The Anthropocene became part of the zeitgeist after Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen launched the idea in 2000. This is the notion that a crescendo of human impacts has recently propelled Earth out of the relatively stable climatic conditions of the Holocene epoch, during which human civilization developed and flourished, to produce a new kind of planet.

Finding a fossilized dinosaur egg is exceptionally rare, but finding a stash of more than 250 shell fragments in the chilly southern reaches of the planet is even more surprising. The discoveries come from southernmost Patagonia in Argentina, where giant, long-necked titanosaurs roamed toward the end of the dinosaur era. Previous egg discoveries suggested that these massive beasts usually nested much farther north.

Canada's last epishelf lake drained into the Arctic Ocean following the 2020 breakup of the Milne Ice Shelf and will not recover, a new study confirms.

We have all seen something suddenly break: a phone screen cracks, a plastic object snaps or a piece of glass shatters. To our eyes, the failure seems to happen all at once. But what if the most important part of the break happens long before the final snap?

A new comparative review, published in The Anatomical Record, examines factors that may lead to birth complications among humans and other mammals. The study suggests that fetal sex may play an important role in risky births in humans and several other species.

Topological quantum materials combine unusual electronic states with properties such as magnetism or superconductivity, offering possibilities for future electronics and quantum technologies. Researchers at Tohoku University have now shown that changing the number of layers in a crystal can provide a systematic way to design topological magnets. The work is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

UC Riverside environmental engineers have identified key chemical reactions that occur when ultraviolet light is used to destroy "forever chemical" pollutants in water, providing a roadmap for developing more effective cleanup technologies.

A new study reveals that horse personality is not only a matter of genetics, age or breed but also systematically linked to how horses are housed, ridden and cared for, and to the quality of the relationship they share with their owners. The findings underscore the importance of everyday management decisions for equine personality and welfare.

Material properties such as sound insulation, resistance to extreme heat and thermal expansion originate from how the zillions of microscopic building blocks (nuclei and electrons) interact at equilibrium and respond to perturbations. Atoms are typically about one ten-billionth of a meter across, so there can be a lot of parts to keep track of—a task that is complicated at the quantum-mechanical level, where particles are neither here nor there until observed.

More than two decades after scientists first sequenced the entire human genome—all 3 billion base pairs, of DNA code—the meaning of much of this code remains a mystery.

Carbon emissions from the petrochemical industry could increase by 50% by 2050, according to new research from the University of Sheffield. The study, published in Nature Sustainability, provides the most detailed data to date on emissions from one of the world's biggest emitters of carbon dioxide.

Look closely at Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa, one of Japan's most iconic masterpieces. The brilliant white of the waves, snow on Mount Fuji and clouds above contain no white pigment. Instead, their whiteness comes from the way light scatters off the unprinted fibers of the washi paper itself.

Scientists have discovered various Denisovan remains in Southwest China dating to the late Middle Pleistocene, including the first Denisovan radius—one of two long bones in the forearm.

It can't be heard, but different parts of the human body are in constant conversation, communicating to keep the entire system running efficiently. For biologists, being able to listen in on this discussion is a long-sought-after goal. Over the years, researchers have caught snippets of these exchanges, but the complete dialogue has remained out of reach.

Monash University scientists have developed a global framework to tackle a major blind spot in biodiversity conservation: Insects underpin ecosystems and food production but remain largely invisible to conservation efforts across the tropics.

Scientists from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and Liverpool John Moores University in England have discovered the first adult T. rex trackway, providing insights into how this emblematic predator moved. The findings are published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Indonesia's Mount Anak Krakatau has erupted again this week, sending plumes of volcanic ash high into the sky and disrupting hundreds of flights. More than 300,000 passengers have been affected.

As countries compete for skilled workers and grapple with aging populations and labor shortages, understanding who is moving across borders is increasingly important. A new study provides the first global data set of immigration composition disaggregated simultaneously by age, sex and educational attainment, offering a new basis for tracking brain gain and brain drain and improving population projections.

An international team of scientists has recreated a 1,000-year timeline documenting ecological changes and human impact on the area surrounding Crawford Lake, the famed location of the proposed Anthropocene.

Cannibalism was sometimes on the Neolithic menu, as numerous archaeological discoveries have revealed. But while ancient human bones show the practice took place, far less evidence exists about the forms it may have taken or why people occasionally consumed one another. Was it to stave off hunger during times of desperation? Did different tribes eat their defeated enemies? Or was cannibalism part of complex rituals?