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Researchers have developed a new way to identify gases at very low concentrations in just seconds. The technique could allow for highly sensitive, real-time sensors for applications in environmental monitoring and medical breath analysis. The approach, called coherently controlled quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy, can capture a complete methane spectrum in just 3 seconds where existing methods […]

A 3,000-year-old “mega fortress” in the Caucasus mountains has been mapped using drones, revealing the Bronze Age structure to be 40 times larger than previously thought. The fortress, named Dmanisis Gora, is about 65km southwest of Tbilisi, capital of Georgia. Dmanisis Gora was built between 1500–500 BCE. At the time, other massive fortresses were being […]

Researchers have made bioluminescent “RNA lanterns” which make RNA glow. Their lanterns, described in Nature Communications, could help to better understand how cells work – in everything from virus research to the human brain. RNA, which transmits the information stored in DNA, plays a big role in the functioning of cells. “The first step in […]

A recent study suggests that new buildings and infrastructure could become huge sinks for carbon dioxide if they switched out their construction materials. Building materials that store carbon, like biomass-derived plastics and CO2 mixed into concrete, are at varying levels of technological readiness. The study, published in Science, suggests that if all building materials were […]

Scientists have found a way to make antibacterial silver nanoparticles, with goji berries. They say their method, published in AIP Advances, is a simple and more sustainable way to make the useful materials. Silver-based particles on the scale of nanometres – or silver nanoparticles – are used in medicines, cosmetics and the food industry, and […]

Physicists investigating films of indium oxide found an odd quantum effect which they say is rare and could open up new avenues of research into quantum materials and superconductors. The researchers used microwave spectroscopy to study the transition between superconducting and insulating states. They looked at the internal properties and behaviour of the indium oxide […]

Deep sleep washes away waste that builds up in the brain while it’s awake and now, thanks to a new study in mice, we know how. The glymphatic system circulates cerebrospinal fluid in the brain and spinal cord to help remove protein waste, such as amyloid and tau which form plaques linked to neurological disorders. […]

An analysis of 25 years of humpback whale data has found that only 7% of males successfully fathered offspring. The study focused on a population on a breeding ground off the coast of New Caledonia in the South Pacific. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Oceania and throughout the Southern Hemisphere were devastated by intensive commercial […]

An analysis of ancient kangaroo fossils from World Heritage caves in South Australia reveals that the prehistoric beasts had a more varied diet than previously thought. Such an adaptable palate would have made the now extinct kangaroos resilient to climate change. The findings shed new light on our understanding of how most of Australia’s megafauna […]

Grapefruit, and some other varieties of citrus fruit, are off the menu for a lot of people using common medications. But a new study might help to develop safe varieties. Grapefruits, as well as pomelos and bitter oranges, contain compounds that interfere with the action of a number of different drugs prescribed for conditions like […]

A global survey has found that 24% of freshwater fauna is under threat of extinction. “Freshwater ecosystems are highly biodiverse and important for livelihoods and economic development, but are under substantial stress,” write the authors of the study which appears in Nature. More than 10% of all known species live in freshwater habitats. These ecosystems […]

Researchers have developed a new pest control method known as the Toxic Male Technique (TMT), which works by genetically engineering male insects to produce venom proteins in their semen.  Males transfer the insecticidal proteins when they mate with females, significantly reducing the females’ lifespans. The approach could be used to reduce the threat of disease-carrying […]

A pair of 430-million-year-old mollusc fossils have stunned palaeontologists with their spikes which resemble the hairstyles of “emo” and punk musicians. They’ve named the new fossil species Punk ferox and Emo vorticaudum. The newly discovered molluscs were found in deposits in Herefordshire in England’s West Midlands. The deposits date to the middle of the Silurian […]

Anaemia in pregnancy is linked to a higher risk of negative outcomes such as preterm delivery, low birth weight, and postpartum depression. To prevent this, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a daily dose of 30-60mg of iron taken orally. But a new randomised controlled trial has found that an iron infusion in the third […]

Astronomers have used a trick of gravity and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to picture 44 individual stars in a galaxy 6.5 billion light-years away. The galaxy, dubbed the Dragon Arc, hails from a time when the Universe was half its current age. The observation, which uses a technique called gravitational lensing, marks the […]

Palaeontologists have identified a new species of ichthyosaur from a partial skeleton found on New Zealand’s South Island. Ichthyosaurs are marine reptiles that evolved about 250 million years ago. Though they resemble dolphins, they have a completely different evolutionary lineage. They swam the oceans while dinosaurs ruled on land, dying out about 94 million years […]

A new study examining the diets of early humans suggests that the popular “palaeo” diet might not be an accurate representation of what ancient hunter-gatherers ate. In fact, finds the study, ancient humans did enjoy carbs. The palaeo diet is one of the most popular eating trends around the world. Advocates say it’s about consuming […]

The carbon on the Earth – and therefore, in us – probably spent some time outside the Milky Way galaxy before forming our planet, according to a new study. The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, finds that after being made inside stars, carbon atoms spend some time circling the galaxy in giant currents. […]

Air pollution from large-scale mining and smelting at the height of the Roman Empire would have caused widespread cognitive declines, new research has found. The study examined measurements of lead pollution in 3 Arctic ice cores dating from 500 BCE to 600 CE, an era spanning the rise of the Roman Republic through to the […]

The oldest-known fossil evidence of a predator-prey arms race has been discovered in shells dating back to the early Cambrian. The species, Lapworthella fasciculata, was a small, shelled animal distantly related to brachiopods. It lived in an ocean covering what is now South Australia and was hunted by a mysterious predator that could punch holes […]

Pluto and Charon sitting in a tree,K-I-S-S-I-N-G! New research challenges decades of assumptions about how Pluto and its largest moon Charon formed on the fringes of our solar system. The new theory could shed light on how other planetary bodies form and evolve. Scientists have long believed that Pluto’s unusually large moon formed in a […]

Zinc-ion batteries, which use abundant zinc in their electrodes, promise to be safer, cheaper, and more sustainable alternatives to modern batteries. This is particularly the case for aqueous zinc-ion batteries, which use water in their electrolytes. But it’s still difficult to make rechargeable zinc-ion batteries as powerful or as long-lasting as their competitors. A team […]

Scientists have found that today’s chimpanzees select stones to use as tools in a similar way to human ancestors who lived about 2.5 million years ago. The research, published in the Journal of Human Evolution, compares modern chimpanzee tools to those of the Oldowan hominins. Oldowan is the name given to the type of ancient […]

New research using organoids has found that brain cells in space remain healthy, but mature faster than they would on Earth. Numerous studies have outlined the effect microgravity, or limited gravity, on muscles, bones, the immune system and cognitive function. But until now, no studies have specifically looked into how space impacts brain cells. To […]