Scientists are turning venom, radioisotopes, engineered proteins, and AI into powerful new tools against cancer. From Amazonian scorpions yielding molecules that kill breast cancer cells as effectively as chemotherapy, to improved fibrin sealants and custom-grown bioactive factors, researchers are p…
Preparing catalysts by sending hot, steamy car exhaust over them could improve their efficiency and reduce the amount of rare and expensive metals required in vehicle catalytic converters and many other emission control and industrial processes.
The transition to electric vehicles won't reduce carbon emissions unless countries clean up their electricity grids.
New research shows that elevation changes and earthquakes in Italy's Campi Flegrei volcanic area are caused by rising pressure in a geothermal reservoir -- not magma or its gases, as commonly thought. Channeling water runoff or lowering groundwater levels could reduce risks for surrounding communiti…
A team of engineers has developed a system that could transform desalination practices, making the process more adaptable, resilient and cheaper. The new system is powered by sunlight and uses a creative approach to heat recovery for extended water production -- with and without sunshine.
Roughly two-thirds of all atmospheric methane, a potent greenhouse gas, comes from methanogens. Tracking down which methanogens in which environment produce methane with a specific isotope signature is difficult, however. UC Berkeley researchers have for the first time CRISPRed the key enzyme involv…
New research reveals that carbon made it possible for Earth’s molten core to freeze into a solid heart, stabilizing the magnetic field that protects our planet. Without it, Earth’s deep interior — and life above — might look very different.
Barrels dumped off Southern California decades ago have been found leaking alkaline waste, not just DDT, leaving behind eerie white halos and transforming parts of the seafloor into toxic vents. The findings reveal a persistent and little-known legacy of industrial dumping that still shapes marine l…
New experiments suggest that freezing and thawing on early Earth may have helped primitive cell-like structures grow and evolve. Tiny lipid bubbles behaved very differently depending on their membrane makeup—some fused into larger compartments and captured DNA more efficiently. These fusion events c…
Humanity may already be living far beyond what Earth can sustainably support, according to a sweeping new study analyzing more than 200 years of population and environmental data. Researchers found that while population growth once fueled innovation and expansion, the trend shifted decades ago as th…
Scientists have developed a lightning-fast AI tool called HEAT-ML that can spot hidden “safe zones” inside a fusion reactor where parts are protected from blistering plasma heat. Finding these areas, known as magnetic shadows, is key to keeping reactors running safely and moving fusion energy closer…
Humanity has reached the first Earth system tipping point, the widespread death of warm-water coral reefs, marking the beginning of irreversible planetary shifts. As global temperatures move beyond 1.5°C, the world risks cascading crises such as ice sheet melt, Amazon rainforest dieback, and ocean c…
Physicists may soon witness a cosmic fireworks show: the explosive death of a primordial black hole. Once thought to be unimaginably rare, new research suggests there’s up to a 90% chance of catching one in the next decade. Such an event would not only confirm Hawking radiation but also provide a co…
For the first time, scientists have observed electrons in graphene behaving like a nearly perfect quantum fluid, challenging a long-standing puzzle in physics. By creating ultra-clean samples, the team at IISc uncovered a surprising decoupling of heat and charge transport, shattering the traditional…
