The irregular, swirling motion of fluids we call turbulence can be found everywhere, from stirring in a teacup to currents in the planetary atmosphere. This phenomenon is governed by the Navier-Stokes equations—a set of mathematical equations that describe how fluids move.

From 1948 to 1953, a gold mine called Giant Mine released about 5 tons of arsenic trioxide per day into the environment around Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Emissions declined from the 1950s until the mine closed in 2004, but the surrounding landscape remains highly contaminated with arsenic.

People are more likely to act helpfully in situations where there are poorer choices to give to others, according to a new study that tested willingness to help others in different contexts.

Quantum materials and superconductors are difficult enough to understand on their own. Unconventional superconductors, which cannot be explained within the framework of standard theory, take the enigma to an entirely new level. A typical example of unconventional superconductivity is strontium ruthenate, SRO214, the superconductive properties of which were discovered by a research team that included Yoshiteru Maeno, who is currently at the Toyota Riken—Kyoto University Research Center.

An international team of researchers has developed a breakthrough method for producing MXenes—an important family of two-dimensional materials—with unprecedented purity and control. The new "gas–liquid–solid" process enables the synthesis of pure MXenes with uniformly distributed halogen atoms on the surface and a precisely tunable surface composition. The method dramatically boosts their electrical conductivity and opens the door to high-performance electronics, sensors, and energy technologies.

In a new study published in Cell, scientists in the Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg reveal that microbes living in similar habitats are more alike than those simply inhabiting the same geographical region. By analyzing tens of thousands of metagenomes, the team found that while most microbes adapt to a specific ecosystem, a rarer subset known as "generalists" can thrive across very different habitats.

For many years, the deep ocean has been seen as a nutrient-poor environment where microbes living in the water survive on very limited resources. But new research from the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) challenges that idea. A study led by SDU-biologists at the Department of Biology shows that nutrients might not be so sparse after all in the deep and that microbes have access to a hitherto unknown source of dissolved organic food.

Many ecologists hypothesize that, as global warming accelerates, change in nature must speed up. They assume that as temperatures rise and climatic zones shift, species will face local extinction and colonize new habitats at an ever-increasing rate, leading to a rapid reshuffling of ecological communities. A new study by researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and published in Nature Communications shows this is emphatically not the case.

A new study conducted at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) shows that grassland-based grazing systems—currently covering a third of Earth's surface and representing the world's largest production system—will see a severe contraction as global temperatures rise. Depending on the scenario analyzed, 36–50% of the land with suitable climatic conditions for grazing today will experience a loss of viability by 2100, affecting more than 100 million pastoralists and up to 1.6 billion grazing animals.

The Vatican has cleared the way for the beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979), a step that would formally recognize the Illinois-born priest and broadcaster as "Blessed," placing him closer to possible sainthood.