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A severe drought exacerbated by climate change and a lack of updated infrastructure have led to some ships waiting more than a month to cross one of the world's most important waterways

Menstrual cycles change over time, but the menopause, and the time leading up to it, particularly alters their length and variability

A robot that can learn to open most types of doors, cabinets, drawers and refrigerators – without human direction – may pave the way for your future robot butler

From how well they work to side effects such as hair loss, here’s the skinny on new weight loss injections that work by blocking a hormone that normally reduces appetite

How exactly the placebo effect works is still a mystery, but neuroscientist Luana Colloca is working to find the answers in order to change the way we treat pain

An analysis of satellite observations has identified some extreme thunderstorms over the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Mexico with lightning flashes so frequent that the sky would appear continuously lit

A sample from the asteroid Bennu, brought back by the OSIRIS-REx mission, contains hints that it was once part of a planetesimal with conditions favourable for life to emerge

Researchers have recreated the hybridisation of two wild yeast species that led to the first lager yeasts, generating new varieties that could make beer with a range of new flavours

People with blue eyes may have better sight in dim conditions than those with brown eyes, which could explain why the colour has persisted in certain populations

A Greek philosopher’s musings on pleasure, contained in ancient papyrus scrolls buried by Mount Vesuvius’s eruption 2000 years ago, have been rediscovered with the help of AI

For decades we thought the Irish elk’s body size alone explained why it had enormous antlers, but the truth may be more complicated

Lightning strikes during volcanic eruptions could have provided nitrogen in a form that was needed by early life forms

Five storms in the past decade had wind speeds that belong in a hypothetical category 6 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale

The US National Ignition Facility has achieved even higher energy yields since breaking even for the first time in 2022, but a practical fusion reactor is still a long way off

Earth’s air temperature passed the agreed 1.5°C warming limit around 2010, according to measurements from the skeletons of sea sponges in the Caribbean, but some climate scientists aren't convinced

DNA sampling is revealing fungi thriving throughout the oceans, from hydrothermal vents to the open seas. They might even help tackle antibiotic resistance and clear up plastic pollution

There were 69 unprovoked shark attacks on people and 10 fatalities in 2023 worldwide, with four of the deaths occurring in Australia

As the US military begins integrating AI technology, simulated wargames show how chatbots behave unpredictably and risk nuclear escalation

Some people may experience "brain fog" during certain parts of their menstrual cycle, but new research finds that hormonal changes throughout this cycle have no effect on verbal or spatial skills

Hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle have previously been blamed for "brain fog", but new research finds they have no effect on verbal or spatial skills