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

When an adult refuses to let an injustice pass—stands up to a bully or asserts their rights—we call it principle. When a 15-year-old retaliates to an insult thrown in a school corridor, risking detention, we call it a failure to think ahead. It's easy to ascribe this to a not-yet

'I get caught up in the numbers game': Why useful social media content gets lost online and more — today's student signal.

Researchers say a tiny one-eyed ancestor that lived nearly 600 million years ago may have shaped the evolution of every vertebrate eye, including our own. They also found that its ancient median eye lives on today as the pineal gland, which helps synchronize our sleep with daylig

When Amy posts a photograph of herself on Instagram, she knows what will attract attention. A picture of her in a bikini may receive thousands of views. A post explaining the realities of living with a stoma (an opening in her abdomen that directs waste to a bag attached to it) m

Historians and archaeologists know that maize was a central food source and cultural symbol across the ancient Maya world, but much of what is known has come from studies focused on large Maya cities and elite burials.

Ecologists have long understood that biodiversity is paramount to ecosystem stability. Until now, however, most ecological research has focused on a single layer of ecological life at a time—for example, plant or animal communities. In reality, ecological systems have multiple la

Long-lived ytterbium states could sharpen quantum computing and atomic clocks and more — today's student signal.

Researchers from the University of Amsterdam and the University of New South Wales have answered a question that has been around for decades: whether ions of the metal ytterbium can enter certain long-lived, nearly stable states and, if so, for how long. The measured long-lived s

Imagine searching for a gemstone in a dark cave: You use a flashlight, looking for a rainbow-colored glint in the darkness. Now, imagine 10 other people in the cave with you, using different-colored flashlights at the same time. Suddenly, you can no longer tell which light is com

Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi have discovered that the malaria parasite relies on a specific type of fat to survive and multiply within the human host, uncovering a previously unknown vulnerability that could help guide future treatments.

As the climate becomes increasingly variable and extreme events become more frequent, accelerating the use of innovations that can strengthen agricultural resilience has become a priority for agrifood systems. Science has made progress in developing solutions with the potential t

When scientists want to create a protein that can potentially treat disease, one approach is to begin with a different protein and evolve it in the lab, selecting over many generations for versions with a new, desired function.

Many molecules exist in two mirror-image forms—like left and right hands—that look identical but can behave very differently, especially in biological systems and pharmaceuticals. Distinguishing between these enantiomers (also called chiral molecules) is a longstanding challenge

When an adult refuses to let an injustice pass—stands up to a bully or asserts their rights—we call it principle. When a 15-year-old retaliates to an insult thrown in a school corridor, risking detention, we call it a failure to think ahead. It's easy to ascribe this to a not-yet

By analyzing the data from NASA's Fermi gamma-ray space telescope, Chinese astronomers have investigated a recently identified millisecond pulsar known as PSR J0435+3233. As a result, they found that the pulsar exhibits gamma-ray pulsations. The discovery was detailed in a paper

In nature, the rarest ingredient can be the one that holds everything together. In a new article published in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Dr. Erika C. Freeman of the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) in Berlin argues that a handful of scarce mo

The laws of thermodynamics state that heat naturally flows from hotter systems or regions to colder systems or regions until a state of thermal equilibrium is reached. This simple principle underpins the operation of numerous technologies, ranging from refrigerators to power plan

Researchers have developed a DNA vacuum that can suck genetic traces from animals out of the air and reveal which animals live in an area. In two new studies, the researchers collected air samples in three natural areas in Denmark and showed that the method can be used to map loc

Giant sequoias are built to withstand ordinary fires, but recent extreme wildfires killed thousands of trees that had survived for centuries or even millennia. A new analysis of about 26,400 sequoias found that trees in areas treated with prescribed burns were nearly four times m

As the construction of a hydroelectric dam loomed, archaeologists raced to uncover Angola's earliest dated burials and its only known cremation at a 15th-century settlement before it vanished beneath the water.

What dangers does smoke from wildfires pose? Who is most at risk? Here are some answers to health questions often asked, especially now with fires in France and Spain.

Scottish firefighters fought a wildfire Saturday that was burning through Cairngorms National Park in the north, with authorities advising residents to evacuate.

Thousands crowded into emergency shelters in France and Spain on Sunday after wildfires drove more than 300,000 people to flee their homes and vacation accommodations.

The Backrooms began as a single eerie image of empty yellow rooms, but internet users transformed it into a vast fictional world that feels disturbingly real. Through videos, games, maps, survival guides and social media stories, audiences do more than watch the horror unfold. Th