Science
Nature-strip gardens are a paradise for pollinators in your street
In front of most Australian houses, between the sidewalk and the road, runs a strip of land most people never really think about. In Australia, it's called the nature strip, but i…
Curiosity Blog, Sols 5022-5028: Cashing in at Cache Creek
Written by Lucy Thompson, Senior Research Scientist, University of New Brunswick, Canada Earth planning date: Friday, Sept. 25, 2026 Before we landed, the area of Gale crater that…
Too many males to choose from can overwhelm female frogs—and change who gets to mate
If you've ever felt overwhelmed by menu options at a restaurant, cereal varieties at the grocery store or potential partners while scrolling through dating apps, you've experience…
Gamma-ray search sets new limits on dark matter annihilation in the inner Milky Way
Dark matter could be a type of matter in the universe that does not emit, absorb or reflect detectable light and appears to interact very weakly with regular matter. Although phys…
Mapping the Gaps in NASA’s Return to the Moon, featuring Richard Spolzino
“I want to be able to look at a rocket launch and say, ‘I touched a piece of this.’” That’s how Richard Spolzino describes the thing he’s chasing. Not a title, not a specific miss…
One giant clam contains a month‑by‑month diary of the Great Barrier Reef's climate 200 years ago
When you swim through the azure waters of the Great Barrier Reef, there is one creature on the seafloor that's almost impossible to miss: the giant clam. Its huge, fluted shell fr…
Hidden X-ray phase revealed in likely neutron star merger
An international team of astronomers, including researchers from the Department of Physics and the Hong Kong Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics (HKIAA) at The University of …
How Enceladus' ocean spray becomes chemically diverse ice grains
Saturn's icy moon Enceladus hides a global ocean beneath its frozen surface. From fractures near its south pole, material from this ocean is ejected into space as a plume of water…
Australia and Turkey criticised for hosting UN climate conference while embracing coal
Global campaign group 350.org urges Cop31 hosts to announce a coal phase-out date and national roadmaps to get off fossil fuelsSign up for climate and environment editor Adam Mort…
More than 1,200 Colorado students have earned a climate ‘seal’: ‘We’re the ones growing up in this world’
A statewide initiative pairs climate-focused coursework with community service – and is spreading to other statesAs a student at a high school not far from Denver’s main airport, …
Giant fluctuations of focused light reveal hidden correlations in opaque materials
When light travels through a strongly scattering material, such as biological tissue or other disordered opaque media, it follows many different paths and produces a seemingly ran…
Do humans really have a ‘lizard brain’ lurking beneath our rational minds?
It’s a powerful analogy that captured the popular consciousness, but the biological reality may be quite differentHumans have a cognitive quirk for the number three. Think of the …
New California Law Aims to Stop ‘Predatory’ Developers from Moving In on Wildfire-Ravaged Community
ALTADENA, Calif.—Sylvie Andrews walks among the brilliant white poppies, purple California grapes and olive-green thorns surrounding her yard’s blackened pizza oven—one of the onl…
A Colorado Water Trial Could Decide the Future of an Agricultural Valley
Water regulators and farmers in Colorado’s San Luis Valley are in a lose-lose situation. Either they adopt a plan to aggressively manage the use of groundwater from their rapidly …
Revealed: Government quietly dropped plan to prepare England for wildfires
FOI request shows wildfire risk scheme scrapped, as survey highlights many fire services lack proper protective gearThe government quietly scrapped plans to prepare the countrysid…
APOD: 2026 October 4 – Supernumerary Rainbows over New Jersey
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 4 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmo…
New reactor design improves plastic feedstock synthesis using oxygen and electricity
A "hidden variable" that can determine the success or failure of a chemical reaction has been found in the immediate vicinity of electrodes.
Reading hidden topology in light, even when energy leaks away
When I explain topology to students, I start with a knot in a rope. You can stretch it, twist it or shake it, but the knot stays until you cut the rope. Physicists have found that…
Q&A: An Earth-like planet with two suns?
A nearby star system with two suns could potentially support an Earth-sized planet in a region where liquid water could exist, according to a new paper examining the dynamics of t…
Visible light does not speed up water evaporation, rigorous experiments suggest
In recent experiments involving hydrogels and water droplets, researchers have proposed that exposure to visible light could make water evaporate faster without heating it. Howeve…
New imaging technologies offer a clearer view of coral reef change
From a drone flying above the waves to a camera just inches from the seafloor, University of Miami researchers are transforming how scientists observe coral reefs and measure chan…
Newly discovered hair cells on squid may offer clues to understanding hearing loss in humans
Scientists have known for years that squid have cells with bundles of tiny, hairlike protrusions on their heads and arms, similar to those buried deep inside the human ear that al…
A short breath extends the mating calls of male tokay geckos
Tokay geckos (Gekko gecko), large and mostly nocturnal geckos native to parts of Asia, are among the few nonbird reptiles that make sounds to attract potential mates, defend their…
Southern California swelters as late-season heatwave smothers region
Temperatures expected to hover around 100F in downtown LA and even hotter inland, raising concerns about wildfiresSouthern California faced scorching heatwaves this summer that ma…