Materials

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain After analyzing DNA from almost 10,000 people from ancient and pre-modern societies, our international team of researchers have discovered six cases of Down syndrome in past human populations. Our results, published today in Nature Communications, show people with Down syndrome lived in ancient populations. Although these individuals were very young when … Read more

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Tackling climate change by planting trees has an intuitive appeal. They absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere without using expensive technology. The suggestion that you can plant trees to offset your carbon emissions is widespread. Many businesses, from those selling shoes to booze, now offer to plant a … Read more

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recent adoption of a more stringent annual limit on fine particulate matter, or soot, fulfills an overdue obligation to curb a pervasive and deadly type of air pollution that triggers asthma, heart attacks, strokes and a host of other health problems. But the agency made a … Read more

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain After a long battle, Paris’s beloved bouquinistes will be staying put this summer. The decision, announced on 13 February by the French government, came after considerable public backlash to the police prefecture’s original plan to move part of the iconic Seine booksellers elsewhere for the inauguration of the Olympics Games on … Read more

Credit: Sebastian Pfautsch/Western Sydney University Weather extremes driven by climate change hit low-income communities harder. The reasons include poor housing and lack of access to safe and comfortable public spaces. This makes “climate readiness” a pressing issue for governments, city planners and emergency services in fast-growing areas such as Western Sydney. We work with culturally … Read more

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain A moderately strong earthquake late Sunday shook parts of Indonesia’s main island of Java and the country’s capital. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The U.S. Geological Survey said that the shallow quake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 and that it occurred 37.2 kilometers (23.11 miles) below … Read more

The exceptional quasar J0529−4351. Credit: Nature Astronomy (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-024-02195-x A new study published in Nature Astronomy describes the most luminous object ever observed by astronomers. It is a black hole with a mass of 17 billion Suns, swallowing a greater amount of mass than the sun every single day. It has been known about for … Read more

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Our Earth is around 4.5 billion years old. Way back in its earliest years, vast oceans dominated. There were frequent volcanic eruptions and, because there was no free oxygen in the atmosphere, there was no ozone layer. It was a dynamic and evolving planet. Scientists know all of this—but, of course, … Read more

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain In our constant quest to understand artists and their genius, we often put them on a pedestal, or we assume that they are otherworldly beings with incomprehensible thoughts. This myth, though common, distances us from everything they share with us. It makes us feel that their feats and successes are far … Read more

A calendar shows the month of February, including leap day, Feb. 29, on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, in Glenside, Pa., Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke Leap year. It’s a delight for the calendar and math nerds among us. So how did it all begin and why? Have a look at some of … Read more