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Why some people are good at math while others struggle
Why do some students dread math class while others look forward to it? New research offers a closer look at the thinking skills that may help explain differences in math ability.
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Hidden 'uranium hotspot' offers new clues to Scotland's ancient past
A hidden 'uranium hotspot' has been discovered beneath Aberdeen by University of Aberdeen researchers—shedding new light on the geological history of the region.
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Cricket's day-night pink ball not always so pretty
The pink ball was introduced for day-night matches over a decade ago, and in June this year the International Cricket Council (ICC) approved a trial of pink balls in Tests expected to be affected by bad light—subject to prior agreement from both teams.
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Penguin poop is melting Antarctic snow by keeping algae green
Penguin poop is fertilizing snow algae blooms along the Antarctic Peninsula, feeding dense green algae patches along the coastline, a new study shows. These expanding stretches of green snow melt faster than clean, white snow, potentially speeding up the spread of snow- and ice-free areas of Antarctica.
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What makes a product 'Cool'?
A teenager in Shanghai will wait in line for hours to get a Labubu doll. Meanwhile, a shopper in Ohio might drive across town to buy a robotic vacuum. Although buyers might call these products "cool," research shows they do so for entirely different reasons.
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Extreme drought and heat from the last El Niño signal a 'new normal' for tropical forests
During the 2023–2024 El Niño, about 75% of the world's tropical forest areas experienced at least six months of unprecedented simultaneous drought and heat. According to a study published in Earth's Future, this scenario offers more than just a snapshot of an extreme event; it offers a preview of the "new normal" for the next two decades if greenhouse gas em…
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When U.S. embassies stopped reporting air quality, pollution rose
For more than a decade, U.S. embassies and consulates provided independent, publicly available air-quality readings in cities around the world.
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Conservationists are discovering 'bright spots' around the globe. Here's why they matter
Every few years, the elders of Muluk, a tiny coastal community in Papua New Guinea, close a stretch of their reef to fishing. They do this to give these underwater gardens room to breathe, grow and replenish.
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Children in improved homes face lower hospitalization risk, analysis finds
Children living in houses improved through the Healthy Homes Initiative were found to be 30% less likely to be hospitalized in the following five years, according to research led by the University of Otago, Wellington—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, Pōneke.
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Quantum computing shortcut makes particle collisions easier to simulate
Collisions between particles at high energies can sometimes produce new particles and shed light on interactions between the fundamental constituents of matter. Simulating these collisions and their underlying processes could yield valuable insights into how matter behaves at extremely small scales.
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'Real opportunity' to boost low-carbon European holidays
U.K. vacationers and the tourism industry have a "real opportunity" to shift to low-carbon European vacations, researchers say.
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Plants, people and progress for native prairie seeds
Across much of the central United States, there are ongoing efforts to restore native prairie. Returning native plants to the landscape can improve soil health and water quality and provide habitat for important wildlife and pollinators.
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The mind of money: Mental accounting theory checks out
When it comes to money, humans are not always rational. First introduced decades ago, the influential concept of mental accounting posits that consumers make decisions based on subjective accounts that diverge from objective financial values. For example, consumers perceive a $100 check for overtime work differently than a $100 tax refund. One is seen as ear…
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Nobel Prize in chemistry awarded to Kagan and Soai for developing 'spectacular' chemical reactions
Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their efforts to resolve mysterious mirror images in chemical molecules.
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Amazon wildfires are generating ozone that weakens surviving trees' carbon uptake
Ozone pollution caused by Amazon wildfires is significantly reducing the rainforest's ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, new research reveals. Ground-level ozone is formed when pollutants from sources such as wildfires react in the presence of sunlight. This harms human health and interferes with plants' ability to absorb carbon dioxide (C…
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Petal 'windows' affect the abundance of microbes within flowers
Some flowers have petals with small semitranslucent sections. Research in New Phytologist reveals that these "windows" alter the amount of light and heat entering the flower and create conditions that influence microbial abundance.
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Biodegradable nanoparticle technology may improve agricultural production
Farmers use a manufactured version of a natural plant hormone called gibberellic acid to improve the health and growth of crops, but it is highly sensitive to heat and light. A study in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture shows that loading gibberellic acid into biodegradable nanoparticles can improve grape yield and quality, making it a promi…
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Ridesharing services may offer public safety benefits beyond transportation
New research published in Economic Inquiry reveals that ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft may reduce crime in some areas.
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Sleep, appetite, gene-editing experts contend for Nobel chemistry prize
Research into molecules that regulate sleep and appetite or methods for editing genes could be among the contenders for the Nobel Prize in chemistry, to be announced Wednesday, commentators say.
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Fierce lobbying in EU over 'forever chemicals'
The European Union is under pressure to ban "forever chemicals," but a battle is heating up in Brussels over the toxic substances known as PFAS, with industry groups seeking as many exemptions as possible.
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The world's oyster reefs could add $12 trillion to planetary health each year—if they were better managed
A new study shows that the world's oyster reefs are a precious resource that's vastly underestimated and underutilized. The authors set out to calculate the reefs' potential gross ecosystem product (GEP), the ecological counterpart of the gross economic product, and arrived at trillions of dollars in ecosystem goods and services delivered each year to differ…
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Nobel winner Halzen says years of October 'misery' finally over
Physicist Francis Halzen has an impressively long list of academic accolades—but every October, as the Nobel Prize rolled around, his failure to bag the biggest award of them all left him "miserable," he admits.
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Computer scientist tracks satellites with automated observatory built from off-the-shelf technology
Allen Schnibben's interest in space started when he was a child. "I picked up some books about the solar system when I was in elementary school. In middle school, I got a telescope and I started observing the night sky as a hobby," said Schnibben, a computer scientist at Sandia National Laboratories. "My entire life, I've had an interest in space." Now, Schn…
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Study highlights the European waters at greatest risk of harmful light pollution
Scientists have produced a first-of-its-kind assessment showing which coastal regions of Europe they believe are at greatest risk from harmful light pollution.
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'Quiet firing' linked to higher levels of 'quiet quitting' among employees
A study of the oil, gas and petroleum industry has found that "quiet firing" by employers is associated with higher levels of "quiet quitting" among employees, while strong workplace relationships can weaken that effect. The research appears in the International Journal of Business Information Systems.
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Linguists find Madonna's voice defies age-related expectations
As women go through menopause, their voices tend to become deeper. This is partly because the vocal folds may swell and the surrounding muscles lose elasticity, resulting in a lower pitch. Age-related physiological changes can also affect the pronunciation of certain vowels.
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Nearly 10,000 mapped reactions reveal overlooked steps in CO₂-to-fuel conversion
Scientists are increasingly exploring carbon dioxide (CO₂) hydrogenation—where CO₂ reacts with hydrogen over a catalyst to produce products like methanol—to convert CO₂ into useful chemicals and fuels. However, it involves thousands of tiny chemical steps happening on the catalyst surface.
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Sorghum may help European agriculture face climate change
Research by INRAE and AgroParisTech suggests that global warming could have an overall positive effect on sorghum yields in Europe. Sorghum is a promising alternative to maize in livestock feed. Additionally, the crop requires less water and can tolerate higher temperatures. The researchers carried out simulations that used past climate data and future clima…
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New crocodile species discovered in rocks used to build the Great Sphinx
A new species of extinct crocodile from Egypt has been discovered, sharing more than just its home with the Great Sphinx. Herugavialis cairensis was found in the very same rocks used to build the iconic monument. And, just as the Sphinx is famously missing the tip of its nose, the fossil crocodile is also missing the tip of its snout.
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From coral reef conservation to climate resilience: Turning Indonesia's marine wealth into global impact
For Dr. Jamaluddin Jompa, the ocean has never been simply a subject of scientific study. He was born in Takalar, a coastal region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and his connection with the sea was forged early. Witnessing the degradation of Indonesia's coastal waters made him wonder: What happens when the ecological relationships that sustain marine ecosystem…
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Crystal alignment explains why magnesium alloy plates resist ballistic impacts better in one direction
Magnesium (Mg) alloys offer a pathway to lighter, more efficient aerospace and defense structures because of their low density, high specific strength and excellent damping capacity. However, their hexagonal close-packed (HCP) crystal structure makes deformation highly dependent on crystallographic orientation.
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Simulated moon soil and recyclable thermoplastics could help build future space infrastructure
Transporting material from Earth to the moon is an expensive proposition: By some estimates, moving a single kilogram (2.2 pounds) can cost more than $1 million. Any plan to build a permanent human habitat up there will depend on bringing that sky-high cost down.
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Chernobyl particles reveal unexpectedly stable nuclear fuel after 40 years
Four decades after the 1986 nuclear disaster, researchers at Leibniz University Hannover and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) examined six tiny, highly radioactive fragments that were released from the destroyed reactor in Ukraine in the wake of the incident. Analyses show that these "hot particles" are far more stable than had previously been…
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Clearer air does not always signal lower harmful potential from particle pollution
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is commonly associated with both health concerns and poor visibility. However, these two effects do not necessarily improve or worsen at the same time.
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Hydrothermal vents supply a geochemical precursor of ATP that could have powered early life
Where did the energy come from to power the chemical origin of life, and how did phosphate come to be the universal energy currency of cells? Biologists from the Institute of Molecular Evolution at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have uncovered a new source of energy that drove primordial chemical reactions on the early Earth forward to kick-start…
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Researchers uncover the key to driving employee support during organizational changes
When organizations undergo major shifts, such as restructuring or adopting new working systems, employees often face uncertainty about how to understand and respond to those changes.
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Young infants see saliva sharing as a sign of a close bond, experiments suggest
Imagine you're an infant. Just a few months in the world, trying to gather your faculties, testing gravity—you're pretty helpless and fully reliant on the people around you. As a result, one of your primary tasks as a new person—even before hand-eye coordination and responding to your own name—is to figure out how the people you've just met are connected to…
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Tetrahedral iron can help clays exchange electrons about ten times faster
Smectites are clay minerals that can contain large amounts of structural iron. Unlike iron oxides, they do not dissolve when their iron is reduced, so they can be reduced and reoxidized many times. This makes them a recyclable pool of redox-active iron that supports microbial respiration, transforms contaminants and influences nutrient and trace element cycl…
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Newly available satellite data show just how flawed some river models can be
"Is there enough water? What's happening with climate change? How do I operate my hydro plant? In a world of water problems, there are problems that we need a good model to solve," says Colin Gleason, a hydrologist in the Riccio College of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. But the models are only as good as the math that they're based o…
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AI techniques behind image creation improve flash flood forecasts across U.S. river basins
A flash flood can devastate a community for years in a matter of minutes. These disasters account for roughly 85% of floods and cause thousands of deaths annually worldwide, with water levels capable of shooting up 30 feet (9 meters) and receding to normal levels in the span of a single, unpredictable day, according to the National Weather Service.
