Experiments and modeling reveal the unexpected structure that can be seen in bacteria grown in mucus samples and biofilms.

Astrophysicists have imaged a large number of exocomet belts around nearby stars, and the tiny pebbles within them. The crystal-clear images show light being emitted from these millimeter-sized pebbles within the belts that orbit 74 nearby stars of a wide variety of ages — from those that are just emerging from birth to those in more mature systems like our own Solar System.

Human ancestors like Australopithecus — which lived around 3.5 million years ago in southern Africa — ate very little to no meat, according to new research. This conclusion comes from an analysis of nitrogen isotope isotopes in the fossilized tooth enamel of seven Australopithecus individuals. The data revealed that these early hominins primarily relied on plant-based diets, with little to no evidence of meat consumption.

Two new articles document progress in neuroprosthetic technology that lets people feel the shape and movement of objects moving over the ‘skin’ of a bionic hand.

Resembling the interlocking links in chainmail, novel nanoscale material is incredibly strong and flexible. The interlocked material contains 100 trillion mechanical bonds per 1 square centimeter — the highest density of mechanical bonds ever achieved. Small amounts of the mechanically interlocked polymer added to Ultem fibers increased the high-performance material’s toughness.

Leo P, a small galaxy and a distant neighbor of the Milky Way, is lighting the way for astronomers to better understand star formation and how a galaxy grows. Scientists have reported finding that Leo P ‘reignited,’ reactivating during a significant period on the timeline of the universe, producing stars when many other small galaxies didn’t.

Pandora, a small satellite mission poised to provide in-depth study of at least 20 known planets orbiting distant stars to determine the composition of their atmospheres cleared an important milestone by completing the spacecraft bus, which acts as the spacecraft’s ‘brains.’

Previous studies have posited that the mass extinction that wiped the dinosaurs off the face of the Earth was caused by the release of large volumes of sulfur from rocks within the Chicxulub impact crater 66 million years ago. A new study questions this scenario. Using groundbreaking empirical measurements of sulfur within the related Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary layer, the international team has demonstrated that the role of sulfur during the extinction has been overestimated.

The synchronization of data from two natural climate archives — a speleothem from the Herbstlabyrinth Cave in Hesse (Germany) and ice cores from Greenland — offers new insights into the chronology of abrupt climate changes in Central Europe. According to the analysis, the devastating eruption of the Laacher See volcano in what is now Rhineland-Palatinate occurred earlier than previously assumed and hence could not have triggered the sudden-onset cold period of approximately 13,000 years ago, geoscientists have found.

A new study has revealed the alarming extent glaciers have shrunk over the past 40 years in a global warming hotspot — and the biggest retreat has occurred in recent years.