Search for Extraterrestrial Life Boosted by New Exoplanet Climate ‘Decoder’
After examining a dozen types of suns and a roster of planet surfaces, Cornell astronomers have developed a practical model – an environmental color “decoder”…
Cornell University
Astronomers Could Spot Clues to Alien Life Orbiting Long-Dead Stars
The next generation of powerful Earth- and space-based telescopes will be able to hunt distant solar systems for evidence of life on Earth-like exoplanets —…
Ancient Events Could Be “Rewritten” by Fine-Tuning Radiocarbon Dating
Radiocarbon dating, invented in the late 1940s and improved ever since to provide more precise measurements, is the standard method for determining the dates of…
New Species of Bacteria That Fights Climate Change Discovered by Cornell Scientists
Cornell researchers have found a new species of soil bacteria – which they named in memory of the Cornell professor who first discovered it –…
“Profound” Evolution: Wasps Learn to Recognize Individual Faces
One wasp species has evolved the ability to recognize individual faces among their peers — something that most other insects cannot do — signaling an…
Bone Structure Discovery Inspires More Durable, Lightweight Airplane Wings
Cornell researchers have made a new discovery about how seemingly minor aspects of the internal structure of bone can be strengthened to withstand repeated wear…
Improving Watermelons by Harvesting Genes From Wild Species
An international team of researchers has taken a comprehensive look at the genomes of all seven species of watermelon, creating a resource that could help…
Cornell Scientists Unravel Mystery Behind DNA Replication
The molecules of life are twisted. But how those familiar strands in DNA’s double helix manage to replicate without being tangled up has been hard…
Sabin Installation Turns AI Into Art at Microsoft Research Atrium
For more than a decade, architect and educator Jenny Sabin has created a series of large sculptural installations at the intersection of architecture, art, and…
Investigating Impact of Human-Caused Noise Pollution on Birds on a Continental-Scale
Researchers explore the value of continent-wide analyses of anthropogenic noise pollution on birds. Anthropogenic noise pollution (ANP) is a globally invasive phenomenon impacting natural systems,…
Plants Use Common ‘Language’ to Alert Neighbors to Threats
New research from Cornell University shows that plants can communicate with each other when they come under attack from pests. The study shows that plants…
Political Polarization Driven by Chance, Not Ideology
Ever-widening divisions between Democrats and Republicans are believed to reflect deeply rooted ideological differences, but a new study points to a radically different interpretation: The…
New, Healthier ‘Butter’ Spread Made Mostly of Water
Cornell University food scientists have created a new low-calorie ‘butter’ spread that consists mostly of water. A tablespoon of this low-calorie spread has 2.8 grams…
Scientists Show Gravitational Waves Leave Detectable Mark
Gravitational waves, first detected in 2016, offer a new window on the universe, with the potential to tell us about everything from the time following…
Scientists Use ‘Light-Fingerprints’ to Reveal Mysteries of the Cosmos
Earthbound detectives rely on fingerprints to solve their cases; now astronomers can do the same, using “light-fingerprints” instead of skin grooves to uncover the mysteries…
Cornell Scientists Take First Step Toward Cell-Sized Robots
An electricity-conducting, environment-sensing, shape-changing machine the size of a human cell? Is that even possible? Cornell physicists Paul McEuen and Itai Cohen not only say…
Astronomers Believe There May Be a New Population of Circumbinary Planets
Newly published research from astronomers at Cornell University suggests that there may be a new population of circumbinary planets, which orbit around more-compact binaries (with…
Researchers Develop a New Quantum Error Correcting Code
A team of researchers from MIT, Google, the University of Sydney, and Cornell University present a new quantum error correcting code that requires measurements of…