In a finding that could change how scientists understand the spread of life’s ingredients across space, astronomers have detected large organic molecules frozen in ice around a forming star called ST6 in a galaxy beyond the Milky Way. Using the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), the research team identified five carbon-based compounds…
Earth scientists have uncovered a slow and surprising process beneath our planet’s surface that helps fuel volcanic activity in the oceans. Researchers from the University of Southampton found that fragments of continents are gradually stripped away from below and drawn into the oceanic mantle — the hot, mostly solid layer beneath the sea floor that…
Researchers studying the brains of soccer fans found that certain areas of the brain light up when people watch matches featuring their favorite team. These neural circuits trigger strong emotional reactions — both positive and negative — depending on how the game unfolds. The findings, published in Radiology (a journal of the Radiological Society of…
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have discovered that an insect, the bumblebee Bombus terrestris, can choose where to gather food by recognizing how long a visual signal lasts. In Morse code, short flashes or “dots” stand for the letter “E,” while longer flashes or “dashes” represent the letter “T.” Until now, only humans…
Georgina Rannard,Climate reporter, Belém, Brazil and Tabby Wilson Watch: Protesters clash with security at COP30 venue in Brazil Protesters carrying signs reading “our forests are not for sale” broke through security lines of the COP30 climate talks on Tuesday night in Belém, Brazil. BBC journalists saw United Nations security staff running behind a line of…
A long-lost hymn of praise dating back to around 1000 BCE has been identified through modern technology. Professor Enrique Jiménez of LMU uncovered the text and linked it to 30 additional manuscripts using artificial intelligence. Working in partnership with the University of Baghdad, Professor Jiménez rediscovered a Babylonian text that had remained hidden for more…
The quest to create useful quantum technologies begins with a deep understanding of the strange laws that govern quantum behavior and how those principles can be applied to real materials. At the University of California, Santa Barbara, physicist Ania Jayich, Bruker Endowed Chair in Science and Engineering, Elings Chair in Quantum Science, and co-director of…
An extensive series of computer simulations led by astrophysicists at the Flatiron Institute and their collaborators has revealed that magnetic fields are the missing factor behind the creation of black holes whose masses fall within a range once thought impossible. In 2023, astronomers witnessed a dramatic event: two extraordinarily massive black holes collided roughly 7…
Pore-forming proteins are widespread across living organisms. In humans, they are essential for immune defense, while in bacteria they often act as toxins that puncture cell membranes. These microscopic pores allow ions and molecules to move through membranes, controlling molecular traffic within cells. Because of their precision and control, scientists have adapted them as nanopore…
Researchers have traced long-standing myths about the rapid spread of the Black Death across Asia to a single source from the fourteenth century. For centuries, depictions of the plague racing along the Silk Route, devastating cities and towns in its path, have been based on a misunderstanding of a rhyming story rather than a historical…
