The development of maternal egg cells is pivotal for survival—but also precarious. During meiosis, the DNA-containing chromosomes can easily be broken or lost, causing infertility, miscarriage or genetic disorders like Down syndrome. Scientists have struggled to study these crucial cellular events in humans and other mammals. The development of maternal egg cells is pivotal for survival—but…
In a new npj Ocean Sustainability article, ten researchers advocate the use of imagination in tackling the climate crisis. They focus specifically on urbanizing river deltas, which are of great social and economic importance and highly vulnerable to climate change. In a new npj Ocean Sustainability article, ten researchers advocate the use of imagination in tackling…
A volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern Iceland is spewing lava from a fissure in its seventh eruption since December. Iceland’s seismic monitors said the eruption started with little warning late Wednesday and created a long fissure but looked to be smaller than eruptions in August and May. Around 50 houses were evacuated after…
The essence of the Paris climate agreement was distilled into a single number. The almost 200 countries that signed the pact in 2016 agreed they would try to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Over the past decade, as these countries have rolled out renewable energy installations and decommissioned coal plants,…
When Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in January 2023, he inherited environmental protection agencies in shambles and deforestation at a 15-year high. His predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, had dismantled regulations and gutted institutions tasked with enforcing environmental laws. Lula set out to reverse these policies and to put Brazil on a path…
Catalysts are the keys to speeding up sluggish reactions that require large amounts of energy. Therefore, analyzing which types of catalysts speed up reactions the most and what their underlying mechanisms are can help us improve efficiency. Catalysts are the keys to speeding up sluggish reactions that require large amounts of energy. Therefore, analyzing which types…
Many scholars have examined the ways in which ancient Roman house design emphasized views and viewing within the domestic space; indeed, the role of the vista in the architecture of this period was so important that Roman law codified “the right to an unobstructed view.” Many scholars have examined the ways in which ancient Roman house…
Buried in the treasure trove of the Gaia catalog were two strange black hole systems. These were black holes orbiting sun-like stars, a situation that astronomers long thought impossible. Recently, a team has proposed a mechanism for creating these kinds of oddballs. Buried in the treasure trove of the Gaia catalog were two strange black hole…
A new study published in Nature Climate Change estimates that a 1-meter sea level rise by 2100 would affect over 14 million people and $1 trillion worth of property along the Southeast Atlantic coast, from Norfolk, Virginia, to Miami, Florida. A new study published in Nature Climate Change estimates that a 1-meter sea level rise by…
Space-time may not be continuous but instead made up of many discrete bits – and we may be able to see their effects near the edges of unusually bright black holes Space-time may not be continuous but instead made up of many discrete bits – and we may be able to see their effects near the…