Science News

To the growing list of two-dimensional semiconductors, such as graphene, boron nitride, and molybdenum disulfide, whose unique electronic properties make them potential successors to silicon in future devices, you can no...

Condensed matter physics remains a field of study with many puzzles to solve. New studies have become possible due to advances in experimental quantum physics. In particular, ultracold atoms in optical lattices and an en...

Human ancestors that lived about 2 million years ago had hearing abilities similar to those of chimpanzees, but their ears had some slight differences that made their hearing more humanlike, a new study finds.

Researchers in Florence and Innsbruck have simulated a physical phenomenon in an atomic quantum gas that can also be observed at the edge of some condensed matter systems: chiral currents. The scientists have published t...

China announced the world's largest cap and trade program on Friday, in a step toward tackling climate change.

On September 22, 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that an endangered species listing is "not warranted" for the greater sage grouse. Do you think the bird should have been listed?

Research into human fossils dating back to approximately two million years ago reveals that the hearing pattern resembles chimpanzees, but with some slight differences in the direction of humans.

A new analysis supports the hypothesis that viruses are living entities that share a long evolutionary history with cells. A new study offers the first reliable method for tracing viral evolution back to a time when neit...

Tongue waggles resembling bowel movements could help some bats drink flower nectar, researchers say. The finding resolves a mystery over how groove-tongued bats access the sweet liquid.

A team of Harvard scientists and engineers has demonstrated a rechargeable battery that could make storage of electricity from intermittent energy sources like solar and wind safe and cost-effective for both residential ...

California's drought is not only fueling more frequent and voracious wildfires, but also making it more difficult for firefighters to get the water they need to douse flames, experts say.

Bones from two human ancestors living between 1 and 3 million years ago show their hearing shifted towards frequencies useful for savannah survival and speech

Robots that can interpret human gaze offer the chance to extend control outside our bodies

A team including the scientist who first harnessed the revolutionary CRISPR-Cas9 system for mammalian genome editing has now identified a different CRISPR system with the potential for even simpler and more precise genom...

Memory is not a simple box of souvenirs; it is also, and most importantly, a safety system for organisms. With the help of negative memories, known as "aversive" memories, we can avoid a threat that we have already confr...

The ultra-stable properties of the proteins that allow deep-diving whales to remain active while holding their breath for up to two hours could help biochemists and other researchers finish a 20-year quest to create life...

A treasure trove of proteins has been discovered, which researchers say hold answers about how our heart pumps -- a phenomenon known as contractility. These molecules haven't been studied in the heart and little is known...

A diet containing dried plums can positively affect microbiota, also referred to as gut bacteria, throughout the colon, helping reduce the risk of colon cancer, researchers report.

Ticks have had millions of years to figure out how to bite without triggering their victims' immune response. Proteins in the arachnids' spit evolved to manipulate immune cells so that the bloodsuckers can suck blood and...

Yeasts are unicellular microorganisms classified within the Fungi kingdom. They are well known for their use in baking, winemaking and beer brewing fermentation, but some species of yeast are opportunistic pathogens that...

This Sunday's supermoon eclipse doesn't mark the end of the world as we know it.

Mosquitoes live more than twice as long without blood if they drink nectar from an invasive plant called famine weed instead of liquid from a local vegetable