Earth & Environment
Australia’s under-16 social media ban has had little immediate impact, study finds
Australia became the first country in the world to introduce a nationwide law aimed at preventing children under the age of 16 from having...
AI could deliver relevant online ads without tracking your every move, study finds
For years, online advertising has been built on a simple idea: if companies want to show people relevant ads, they need to collect large...
Did gravitational tides cause Earth’s extinctions?
Life on Earth took a long evolutionary journey that eventually created us, the purportedly intelligent species that dominates the planet.
But there was no grand...
Heat barcodes could make plastic recycling smarter and cleaner
Recycling plastic is much harder than many people realize.
Every day, homes and businesses throw away large amounts of plastic, which is collected and sent...
If you’re feeling down, maybe don’t pet your cat
You come home after a stressful day and reach out to your cat for a bit of comfort. It hisses. Maybe takes a swipe.
Or...
Scientists discover a new walking shark species in a tiny corner of Papua New...
Scientists studying unusual sharks that can "walk" along the seafloor have made an exciting discovery—a completely new species that was previously unknown to science.
The...
Why Middle Age Is Getting Harder for Many Americans
For many people, middle age is often seen as a time when life becomes more stable. Many adults have built careers, raised children, and...
Cats or Dogs: Which Pets Really Improve Your Mood
People have argued for years about whether cats or dogs make better pets. Some people love dogs because they are playful, loyal, and enjoy...
Meet Mía: The robotic rabbit that learns your voice after just one hello
Imagine a robotic pet that recognizes your voice the first time you speak to it and remembers who you are the next time you...
Ancient plague was already deadly 5,500 years ago, study reveals
Plague is often linked to medieval Europe, crowded cities, and rats carrying infected fleas.
However, a new study published in the journal Nature shows that...
Microbes destroyed an ancient pterosaur’s wingbone, then preserved it for 100 million years
More than 100 million years ago, a flying reptile called a pterosaur flew over the oceans hunting squid and fish.
Much more recently, one of...
Tiny Plastic Particles Could Strongly Harm Liver Health
Microplastics are everywhere. They are tiny pieces of plastic that form when larger plastic items, such as bottles, food containers, plastic bags, and packaging...
FEATURED
Social media linked to higher depression risk, study finds
In a new study from Massachusetts General Hospital, researchers found links between the use of social media and depression.
On one hand, social media is a way...
Scientists say traffic laws aren’t ready for self-driving cars
are falling behind.
According to research led by Charles Darwin University (CDU), current road rules in Australia mostly apply to human drivers—and that’s a big...
Scientists catch a slow-motion earthquake in action beneath the sea
For the first time ever, scientists have observed a slow-motion earthquake as it happened along a major underwater fault off the coast of Japan.
Unlike...
A surprising source of oxygen in the deep sea
I have always found Mariana’s Trench fascinating, it’s like an alien world right on our doorstep.
Any visitor to the oceans or seas of our...
Ancient fish fossil unlocks 100-million-year-old secrets of skull evolution
Scientists have discovered something amazing about a really, really old fish fossil.
This fossil helps us understand how the skulls of animals with backbones, like...
How climate change causes massive landslides in Arctic
In a new study, researchers found climate change has been greatly reshaping the landscape of the Arctic.
The new finding suggests that it is time...
How dinosaur extinction helped shape our fruit-eating ancestors
The extinction of giant dinosaurs millions of years ago may have played a big role in shaping the environment that led to the evolution...
When frogs die off, snake diversity plummets
Since 1998, scientists have documented the global loss of amphibians.
More than 500 amphibian species have declined in numbers, including 90 that have gone extinct,...