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In the U.S., unlike elsewhere in the world, the vast majority of mergers and acquisitions are conducted by "serial acquirers"—large, publicly traded firms that regularly acquire smaller companies. Around four in five M&A deals are made by these major players, including tech titans IBM, Google and Microsoft.

Climate change will profoundly alter the dynamics of sea and land breezes in the Barcelona metropolitan area, trapping larger amounts of air pollutants over coastal areas and increasing health risks for millions of people. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), Spain, which produced high-resolution projections of future sea and land breeze behavior and air quality under climate change scenarios for 2050 and 2100.

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Astronomers have discovered a huge reservoir of cold molecular gas, the direct fuel for star formation, in REBELS-25, a massive, star-forming galaxy. The team, led from Leiden University, focused on REBELS-25, seen when the universe was only about 700 million years old, around 5% of its current age. The research is published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

GaN-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are promising for displays, sensing and optical communication, but improving efficiency remains challenging. Researchers have now shown that "cavity tuning," which controls resonance wavelength, strongly affects laser performance. By analyzing variations across a VCSEL wafer, the team identified optimal mirror loss conditions and extracted device parameters. Their approach achieved 26.4% wall plug efficiency, offering guidance for next-generation high-efficiency visible-light semiconductor lasers.

"Incredible animals we are only just starting to understand." ScienceAlert stories are written, fact-checked, and edited by humans, never generated by AI. Don't miss a story, subscribe here.

Scientists analyzing 2,000-year-old grape seeds from ancient wells in Tuscany have mapped the most extensive genetic history of ancient grapevines recovered from a single site.

A recent study by Ruibao Li and Jennah Dharamshi published in Nature may help us understand the beginnings of animal evolution billions of years ago. These findings are the result of a collaboration among researchers at Indiana University Bloomington, the Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Spain and Uppsala University in Sweden, and were led by J. P. Gerdt and Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo.

Faculty and students at Georgia State University are working to integrate sustainable practices into undergraduate science education, and a new study highlights ways to advance laboratory practices and teaching strategies.

A new AI model has become so good at predicting how molecules evolve over time that, in the future, it could speed up the costly and time-consuming process of testing new drugs. In the long term, this technology could facilitate the development of medicines and new treatments, as promising drug candidates can be identified more quickly and with greater accuracy.

We may not know what dark matter is, but we keep getting whiffs of it. "We are reaching a point where the observational evidence for dark matter is simply undeniable," said Mayank Sharma, a Virginia Tech graduate student in physics.

Biologists have long thought that seed traits, such as the presence of wings, are the key to predicting in what way, and how far, weeds can disperse. Now, a trio of researchers has revealed that unexpected modes of seed dispersal are more important than mechanisms predicted by seed traits.

Solid construction, smooth rowing motion, and video support are highlights of the newest version of the NordicTrack rowing machine.  The post NordicTrack RW900 Rower (2026) review: Real exertion with virtual convenience appeared first on Popular Science.

Climate disclosures help investors and the public understand how companies view risks such as extreme weather, carbon regulation and the transition to cleaner energy. "Because these risks are uncertain and forward-looking, company leaders have considerable influence over what is communicated and how," says Postdoctoral Researcher Javad Rajabalizadeh from the University of Turku.