What do firefighting foam, non-stick cookware, water-repellent textiles and pesticides all have in common? They all contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS—human-made chemicals that don't break down naturally. It's no wonder, then, that PFAS are now contaminating soil and water and can also be detected in the bodies of humans and animals. The dangers are well known: these forever chemicals can damage the liver, trigger hormonal disorders and cause cancer, to mention just a few of their effects.

Spatial transcriptomics has emerged as a powerful tool for in situ analysis of gene expression within tissues. However, current technologies still face several challenges, including high costs, limited field of view, and low throughput, significantly hindering their application in large-scale tissue research and the analysis of complex biological processes.

Hundreds of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been recorded as part of an enormous global effort so extensive it "rivals the catalog of deep-sky objects created by Messier 250 years ago", astronomers say.

A pair of asteroid dynamics researchers from Universidad Complutense de Madrid Ciudad Universitaria have found that a small asteroid will make one orbit around the Earth starting this month before departing back into other parts of the solar system.

Researchers at University of Tsukuba have shown that the 1995 Kobe (Hyogo-ken Nanbu) earthquake, which struck southern Hyogo Prefecture, may have been triggered by deep underground flooding beneath Arima Hot Springs. By analyzing the stable isotope ratios of hydrogen and oxygen as well as chloride ions in Arima hot spring water over several decades, the researchers have uncovered a likely connection between the earthquake and water originating from the subducting Philippine Sea Plate.

A study led by Prof. Liu Xiaojuan from the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IBCAS) has demonstrated that the association between multitrophic diversity and ecosystem multifunctionality is stronger than the relationship between the diversity of individual trophic groups and multifunctionality.

Scientists have found a way to create artificial sugars that could lead to better ways to diagnose and treat diseases more accurately than ever before.

A group of researchers has developed an electrocatalyst that promises to significantly enhance the efficiency and stability of oxygen evolution reactions (OER) in acidic environments. By incorporating a rare earth element, erbium (Er), into the commonly studied cobalt oxide (Co3O4) catalyst, the team has demonstrated a new, cost-effective solution that surpasses the performance of many precious metal-free catalysts, offering an alternative to more expensive noble metal-based options.

Climate change is accelerating the melting of ice in Greenland at an alarming rate, with serious implications not only for the Arctic, but also for the global climate, including Europe. According to a study led by researchers at the University of Barcelona, extreme melting episodes—periods when large areas of snow and ice melt rapidly—have been about twice as frequent during summers in recent decades compared to the period 1950–1990.

When we talk about the microbiome, most of us think of the trillions of microorganisms that live in our bodies, supporting everything from digestion to mental health.