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New research shows that the sun could experience a massive burst of energy called a superflare sometime in the next several thousand years. These events occur when stars, for reasons that scientists still don’t understand, eject huge bursts of energy that can be seen from hundreds of light years away. Until recently, researchers assumed that such explosions occurred mostly on stars that, unlike Earth’s, were young and active.

Now, new research shows with more confidence than ever before that superflares can occur on older, quieter stars like our own — albeit more rarely, or about once every few thousand years.

The results should be a wake-up call for life on our planet, said Yuta Notsu, the lead a...

Researchers have synthesized Nanowires made of a single molecule of oligothiophene up to 10 nanometers in length. By forcing the molecular chain to adopt a planar conformation, they were able to significantly its electrical conductivity.The findings may allow for a new generation of inexpensive high-tech devices, including smartphone screens and photovoltaics.

Carbon-based polymers, which are long molecular chains made of repeating units, can be found everywhere, from the rubber in the soles of your shoes to the proteins that make up your body...

Scientists believe they have discovered the site of the biggest meteorite impact ever to hit the British Isles. Evidence for the ancient, 1.2 billion years old, meteorite strike, was first discovered in 2008 near Ullapool, NW Scotland by scientists from Oxford and Aberdeen Universities. The thickness and extent of the debris deposit they found suggested the impact crater – made by a meteorite estimated at 1km wide – was close to the coast, but its precise location remained a mystery.

In a paper published today in Journal of the Geological Society, a team led by Dr Ken Amor from the Department of Earth Sciences at Oxford University, show how they have identified the cr...

Scientists discover cellular structures with extreme longevity, leading to insights for age-associated diseases. Scientists once thought that neurons, or possibly heart cells, were the oldest cells in the body. Now, Salk Institute researchers have discovered that the mouse brain, liver and pancreas contain populations of cells and proteins with extremely long lifespans – some as old as neurons. The team’s methods could be applied to nearly any tissue in the body to provide valuable information about lifelong function of non-dividing cells and how cells lose control over the quality and integrity of proteins and important cell structures during aging.

“We were quite surprised to find cellu...