Molecules assem­bled by hand

Weakly bound KCs molecules are transferred into what is known as their “absolute ground state”.
Image Credit: University of Innsbruck

Researchers from Hanns-Christoph Nägerl's group have produced the world’s first ultracold KCs molecules in their absolute ground state. Starting by mixing clouds of potassium and caesium atoms cooled almost to absolute zero temperature, they were able to use a combination of magnetic fields and laser beams to associate pairs of freely moving atoms into chemically stable molecules. 

As many of us remember from chemistry classes, molecules can only be produced in chemical reactions, which always occur at unpredictable, random times. We may also remember that higher temperatures make reactions faster, and sufficiently low temperatures may stop reactions from taking place altogether. These statements do not apply if chemistry is conducted by physicists. In the last 20 years, several different types of molecules have been produced in gaseous mixtures at temperatures close to absolute zero, using methods that narrow the exact time at which the molecules are made to a few microseconds. Until recently, KCs remained a gaping hole in the table of possible element combinations that have already been turned into molecules in this way. 

Wheat could use far more water than expected during future heatwaves

Dr Robert Caine
Photo Credit: Courtesy of University of Sheffield

Wheat crops prioritize water loss during extreme future climate conditions, according to new research from the University of Sheffield 

The study, led by Dr Robert Caine and Dr Holly Croft from the School of Biosciences at the University of Sheffield, revealed wheat crops lose many of the key water-saving benefits usually associated with growth at higher atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide when plants were exposed to heatwave conditions. 

These findings are vital for understanding how to optimize future wheat crop productivity and water usage. With heatwaves becoming increasingly routine as atmospheric CO2 concentration continues to rise, plant breeders will need to consider how crops use and conserve water when developing new wheat varieties to ensure it can grow effectively and survive extreme weather. 

Destination: Mars. First Stop: Iceland?

This picturesque vista is the watershed in southwest Iceland, where researchers collected mars rock analog samples.
Image Credit: Michael Thorpe/NASA Goddard

To say that a trip from Earth to Mars is merely a long one would be a massive understatement. On July 30, 2020, when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sent its Mars rover “Perseverance” atop an Atlas V rocket to the red planet to collect rock samples, it took the rover nearly seven months to reach its destination. This was only one step in a complex process that will take at least a decade to bring home these samples from Mars. While this is an unusually long wait for a sample shipment, it gives scientists ample time to find the best approach to study these rare and precious rocks.

In preparation, an international collaboration of scientists has started investigating sedimentary rock samples found in Iceland, a country whose terrain shares some compositional similarities and whose climate may be similar to ancient climates in certain Martian regions. Their results, published today in American Mineralogist, shed light on how high-resolution analyses of these complex, natural minerals can give scientists a deeper understanding of their geological history, both at home on Earth and 194 million miles away on Mars, though this requires careful interpretation. This collaboration is made up of researchers from the University of Maryland, NASA Goddard, Johnson Space Center, University of Göttingen, Chungbuk National University, and the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility at DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory.

The world’s oldest RNA extracted from woolly mammoth

“Such studies could fundamentally reshape our understanding of extinct megafauna as well as other species, revealing the many hidden layers of biology that have remained frozen in time until now”, says postdoc at the University of Caopenhagen, Emilio Mármol.
Image Credit: Scientific Frontline / stock image

Scientists have taken an important step closer to understanding the mythical mammoths that roamed the Earth thousands of years ago. 

For the first time ever, a research team has succeeded in isolating and sequencing RNA molecules from woolly mammoths dating back to the Ice Age. These RNA sequences are the oldest ever recovered and come from mammoth tissue preserved in the Siberian permafrost for nearly 40,000 years. The study, published in the journal Cell, shows that not only DNA and proteins, but also RNA, can be preserved for very long periods of time, and provide new insights into the biology of species that have long since become extinct. 

A new theory of molecular evolution

Evolutionary biologist Jianzhi Zhang
Photo Credit: Courtesy of University of Michigan

For a long time, evolutionary biologists have thought that the genetic mutations that drive the evolution of genes and proteins are largely neutral: they’re neither good nor bad, but just ordinary enough to slip through the notice of selection.

Now, a University of Michigan study has flipped that theory on its head.

In the process of evolution, mutations occur which can then become fixed, meaning that every individual in the population carries that mutation. A longstanding theory, called the Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution, posits that most genetic mutations that are fixed are neutral. Bad mutations will be quickly discarded by selection, according to the theory, which also assumes that good mutations are so rare that most fixations will be neutral, says evolutionary biologist Jianzhi Zhang.

The U-M study, led by Zhang, aimed to examine whether this was true. The researchers found that so many good mutations occurred that the Neutral Theory cannot hold. At the same time, they found that the rate of fixations is too low for the large number of beneficial mutations that Zhang’s team observed.

To resolve this, the researchers suggest that mutations that are beneficial in one environment may become harmful in another environment. These beneficial mutations may not become fixed because of frequent environmental changes. The study, supported by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, was published in Nature Ecology and Evolution.

MailWasher Pro

Image Credit: Courtesy of Firetrust Limited

In the modern digital ecosystem, the email inbox remains a central hub for communication. However, it is also the primary attack vector for spam, phishing attempts, and malware. Most email clients and webmail services provide built-in spam filtering, but these are often reactive and imperfect. MailWasher Pro, from Firetrust, is a long-standing "pre-emptive" spam filter that offers a different, more robust solution: it cleans your email before it ever touches your computer.

This review examines the technology, features, and overall value of MailWasher Pro.

Ecology: In-Depth Description

Photo Credit: Глеб Коровко

Ecology is the scientific study of the interactions between living organisms and their environment, including both living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components. Its primary goals are to understand the principles governing the distribution, abundance, and relationships of organisms, as well as the flow of energy and materials within ecosystems.

Earth Science: In-Depth Description

Image Credit: Scientific Frontline / stock image

Earth Science is the comprehensive study of the planet Earth, encompassing its physical composition, structure, the processes that shape it, and its history. Its primary goal is to understand the complex, integrated systems of our planet—including its solid land (lithosphere), water (hydrosphere), air (atmosphere), and life (biosphere)—and how they interact, change over time, and affect human life.

Conservation: In-Depth Description

Photo Credit: Tomáš Malík

Conservation is the scientific discipline and practice dedicated to the protection, management, and restoration of Earth's biological diversity—including species, their habitats, and ecosystems—to prevent their decline, extinction, and degradation, while ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources. The primary goals of conservation are to maintain the planet's ecological health, preserve evolutionary processes, and secure the vital ecosystem services upon which all life, including humanity, depends.

Computer Science: In-Depth Description

Photo Credit: Massimo Botturi

Computer Science is the systematic study of computation, information, and automation, focusing on algorithmic processes, computational machines, and their application. Its primary goals are to understand the theoretical foundations of what can be computed, to design and implement hardware and software systems for processing information, and to apply computational thinking to solve complex problems across all domains of human endeavor.

Chemistry: In-Depth Description

Photo Credit: Artem Podrez

Chemistry is the scientific discipline dedicated to the study of matter—its composition, properties, structure, and the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions, as well as the energy that is released or absorbed during these processes. The primary goal of chemistry is to understand the behavior of matter at the atomic and molecular level and to use this understanding to discover, create, and manipulate new substances and processes.

What Is: Narcissism | Part one of the "Dark Tetrad"

Image Credit: Scientific Frontline / AI generated

The term "narcissism" is one of the most frequently deployed yet widely misunderstood concepts in the modern psychological lexicon. Rooted in the Greek myth of Narcissus—the youth who fell in love with his own reflection—its popular use is often pejorative, synonymous with simple vanity or selfishness. In clinical and research contexts, however, the construct is far more complex. Narcissism is not a binary attribute but a self-centered personality style that exists on a continuum, ranging from normal and adaptive traits at one end to a severe, pathological personality disorder at the other. 

UH calculates survival needs of deep-diving Hawaiian pilot whales

An aerial view of Hawaiʻi short-finned pilot whales at the surface.
Photo Credit: HIMB Marine Mammal Research Program

For the first time, scientists have calculated a detailed “energetic budget” for Hawaiʻi‘s short-finned pilot whales, revealing what it takes to power their extreme, 800-meter (2,600-feet) dives for food.

A new study led by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) found an average adult whale must eat 142 squid daily to survive, scaling up to 416 million squid annually for the entire population of short-finned pilot whales. This data, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, provides a new benchmark for protecting the historically understudied marine mammals.

“Pilot whales are one of the only oceanic dolphins that regularly dive to extreme depths—up to 1,000 meters—to find prey,” said William Gough, Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP) postdoctoral researcher and lead author of the study. “This deep-diving, high-risk foraging strategy requires a delicate balance between the energy they spend and the energy they acquire. Our study is the first step in quantifying that balance for this specific population.”

Severe impact of avian flu on southern elephant seals

Elephant seals on Lagoon Island near Ryder Bay, Adelaide Island.
Photo Credit: Steve Gibbs, BAS

New research reveals 47% decline in breeding female elephant seals at sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia following a highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak. 

Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have documented the severe impact of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) on southern elephant seals at South Georgia, revealing a 47% decline in breeding females between 2022 and 2024. 

The research, published today in the journal Communications Biology, shows that the world’s largest population of southern elephant seals – which accounts for over half of the global population of breeding age – has suffered unprecedented losses following the arrival of HPAI H5N1 at the remote sub-Antarctic island in late 2023. 

A system for targeted drug delivery using magnetic microrobots

Microrobots can be transported and activated in a safe and controlled manner, marking a decisive step forward in the use of these technological devices in targeted medical treatments.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of University of Barcelona

The study, led by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) and published in the journal Science, involves Professor Josep Puigmartí-Luis from the Faculty of Chemistry and the Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry (IQTC) of the University of Barcelona. He is the only researcher from a Spanish institution to sign this paper, which is the result of the European ANGIE project, an initiative coordinated by Professor Salvador Pané (ETH) in collaboration with the Chemistry In Flow and Nanomaterials Synthesis (ChemInFlow) research group, led by Professor Puigmartí. 

The new microrobotic platform presents an innovative strategy for administering drugs in a precise and targeted manner. It is scalable and can be applied to numerous situations in which the administration of therapeutic agents is difficult to access, such as tumors, arteriovenous malformations, localized infections, or tissue injuries.