Small gardens are a big barrier to supporting nature—but better planning could protect UK wildlife

A new study by Chester Zoo and Nottingham Trent University scientists revealed that just over a third (38%) of more than 230 ...

Tiny atomic tweak makes plastic-eating enzymes more powerful

A new approach that changes just one atom in plastic-degrading enzymes could help make them more efficient while maintaining ...

As AI reshapes jobs and workers change industries, employers need to be more flexible too

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the tasks people do at work and the skills they need. As work changes, being able to ...

Greenland's Qaanaaq Ice Cap has lost enough ice to produce a layer of water about 8 meters deep

Each summer, researchers from Hokkaido University returned to the Qaanaaq Ice Cap in northwestern Greenland to measure changes in the ice surface using aluminum poles drilled into the ice. Their ...

Discovery of CRISPR's long lost ancestor may expand gene-editing toolkit

CRISPR may be a powerful technology for gene editing, but the system existed in bacteria long before scientists began using it. For billions of years, CRISPR has acted as a natural immune system in ...

Hemp waste cellulose unlocks tougher biodegradable plastics

Korean researchers have developed a method to strengthen biodegradable plastics using hemp hurd, an agricultural byproduct. The approach is expected to be applicable to other large-volume agricultural ...

Humans or AI? Who or what can scam you more effectively?

A text from your neighborhood gardening club friend Ben offering a deal on seeds might seem too specific to be a scam. But ...

Who benefits from tariffs, according to research

Tariffs are usually debated as trade policy. But a study from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business treats them as something else: a mechanism for redistributing wealth.

Coffee on the nanoscale: Graphene oxide membrane removes half the caffeine while retaining key compounds

The humble coffee filter has the relatively simple job of letting the coffee through and leaving the grounds behind. But researchers from the ARC Center of Excellence for Carbon Science and Innovation ...

Background hums and buzzes affect human behavior, researcher finds

Have you ever stopped and listened to the background sounds in a room you are in? The hum of the ventilation? The buzz of electricity? While most of the time we are barely aware of these sounds, ...

Hubble spots an out-of-sync galaxy

Though the spiral galaxy in this new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope seems serene, it hides a chaotic secret. This galaxy is NGC 4698, and it lies about 55 million light-years away in ...

From the start, the solar system chose fire over ice to build its first bodies

When the solar system first took up the task of building solid bodies—such as planets, moons and protoplanets—it basically had a choice between two ingredients: heat-forged chondrules, which were ...