Science on ZME Science

Astronomers find two failed stars wandering the universe together

Astronomers have discovered an exotic binary system consisting of two brown dwarfs orbiting each other.

Amazon's plastic packaging waste could encircle the globe 500 times

Most of the packaging isn't recycled and ends up in the ocean.

European rivers are fragmented by over one million barriers

Healthy rivers are flowing rivers, say researchers.

People are increasingly turning to nature to cope with the pandemic and improve their wellbeing

Nature can be an important ally in these trying times.

Human facial expressions may be universal across cultures, AI study found

Smiling at weddings and frowning at funerals seem to be natural across the world.

This hurricane season was so intense scientists ran out of names for storms

It's been a rought year in more than one way.

What's killing people around the world

Forget the scourge of COVID-19 for a moment to check out findings of all deaths in a recent report from WHO.

Ocean warming is a wrecking ball for coral reef systems. This researcher wants to understand it all

There's no simple solution to this problem.

Mammoth remains possibly butchered by human hunters found on Arctic Island near Siberia

The 20,000-year-old remains of a mammoth bear signs of human hunting and butchery.

Scientists find a fatal case of constipation in 1,000-year-old mummy with grasshopper diet

The man could no longer process food due to having a colon swollen to six times its normal diameter.

Japanese researchers open up the Hayabusa 2 capsule -- and it's full of asteroid samples

It's the first time any samples for asteroids have been brought back to Earth

They were looking for a beaked whale. Instead, they may have found a new species

It's unlike any other known species. Still, further testing will be needed to convince everyone.

3D printing may be worse for your lungs than assumed

Nobody likes the fumes -- I hope?

In the Red Sea, an oil tanker rots -- it could create the largest spill in human history

There may finally be hope towards fixing the issue, however.

Drugs that neutralize lethal effects of snakebites could replace antivenom

The toxin inhibitors could someday save hundreds of thousands of people who fall victims to snakebites each year.

In 10 to 20 years, it will be so hot that tropical trees live shorter lives

Not a good roadmark to pass.

Global warming is faster than evolution -- and this could spell trouble for marine life

Aquatic life may not have enough time to adapt to an increasingly warming world.

Strange dinosaur found in Brazil had stiff rods on its shoulders

The 'well-dressed' dinosaur may offer hints about how birds such as peacocks evolved to show off.

Pandemic causes 7% plunge in carbon emissions this year -- but there's little cause for joy

It's not much, but it's some good news.

Despite some success stories, we're still causing a major extinction, IUCN report shows

A few bright spots on a largely bleak picture.

This smart ring detects fever (and possibly COVID-19) before you feel it

The device could reveal that so-called asymptomatic cases may not be truly without symptoms.

Economic inequality and decline fracture society, says a new study

Well, this can’t be good.

More people are turning to cannabis in the pandemic. Should this worry us?

Hemp has been popular in some parts of the world for centuries or even millennia. Certain strains of this plant, those with higher concentrations of psychoactive substances, are typically called marijuana (or ‘drug cannabis’). They have also been used recreationally or ritually for just as long, and demand spiked during the pandemic. The surge has […]

The Paris Agreement, five years on. Can we still avoid a climate crisis?

It was supposed to be a pivotal moment to fight climate change. Things are not so clear.

Cheap perovskite tandem solar cell breaks new world record at 30% efficiency

A crystal known to science for more than a century has only in recent years become recognized for its use in harvesting solar power. Since the first successful usage of perovskite in solar cells in 2009, the advances in the field have grown exponentially. In just a few years of development, rated efficiency in the […]

Researchers are now studying earthquakes and geology with unused optic fiber cables

So-called 'dark fiber' could help seismologists map the underground and measure our planet's rumbles.

Sure, this pandemic sucks, but at least a bee didn't sting you in the eye

Doctors document a rare case of corneal bee sting.

Denmark just opened a huge vertical farm, and it could be a sign of things to come globally

The lettuce you love so much could soon be produced in a windowless warehouse,

Better make room: Man-made stuff now outweighs all other living things on Earth

It's a symbolic study that suggests we're building too many things and disregarding nature.

ZeroLabs' electric platform converts vintage cars into EVs

Thanks to this platform, any old car can be reborn as an electric vehicle.

Algae-farming fish domesticate shrimp to improve their farms

It's the first example of a non-human vertebrate domesticating another animal.

When others are moving around us, it makes time seem to pass slower

It's not just love: all biological movement seems to slow down time.

Honey bees use tool made of poop to repel giant hornet attacks

It's the first example of tool use by honey bees in nature.

Scientists trace origins of flight with pterosaur lost precursor

Small, dinosaur-like animals may have been the ancestors of the first flying vertebrates.

Gaia mission’s third data release shows astonishing galactic 3D maps

ESA’s spacecraft collected important information about nearby stars, the solar system’s motion and provided a map with the motions of 40 thousand stars in the Milky Way. It’s the best available map we have of our galaxy and it looks stunning. Gaia is an ESA mission to build a 3D map of the Milky Way. […]