Two experimental alloys resisted cracking at −424°F by forming new crystal defects, offering a possible route to tougher metals for extreme cold. Most metals become stronger as they cool, but some also become more vulnerable to breaking. Iron, tungsten, and chromium belong to a class called body-centered cubic metals, whose atomic arrangement can make them […]
Chernobyl’s Radioactive Debris Is Defying Scientists’ Expectations 40 Years Later
Some of Chernobyl’s radioactive debris is more resilient than scientists expected, offering clues to when the material trapped inside could escape into the environment. Radioactive dust still contaminates the soil around Chernobyl four decades after explosions scattered debris from the nuclear reactor in Ukraine in 1986. The fragments measure just 8 to 50 micrometers across […]
The World May Be Much Closer to a Major Conservation Goal Than Scientists Thought
The world may be closer to its 30% land conservation goal, but gaps in grassland and shrubland protection show why acreage alone cannot safeguard wildlife. Some areas that support wildlife appear in national conservation records but are missing from the global tally. Including them could bring the share of land in some form of conservation […]
The World May Be Much Closer to a Major Conservation Goal Than Scientists Thought
The world may be closer to its 30% land conservation goal, but gaps in grassland and shrubland protection show why acreage alone cannot safeguard wildlife. Some areas that support wildlife appear in national conservation records but are missing from the global tally. Including them could bring the share of land in some form of conservation […]
The World May Be Much Closer to a Major Conservation Goal Than Scientists Thought
The world may be closer to its 30% land conservation goal, but gaps in grassland and shrubland protection show why acreage alone cannot safeguard wildlife. Some areas that support wildlife appear in national conservation records but are missing from the global tally. Including them could bring the share of land in some form of conservation […]
A 1,000-Year-Old DNA Mystery Links Hawaii and Easter Island and Reveals Hidden Genetic Dangers
The DNA that traces Hawaii’s settlement also points to overlooked disease risks, with some globally rare variants common enough among Eastern Polynesians to warrant screening. Hawaii and Easter Island lie about 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles) apart, roughly the distance from San Francisco to Lima, Peru. New genetic evidence suggests that ancient sailors from the Easter […]
A 1,000-Year-Old DNA Mystery Links Hawaii and Easter Island and Reveals Hidden Genetic Dangers
The DNA that traces Hawaii’s settlement also points to overlooked disease risks, with some globally rare variants common enough among Eastern Polynesians to warrant screening. Hawaii and Easter Island lie about 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles) apart, roughly the distance from San Francisco to Lima, Peru. New genetic evidence suggests that ancient sailors from the Easter […]
Something Unexpected Is Happening to Antarctica’s Collapsing Ice Cliffs
Satellite observations show Antarctic ice cliffs stabilizing after unexpectedly rapid collapse, challenging assumptions about runaway ice loss and its contribution to rising seas. Antarctica’s ice shelves help hold back the ice sheet behind them, but rising temperatures are causing these supports to melt and break apart at record rates. As sheer ice cliffs are left […]
Scientists Solve a Quantum Mystery Hidden Inside Crystals
Tiny flaws in crystals could become building blocks for quantum sensors, and scientists can now better predict how these imperfections lose energy. A laser can excite electrons at a tiny flaw in diamond or silicon carbide, but the energy does not always return as light. As the defect relaxes toward its lowest-energy, or ground, state, […]
Scientists Solve a Quantum Mystery Hidden Inside Crystals
Tiny flaws in crystals could become building blocks for quantum sensors, and scientists can now better predict how these imperfections lose energy. A laser can excite electrons at a tiny flaw in diamond or silicon carbide, but the energy does not always return as light. As the defect relaxes toward its lowest-energy, or ground, state, […]