Category: Science and Nature

  • Tiny satellite sets new record for secure quantum communication

    Tiny satellite sets new record for secure quantum communication

    Download the Nature Podcast 19 March 2025 In this episode: 00:46 Microsatellite makes messaging secure A tiny satellite has enabled quantum-encrypted information to be sent between China and South Africa, the farthest distance yet achieved for quantum communication. Using a laser-based system, a team in the city of Hefei was able to beam a ‘secret…

  • Nearfield control over magnetic light-matter interactions

    Nearfield control over magnetic light-matter interactions

    Abstract Light-matter interactions are frequently perceived as predominantly influenced by the electric field, with the magnetic component of light often overlooked. Nonetheless, the magnetic field plays a pivotal role in various optical processes, including chiral light-matter interactions, photon-avalanching, and forbidden photochemistry, underscoring the significance of manipulating magnetic processes in optical phenomena. Here, we explore the…

  • AI could soon tackle projects that take humans weeks

    AI could soon tackle projects that take humans weeks

    A new metric assesses the progress of AI models.Credit: Adapted from Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto/Getty Today’s artificial intelligence (AI) systems can’t beat humans on long tasks, but they’re improving at a rapid pace and could close the gap sooner than many anticipated, according to an analysis of leading models1. METR, a non-profit organization in Berkeley, California, created…

  • Nature or nurture? The science of “Sociogenomics” says both

    Nature or nurture? The science of “Sociogenomics” says both

    “How did she get to be such a good sprinter?” Another parent may ask you about your child. You might respond, laughing, “She didn’t get those genes from us!”  Another parent, about their own talented kid, might say, “I did cross-country in college, and my husband did sprinting in high school!”  In philosophy, theology, psychology,…

  • Smarter Flood Protection Is Inspired by Nature

    Smarter Flood Protection Is Inspired by Nature

    Controlling nature by bulldozing dirt and pouring concrete has long been the guiding vision of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. For 250 years that ethos inspired both awe and disgust. “In my science training, the Army Corps destroyed everything. They’re the enemy,” says geomorphologist Julie Beagle, who spent much of her early career working…

  • Denver Museum of Nature and Science to begin second phase of East Wing Project in April

    Denver Museum of Nature and Science to begin second phase of East Wing Project in April

    Denver Museum of Nature and Science to begin second phase of East Wing Project in April Skip to content

  • Catchy, clear, concise: Three-part phrases boost research paper citations

    Catchy, clear, concise: Three-part phrases boost research paper citations

    A gripping title can entice more people to read — and cite — scholarly papers. Credit: Harold M. Lambert/Lambert/Getty From ‘Envy, inequality and fertility’ to ‘Market size, trade and productivity’, using catchy three-part phrases in the titles of research papers can boost their citations, suggests a study. The study used algorithms to examine more than…

  • Denver Museum of Nature & Science gets its largest donation ever — and has big plans for the money

    Denver Museum of Nature & Science gets its largest donation ever — and has big plans for the money

    The Denver Museum of Nature & Science on Friday announced it received the largest gift in its history and it plans to use the money on a “remarkable transformation.” The museum said it is launching a new East Wing Project thanks to a $20 million gift from the Sturm Family Foundation. “This project will rejuvenate…

  • Does ‘Nature’s Ozempic’ Exist? What Science Says About Natural Alternatives

    Does ‘Nature’s Ozempic’ Exist? What Science Says About Natural Alternatives

    Various plants, herbs, and substances are being called “nature’s Ozempic,” usually because of anecdotal evidence or small studies that show weight loss. For example, berberine, a compound found in barberry bushes, is the “natural Ozempic” of the moment because some small studies suggest it could help with weight loss. Green tea may also curb appetites,…

  • Don’t wait out four hard years: speak truth to power

    Don’t wait out four hard years: speak truth to power

    “Eppur si muove”; “and yet it moves”. These words, supposedly whispered by Galileo Galilei at the end of his 1633 trial — held because he supported the Copernican ‘heresy’ that Earth moves around the Sun — have long been a byword for how scientists should behave in the face of ignorance, intolerance and ideological inerrancy.…