Science
DNA's physical properties may shape which mutations evolution preserves
Nearly every cell in the human body contains essentially the same genetic information, yet different cells activate different genes. For regulatory proteins to reach these genes, …
A little Big Bang: Bowling-pin-shaped nuclei shed new light on the universe's first moments
What happened in the first moments of the universe—before the building blocks of life and the world we know today came into existence? Physicists at the CERN research facility in …
3D imaging and machine learning improve noncontact weight estimation of frozen skipjack tuna
Accurately determining fish body size and weight is essential for fisheries resource management and seafood processing; however, measuring large quantities of fish is labor-intens…
Neanderthal hips challenge long-standing hypothesis of a trade-off between childbirth and bipedal walking
The most prominent difference between human male and female skeletons is the pelvis, which anthropologists often use to determine the sex of ancient remains. Scientists have long …
International review standardizes selenosugar nomenclature and selenium metabolism
Selenosugars are the major urinary metabolites responsible for the physiological excretion of selenium. Understanding selenium metabolism relies on accurately detecting and identi…
Illuminating the limits of the international unit of light, the candela
The candela, the international unit of light in use for almost a century, forms the basis of photometry. According to a new study, measurements derived from it systematically misj…
Fertilizer prices and shortages are hamstringing our farmers. But we have other options
When was the last time you bought a loaf of bread?
The first wave of bird flu is the worst: What can Australia learn from overseas?
Hundreds of dead birds are now being reported as the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu begins to spread across Australia. Government reports show the virus is circulating in resident…
Artemis Mission Patches
A jacket decorated with Artemis I and II mission patches, along with other NASA patches hangs on the back of a chair on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, inside the Rocco A. Petrone Launch …
NASA Selects University Teams to Help Advance Aviation Research
NASA has selected four university teams to help the agency transform the future of aviation through projects ranging from high-supersonic propulsion systems to low-noise routes fo…
How sex sheds evolutionary baggage
Why is there sex—or, more precisely, sexual reproduction? If you're an evolutionary biologist, the answer isn't obvious. Sexual reproduction is biologically costly, requiring not …
The View from Above: The Gemini Visual Acuity Experiments
NASA astronaut L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. took 29 color photographs of the Earth with a 70mm camera as he orbited our planet during the Mercury-Atlas 9 mission in May 1963. Cooper’s vi…
Interstellar travel IV: Solar, magnetic, & directed-energy sails
Welcome back to our series on interstellar travel! In our first installment, we examined attempts to realize nuclear propulsion and how the technology could be used to reach the n…
Global sand dunes map reveals clues to distant worlds, including Mars
A new study from Monash University has delivered the most complete and accurate digital map of Earth's windblown sand dunes to date. The research, published in Nature Communicatio…
NASA Data Feeds River Forecasts as Snow Drought Effects Linger
NASA Earth science data is supporting machine-learning forecasts that inform decisions about water, power, and public safety in Washington state.
Lobsters and acidic seas: can shellfish help neutralise one of the greatest threats to the ocean?
Crustaceans are the subject of tests to see if alkalis added to seawater, so it absorbs more CO2, harm marine life. But Trump’s halt to funding threatens to scupper the researchFo…
On this day in space! Aug. 20, 1977: Voyager 2 launches to the outer planets
On this day in space! Aug. 20, 1977: NASA launched the Voyager 2 spacecraft on a mission to explore the outer planets.
Try not to be hypnotized by the 'Eye of Africa' | Space photo of the day for Aug. 20, 2026
This geologic feature has been mesmerizing astronauts since 1965.
ALMA uncovers sulfur for the first time around a rare class of supergiant star
Astronomers have discovered a chemically rich collection of sulfur-bearing molecules surrounding the rare massive star HD 87643. The observations include the first detection of su…
Ocean time travelers return with secrets of the Great Barrier Reef
A team of Australian researchers has woven together modern science and Indigenous knowledge to reveal new insights into the evolution, history and future of the southern Great Bar…
Notes from Illinois’ Virtual Power Plant Frontier
Illinois is the latest example of how a state can embrace virtual power plants and see results almost immediately. Today, Solrite Energy is announcing its entry into the Illinois …
PSG’s Ligue 1 home opener moved to Rennes after pitch damaged by heat
Sunday’s match against Rennes switched at short noticeParc des Princes surface poses risk to ‘safety of players’Paris Saint-Germain’s Ligue 1 opener against Rennes has been reloca…
RNA droplets may have helped start life on Earth
It's one of the origins-of-life chicken-or-egg problems: How could RNA have helped give rise to the first cells before there were cells to contain it?
It's finally raining, but the drought's not over
After a summer that has seen England and Wales experience the driest July since records began, rain is finally on the horizon. But with reservoirs at ‘exceptionally low’ levels, w…