Mantis shrimp are small creatures known for their superlatives. Their eyes have 12 to 16 different color receptors versus our own three, and can detect the polarization of light. Their punches are famously fast, accelerating on par with a 22-caliber bullet. They use these strikes on prey, predators and competitors alike.
A research team has uncovered a novel regulator governing how cells respond to mechanical cues. Their findings appear in Nature Cell Biology.
Sometimes, serendipity—or just plain luck—still plays a pivotal role in scientific discovery. Recently, a team of chemists was experimenting with using a biocatalytic process to trigger a cyclopropanation reaction, which yields intricate molecular structures used in various drugs and other natural processes, when something unusual happened: A beaker of liquid that should have turned muddy red turned bright green instead.
A research team from NIMS and Nagoya University has demonstrated that an iron-based amorphous alloy, widely used as a soft magnetic material in transformers and motors, can be transformed into a "transverse" thermoelectric conversion material that converts electric and thermal currents in orthogonal directions, with just a short period of heat treatment. The study is published online in the journal Nature Communications
A research team led by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has discovered how carboxysomes—carbon-fixing structures found in some bacteria and algae—work. The breakthrough could help scientists redesign and repurpose the structures to enable plants to convert sunlight into more energy, paving the way for improved photosynthesis efficiency, potentially increasing the global food supply and mitigating global warming.
Astronomers have proposed a new theory to explain the origin of phosphorus, one of the elements important for life on Earth. The theory suggests a type of stellar explosion known as "ONe novae" as a major source of phosphorus.
Scientists have discovered bioluminescence is actually pretty common among deep-sea shrimp, with a new study identifying 157 species that are believed to possess the ability to emit light. Some do it by vomiting luminous secretions and others through specialized light organs in their bodies. Some even do both.
A team led by Prof Frank Glorius from the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the University of Münster has developed an evolutionary algorithm that identifies the structures in a molecule that are particularly relevant for a respective question and uses them to encode the properties of the molecules for various machine-learning models.
A joint research team led by Dr. Akira Kunitomi, a former postdoctoral fellow at CiRA (currently a researcher at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease), and ID Pharma Co., Ltd., has uncovered the crucial role of oocyte-specific linker histone, H1FOO, in enhancing reprogramming efficiency and homogeneity to primed and naïve pluripotent states. The study is published in Stem Cell Reports.
A study published in Nature Astronomy and conducted by Guo Jianheng from the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences offers a perspective on the violent atmospheric escape processes of low-mass exoplanets, specifically a process known as hydrodynamic escape.
Astronomers, using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) in China's Guizhou Province, have found an abundance of gas-rich galaxies in the distant universe.
Bilbies bred in a sanctuary in Dubbo have provided researchers with vital clues about how they would fare in temperate Australia where they once thrived.
Worker rights are among the least protected human rights in the world, according to new research from faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York.
A team of animal behaviorists from the University of Vienna, the University of Portsmouth, Elephant CREW, Jafuta Reserve and the University of St Andrews has found that elephants use gestures and vocal cues when they greet one another.
Nature is filled with extraordinarily precise molecular shapes that fit together like a hand in glove. Proteins, for example, can assemble into a wide variety of well-defined shapes that grant them their function.
In a study published in the journal National Science Review, a material synthesized by Dr. Shen Yu was used to introduce hydroperoxide into the synthesis system of titanium silicates.
It's been more than 30 years since psychologist Carol Dweck introduced "growth mindset"—the psychological and motivational effects of believing that a person's ability in any domain is not fixed but can develop through effort and coaching. The concept has been widely lauded in company mission statements, athletic locker rooms, and schools.
Advancements in large language models, robotics, and software such as text-to-speech, have made it possible to develop robots that can understand language, interact physically, and communicate verbally. These breakthroughs have opened up possibilities for robots to be used for educational purposes. However, this raises the question of whether robots are as good as human tutors. While robots offer certain benefits, they cannot replicate the nuanced interactions and personalized feedback human tutors provide.
What if your earbuds could do everything your smartphone can do already, except better? What sounds a bit like science fiction may actually not be so far off. A new class of synthetic materials could herald the next revolution of wireless technologies, enabling devices to be smaller, require less signal strength and use less power.
Research by Nebraska's Cory Armstrong is defining the effectiveness of the alerts, warnings and advisories that swirl around extreme weather events.
When shopping, have you considered the social and environmental impacts of your vegetable oil purchases? Most products offer limited information on these effects. Labels like "No Palm Oil"—linked to environmental damage and threats to orangutans—or "Fair-trade" are familiar, but many ingredients go unmentioned. How reliable are these claims, and what unseen impacts are we responsible for with our choices?
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) form aerosols and ozone in the atmosphere and are significant contributors to air pollution and climate change. China is the largest emitter, yet accurate and timely information on NOx emissions in China has been lacking since 2020 due to delays in emissions reporting.
A paper published in Eco-Environment & Health introduces innovative biotic and abiotic methods for recycling and upcycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The review delves into sustainable strategies that improve the processing and utility of PET waste.