Science
A new role for nitrate reductase in regulating nitrogen-responsive nodulation
Certain plants, including legumes, form specialized organs called root nodules, where they establish symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. This root nodule symbio…
AI boosts sensitivity to double-Higgs signatures occurring about once per trillion collisions
Is the universe as stable as we think it is? That's one of the big questions that particle physicists worldwide are preparing to answer with the Large Hadron Collider, or LHC—the …
Japan to launch probe for Mars moons in October: Space agency
Japan's ambitious mission to collect and bring back samples from one of Mars' moons will lift off Oct. 20, the space agency announced Thursday.
China's Chang'e 7 moon probe will launch this weekend on the most ambitious lunar mission in history
China aims to launch its Chang'e 7 moon mission on Aug. 24 to send a lander, a rover, a hopper and a wide range of science experiments to the lunar south pole.
SpaceX will try for 1st Starship tower catch 'in a few months,' Elon Musk says
SpaceX will likely try to make the first-ever catch of its Starship upper stage a few months from now, according to Elon Musk. He had earlier flagged late August as a potential da…
New measurements explain how silicon and diamond achieve extreme reversible stretching
A research team led by Yang Lu from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, The University of Hong Kong (HKU), has uncovered the microscopic physic…
SmallSat 2026
SmallSat 2026 Join NASA in the Exhibit Hall (Booth # 635, 835, 641, and 940) for Storytelling by NASA experts. Full Agenda below. MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 9:00 – 10:00 AM WelcomeJose Nu…
Hypersonic impact rapidly transforms diamond into graphite, revealing energy-absorbing mechanism
Rice University researchers have developed a way to stabilize diamond during high-temperature and low-pressure processing, creating a strong bulk composite and discovering that hi…
Microbes from Earth may survive on the moon, scientists find
"Even a bootprint or a rover's tread may create a habitable area."
How well do past extinctions predict extinction risk today?
In the last few centuries, mammals and other animals have been going extinct at least 100 times faster than they did before humans arrived on the scene. So who will be next? Which…
A cell-motility pathway helps set the pace of embryo development
A molecular pathway known for controlling cell shape and movement also helps regulate the rhythm by which the vertebrate body is divided into repeated segments, FMI researchers re…
'Shaking up' biofilm research: Active topography reduces bacterial infections
The use of antibiotics has traditionally been considered the gold standard in bacterial infection control—the more bacterial cells you kill, and the faster you kill them, the bett…
'Wet Hot American Summer': The raunchy 2000s teen movie that was actually about a space station falling to Earth
Reminiscing about the summer camp Skylab disaster movie on its 25th anniversary.
China's solar push linked to bird diversity losses across 2,344 counties
The global push for solar energy expansion could carry hidden biodiversity costs, according to a study across China published in the journal Science on Thursday.
China’s Solar Buildout Hampers Bird Diversity
Policies promoting solar power construction projects in China have contributed to a decline in bird diversity across the country. Those findings, from a study published Thursday i…
A new kind of polymer with two faces and a twist control electron spin
Researchers from the University of Osaka have developed a new class of chiral semiconducting polymers that can generate highly spin-polarized electrical currents. The team's uniqu…
Blocc chemistry could automate molecular discovery and democratize access to new materials
A paper published in the journal Science lays out a roadmap for broadening access to the process of discovering molecular tools that can benefit society, including medicines, mate…
100-million-year-old molecular 'bypasses' may have helped grasses dominate landscapes and agriculture
100 million years ago, long before human intervention, ancestors of grasses, including wheat, rice and maize, developed "bypasses" in chemical pathways used to create two critical…
A weather satellite 22,000 miles above Earth saved my 2026 total solar eclipse cruise on the Mediterranean Sea
Joe Rao took to sea aboard the cruise ship Le Boréal to watch the total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026. Here's what it was like.
Newton's momentum principles could help design safer offshore facilities in extreme waves
Researchers have developed a novel model to accurately and efficiently predict the impact of "green water"—water washing onto the deck of an offshore facility during extreme wave …
Oxygen vacancies unlock fast lithium-ion transport in battery material
Lithium titanate (LTO, Li4Ti5O12) is a well-established battery material that in its pristine state is a poor conductor of lithium ions. It develops high ionic conductivity only d…
Farm mice study shows antibiotic resistance is an environmental problem, not just a medical one
Scientists analyzed the genomes of gut microorganisms from an extensive population of 875 wild house mice (Mus musculus) collected from farms in Germany. They searched for genes r…
Ludicrous, nonsensical, an affront to canon — 'Strange New Worlds'' puppet episode is an instant classic
It could have been a disaster, but "Star Trek"'s collaboration with the Jim Henson Company is a hilarious masterpiece
Mars Express orbiter captures detailed new video of the crater where Mark Watney was stranded in 'The Martian'
Europe's Mars Express orbiter has captured stunning telemetry to create a new flyover visualization of the Red Planet's Southern Highlands and Schiaparelli Crater in magnificent d…