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

The broad-headed snake (Hoplocephalus bungaroides), one of Australia's most endangered snakes, has been given a lifeline, with at least four of six captive-bred juveniles surviving the critical first few months after their release into the wild.

Why does a quenda have a short, sturdy snout, while its relative the bilby has such a remarkably long one? New research led by Murdoch University's Harry Butler Institute suggests millions of years of adaptation to different environments across Australia and New Guinea may help e

Gravitational lensing is one of astronomy's best tricks for seeing the early universe. When a massive galaxy cluster sits in between the observer and a distant object, its gravity bends and magnifies the distant object's light, acting like a giant natural magnifying glass. Galaxi

Can AI learn to understand nature? Scientists set out a roadmap for the future of ecology and more — today's news signal.

An international team of scientists has outlined how a new generation of artificial intelligence models could transform our understanding of ecosystems and help predict their responses to environmental change.

Assisted suicide is morally and ethically controversial. Public debate on the topic tends to arise primarily when a high-profile case comes to light—as was most recently the case with the famous twins Alice and Ellen Kessler. While assisted suicide is permitted in Germany, it is

Using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), an international team led by Leiden University has produced the sharpest and most sensitive radio image of the sky ever made at low radio frequencies. The image reveals almost 63,000 radio sources, such as active galactic nuclei and star-for

Exposure to toxic metals like cadmium has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as miscarriage, preterm birth and low birth weight. Because these effects are difficult and ethically challenging to study directly in pregnant women, how such exposures affect pregnanc

Investigating a scientific question is often a complex process. As an astrophysicist studying some of the most energetic phenomena in the universe, I know that finding answers requires much more than reading scientific papers or understanding existing theories. Astrophysical rese

The clocks have gone back, and suddenly getting dressed feels more difficult. The coat you wore constantly last winter is still hanging in the closet, but it no longer looks quite how you remember. The boots you loved in February don't seem to go with anything, while a sweater th

Ancient Maya communities made extensive use of liquid mercury and a red, mercury-containing pigment called cinnabar to decorate buildings, pottery and burial sites. Unsurprisingly, as previous research has shown, this led to mercury contamination of soils and reservoirs at some M

The PREMIER project, a public-private European consortium of research organizations (like Radboud University) and international pharmaceutical companies, has launched a new database to support the environmental risk assessment (ERA) of human pharmaceuticals. The data is publicly

African governments are using foreign investment, infrastructure projects and conservation schemes to extend their control over land and communities, according to new research spanning 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Our oceans have effectively become trash dumps where massive quantities of plastic end up. So much so, in fact, that the largest offshore plastic accumulation zone has been labeled the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) for the first time has detected the presence of the spring mountain butterfly (Erebia epistygne), a species under threat of extinction in Catalonia, under the electricity transmission lines of Red Eléctrica, Spain's transmission system

Technetium-99 is a long-lived radioactive byproduct of nuclear fuel production and reprocessing. In many environments, it forms a highly mobile chemical species that can move readily through water and soil, making it a priority contaminant at legacy nuclear sites including Sellaf

Sustainability has become an increasingly visible feature of consumer-packaged goods (CPGs), from the ingredients used in household products to the materials and design of their packaging. For companies marketing sustainable products, however, an important question remains: Does

Every autumn for the last five years, hundreds of volunteers have set out remotely triggered cameras in mountains, forests, farms and beaches in more than 20 countries in Europe. Their joint project is called Snapshot Europe, and it's the largest open-access survey of mammals and

Disorder can make sense, and understanding its logic can be genuinely useful. A study by a research group at the University of Trento shows how a minimal chemical difference can turn chaotic, disordered motion into a highly coordinated and reproducible structure.

When NASA's Voyager 2 robotic probe flew by Uranus and Neptune in the 1980s, it uncovered an anomaly: their magnetic fields are highly disordered, unlike Earth's, which has well-defined north and south poles.

Why does a quenda have a short, sturdy snout, while its relative the bilby has such a remarkably long one? New research led by Murdoch University's Harry Butler Institute suggests millions of years of adaptation to different environments across Australia and New Guinea may help e

Levitating trains, ultra-efficient energy storage, and quantum computers: superconductivity could unlock a wealth of possibilities for the future. New research led by scientists from Utrecht, Leiden, and Munich has now shed light on one of the key requirements for achieving super

As grocery prices continue to rise, a study by researchers at Penn State found that in addition to increased spending, the price hikes are also associated with higher risk of food insufficiency and worse mental health conditions.

A literature review in the International Journal of Services and Standards has highlighted the potential of social media to improve humanitarian supply chain management. However, it also identifies a shortage of research into its role in the delivery of aid during emergencies.