Scientists achieve breakthrough on quantum signaling
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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 1-Jan-2026 09:11 ET (1-Jan-2026 14:11 GMT/UTC)
To a human, microplastics are very small at less than 5 millimeters (mm) wide. But to an insect, microplastics might be the same size as the food they usually eat. Researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology have shown that crickets can and will consume polyethylene microplastics if their mouth is larger than the plastic particle. The study suggests that crickets — and likely many other insects — cannot distinguish plastic from food.
Ant colonies operate as tightly coordinated “superorganisms” with individual ants working together, much like the cells of a body, to ensure their collective health. Researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) have now discovered that terminally ill ant brood, like infected cells, release an odor signaling their impending death and the risk they pose. This sophisticated early warning system facilitates rapid detection and removal of pathogenic infections. The study was published in Nature Communications.
A team of researchers from the University of East London (UEL) has found an unexpected solution to one of the construction industry’s biggest carbon problems - and it lies on the shoreline. New findings show that discarded seashells, typically treated as waste, can be transformed into a low-carbon concrete ingredient, potentially cutting significant amounts of CO₂ from one of the world’s most polluting materials and helping drive more sustainable construction.