Earth & Environment
A 5.3-million‑year‑old whale graveyard has been found on the floor of the Indian Ocean
When a whale dies, a very special natural phenomenon can come alive.
The carcass might float at the surface for some time, attracting sharks and...
The best place to look for alien megastructures might be moon dust
Our search for technosignatures - clear signs of advanced civilizations beyond Earth - takes many forms.
Many are driven by the famous Drake equation, which...
NFL draft picks may be overrated, new study suggests
Every year, NFL teams spend enormous amounts of time, money, and effort trying to identify the best players in the draft.
High draft picks are...
Ancient humans chose the perfect stone for the job nearly 800,000 years ago
A new study has revealed that ancient human ancestors were far more skilled and organized than previously thought.
Nearly 800,000 years ago, they were carefully...
Consciousness may exist beyond humans, animals, and even Earth
Could consciousness exist in alien life forms that look nothing like us? Could it even appear in machines?
According to a new paper by philosophers...
California’s “earthquake gate” may be under more stress than ever, scientists warn
Scientists have discovered that a major earthquake zone in Southern California may be carrying more built-up stress than at any time in the past...
Scientists turn food waste into powerful beads that capture carbon from the air
Scientists in Switzerland have developed an innovative new material made from food industry waste that could help remove carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the...
New lithium extraction method achieves 95% recovery with almost no freshwater
As demand for electric vehicles, smartphones, and renewable energy storage continues to grow, so does the need for lithium, a key ingredient in modern...
TikTok’s ‘Not Interested’ tool beats swiping, but effect may quickly wear off
Just like snowflakes, no two TikTok For You pages look alike.
And that is intentional. The social media site's highly personalized—and black box-like—recommendation algorithm has...
New water-harvesting jacket turns air into drinking water
Imagine wearing a jacket that can produce drinking water from the air around you.
That idea is moving closer to reality thanks to engineers at...
These tiny microbes can clean water and produce electricity at the same time
Imagine a technology that can generate electricity while cleaning wastewater at the same time.
According to a recent review published in the International Journal of...
Dinosaur-killing asteroid may have created an underground oasis for life
The asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago is often remembered as one of the most destructive events in Earth's...
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Your brain cannot recharge if you use your phone on break
Using your phone on break during mentally challenging tasks doesn’t allow your brain to recharge effectively and may result in poorer performance, according to...
Johns Hopkins COVID-19 data center ends after three years
Johns Hopkins University & Medicine's Coronavirus Resource Center ceased collecting and reporting COVID-19 data on March 10, 2023.
Air pollution from fossil fuels linked to 5.1 million deaths a year worldwide
Air pollution resulting from the use of fossil fuels in industry, power generation, and transportation is responsible for an estimated 5.1 million excess deaths...
Five precepts of Buddhism may help lower depression risk
In a study from Chiang Mai University, scientists found that people with high levels of neuroticism and stress may be at greater risk for...
A fresh look at orchid origins and their conservation
Once upon a time, about 85 million years ago, the ancestors of today’s orchids sprouted in the northern hemisphere, a place very different from...
From nail bars to firefighting foams: How chemicals are deemed safe enough or too...
If you've sat in a nail salon recently, you may well have encountered TPO or trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide to give it its full chemical...
Air pollution and traffic noise could heart fertility in men and women
A new study from Denmark has found that long-term exposure to air pollution may increase the risk of infertility in men, while road traffic...
Who leaked the Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade?
As the implications of a draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn the landmark abortion-rights cases Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern...