Conservationists say alal are the last survivors of all Hawaiian crow species.

The birds once helped the Hawaiian islands flourish by dispersing seeds and helping tropical plants to thrive.

The species went extinct in the wild in 2002 .

Conservationists spent months preparing the five birds for release.

"Mirror bacteria" could evade many natural immune defenses of humans, animals and plants.

The ability to create "mirror life" is probably at least at least a decade away, but researchers have synthesized systems that could be used in the development of new drugs.

The scientists call for a ban on creating mirror bacteria "unless compelling evidence emerges that mirror life would not pose extraordinary dangers" They urge funding organizations to make clear they will not support such work.

Researchers from Columbia University simulates effects of space radiation here on Earth to determine its impact on human physiology using multi-organ tissue chips.

Their work documents the differential effects seen in tissues after acute and prolonged radiation exposure and identifies multiple genes of interest that could help inform the development of future radioprotective agents.

Study appears in Advanced Science .

"Further, this study sets the stage for the establishment of individualized 'astronaut on chip' platforms that may give insight into astronaut-specific responses to radiation and radiation countermeasures." More information: Daniel Naveed Tavakol et al, Modeling the Effects of Protracted Cosmic Radiation in a Human OrganonChip Platform, Advanced Science ( 2024 ). DOI: 10.1002 /advs.202401415 Provided by National Institutes of HealthThis story was originally published on Phys.org . Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest sci-tech news updates..

The Moken, a group of indigenous people from Thailand and Myanmar , once sailed freely between the archipelago of 800 islands off the coast of the two countries.

The community came to worldwide attention for its members' understanding of waves when the Indian Ocean Tsunami struck in 2004 .

Today , the Moken are one of the various tribal groups and indigenous communities not formally recognized by the Thai government.

To make a kabang , one needs a good strong tree, at least 1 meter wide and 10 meters tall.

The Moken Pa Ti’ao are concerned they are losing the knowledge of boat-building.

Today , young Moken are more worried about their livelihoods and finding jobs than how to build a boat.

Astronomers found that when there are few heavy, metallic elements, planetary disks can last much longer than previously believed.

The JWST observed the stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud , a galaxy 199,000 light-years from Earth .

This has implications for how you form a planet, the study co-author Elena Sabbi said.

Nicole Chan Loeb is a 38-year-old photographer, videographer, and a mother-of-two.

She and her husband prioritize experiences over gifts, so they invest for their kids in lieu of toys.

They want to teach their children financial literacy and set them up for a secure financial future.

If you have a unique way of teaching your children financial literacy and would like to share your story, email Jane Zhang at [email protected]. Read the original article on Business Insider .

Pope Francis will lead the Angelus prayer from inside his residence as a precaution.

The decision was taken in view of cold weather in Rome and the pope's commitments in the coming Christmas week .

Francis has suffered spells of ill health in recent years , including a bout of flu and lung inflammation.

Scientists have a collection of moon rocks whose age they can measure.

The oldest rocks are all about 4.35 billion years old, which is roughly 200 million years after the birth of the solar system.

The moon's formation must have happened earlier than the rocks' age.

Overcoming this language barrier is hard. Our study is an example of how—sometimes—bridging that linguistic and scientific divide can benefit researchers on both sides. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Provided by The ConversationThis story was originally published on Phys.org . Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest sci-tech news updates..

A Finnish research project showed that letting kindergarten-aged children play in a yard that contained “dirt” from the forest floor resulted in a significant positive impact on their gut microbiome.

This suggests that we should all spend a lot more time interacting with nature, both outdoors and indoors.

The importance of this study cannot be overstated.

When we spend time interacting with the environmental microbiome, new evidence suggests it passes onto our skin and into our gut through ingestion and greatly improves our own gut microbiota.

This hypothesis, called the “biodiversity hypothesis” was first proposed over two decades ago .

But how do we know that it is not some other feature, such as diet or pets, that is for this difference?.

The environmental microbiome could also easily be inhaled and ingested, says Andrew Keen .

Keen: When we interact in naturally biodiverse landscapes, our bodies adopt the microbial signature of the surrounding environment.

Keen says that exposure to environmental microbiota may modulate our gut microbial ecology, and this may then influence our immune system.

But short-term interaction brings about changes, Keen says.

Scientists at The University of Manchester have achieved a significant breakthrough in using cyanobacteria to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable bio-based materials.

Their work could accelerate the development of sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel-derived products like plastics, helping pave the way for a carbon-neutral circular bioeconomy.

Citramalate is a precursor for renewable plastics such as Perspex or Plexiglas .