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Fave or flop? A guide to gauging video game success

The video game industry is notoriously tight-lipped about its numbers, filled with members-only metrics like wishlists, preorders and player numbers, so it can be hard to know which games have actually proven popular and turned a profit.

26 Aug 2026 2:50 pm
Too small for fries: Drought shrinks Belgian potatoes

Mathieu Comijn inspected rows of potatoes in a field of cracked earth and browned leaves, pulling from the ground tubers barely the size of pingpong balls.

26 Aug 2026 2:10 pm
Fire haze threatens health of millions in Indonesia, ministry warns

Millions of Indonesians risk health complications from exposure to thick haze covering several cities and towns, officials said Wednesday, as El Ni

26 Aug 2026 1:50 pm
Meta and U.S. states discuss settlement in landmark social media trial: Report

Social media giant Meta has been in discussions with multiple U.S. states to settle a major child privacy and consumer protection case out of court, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.

26 Aug 2026 1:27 pm
Even low-level traffic noise can reduce birdsong

Traffic noise disrupts recognized benefits of birdsong and other sounds from nature, a new study from the University of Surrey reports.

26 Aug 2026 10:30 am
Reusable stencils create clean carbon nanotube patterns in single-stage process

Researchers from Skoltech and their colleagues from Harbin Institute of Technology in China and ITMO University in Russia have devised a way to deposit elaborate geometric patterns of carbon nanotubes without wasting material. Such patterns are used in advanced optical devices and mechanical strain sensors for structural integrity monitoring.

26 Aug 2026 8:50 am
From nuisance to new resource: Prickly pear could support fuels, foods and rural growers

Texans often view prickly pear cactus as a nuisance, but researchers with Texas A

26 Aug 2026 7:50 am
Finns may live to 80 or 85, but productive healthy years average 43 to 46

For the first time in Finland, population-level norm values have been established for estimating life expectancy adjusted for health-related functional capacity and productivity. The new study provides Finnish norm values for both everyday functioning and work ability, as well as for a newly developed measure, productivity-adjusted life expectancy.

26 Aug 2026 6:50 am
Strong oyster reefs start with genetic diversity

The European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) was once widespread but has now become so scarce in the North Sea that it no longer forms ecologically functioning reefs. Along with the demise of the flat oyster, the three-dimensional structures that provide habitat for more than 100 marine species have disappeared. Restoration therefore focuses not only on the return of the European flat oyster itself but also on the reef and its associated biodiversity.

26 Aug 2026 6:10 am
Animation boosts willingness to adopt airborne disease precautions, study finds

Even as the scientific community has reached a broad consensus that infectious pathogens, such as viruses, can spread through virus-laden aerosols, one fundamental challenge remains: How can scientific evidence be transformed into public understanding

26 Aug 2026 5:10 am
A near extinct plant in Gal

A 30-year conservation effort has helped the critically endangered Gal

26 Aug 2026 4:50 am
Porpoise entanglement recorded in real time, revealing calls and escape attempts

Researchers at the University of St Andrews have gained unprecedented insight into marine mammal behavior when they become tangled in fishing nets. In a paper published Aug. 26 in Royal Society Open Science, researchers from the Sea Mammal Research Unit and Scottish Oceans Institute at St Andrews discovered that their passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) systems, deployed on a gill net, had unintentionally recorded a bycatch event. This is thought to be the first time this kind of recording has tak

26 Aug 2026 4:40 am
Could we protect all western US communities from wildfires and facilitate restoring fire to wildlands within a decade?

In a new study in Environmental Research: Ecology, I analyzed how fires were able to burn into communities and how fire-resistant land uses could be combined with fuel treatments to reduce fires burning into communities. If government support could be quickly redirected to community protection, communities could have time to fix much of this problem in roughly a decade.

26 Aug 2026 4:30 am
Although research on animal production and climate is growing, implementation in the field remains challenging

Climate change is reshaping global livestock production systems and leading to increased research on the topic. However, science still faces the challenge of translating advances in knowledge into practical solutions for the field and public policy. This is one of the main conclusions of a study published in the journal Tropical Animal Health and Production by researchers from the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture at the University of S

26 Aug 2026 4:10 am
Adaptation and a

With the invasive emerald ash borer beetle decimating black ash across North America, according to the U.S. Forest Service, a team led by researchers at Penn State conducted an expansive study of genetic diversity in black ash seeds collected across the tree

26 Aug 2026 4:10 am
Workplace social media reduces staff turnover, study finds

Social media used inside organizations may help engage employees and increase staff retention, according to a paper in the International Journal of Applied Systemic Studies that examined this phenomenon in China. Employee engagement refers to a worker

26 Aug 2026 3:50 am
Hydroclimate whiplash damages California

Tall trees are generally associated with high-biomass forests. This is particularly true for forests dominated by Sequoia sempervirens (hereafter redwood), the world

26 Aug 2026 3:50 am
3D atomic imaging reveals a new pathway to crystal formation

The most common scientific approach for thinking about how condensation, freezing and other phase transitions begin is based in classical nucleation theory, which was developed about a century ago. Thousands of experiments have supported a key equation describing how initial ordered seeds, called nuclei, form within disordered matter.

26 Aug 2026 3:30 am
JWST reveals a race against time for forming planets

Planets form from disks of gas and dust around young stars, but the gas needed for growth does not last forever. New observations from NASA

26 Aug 2026 3:20 am
Habitat changes found to be no deterrent for some Fijian native bees

While extreme weather and habitat changes can spell doom for many native animals, including insects, a different picture has emerged from a new study led by Flinders University. Long-running investigations into Fiji

26 Aug 2026 3:10 am
26 Aug 2026 3:10 am
Pomegranate emerges as a promising natural phytobiotic for veterinary medicine

Researchers have identified a broad range of biological properties of pomegranate with potential medical applications, including antimicrobial, antiparasitic, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, liver-supporting and wound-healing effects.

26 Aug 2026 2:50 am
26 Aug 2026 2:30 am
Sound waves do double duty, carrying and protecting quantum information

Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have demonstrated a promising new way to protect fragile quantum information using nothing but mechanical vibrations

26 Aug 2026 2:30 am
Machine learning method uncovers hidden patterns in DNA methylation

In a study recently published in Nature Communications, researchers from Berlin, Potsdam, and Jena present a new method for analyzing the epigenome. The machine-learning method identifies differentially methylated DNA regions without sample labels

26 Aug 2026 1:50 am
Is there an AI bubble? No, but some tech companies show signs

Like past transformative technologies, from railroads and radio to the internet, artificial intelligence has attracted optimistic investors and inflated valuations, and with them speculation of a bubble market

26 Aug 2026 1:10 am
Chemists harness light to build 3D molecular structures for drug discovery

Researchers from the Department of Chemistry at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), led by Professor Jian He and collaborators, have developed a new light-driven method for constructing three-dimensional molecular building blocks that could give medicinal chemists greater flexibility in designing new drug candidates. The approach broadens the range of starting materials that can be used while suppressing unwanted polymerization, overcoming key limitations of existing synthetic methods. The findin

26 Aug 2026 1:10 am
26 Aug 2026 12:45 am
26 Aug 2026 12:43 am
Grassland birds are disappearing even from areas designed to protect them

Even in protected areas, birds are disappearing from America

26 Aug 2026 12:30 am
Wildfires don

Wildfire smoke is usually discussed as an airborne pollutant and a threat to human health. But when smoke and rain coincide, nutrients released by burned landscapes rain back down. A new study finds that smoke-rain events can deliver large bursts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium

25 Aug 2026 11:50 pm
Gamma-ray signal could be long awaited evidence for WIMPs

Dark matter is known to make up roughly 85% of all mass in the universe, as evidenced by the way galaxies spin and how galaxy clusters are held together under gravity. Yet despite decades of searching, physicists have never managed to detect the elusive substance directly.

25 Aug 2026 11:40 pm
Bioinspired nanoparticles deliver gene editing to lower

Researchers from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), and Tianjin Medical University General Hospital have developed a bioinspired lipid nanoparticle (LNP) that can deliver gene-editing machinery to the liver and reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, commonly known as

25 Aug 2026 11:30 pm
Scientists resurrect ancient proteins, offering new antibiotic leads

University of Oregon biologists have resurrected prehistoric proteins up to 160 million years old that carry natural antimicrobial properties. The revived molecules could inspire the design of new treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections, a pressing global health issue.

25 Aug 2026 11:30 pm
Lunar soil reads as a cosmic time capsule for exploding stars

When a star reaches its final stages of life, it ends in a bright, powerful explosion called a supernova and scatters material across the universe. A new study led by a University of Hawai

25 Aug 2026 11:10 pm
Moving turtle nests to save the eggs can have hidden consequences

Moving threatened sea turtle nests to cooler, safer parts of the beach can save entire clutches from rising tides and extreme heat, but new research suggests it may have hidden consequences for the hatchlings that emerge.

25 Aug 2026 11:00 pm
Rare medieval manuscript fragments reveal Guernsey

Seventeen medieval manuscript fragments have been identified in Guernsey with support from Kent manuscript expert Dr. David Rundle, offering an unprecedented insight into the island

25 Aug 2026 10:30 pm
New gallery of galaxies from NASA

Galaxies are like cosmic gems, each with characteristics including size and shape that make them distinct. A new gallery released today from NASA

25 Aug 2026 10:26 pm
Exact calculations sharpen view of atomic nuclei

Every high-energy nuclear collision leaves behind a trail of clues about the structure of atomic nuclei. Deciphering those clues, however, depends on the accuracy of the underlying theory. Physicists at Osaka Metropolitan University have now performed a full calculation within Glauber theory, a cornerstone framework for describing high-energy nuclear collisions.

25 Aug 2026 10:10 pm
Can laws make social media safer for young people?

From TikTok bans and age verification requirements to media literacy lessons in schools, U.S. states are exploring a wide range of strategies to protect young people online.

25 Aug 2026 10:10 pm
Chemical physicists quantitatively model electron interactions in real quantum materials

A team of scientists from Caltech and Yale University has shown for the first time how to accurately quantify an important quantum phenomenon in metals, called the Kondo effect, for specific real materials. Unlike previous approaches, which for decades have relied on simplified models to qualitatively describe the effect, the new work uses the actual atomic and electronic structures of materials to solve the problem directly.

25 Aug 2026 9:50 pm
Genetic evidence reveals how goosegrass colonized a newly formed volcanic island

Opportunities to directly observe how life colonizes newly formed land and how ecosystems subsequently develop are exceedingly rare. In a study published in the Journal of Plant Research, researchers at University of Tsukuba used genetic analyses to investigate the origin of Eleusine indica, a grass species found on Nishinoshima, an active volcanic island in the northwestern Pacific south of mainland Japan. Having newly emerged, the island offers a unique natural laboratory for understanding the

25 Aug 2026 9:30 pm
Expert pieces together puzzle from fragments of 1,600-year-old Roman text

A Roman law expert at the University of Cincinnati edited and translated a Latin legal text he pieced together from fragments that surprisingly survived in the Egyptian sands for more than 1,600 years. What

25 Aug 2026 9:30 pm
The real reasons you procrastinate

Faced with a task or project, do you repeatedly tell yourself that you

25 Aug 2026 9:10 pm
Listening for extinction: Study finds areas of critical concern for northern spotted owls

Northern spotted owl populations are approaching or have already crossed functional extinction across large areas of the Pacific Northwest, a new study, published in Ecological Applications found. Researchers used artificial intelligence and advanced monitoring methods to assess long-term trends at an unprecedented scale.

25 Aug 2026 9:10 pm
How people treat you may shape your reputation and stabilize cooperation

When one person helps, or refuses to help, another in public, this may change not only the provider

25 Aug 2026 8:50 pm