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

Thanks to the gravitational lensing caused by a massive galaxy cluster and high-resolution images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers discovered an exploding star when the universe was 4.9 billion years old. The discovery paper, posted to the arXiv preprint se

In his Alaskan community, fisherman Bob Candopoulos has long welcomed tourists to his business that's showcased by a sign featuring a king salmon.

Unstable plasma heats itself with waves it generates, experiments reveal and more — today's news signal.

Fusion power is expected to be a sustainable energy source that emits no carbon dioxide during electricity generation. To achieve this, research is underway worldwide to confine high-temperature plasma using magnetic fields. To initiate a fusion reaction, high-energy particles or

Researchers at University of Tsukuba and collaborating institutions have identified short antimicrobial peptides derived from Nemuri, a sleep-inducing protein in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. The research is published in the journal Nature Communications.

Surface rocks can reveal records of regions they occupied millions of years ago, even if those areas were kilometers below ground. On Türkiye's Marmara Sea's southern shores and islands, granitic rocks that are now exposed originated as molten material deep in Earth's crust.

Scientists from the Institute of Metal Research (IMR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with researchers from Peking University and Chongqing University, have demonstrated how the geometry and electronic properties of subnanometer rhodium (Rh) active sites shap

Acting now to counter the devastating effects of the El Niño phenomenon will cost half as much as waiting, the head of the U.N. Development Programme told AFP Friday.

Bioprinting uses living cells and molecular signals to produce biological tissues and even whole organs, building them layer by layer in the lab. To keep the bioink, or blend of cells and materials that power this printing, correctly aligned to grow a target tissue, researchers u

Why do some volcanoes erupt with spectacular lava fountains while others release lava more quietly? Scientists have discovered that a hidden effect of extreme heat inside magma may help explain the difference. Experiments revealed that superheated magma can delay crystal formatio

Children are not colorblind: Why early conversations about race are essential and more — today's news signal.

Discussing racism with children can seem daunting to parents, caregivers and educators for several reasons. Often, it can feel uncomfortable talking about people's differences; conversations about racism reveal implicit biases and, for some, immense privilege.

The advance of urbanization in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area in Brazil is causing the collapse of food webs in local streams. A study published in August in the journal Nature Cities reveals that the impact of the metropolis goes far beyond a simple reduction in species. Degrad

Since 2022, astronomers have been puzzling over a new kind of cosmic object called long-period radio transients. These are objects that emit bright flashes of radio waves into space every few minutes to every few hours. Some have been traced back to binary systems consisting of a

Today, Old Dongola is an abandoned settlement on the banks of the Nile in northern Sudan. Hundreds of years ago, however, this place looked very different.

NASA's Voyager 1 is about to become humanity's first object to reach one light-day from Earth as it pushes ever deeper into interstellar space.

Thanks to the gravitational lensing caused by a massive galaxy cluster and high-resolution images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers discovered an exploding star when the universe was 4.9 billion years old. The discovery paper, posted to the arXiv preprint se

Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old, according to estimates. However, rocks dating back to the planet's earliest days are extremely rare. Hence the excitement over the discovery in northern China of some of the oldest known rocks on Earth, dating back 3.95 billion years.

Lake Baikal in Siberia holds around 20% of the world's surface freshwater, making it the most voluminous freshwater lake (Lake Superior on the United States–Canada border is the largest by surface area). This makes the lake one of the most important environments for biodiversity—

How unequal were prehistoric societies? And how can archaeologists measure wealth in cultures that left behind no written records, no tax registers and no census data?

In propulsion system design, engineers have long faced a trade-off between solid and liquid rocket fuels. Each has advantages and disadvantages, and in an effort to try to min/max the efficacy of different types of fuel, researchers have long placed an emphasis on a hybrid betwee

A simple change to your daily routine could make a surprising difference in how you feel, both physically and mentally. University of Missouri researchers found that older adults who followed consistent daily schedules reported less physical pain and fewer symptoms of depression,

Stanford researchers have discovered that hidden patterns of brain activity can predict Alzheimer’s risk years before memory problems appear, potentially offering an earlier warning than traditional biomarkers. The same patterns also reveal which brains are unusually resistant to

In his Alaskan community, fisherman Bob Candopoulos has long welcomed tourists to his business that's showcased by a sign featuring a king salmon.