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Risso's dolphins around the British Isles are part of a single population—genetically distinct from those elsewhere in the Atlantic, new research shows. Scientists studied the DNA of dolphins that stranded in England, Scotland and Wales from 1992 to 2016.

For decades, scientists have asserted that the leakage of warm, salty Indian Ocean water south of South Africa into the Atlantic is a major contributor to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a component of the global ocean conveyor system.

People often talk about "getting out into nature" as if all green spaces offer the same experience.

Earth's oceans repeatedly lost oxygen and produced metal deposits during the planet's deepest ice ages. An international team of researchers analyzed manganese and other chemical signatures preserved in more than 27,000 ancient seafloor samples collected from six continents.

We often speak of loving things like a cozy sweater or new camera. But this talk is not generally taken literally. It's a kind of emotional shorthand. We use it to express our fondness for precious objects.

A highly contagious herpes virus causes Marek's disease, a deadly illness that mainly infects chickens. While it does not make people sick, the virus causes tumors and paralysis in chickens and, if unchecked, can spread rapidly through entire flocks.

If you build a house in the United States today, there's a good chance you'll be living under the dictates of a neighborhood homeowners association—roughly two out of every three new homes are in an HOA, as are a third of existing homes.

Imagine trying to swallow a sip of water while your face feels stuffed with congestion, your sense of taste is dulled and your body is floating 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth.

The interaction between X-rays and matter can be actively controlled, according to an international research team led by the University of Hamburg and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory that has succeeded in producing bright X-ray images with significantly less damage. In an article published in Nature Communications, the researchers report using ultrafast pulses that partially reverse the damage they generate.

When a hurricane roars toward land, forecasters try to predict how high sea levels will rise to help coastal communities prepare for the worst impacts.

Roll back the tape of Earth's history, and geologists and astrobiologists remain perplexed about the environmental conditions on early Earth. That's because conventional pathways for understanding Earth's history have been lost to time owing to the planet's active geology and atmospheric weathering.

An international research team led by Assistant Professor Ryuji Takasaki of the Faculty of Biosphere-Geosphere Science at Okayama University of Science has published a paper proposing a new hypothesis on the evolutionary history of dinosaur digestive systems by focusing on gastroliths—stones found within dinosaur abdominal cavities. By examining the degree of wear on these gastroliths, the team sheds light on dinosaur digestion strategies. The findings are published in the journal Paleobiology.

Salty water flowing through Antarctica's Blood Falls contains a distinct community of marine-specific microorganisms, providing evidence that the brine system beneath the glacier has a marine origin, according to a paper published in Nature Geoscience. The findings offer new insights into how microbial communities can persist through major environmental transitions.

El Niño continues to intensify steadily and is expected to dominate global climate patterns in the August to October 2026 season, increasing the likelihood of above-normal temperatures across much of the world and driving significant shifts in rainfall patterns, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

It is six months since the main road into the village of Torcross, in South Devon, collapsed after a series of storms caused extensive damage to the community's sea defenses. Residents are still coming to terms with the devastation and isolation caused by the storms and awaiting the results of a £20 million investment that will see huge quantities of rock placed on the beach at Slapton Sands to bolster those defenses.

Ants live in highly organized colonies and cooperate daily to tackle a wide range of problems. Their striking group behaviors have fascinated biologists for centuries and even inspired the development of various artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

Symbioses between plants and fungi are essential for most plants. Fungal structures known as mycorrhizae extend the area from which plants can draw water and nutrients from the soil. In return, plants supply the fungi with carbohydrates produced through photosynthesis. Although the importance of this symbiosis has been known for decades, researchers have not previously been able to study the underground network in its natural structure.

A research team at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has successfully demonstrated an AI modeling approach that accurately and rapidly predicts how reactions between solid materials unfold over time. It is the first predictive model that accounts for how atoms travel through materials during solid-state reactions. Importantly, its predictions provide practical insights into the best recipes for making advanced materials.

Rice is the most-eaten food on the planet, and its discarded outer husk results in some 300 billion pounds of waste per year. FIU chemistry researcher Islam Ibrahim Hussein says the inedible castoffs could be the key to cleaner water.

Plant biologists and engineers have extended their studies to the skies to track airborne pollen once it leaves a crop. In a new study, published in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, researchers established an accurate methodology for tracking, measuring and forecasting pollen dispersal of genetically engineered switchgrass at both ground and atmospheric levels.

When designing microscopes, optical engineers have long faced a trade-off between speed, field of view and resolution. But improving one of these properties typically comes at the expense of another. Now, a UC Berkeley–led team of researchers has found a way to address this challenge, opening the door to new possibilities in the field of microscopy.

A review led by the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has revealed that tiny ground-dwelling invertebrates are overlooked but important seed dispersers, challenging the traditional focus on birds and mammals and offering new insights into forest regeneration and biodiversity conservation.

To turn abundant carbon dioxide into valuable fuel, we need a fast and efficient way to determine which catalysts work best over the longest time. AI models have the potential to help guide catalyst selection, but as with internet chatbots, AI models are only as good as the data you put into them.

The processes that capture carbon from the atmosphere and store it on the seabed are crucial for climate balance. However, assessing these mechanisms is often complicated because it requires measurements ranging from the surface to the deep ocean.

Researchers at Flinders University have discovered an unexpected way light can control tiny electronic structures inside advanced materials, a development that could help pave the way for more energy-efficient memory devices, sensors and future computing technologies.

Fungal diseases that affect grain crops can be devastating to global agriculture and food security. Fungicides are the most common preventive measure, but as fungal diseases become more prevalent, the pathogens become increasingly resilient.

Nate Rouette and his brother Nelson went shark fishing on Cape Cod hoping for an exciting catch, but were shocked by what they reeled in—a tropical species of shark with a reputation for eating everything it can swallow.

A centuries-old annual bird chick hunt on a remote Scottish island, known as the Guga Hunt, has been banned this year, authorities said Monday, citing conservation concerns.

Wildfires supercharged by drought and intense heat tore through the northwestern U.S. city of Spokane, forcing the evacuation of 65,000 people and reducing hundreds of buildings to cinders as firefighters raced Monday to contain the flames.

Shedd Aquarium has sent four zebra shark eggs to contribute to a conservation effort for the endangered species, marking the Chicago nonprofit's first delivery to Raja Ampat, Indonesia. As a founding partner of ReShark, Shedd Aquarium has long contributed expertise to the StAR Project (Stegostoma tigrinum Augmentation and Recovery)—ReShark's pioneering zebra shark, or Indo-Pacific Leopard Shark, recovery initiative.

The #MeToo movement began as a way for victims of gender-based violence to find solidarity, share their experiences and bring justice to perpetrators of misconduct. New research from the University of Kansas shows that conversations about #MeToo often become focused on punishment and forced poverty as justice for crimes instead of examining why gender-based violence happens and is prevalent in society.

A new study of bonnethead sharks (Sphyrna tiburo) in Florida dispelled a previous hypothesis about how the distinctive head shapes of males and females develop, offering new insight into one of the species' most unusual biological traits.

An Indigenous community in Indonesia has found a way to protect one of the world's rarest cockatoos without abandoning a centuries-old sacred tradition, according to new research led by The Australian National University (ANU), Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) and Perkumpulan Konservasi Kakatua Indonesia (KKI). The research is published in the Journal of Ethnobiology.

Moving a pet cat from an outdoor lifestyle to living indoors is easier than many owners expect, according to new research that could help improve feline welfare, protect wildlife and ease concerns about keeping cats contained.

For firefighters, physical fitness is a matter of safety, survival and long-term health. While past research has largely focused on individual habits, a new study has revealed that station leaders play a critical role in shaping firefighters' physical readiness.

Invar alloys resist expanding or contracting with temperature, a property valuable for precision instruments, but it has been unclear how this "invar effect" plays out separately in each element of complex, multimetal stainless invar alloys.

Researchers sequenced the genomes of three medaka, or Japanese rice fish, a common model organism used in biological research, nearly 10 and 20 years ago. While sequencing the genomes was relatively straightforward, assembling them was anything but.

Maybe to some degree. But a new international study suggests the communities we live in matter a whole lot, too. Researchers analyzed responses from 97,220 people across 66 countries and identified five broad factors associated with happier societies.

A bacterium linked to seafood-related illness and capable of resisting multiple antibiotics has been detected in fish-farming waters near Cat Ba Island, Vietnam, according to a new study highlighting the importance of monitoring antibiotic resistance in aquaculture environments.

Among Gen Z, 79% want a job mainly focused on helping people or making a positive difference in others' lives. But only about half of workers ages 18–29 who want such a position say they have one.

Fusion systems need inner walls that can withstand extreme heat. One promising solution uses liquid lithium to protect the walls, held like water in a sponge made of the exceptionally strong metal tungsten. An advanced manufacturing process can be used to make tungsten into sponge-like wall tiles with lots of pores for flowing liquid lithium. But this process also leaves the tungsten contaminated with other materials, such as carbon, oxygen or nitrogen.

The dancing lights of fireflies and the eerie blue sparkle in crashing waves get their glow when a molecular square of carbon and oxygen atoms breaks. New research from Stanford University has shown that mechanical force can cause that break to happen in a way different from what was previously known. The study, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, has implications for developing light sensors and understanding luminescence in nature.

How readily a cell divides and how well it survives are fundamental to life, shaping everything from organ size to the body's ability to withstand disease. That combination, known as cell fitness, isn't the same for everyone. Differences in genetics and environment can tip the scales toward developmental disorders, tissue degeneration and cancer.

An international study led by Flinders University has found a fertile area of inspiration to explain an important step in evolution—and it's a whole lot of poop. The new study describes the "fecal revolution" to explain a crucial turning point in animal and environmental evolution on Earth.

There's something almost comic about the modern British summer ritual: As soon as the mercury climbs, we head to the nearest park, sit cross-legged on scorched grass and hunch over a flimsy foil tray to sear sausages over an open flame.

In a billion years, the sun will start to run out of fuel and expand to become a red giant. Earth's oceans and atmosphere will be burned away, and Earth will likely be engulfed by the sun altogether. The sun will then shrink to a dim white dwarf, and all light and warmth in the solar system will diminish. In a hundred trillion years, the galaxy's ability to produce stars will be exhausted, and everything will turn dark. However, there's a way for life to escape this fate—and what's more, we woul

So far, almost all stellar-mass black holes detected by astronomers have been found in binary systems. However, astronomers have long suspected that these binary black holes are the exception and that, within the Milky Way, most exist on their own.

At first glance, it looks exactly like a seahorse. It has the same horse-shaped head tilted down from the body, the same curled, grasping tail and, in the males, a fully enclosed pouch for brooding the young.

While Earth's core consists mostly of iron, its density implies that lighter elements are also mixed in. Because hydrogen is abundant in the universe and can mix with iron under certain conditions, scientists suspect it makes up part of the lighter-element composition. Data from earthquakes suggest the inner part of the core also changes with depth, but scientists aren't sure exactly how this occurs. Now, a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that

Named for the mythical valley where the god Dionysus was raised in secret by nymphs, the asteroid 44 Nysa inhabits the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Through observations by the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have determined it to be the largest and brightest known member of a rare category of asteroids called "E-types," made of unusually bright, enstatite-rich material similar to some rare meteorites found on Earth. Separately, models built from how its brightness flickers as it s