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There are an estimated 37.2 trillion cells in the human body and scientists are another step closer to mapping all of them with the publication of more than 40 papers across Nature Portfolio journals. The studies from the Human Cell Atlas initiative reveal new insights into how the placenta and skeleton form, changes that occur […]

This video shows how the feathers on the wings and the tail respond reflexively to movement of the robotic bird (which mimics flight). Credit: Eric Chang, Lentink Lab Researchers in biomimetics have created a robotic bird model with real pigeon feathers to understand how birds manage to fly without a vertical tailfin. A plane without a […]

You know that feeling you get when you take a breath of fresh air in nature? There may be more to it than a simple lack of pollution. When we think of nutrients, we think of things we obtain from our diet. But a careful look at the scientific literature shows there is strong evidence […]

Archaeologists have found the world’s oldest evidence of alphabetic writing in an ancient Syrian tomb, challenging previous conceptions about the origin of alphabets. The findings, presented at the American Society of Overseas Research’s Annual Meeting this week, show the writing, etched into finger-length clay cylinders, dates to about 2400 BCE. This precedes any other known […]

Astronomers have taken stargazing to all new extremes by taking the first close up image of a star in another galaxy and it might be on the verge of going supernova. “For the first time, we have succeeded in taking a zoomed-in image of a dying star in a galaxy outside our own Milky Way,” […]

By Patila AmosaNational University of Samoa Until late last month, the Pacific has stood as the only region globally without an academy of science, a gap that has left it vulnerable to external activities impacting its vast oceans. Due to its size, isolation and unique geographical, economic and cultural characteristics, the Pacific is particularly susceptible to these challenges. […]

Everything is made of molecules. But who makes the molecules? For most of the things around you, the answer can probably be traced back to “chemists”. “When we look at everything around us in our world – the food, the medicines, the plastics and polymers, our computers, our vehicles … some sort of chemical manufacturing […]

A new white-flesh fish variety called Pompano could add more than $1 billion to the economy, following successful aquaculture trials and promising initial market testing with chefs and consumers. The Pompano (Trachinotus anak), mostly known as a prized sports fish, has been identified as the ideal white-flesh fish for developing in northern Australia’s tropical climate. […]

A 4.45-billion-year-old grain from a famous Martian meteorite shows that there was hot water on ancient Mars which had the potential to be habitable. It is the oldest direct evidence of hot water on Mars as scientists continue to look for signs that the Red Planet once hosted (or could host) life. The study, led […]

DNA from samples spanning 8,500–1,300 years ago shows how ancient Europeans adapted to the development of early agriculture. Genes underwent significant changes in 14 regions of the genome. For example, those associated with traits that help in the production vitamin D and digest milk into adulthood showed strong signs of selection, but only in the […]

A global survey has found that shipping traffic overlaps with almost the entire range of all whale species but only 7% of the areas with the highest risk of whale-ship collisions have protection measures in place for the whales. “Whale-ship collisions have typically only been studied at a local or regional level … and patterns […]

Earbud-like microphones might be usable for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and other ailments, medical researchers say. Rather than transmitting sound into the ear like conventional earbuds, these devices, which Miriam Boutros of École de Technologie Supérieure, in Montreal, calls “hearables,” transmit sounds out of the ear, after first blocking external sounds from coming in. […]

After eluding chemists for 40 years, a mystery compound found in drinking water has finally been identified. The compound – called chloronitramide anion – is previously unknown to science. While it’s important to research the toxicity of the compound, independent experts say it’s no reason to avoid your tap water. The compound forms, according to […]

Mysterious repeating sounds emanating from the depths of the Southern Ocean continue to baffle marine scientists since they were first heard by submariners in the 1960s, when they were dubbed “bio-duck” noises. The ubiquitous sound has been recorded in Antarctic waters and off the Australian west coast. The 4 short bursts of quack-like sounds were also […]

A giant planet orbiting a very young star could be the youngest transiting exoplanet found. Its discovery could shed light on how planets form. More than a dozen exoplanets have been found transiting stars that are 10–40 million years old. For comparison, our Sun is about 4.6 billion years old. Until now no planets have […]

A new quantum theory explaining how light and matter interact has also provided the first ever depiction of the shape of a single light particle, a photon. Understanding these fundamental aspects of photon-matter interactions could open up new possibilities in quantum physics and material science. It could pave the way for new and improved nanophotonic […]

Palaeontologists have identified a new species of dinosaur from a Chinese fossil which was dug up in 1986. Huaxiazhoulong shouwen is a member of the ankylosaurid group, which most famously includes Ankylosaurus. These “walking tanks” had rows of fused bones protruding out of their skins, thought to make them virtually impenetrable. Some species, including Huaxiazhoulong […]

Researchers have done a “deep dive” into the most venomous fish species on Earth and revealed “surprising” new insights that might lead to better treatment for stings, and could be used to treat diseases such as cancer. The estuarine (Synanceia horrida) and reef (Synanceia verrucosa) stonefish are found throughout the warm waters of the Indo-Pacific and […]

They’re called “forever chemicals” for a reason: PFAS are diabolically difficult to break down. But 2 different teams of chemists have found new ways to break them up – with light. Both studies have just been published in Nature. The stability of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, comes from fluorine atoms bonded to carbon […]

Across the UK and Ireland, people from Belfast are best at detecting when someone is faking their accent – while people from London are worst at it, according to a new study. The study, published in Evolutionary Human Sciences, also finds that people from Glasgow, Dublin and the northeast of England could find an “accent […]

Researchers have compiled a map of 6 million galaxies in the most precise test of how gravity works on large scales in the universe. The survey, detailed in several pre-print papers on the arXiv server, uses data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). It tracks how gravitational forces have shaped the universe over the […]

Marine and ocean researchers in Australia and the US have developed an innovative open-source framework which they say transforms how research image datasets are managed, processed and shared, setting a new standard for scientific collaboration, citizen science and data accessibility. The work builds on various projects which are opening up the underwater world for scientists […]

New research has found at least 257 million people now live in places where climate warming could cause dengue incidence to double in the next 25 years in Asia and the Americas Mild cases of dengue may be asymptomatic or cause fever and flu-like symptoms. Severe cases can cause serious bleeding, a sudden drop in […]

People see humble scientists as more trustworthy, according to a new study. The study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, finds that scientists who display “intellectual humility” seem more reliable than those who don’t. “Research has shown that having intellectual humility – which is an awareness that one’s knowledge or beliefs might be incomplete or wrong […]