The good news: When environmental rules pressure one company, the effect can spread through shared boardroom ties, leading connected firms to reduce emissions, too.

In a significant advance in biological quantum sensing, a research team led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has discovered and tested a new mechanism of action in which proteins can be controlled with radio waves. In doing so, they influence a sensitive quantum state known as spin and make it visible via light. In the future, such findings could help detect and even direct biochemical processes in cells simply from the outside using radio waves.

From sizzling bacon in the kitchen to wildfire smoke in the sky, cooking and pollution release microscopic particles that affect humans' health, the air they breathe, and even weather and climate. New research from Virginia Tech is poised to upend how scientists think about the structure of these tiny airborne droplets and what that means for predictions around air quality, pollution spread, and climate models.

Although same-sex marriage has not been legalized nationally in Japan, various municipal governments have independently introduced partnership certification systems for same-sex couples.

Embryonic development is one of the most dynamic biological processes in nature. Cells and tissues organize and reorganize themselves following incredibly precise patterns, while remaining flexible and robust. Scientists are increasingly probing the role the physical properties of embryonic tissues—such as rigidity or stiffness—play in this process.

France experienced its hottest spring on record, the country's weather service said Tuesday, after an exceptional early heat wave that also broke seasonal highs in England and Wales.

The Amazon rainforest responded to the most severe drought ever recorded in the basin with an unexpected defense mechanism. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany, found that during and after the intense 2023–2024 El Niño cycle, the most intense drought ever recorded in the region, vegetation significantly changed its chemical emissions to cope with environmental stress. The study was published in Communications Earth & Environment.

North Carolina's blueberry farmers may have a beetle problem. A new study from North Carolina State University has identified destructive beetles inhabiting North Carolina blueberry fields as Prionus imbricornus, a species of longhorn beetle. Known for their long antennae, the wood-boring beetles are an emerging pest in NC blueberries. Female adults typically lay their eggs in the soil near the roots of hardwood trees; their larvae, which can grow up to five inches long, then consume and destroy those roots, potentially killing the tree. Adults do not feed.

Researchers have captured the first atomic structures of human SMUG1, an enzyme that helps cells repair damaged DNA. The findings provide new insight into how cells recognize and remove harmful DNA bases, and may support future efforts to develop drugs that target this DNA repair pathway.

Four-and-a-half billion years ago, a massive world—possibly as big as the moon or even Mars—orbited our sun before crashing into another celestial body and shattering into rubble. Now, in a paper published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, scientists report the first definitive evidence that this lost planetary embryo (protoplanet) existed. Its unique geological makeup challenges long-held assumptions about how planets evolve.

As U.S. cities prepare to host the FIFA World Cup, familiar warnings about human trafficking "spikes" at major sporting events have reemerged.

If your community was threatened by a wildfire, would you be able to quickly evacuate? A new study from UC Santa Barbara reveals that the number of roads out of a community may be one of the strongest predictors of wildfire fatalities, and that a surprisingly specific threshold separates high-risk communities from safer ones.

A new global study has found that people without access to clean drinking water are significantly more likely to experience food insecurity and food safety threats, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated global action to address these issues together.

A fossil mammal tooth smaller than a grain of rice does not announce itself loudly. It must be hard won from sediment and stone. Then, under a microscope, it reveals itself—no longer just a speck of blackness but a surface of cusps, ridges, and worn edges.

A key step in the origin of many pandemics occurs when an animal-borne virus infects humans and then evolves to spread more efficiently from person to person. That is why scientists and physicians keep a close watch on viruses that could jump from animals to humans, such as emerging strains of avian flu and bat coronaviruses, as well as viruses that have already crossed into humans but, for now, spread poorly among people, such as hantavirus and Ebola.

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) have discovered a microscopic organism that can transform into a cannibalistic "supergiant" that drastically changes size, shape, and behavior, and abandons filter-feeding to hunt and consume their genetically identical relatives.

Globally, about 1 in 5 people in jobs live in poverty. A key reason lies in how global supply chains are organized. From agriculture to tourism, many jobs are embedded in systems that keep wages low, even as they generate value for international markets.

China's Tianwen-2 sample-return mission is well on its way to its target, an asteroid called Kamo'oalewa. The spacecraft left Earth in May 2025 and should return in late 2027 with samples of a space rock that scientists had assumed originated from the moon. However, a new study published in Nature Communications suggests that we may be mistaken about the asteroid's origin.

Canadian scientists have made a significant advance in understanding the mechanisms that enable embryos to properly form their limbs, thanks to new research led by Université de Montréal medical professor Marie Kmita at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM). In findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Kmita and her team highlight the crucial role of certain molecular systems that act as true "genetic brakes," ensuring that development proceeds correctly.

A research collaboration has developed a novel fluorescent nanosensor capable of rapidly detecting indole-3-propionic acid (IPA), an emerging biomarker linked to gut health and disease. The breakthrough is described in the team's paper, "Fluorescent Nanosensor for Indole-3-Propionic Acid Detection in Gut Health Monitoring," published in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials.