cytoskeleton to neuronal signaling
Researchers at UT San Antonio have uncovered new details about electrical signals happening within nerve cells, deepening scientists’ understanding of the brain. ⌘ Read more

The ship-timber beetle’s fungal partner: More than just a food source
The ship-timber beetle (Elateroides dermestoides) is a species of ambrosia beetle. Unlike many of its relatives, which are social insects that live in colonies, it is solitary and does not live with other members of its species. ⌘ Read more

Decoding how the human proteasome recognizes branched ubiquitin chains
Researchers at National Taiwan University have uncovered, for the first time at atomic resolution, how the human proteasome recognizes branched ubiquitin chains. Their finding reveals a multivalent decoding mechanism that enhances protein degradation accuracy and speed. ⌘ Read more

How to catch a comet that hasn’t been discovered yet
There’s been a lot of speculation recently about interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS—much of which is probably caused by low-quality data given that we have to observe it from either Earth, or in some cases, Mars. In either case, it’s much further away than what would be the ideal. But that might not be the case for a future interstellar object. ⌘ Read more

By hiding their faces, metal bands maximize the emotional punch of their music
In 2024, along with 20,000 others, I attended a sold-out metal show in Manchester. Unlike most concerts at the Co-op Live Arena, however, none of us in the packed-out venue knew who we were actually seeing. The band was Sleep Token—a masked and anonymous collective formed in London in 2016, now selling out arenas across the UK and the US with their distinctive blend of progressive metal, indie pop and trap. ⌘ Read more

Rich cities, broke neighbors: Study exposes metro-level wealth divide
Local governments in the United States are responsible for many of the services people rely on daily—schools, parks, public safety, and more. But the resources available to fund these services depend heavily on the amount of taxable property wealth within each city or town’s borders. And those borders, it turns out, matter a lot. ⌘ Read more

How Ramanujan’s formulae for pi connect to modern high energy physics
Most of us first hear about the irrational number π (pi)—rounded off as 3.14, with an infinite number of decimal digits—in school, where we learn about its use in the context of a circle. More recently, scientists have developed supercomputers that can estimate up to trillions of its digits. ⌘ Read more

Debris disk gallery shows tell-tale signs of asteroids and comets in distant solar systems
Observations with the instrument SPHERE at ESO’s Very Large Telescope have produced an unprecedented gallery of “debris disks” in exoplanetary systems. ⌘ Read more

A novel role for Zer1 may help cells combat neurodegeneration and oxidative stress
A team of researchers from Academia Sinica and National Taiwan University has identified the Drosophila Cul2 substrate adaptor DmZer1 as a key regulator of protein quality control, acting at the intersection of two major cellular cleanup systems: autophagy and the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Interestingly, lowering DmZer1 levels activates the Cnc/Nrf2 stress-response pathway, which in turn strengthens the cell … ⌘ Read more

Rapid weather shifts govern how plants influence climate and air quality, study finds
A new study shows that during drought, it’s not how hot or how dry it is that determines gas emissions from plants—but how quickly conditions change. This discovery reshapes our understanding of the relationship between drought, vegetation, and air pollution. ⌘ Read more

Discovery of new species of sugarcane pest may facilitate management and reduce losses
In 2015, Professor Gervásio Silva Carvalho of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS) in the South region of Brazil received several specimens of sugarcane spittlebugs (Mahanarva sp.) for identification. ⌘ Read more

How deforestation turbocharged Indonesia’s deadly floods
The deadly flooding that has killed hundreds in Indonesia was largely the result of monsoon rains and a rare tropical storm. But something else may have played a role: deforestation. ⌘ Read more

AI may be scoring your college essay. Welcome to the new era of admissions
Students applying to college know they can’t—or at least shouldn’t—use AI chatbots to write their essays and personal statements. So it might come as a surprise that some schools are now using artificial intelligence to read them. ⌘ Read more

Endangered species convention proposes new rules for growing exotic pet trade
A growing exotic pet trade has conservationists calling for stronger regulations to protect the reptiles, birds and other animals in the wild that are increasingly showing up for sale on internet marketplaces and becoming popular on social media. ⌘ Read more

Video: HydroGNSS launch highlights
ESA’s first Scout mission, HydroGNSS, was launched on 28 November 2025, marking a significant step in advancing global understanding of water availability and the effects of climate change on Earth’s water cycle. ⌘ Read more

Flood size and frequency found to shape river migration worldwide
A new Tulane University study published in Science Advances sheds light on how floods influence the way rivers move, offering fresh insight into how changing flood patterns may reshape waterways and the communities that depend on them. ⌘ Read more

New magnetic sensor material discovered using high-throughput experimental method
A NIMS research team has developed a new experimental method capable of rapidly evaluating numerous material compositions by measuring anomalous Hall resistivity 30 times faster than conventional methods. By analyzing the vast amount of data obtained using machine learning and experimentally validating the predictions, the team succeeded in developing a new magnetic sensor material capable of detecting magnetism … ⌘ Read more

Nature’s greatest method actors: The insects that cosplay bumblebees
Deception is everywhere in nature. Animals and plants routinely cheat, lie and manipulate for their own benefit. One example is mimicry, where one species (the mimic) has evolved to resemble another (the model). ⌘ Read more

Long-lost Rubens ‘masterpiece’ sells for almost 3 mn euros
A long-lost painting by 17th-century Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens sold at auction in France on Sunday for almost three million euros—well beyond its asking price. ⌘ Read more

UK report finds growing use of AI in evaluating university research quality
A new national report has shown for the first time how generative AI (GenAI) is already being used by some universities to assess the quality of their research—and it could be scaled up to help all higher education institutions (HEIs) save huge amounts of time and money. ⌘ Read more

Drones have changed warfare. Two new weapons might alter its course again
Like so many conflicts before it, the Russo-Ukraine war has forced both sides to innovate. Since they have been able to gain control of opposition air space, neither side has made wide use of traditional air assets such as fast fighter jets, which take much time and money to manufacture and so can’t be risked in active operations. ⌘ Read more

Climate action saves lives. So why do climate models ignore well-being?
Climate change is already shaping our well-being. It affects mental health, spreads infectious diseases, disrupts work, damages food supplies and forces families to leave their homes because of conflict, hunger or flooding. ⌘ Read more