Urban rodents may be evolving against common poisons
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 17-Jun-2026 13:16 ET (17-Jun-2026 17:16 GMT/UTC)
For years, pest control professionals throughout the Northeast have reported a troubling pattern. In some neighborhoods, rodents seemed increasingly more difficult to eliminate, even when standard control methods were used. Now researchers at Rutgers University believe they may know one reason why.
A study found that 84% of house mice sampled from urban areas in the Northeast carried at least one genetic mutation linked to rodenticide resistance, suggesting many mouse populations may be evolving ways to survive the poisons commonly used to control them. The research was published in the international journal Pest Management Science.
Physicists have long wondered whether the fundamental laws of nature contain freely adjustable external “dials.” A researcher at Kyushu University and collaborators have shown, under certain assumptions, that continuous parameters in conformal field theories can be generated by operators within the theory itself. The findings support Einstein’s idea that apparent free parameters in quantum gravity should be explained by dynamical fields rather than chosen externally.
Study led by University of Utah engineers shows data center operations can be adjusted to lower costs. By up to $590 million a year on the Western grid.
Inspired by the human brain, Oregon State University researchers have developed a new light-sensitive device that combines sensing and memory while controlling how digital memories strengthen or fade over time.
Three students from Lehigh University's Department of Materials Science and Engineering have received National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, one of the nation's most competitive honors for emerging STEM researchers. Their success highlights the impact of a course designed to strengthen scientific communication, proposal writing, and fellowship preparation.