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The first analysis of a Neanderthal boy's skull uncovered in Spain suggests that he grew much like a modern boy would, in another sign that our extinct ancestors were similar to us, researchers said Thursday.

A new imaging technique makes it possible to precisely digitize clear objects and their surroundings, an achievement that has eluded current state-of-the-art 3D rendering methods. The ability to create detailed, 3D digital versions of real-world objects and…

Exceptionally preserved trilobite fossils from China, dating back to more than 500 million years ago, have revealed new insights into the extinct marine animal's digestive system. Published today in the journal PLOS ONE, the new study shows that at least two…

We must move faster towards a low-carbon world if we are to limit global warming to 2oC this century, experts have warned.

In an article published today in the journal Science, the Pierre Auger Collaboration has definitively answered the question of whether cosmic particles from outside the Milky Way Galaxy. The article, titled "Observation of a large-scale anisotropy in the…

Don't let their appearance fool you: Thimble-sized, dappled in cheerful colors and squishy, poison frogs in fact harbor some of the most potent neurotoxins we know. With a new paper published in the journal Science, scientists are a step closer to resolving a…

Even more than 100 years after Einstein's explanation of photoemission the process of electron emission from a solid material upon illumination with light still poses challenging surprises. In the report now published in the journal Science ultrashort pulses…

When fast radio bursts, or FRBs, were first detected in 2001, astronomers had never seen anything like them before. Since then, astronomers have found a couple of dozen FRBs, but they still don't know what causes these rapid and powerful bursts of radio…

Granular systems such as gravel or powders can be found everywhere, but studying them is not easy. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now developed a method by which pictures of the inside of granular systems can be taken ten thousand times faster than before.

Nature Communications today published research by a team comprising Scottish and South African researchers, demonstrating entanglement swapping and teleportation of orbital angular momentum 'patterns' of light. This is a crucial step towards realizing a…

The first large-scale study of ancient human DNA from sub-Saharan Africa opens a long-awaited window into the identity of prehistoric populations in the region and how they moved around and replaced one another over the past 8,000 years.

Two new studies of green algae—the scourge of swimming pool owners and freshwater ponds—have revealed new insights into how these organisms siphon carbon dioxide from the air for use in photosynthesis, a key factor in their ability to grow so quickly.…

Jellyfish snooze just like the rest of us. Like humans, mice, fish and flies, the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea exhibits the telltale signs of sleep, scientists report September 21, 2017 in the journal Current Biology. But unlike other animals that slumber,…

In the centenary year of the publication of a seminal treatise on the physical and mathematical principles underpinning nature - On Growth and Form by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson - a Cambridge physicist has led a study describing an elegantly simple solution to…

A team of scientists has sequenced, for the first time, a tiny worm that belongs to a group of exclusively asexual species that originated approximately 18 million years ago—making it one of the oldest living lineages of asexual animals known. The work…

The search for biology on neighbor planet Mars won't play out like a Hollywood movie starring little green men. Rather, many scientists agree if there was life on the Red Planet, it probably will present itself as fossilized bacteria. To find it,…

Researchers at the University of Bristol have been taking a close-up look at the biting mouthparts of the African tsetse fly as part of ongoing work on the animal diseases it carries.

New research is set to change the textbook understanding of how plants breathe.

Researchers have quantified the astonishingly high speeds at which future solar cells would have to operate in order to stretch what are presently seen as natural limits on their energy conversion efficiency.

(Phys.org)—Using data from the first-ever gravitational waves detected last year, along with a theoretical analysis, physicists have shown that gravitational waves may oscillate between two different forms called "g" and "f"-type gravitational waves. The…

Some big plant-eating dinosaurs roaming present-day Utah some 75 million years ago were slurping up crustaceans on the side, a behavior that may have been tied to reproductive activities, says a new University of Colorado Boulder study.

(Phys.org)—A team of researchers from the U.K., Indonesia and Australia has found fossil evidence of several unique creatures that once lived on the Indonesian island of Sumba. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group…

People avoid sunburn by applying sunscreen. But how do plants avoid getting burnt?

We are inching closer to using light to help cure diseases. The key is harnessing the power of proteins that are sensitive to light.

Human activities could change the pace of evolution, similar to what occurred 66 million years ago when a giant asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs, leaving modern birds as their only descendants. That's one conclusion drawn by the authors of a new study just…

Rice University scientists have discovered a two-dimensional alloy with an optical bandgap that can be tuned by the temperature used to grow it.

The crystal jellyfish swims off the coast of the Pacific Northwest and can illuminate the waters when disturbed. That glow comes from proteins that absorb energy and then release it as bright flashes.

DNA replication is among life's most important processes, providing a way for an organism's genetic material to be reproduced so it can be passed from cell to cell. For the first time, scientists have characterized that process for an entire plant genome.

Researchers at The University of Manchester have developed the world's first handheld SORS device that can detect fake spirits, such as vodka and whisky, whilst still in their bottles.

Novel lithium electrodes coated with indium could be the basis for more powerful, longer-lasting, rechargeable batteries. The coating hinders undesirable side-reactions between the electrode and electrolyte, provide a more uniform deposition of lithium when…