Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain There is still so much we don’t understand about the origin of life on Earth. The definition of life itself is a source of debate among scientists, but most researchers agree on the fundamental ingredients of a living cell. Water, energy, and a few essential elements are the prerequisites for cells … Read more
The newly discovered dodecahedron photographed during the dig. Credit: Norton Disney Archaeology Group Roman dodecahedra are something of an enigma: there is no known mention of these 12-sided, hollow objects in ancient Roman texts or images. First discovered in the 18th century, around 130 dodecahedra have been found across the Roman Empire, although it is … Read more
Predicted human presence across Sahul 35,000 years ago, combining both northern and southern migration entry points. Credit: Tristan Salles/Nature New research led by the University of Sydney offers fresh understanding of the migration patterns of Australia and New Guinea’s First Peoples, and where they lived in the 40,000 years following humanity’s arrival on the then … Read more
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Climate models are some of the most complex pieces of software ever written, able to simulate a vast number of different parts of the overall system, such as the atmosphere or ocean. Many have been developed by hundreds of scientists over decades and are constantly being added to and refined. They … Read more
Research and development version of the oral insulin capsule. Credit: University of Sydney/ Stefanie Zingsheim. An international team, led by researchers from Australia, have developed a system using nanotechnology that could allow people with diabetes to take oral insulin in the future. The researchers say the new insulin could be eaten by taking a tablet … Read more
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Before you buy something, or visit a new restaurant, or see a new film, you may be tempted to check out the online reviews. Researching what strangers think of the things we might like has become a familiar part of the modern consumer experience. But how can we know which reviews … Read more
COTS outbreaks, spatial extent and management action. Credit: PLOS ONE (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298073 New research has revealed that years of targeted crown-of-thorns starfish control on the Great Barrier Reef has protected coral and supported reef health and resilience. The study led by the Reef Authority in collaboration with research and delivery partners demonstrated up to … Read more
Credit: University of Glasgow We field a torrent of science news updates every week and on Saturday morning, we highlight three or four of them based on the observed preferences of a panel of dogs as shown by the Paired-Stimulus Preference Assessment, a standardized evaluation of preferred stimuli. This week, the dogs selected stories about … Read more
VanWalleghem said there is room to push costs down as the company gains experience from these first few plants. The storage systems have a projected lifespan of about 50 years, which is an important data point when comparing it to battery systems, which have much shorter lives, he said. Yiyi Zhou, an analyst for BloombergNEF, … Read more
Credit: Physical Review Letters (2024). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.180802 Researchers from the University of Portsmouth have unveiled a quantum sensing scheme that achieves the pinnacle of quantum sensitivity in measuring the transverse displacement between two interfering photons. This new technique has the potential to enhance superresolution imaging techniques that already employ single-photon sources as probes for the … Read more
