Under snowpacks, microbes drive a winter-to-spring nitrogen pulse, study finds
When snow blankets the landscape, it may seem like life slows down. But beneath the surface, an entire world of activity is unfolding.
4 февраля 2026 года
When snow blankets the landscape, it may seem like life slows down. But beneath the surface, an entire world of activity is unfolding.
Plastic pollution is causing severe problems worldwide. However, negotiations at the United Nations in Geneva last August did not result in the expected global plastics treaty. On 7 February 2026, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on Plastic Pollution will reconvene in Geneva to elect a new chairperson. In order to secure an agreement, the new chairperson must urgently reform INC procedures, argue researchers.
NASA said Tuesday its next crew rotation to the International Space Station could be delayed after SpaceX announced it was grounding flights of its Falcon 9 rocket to investigate an unspecified issue.
Imagine enjoying a tasty dinner alone at home—you may freely indulge without worrying about others. Now imagine sharing the same meal with friends or colleagues: depending on the social context, you may find yourself eating more carefully, adapting your food choices, restraining yourself or competing for portions, and following social norms in conversation and table manners. Social environments influence even the simplest decisions—not only in humans, but also elsewhere in the animal kingdom.
In late January, the gold price reached an all-time peak of around US $5,500 (£4,025). January 30 saw one of the largest one-day falls in prices, which sank by nearly 10% after hitting a record high only the day before.
Gigantic black holes lurk at the center of virtually every galaxy, including ours, but we've lacked a precise picture of what impact they have on their surroundings. However, a University of Chicago-led group of scientists has used data from a recently launched satellite to reveal our clearest look yet into the boiling, seething gas surrounding two supermassive black holes, each located in the center of massive galaxy clusters.
Math anxiety is a significant challenge for students worldwide. While personalized support is widely recognized as the most effective way to address it, many teachers struggle to deliver this level of support at scale within busy classrooms. New research from Adelaide University shows how artificial intelligence (AI) could help address challenges such as math anxiety by using a student's inputs and identifying signs of anxiety or disengagement during learning.
Fish across Britain's seas face ever-smaller meals as warmer seas and commercial fishing squeeze ocean food webs, new research suggests. Research by the University of Essex and the UK Government's Centre for Environment, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) found strains across warm and highly fished areas of the Northeast Atlantic, leaving predators such as cod, haddock and thorny skate with less energy from every meal.
Last autumn, a UK government report warned that climate-driven ecosystem collapse could lead to food shortages, mass migration, political extremism and even nuclear conflict. The report was never officially launched.
Restitution debates—the questions of whether a cultural object should be returned from a museum or other collection to a person or community—often begin with a deceptively simple question: Who owns an object?