Science, engineering, and discovery — the research and breakthroughs that matter.

Why do disagreements about vaccines, climate change or elections often feel so personal? Our research suggests it is not simply because other people have different beliefs. It is because we think those beliefs are mistaken.

Firefighters raced to save a 1,000-year-old monastery in northeastern Spain on Friday as a growing wildfire prompted the hasty removal of the bones of medieval monarchs buried there.

For centuries, scholars have read ancient documents describing the production of brass in 10th-century A.D. China. The problem was that the earliest physical evidence of brass production would be found nearly 600 years later, in the 16th century A.D.

Adjusting to a new time zone or work schedule can leave the body's internal clock out of sync for days, contributing to sleep disruption, metabolic changes and other health consequences. Researchers at Rice University and Northwestern University have developed an implantable cell

Respiratory infectious diseases and air pollution remain persistent global health challenges. Yet the tools used to monitor airborne threats are often expensive, power-hungry and difficult to deploy outside laboratories.

Iron is essential. Our cells need it to produce energy, carry oxygen throughout the body and power countless chemical reactions that sustain life. But this metal has a dark side. When too much of it is left free inside cells, it can trigger destructive reactions that break down D

Whether on lunch break or on the clock, many employees scroll through the news and social media during the workday. Researchers found that employees who "doomscroll" at work suffer hidden costs that extend beyond lost productivity.

Women who used estrogen-only hormone therapy later in life were less likely to develop dementia and showed fewer signs of Alzheimer’s disease in their brains, according to a large study of more than 21,000 participants. Hormone therapy use was linked to 39% lower odds of a dement

Meteorites provided a rare but ready source of iron for ancient Bronze Age cultures before smelting became common. A new study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, sheds light on how the ancient Minoan and Mycenaean elite used this extraordinary metal and when its

Teens are turning to AI chatbots for emotional support—here's how to keep kids safe and more — today's student signal.

It's 2 a.m., and a teenage girl, worrying about an issue with a friend, lies awake. Rather than wake her parents, she picks up her phone, opens an AI app and types, "I'm so stressed out, I can't sleep."

There's good news and bad news for folks who love a good coat of ice on the Great Lakes for the activities and businesses it supports. The good news is that, after decades of declining annual average ice cover, there's reason to believe that trend could slow or even temporarily r

More than 40 years after the end of commercial whaling, new research reveals a recent increase in sightings of the world's two largest whale species in the southeastern Atlantic. The findings, published in the African Journal of Marine Science, compiled more than 60 years of conf

From launchpads to low Earth orbit and beyond, space companies and their affiliates are deploying a familiar marketing tactic—with a new twist. In a space economy projected to reach US$1.8 trillion by 2035, they sell space exploration narratives by appealing to a desire to expand

Why do disagreements about vaccines, climate change or elections often feel so personal? Our research suggests it is not simply because other people have different beliefs. It is because we think those beliefs are mistaken.

As summer temperatures soar across the United States and Europe, cities are being forced to confront the difficult reality that they're getting dangerously hot.

Using unique equipment installed on NASA's WB-57 aircraft flying above heavy clouds off the coast of Iceland, a Southwest Research Institute-led team successfully observed a total solar eclipse on Wednesday. The high-altitude jet followed the moon's shadow at 50,000 feet (15,000

Researchers at the University of Maryland and their collaborators have cloned a gene that makes wheat resistant to feeding by Hessian fly larvae and demonstrated its direct interaction with a protein produced by the insect. The research breaks through a longstanding barrier to un

A book sits atop a table. Although it's closed, its title, "Encyclopedia of Human Tissue," promises untold secrets. Perhaps with this book, you can learn about different cell types and what they look like under normal conditions or conditions of disease. Maybe you can learn how g

Decades of climate change have not left Europe's mountain vegetation unscathed. However, the changes observed do not always match expectations. As a new international study by a research team led by researchers from the University of Vienna, the Austrian Academy of Sciences and t

A genetically engineered bacterium can rapidly break down one of Earth's most abundant minerals, opening a promising new pathway for simultaneously removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and recovering critical elements used in electric vehicle batteries, according to new Co

Firefighters raced to save a 1,000-year-old monastery in northeastern Spain on Friday as a growing wildfire prompted the hasty removal of the bones of medieval monarchs buried there.

Basic biology courses teach that cells contain organelles—such as the nucleus, mitochondria and Golgi apparatus—set apart by lipid membranes to get things done. Recent cell biology research has revealed another organizational principle at work in cells across all orders of biolog

When one mentions "waves," we immediately think of a perturbation that propagates. This applies to waves on the shore, sound waves in the air or electromagnetic waves that we use to transmit information via optical fibers. The same idea of propagating perturbations applies to gra