Science News

The terrifying mechanics of the Nepali flash flood

Jellyfish force partial shutdown of French nuclear plant

It is the second consecutive year that jellyfish has forced the closure of the Gravelines power station in northern…

Traders brought Central American cacao to Georgia 1,000 years ago

"We built this city on good cacao" does have a nice ring to it.

Octopuses released into Adriatic Sea to tackle invasive crabs

Atlantic blue crabs have moved into the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas, where they are a problem both for ecosystems…

How much of a problem is AI’s water use?

AI’s water footprint is growing, but location and cooling technology make a difference.

Aphantasia Beginner's Guide

Aphantasia is the inability to visualize or create mental images, meaning people with this condition think conceptually…

Landsat 9 pass captured the effects of yesterday's catastrophic glacier collapse

Air Conditioning Is Not a Luxury, It Is a Necessity

Europe's heat waves are killing tens of thousands annually, yet many European governments continue to restrict air…

Exercise may create new neurons by making other brain cells contract

Physical activity causes a type of brain cell called astrocytes to contract, which then leads to the formation of new…

Huge progress made in attempt to upgrade standard model of particles

A challenging mathematical effort undertaken by a team of undergraduates has put bounds on a promising set of ways to…

What caused the Nepal-Tibet flash floods?

At least 270 people have died in the massive flash floods, while more than 800 others are missing.

Collapsed glacier likely caused devastating Nepal-Tibet floods, scientists say

Preliminary investigations by scientists have pointed to a collapsed glacier as the cause, highlighting the issue of…

Glaciers in the Alps are on track for record-breaking ice loss

Glacier loss could break the 2022 record after a series of heatwaves this summer, raising the risk of falling river…

At least 12 dead as wildfires sweep through northern Algeria

Northern Africa has experienced severe heatwaves this summer, leading to hundreds of fires across the region.

High-Resolution Imaging for Statistical Validation of TESS Planet Candidates

Researchers analyzed high-resolution imaging data for 443 TESS planet candidates and found that 72% of validated small…

Worst-case glacial lake flood scenarios in a transboundary Himalayan basin 2022

Researchers assessed glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) risks in a transboundary Himalayan basin, examining both current…

US drug agency approves breakthrough treatment for pancreatic cancer

Experts have hailed the drug, daraxonrasib, as a game changer for one of the world's deadliest cancers.

Richard Feynman’s 80-year-old quantum postulate has now been validated

Decades after it has been posited as a foundational principle of quantum physics, Richard Feynman’s “path integral” has…

Want to know everything about time? Read Jim Al-Khalili’s new book

If you want a thorough examination of time, then the excellent – and extremely meaty – book On Time is for you, says…

The quest to save the bananas we love so much makes scary reading

Without serious technical efforts, banana crops faces collapse worldwide.

Why do we feel emotional about fictional characters?

Readers provide different perspectives to tackle the question of why humans so readily adopt fiction into our lives

Why don’t we sneeze when we are asleep?

Our readers don’t agree with this statement, and even broaden out their evidence base to their furry companions

Are there plants that could survive as a food source on the moon? Part 2

Fresh answers are questioning the broader applicability of the Wardian case – and note the importance of where on the…

This week’s new questions

Is there such a thing as an olfactory illusion, and what forces make a particle of fluid start spiralling down…

Can ‘quantum musical agents’ really make a melody better?

Feedback wonders if a bum note is being struck in a new paper exploring "quantum teleportation in multi-agent systems…

The healthcare industry isn’t built for coming off medication

Starting a new medication is relatively easy once you have a prescription from your doctor, but stopping is much harder,…

FDA Approves First in Class Targeted Therapy for Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

The FDA approved Rasonque (daraxonrasib), a first-in-class RAS inhibitor targeting the most common form of pancreatic…

5 graphs that show how the record-breaking El Niño will affect the world

A stronger El Niño means more extreme weather, including droughts and wildfires in some places and flooding and tropical…

Are mushroom-growing kits seeding a biodiversity crisis across Europe?

What began as a seemingly harmless and delicious hobby may have released an invasive species across the continent.