Monash University-led researchers have directly imaged tiny swirling structures inside an atomically thin semiconductor, opening new possibilities for future low-energy electronic technologies. Published in Science Advances, the study reveals structures known as merons and antimerons, nanoscale "whirlpools" of electrical polarization, in twisted layers of the semiconductor tungsten diselenide (WSe₂).
A new study has revealed that peatlands may break under their own weight before they reach their carbon storage potential.
Much like a courier reading an address on a package, neurons must deliver RNA to the precise locations where it is needed. A KAIST research team has discovered how a small chemical modification on RNA acts as a "delivery tag," helping selected RNAs travel to distant regions of neurons.
In 1931, physicist Hans Bethe predicted that, in certain one-dimensional quantum systems, particles can bind together to form multi-particle states known as Bethe strings. Unlike ordinary molecules, which are held together by chemical bonds, Bethe strings arise purely from interactions between particles and exist only in one dimension. For decades, Bethe strings remained primarily a theoretical concept.
Does helping people struggling to survive today make any difference for future generations? New research from the University of Utah has documented evidence that it does. Rather than viewing present-day poverty and long-term risks as competing priorities, the research team led by psychologist Kyle Fiore Law sees them as interconnected.
The federal government recently announced a suite of new laws designed to address harmful content on digital platforms.
Astronomers have identified a peculiar radio transient in the Milky Way that has remained active for more than two decades, defying the behavior expected of known classes of galactic radio sources. The paper posted to the arXiv preprint server on Aug. 21 discusses the rare event that may have caused this bizarre radio emission.
Western Australian author Hamish Kelly has struggled with reading for almost two decades. In his first of two books, he describes his experience of learning to read:
A $10 million Australian government campaign celebrating inspirational teachers risked overlooking the workplace conditions driving educators from the profession, according to new research led by Curtin University published in the Journal of Education Policy.
In a win for people and the environment, new economic modeling from James Cook University researchers reveals that a $5 million investment to control crown-of-thorns (CoTS) starfish numbers in the Cairns region created 61 new jobs and generated $20 million in economic activity.
As tech companies like Meta, Google and TikTok face ongoing scrutiny over addictive platform design, the rapid rise of micro-dramas offers a glimpse into how AI, algorithms and commercial incentives could make digital entertainment even harder to put down.
As Africa prepares for the arrival of a powerful El Niño weather event, an international team of researchers led by the University of Sydney and Imperial College London has found that access to improved forecasts alone will not protect many of the region's poorest livestock farmers from the impacts of climate change.
A surge in Indonesia's wood pellet and chip production is driving a new wave of deforestation, threatening the vast archipelago's remaining tropical forests, vital biodiversity hot spots and the land of Indigenous peoples, according to new satellite analysis from environmental nongovernmental organizations.
The discovery of water in dark craters at the moon's poles has sparked a "moon rush" to establish bases there, followed by villages, cities and heavy industry. How sustainable is this rush?
Transparent supply chains boost consumer trust—if the results are positive. But what if they aren't? A new paper by Kühne Logistics University (KLU), in collaboration with the University of Tennessee and Tilburg University, published in the Journal of Business Logistics, reaches a surprising conclusion. The researchers advise companies: It's better to publish mixed results than none at all.
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has opened many wonders of the cosmos to scientists since it began science operations a few years ago. But one thing it hasn't done is find an "exomoon." These still-theoretical moons orbit exoplanets in other star systems, and JWST was supposed to find a plethora of them.
A distant star has captured astronomers' attention over the past decade, teasing them with indications that it will soon explode as a supernova. But new research shows that something else entirely is behind the star's outbursts. Rather than an impending catastrophic explosion, a previously unseen companion may be responsible for the star's behavior.
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed an artificial intelligence framework that helps researchers use atomic force microscopes to identify important nanoscale features while autonomously targeting the most informative areas of a sample for closer study.
The surface of Mercury is filled with craters, ridges and steep cliffs. Over billions of years, as the planet's interior cooled, the planet also shrank. Just as the skin of a drying fruit wrinkles when what is inside it shrinks, Mercury's rocky surface crumpled into ridges and cliffs as its interior cooled and the planet contracted. Mercury has quite literally grown smaller with age.
Cell membranes and the proteins within them control many vital processes and play a key role in health and disease. But studying them in 3D images of cells has so far meant slow, manual work. A team from Helmholtz Munich, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Biozentrum of the University of Basel has developed MemBrain v2, an AI tool that automates this task—cutting work that once took weeks down to a few hours. The study is published in Nature Methods.