Around 1550, life on Rapa Nui began changing in ways long misunderstood. New research reveals that a severe drought, lasting more than a century, dramatically reduced rainfall on the already water-scarce island, reshaping how people lived, worshiped, and organized society. Instead of collapsing, Rapanui communities adapted—shifting rituals, power structures, and...
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Energy Efficient Appliances
When it comes to running a household and keeping it clean, the environment and your wallet will benefit when you use as little energy as possible. That doesn't mean sacrificing the quality of your work, though. Energy efficient appliances are built to do just that: get the job done without...
Strawberry Guava Prevents Natural Forest Generation in Madagascar
Rice University biologist Amy Dunham has spent decades studying the mountainous rainforests of Madagascar’s Ranomafana National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site that was designated a national park in 1991.
Why Melting Glaciers are Drawing More Visitors and What That Says About Climate Change
As glaciers around the world continue to shrink and disappear, they are drawing more visitors than ever, not only for their beauty but for what they have come to represent in an era of climate change.
Purdue Researchers Invent Wireless Sensor to Assess Subsoil Health in Effort to Cut Costs and Refine Farming
A new smart platform invented by Purdue University researchers to wirelessly monitor subsoil health could change the landscape of agricultural sensing systems.
Scientists were wrong for decades about DNA knots
Scientists have discovered that DNA behaves in a surprising way when squeezed through tiny nanopores, overturning a long-held assumption in genetics research. What researchers once thought were knots causing messy electrical signals turn out to be something else entirely: twisted coils called plectonemes, formed as flowing ions inside the pore...
Forests are changing fast and scientists are deeply concerned
Forests around the world are quietly transforming, and not for the better. A massive global analysis of more than 31,000 tree species reveals that forests are becoming more uniform, increasingly dominated by fast-growing “sprinter” trees, while slow-growing, long-lived species are disappearing. These slower species act as the backbone of forest...
Why this rust-like mineral is one of Earth’s best carbon vaults
A common iron mineral hiding in soil turns out to be far better at trapping carbon than scientists realized. Its surface isn’t uniform — it’s a nanoscale patchwork of positive and negative charges that can grab many different organic molecules. Instead of relying on a single weak attraction, the mineral...
This tiny organism refused to die under Mars-like conditions
Baker’s yeast isn’t just useful in the kitchen — it may also be built for space. Researchers found that yeast cells can survive intense shock waves and toxic chemicals similar to those on Mars. The cells protect themselves by forming special stress-response structures that help them endure extreme conditions. This...
Scientists warn climate models are missing a key ocean player
Tiny marine plankton that build calcium carbonate shells play an outsized role in regulating Earth’s climate, quietly pulling carbon from the atmosphere and helping lock it away in the deep ocean. New research shows these microscopic engineers are largely missing from the climate models used to forecast our planet’s future,...