Here are 3 big ideas to combat climate change, with or without COP

As action from the U.N.’s huge COP30 international meeting falls short, smaller groups are banding together to find ways to fight climate change.

A foot fossil suggests a second early human relative lived alongside Lucy

Foot bones and other fossils have been attributed to Australopithecus deyiremeda, a recently discovered species that may shake up the human family tree.

Listen to the crackle of Martian ‘mini-lightning’

A microphone on NASA’s Perseverance rover recorded the sounds of electrical discharges generated by dusty gusts.

Gratitude can increase joy, even if it feels a little cringe

Like exercise, gratitude takes many forms. Finding the right practice, research shows, is up to the individual.

Cuddly koalas had a brutal, blade-toothed close cousin

Ancient collagen preserved in the bones of extinct Australian mammals is revealing their evolutionary relationships, leading to some surprises.

Boiling oceans may sculpt the surfaces of small icy moons

Simulations show that subsurface oceans on small moons may hit boiling conditions, potentially creating features like Miranda’s distinctive ridges.

This bright orange life-form could point to new dino discoveries

Colorful lichen living on dinosaur bones reflect infrared light that can be detected by drones, which might lead to finds in remote areas.

‘Butt breathing’ could help people who can’t get oxygen the regular way

Takanori Takebe’s strange investigation into whether humans can use the gut for breathing has surprisingly sentimental origins: helping his dad.

Rats are snatching bats out of the air and eating them

The grisly infrared camera footage records a never-before-seen hunting tactic. It may have implications for bat conservation.

3,000 steps per day might slow Alzheimer’s disease

In people at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, researchers linked minimal to moderate physical activity to a 3-to 7-year delay in cognitive symptoms.

Nancy Shute, Editor in Chief, discusses big advances across science in 2025 as well as the assault on science by the Trump administration.

Meet 5 scientists reshaping the way we understand the world

These five early- and mid-career researchers are shaking up what we know about the Arctic, black holes and beyond.

Science has made America great. Is that era over?

Expectations of continued success for American science were shaken this year when the Trump administration cut billions of dollars in funding and fired thousands of scientists.

A new dinosaur doomsday exhibit showcases survival after destruction

The American Museum of Natural History’s “Impact: The End of the Age of the Dinosaurs” examines how an asteroid impact shaped life as we know it.

Building a better skin barrier

Skin is a barrier meant to keep small invaders out. Products making their way across it should boost that mission.

Math puzzle: A Loopy Holiday Gift Exchange

Solve the math puzzle from our December 2025 issue, in which a holiday gift exchange occurs.

Here’s how Rudolph’s light-up nose might be possible

Simple chemistry could give the reindeer his famously bright snout. But physics would make it look different colors from the ground.

Lions have a second roar that no one noticed until now

A machine learning analysis of wild lion audio reveals they have two roar types, not one. This insight might help detect where lions are declining.

A diet low in glutamate may ease migraines

People with Gulf War Illness found relief from migraines after a month on a low-glutamate diet, hinting at a new way to ease symptoms.

These are Science News’ favorite books of 2025

Books about AI, Mars and infectious disease were among our top reads this year.

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How the Brain Chooses What to Remember and What to Forget

Long-term memory emerges from a sequence of molecular programs that sort, stabilize, and reinforce important experiences. Understanding these timers may allow researchers to bypass damaged brain regions and preserve memories…

Natural Plant Compound Supercharges Chemotherapy Against Leukemia

A promising natural compound may offer new hope for treating one of the most aggressive forms of leukaemia. A natural compound may offer a new way to combat aggressive leukemia…

Scientists Identify First-Ever Single Gene That Can Directly Cause Mental Illness

A rare genetic finding shows that GRIN2A mutations can directly trigger psychiatric illness. Early treatment insights point to new paths for intervention. For many years, scientists believed that conditions such…

Scientists Discover Simple Trick To Make Kale Tastier and Healthier

Researchers from the University of Missouri report that pairing kale with oil-based dressings or sauces not only helps the body absorb more of its nutrients but also improves its flavor.…

Fighters’ Brains Show a Surprising Cleanup Surge Before Dangerous Collapse

Researchers studying pro fighters discovered that repeated head impacts can overload and eventually weaken the brain’s waste-disposal network. MRI biomarkers showed that cognitively impaired athletes initially had unusually high glymphatic…

Scientists Discover a Surprisingly Simple New Way Microbes Travel Without Flagella

Two new studies uncover unexpected ways that microbes move, offering insights that could impact our understanding of human health and disease. New research from Arizona State University has uncovered unexpected…

Scientists Discover Unusual New Snake Species on Remote Island

A newly identified snake species from the remote Great Nicobar Islands is offering scientists a fresh look at the region’s hidden biodiversity. A newly identified species of wolf snake has…

A 100-Year-Old Problem Solved? Scientists Discover How To Freeze Organs Without Cracking Them

The breakthrough approach could lead to successful, long-term organ transplants, bringing science fiction closer to becoming medical reality. Cryopreservation, the process of preserving biological tissues by cooling them to subzero…

Textbooks Were Wrong: 249-Million-Year-Old Fossil Discovery Upends Timeline of Evolution

Newly analyzed Arctic fossils show that marine ecosystems recovered astonishingly fast after the “great dying.” More than 30,000 teeth, bones, and other fossil fragments from a 249-million-year-old marine ecosystem have…

Physicists Observe a Nuclear “Memory” Thought Impossible

UT researchers have made rare measurements of exotic nuclear decay that reshape how scientists think heavy elements form in extreme cosmic events. You can’t have gold without the decay of…

Einstein Tested Again: New Gamma-Ray Study Pushes Physics to Its Limits

Physicists have demonstrated with unprecedented accuracy that the speed of light remains constant. In 1887, a landmark physics experiment was carried out by American researchers Michelson and Morley. They attempted…

In a First for Humanity, Scientists May Have Finally Seen Dark Matter

For nearly a century, dark matter has lurked unseen, shaping galaxies while refusing to reveal itself. Now, new gamma-ray data from NASA’s Fermi Telescope may have caught its elusive signature.…

AI Blood Cell Analyzer Outperforms Human Experts in Detecting Leukemia

A new AI system called CytoDiffusion could reshape how blood disorders such as leukemia are detected by analyzing blood cell morphology with remarkable sensitivity and awareness of its own uncertainty.…

Deep Brain Recordings Reveal How Mounjaro Suppresses Food Cravings

A Penn case study finds that a brain-computer interface shows the medication produces only short-term or incomplete effects on related brain activity in a patient with obesity, highlighting the need…

A Common Nutrient Deficiency May Be Triggering Early Brain Damage in Young Adults

Obesity in young adults appears to trigger early biological changes linked to inflammation, liver stress, and neuronal damage. Researchers found that low choline levels strongly correlate with these risks, hinting…

Your Brain Quietly Rewrites Reality Depending on Your State of Mind

Researchers found that the prefrontal cortex customizes its signals to the brain’s visual and motor systems, shaping perception based on arousal and movement. Two key regions balance each other to…

Hidden Thyroid Problem in Pregnancy Linked to Autism

Researchers found that mothers with untreated or persistent thyroid hormone imbalance across pregnancy face a higher chance of having children diagnosed with autism. The study also revealed that longer periods…

Scientists Unveil Breakthrough Low-Temperature Fuel Cell That Could Revolutionize Hydrogen Power

Researchers at Kyushu University have created a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) exhibiting exceptionally high proton conductivity at 300°C. As worldwide energy needs continue to rise, scientists, industry leaders, and…

“We Have Never Seen This Before” – New Crystal Superconductor Is the Strangest of Its Kind

A new study reveals that PtBi2, an otherwise ordinary-looking crystal, hosts an entirely new form of superconductivity confined to its top and bottom surfaces. Something unusual is happening inside the…

Scientists Discover Simple Diesel Hack That Dramatically Cuts Pollution and Improves Efficiency

A new review shows that mixing water into diesel fuel can dramatically lower emissions and boost efficiency, offering a surprisingly simple route toward cleaner diesel engines. A research team at…

Your Brain Has Five Secret Ages, and One Lasts Most Of Your Life

The human brain appears to move through five distinct structural eras, each separated by major turning points from birth to old age. Researchers found that the brain moves through five…

11,000-Year-Old Dog Skulls Rewrite the Story of Domestication

New research shows that domestic dogs began diversifying at least 11,000 years ago, long before modern breeding. A major archaeological investigation has uncovered when domestic dogs first started developing the…

Researchers Discover New Kind of DNA Damage Hidden Inside Mitochondria

The findings may have important implications for diseases linked to mitochondrial dysfunction. A newly identified form of DNA damage inside mitochondria, the small structures that supply energy to our cells,…

Scientists Find Molecular Switch That Helps Cancer Cells Defy Death

Researchers have identified a stress-activated control mechanism that helps breast cancer cells reshape gene activity to survive and grow. Cells often encounter environmental pressures that can harm or even kill…

Researchers studying Classic Maya cities discovered that urban growth was driven by a blend of climate downturns, conflict, and powerful economies of scale in agriculture. These forces made crowded, costly…

Scientists discovered that lowered brain energy signaling in the hippocampus can lead to both depression- and anxiety-like behaviors in mice. Stress reduced ATP, a molecule important for cell energy and…

Scientists discovered that more muscle and less hidden abdominal fat are linked to a younger biological brain age. Deep visceral fat appeared to accelerate brain aging, while muscle mass offered…

Using a smart computational search, scientists discovered a catalyst ingredient that finally makes tough alkyl ketones behave the way chemists want. The reaction now runs cleanly and reliably, opening the…

Scientists decoded DNA from millennia-old lentils preserved in volcanic rock silos on Gran Canaria. The findings show that today’s Canary Island lentils largely descend from varieties brought from North Africa…

Beneath the waters off Papua New Guinea lies an extraordinary deep-sea environment where scorching hydrothermal vents and cool methane seeps coexist side by side — a pairing never before seen.…

Michigan State University astrophysicists are closing in on one of space science’s biggest mysteries: where the galaxy’s most energetic particles come from. Their studies uncovered a pulsar wind nebula behind…

Mars’s Coloe Fossae reveals a landscape shaped by ancient ice ages, with deep valleys, cratered terrain, and frozen debris flows preserved from a time when the planet’s climate dramatically shifted.

An immense pocket of hot rock deep beneath the Appalachians may be a wandering relic of the breakup between Greenland and North America 80 million years ago. Researchers suggest this…

Rerouted shipping during Red Sea conflicts accidentally created a massive real-world experiment, letting scientists study how new low-sulfur marine fuels affect cloud formation. The sudden surge of ships around the…

Personalized algorithms may quietly sabotage how people learn, nudging them into narrow tunnels of information even when they start with zero prior knowledge. In the study, participants using algorithm-curated clues…

Researchers studying Yellowstone’s depths discovered that small earthquakes can recharge underground microbial life. The quakes exposed new rock and fluids, creating bursts of chemical energy that microbes can use. Both…

Using a precisely aligned pair of laser beams, scientists can now hold a single aerosol particle in place and monitor how it charges up. The particle’s glow signals each step…

Moss spores survived an extended stay on the outside of the ISS and remained capable of germinating once back on Earth. Their resilience to vacuum, extreme temperatures, and UV radiation…

Researchers developed a powerful new manganese complex that could revolutionize light-driven chemical reactions. It absorbs light extremely efficiently, has a uniquely long excited-state lifetime, and is far easier to synthesize…

A horned native bee dubbed Megachile lucifer has been discovered in Western Australia’s Goldfields. Identified while surveying a rare wildflower, the species stood out with its unusual “devilish” facial horns.…

Scientists have found that a mutation tied to Alzheimer’s disrupts the production and quality of exosomes—tiny cell-made communication packets. Cells with the defective SORLA protein generate fewer exosomes and ones…

Scientists found that high-flavanol foods can prevent the decline in blood vessel function that occurs after prolonged sitting. Even physically fit men weren’t protected unless they had consumed flavanols beforehand.…

Ribosomes don’t just make proteins—they can sense when something’s wrong. When they collide, they send out stress signals that activate a molecule called ZAK. Researchers uncovered how ZAK recognizes these…

Scientists are uncovering what makes some carcinomas so resistant: their ability to change identity. Two new studies reveal crucial proteins and structures that could become targets for future therapies. These…

A research team has found that specific immune cells can connect with muscle fibers in a lightning-fast, neuron-like way to promote healing. These cells deliver quick pulses of calcium, triggering…

Ultra-processed foods are rapidly becoming a global dietary staple, and new research links them to worsening health outcomes around the world. Scientists say only bold, coordinated policy action can counter…

Researchers have uncovered a surprising new role for the HSL protein: beyond breaking down fat, it also works inside the nucleus of fat cells to keep them functioning properly. When…

Hypertension begins harming the brain surprisingly early, even before measurable blood pressure increases. Key cells related to blood vessels, signaling, and myelin maintenance begin aging prematurely and malfunctioning. These disruptions…

Scientists have uncovered how leukemia cells manage to escape one of the most commonly used treatments. Over time, these cancer cells subtly change the shape of their mitochondria to avoid…

A Swedish plano-convex ingot once thought to be from the Bronze Age was revealed through chemical and isotopic testing to belong to the Iron Age. Its composition closely matches Iron…

Sargassum seaweed is creating major new obstacles for sea turtle hatchlings, drastically slowing their crawl to the ocean and increasing their risk from predators and heat. Despite the physical challenge,…

A massive long-term study shows that Mediterranean and plant-based diets can help prevent chronic constipation in aging adults. Surprisingly, the benefits weren’t explained by fiber alone. Western and inflammatory diets…

UC Davis researchers engineered wheat that encourages soil bacteria to convert atmospheric nitrogen into plant-usable fertilizer. By boosting a natural compound in the plant, the wheat triggers bacteria to form…

Monk parakeets ease into new friendships, slowly approaching strangers to avoid aggressive encounters. Researchers watched how birds shared space, groomed each other, and escalated to deeper social bonds over time.…

About 4.5 billion years ago, a colossal impact between the young Earth and a mysterious planetary body called Theia changed everything—reshaping Earth, forming the Moon, and scattering clues across space…

Researchers have uncovered a surprising way the brain switches pain on, revealing that neurons can release an enzyme outside the cell that activates pain signals without disrupting normal movement or…

Scientists have created a live-cell DNA sensor that reveals how damage appears and disappears inside living cells, capturing the entire repair sequence as it unfolds. Instead of freezing cells at…

Researchers discovered that raising the protein Sox9 can help the brain’s astrocytes clear out toxic plaque buildup linked to Alzheimer’s. In mouse models that already showed memory problems, activating these…

A massive solar storm in May 2024 gave scientists an unprecedented look at how Earth’s protective plasma layer collapses under intense space weather. With the Arase satellite in a perfect…

Researchers taught young loggerhead turtles to associate certain magnetic fields with feeding, prompting a distinctive dance when they recognized the signal. After a magnetic pulse briefly disrupted their ability to…

Ideas about Vikings and Norse mythology come mostly from much later medieval sources, leaving plenty of room for reinterpretation. Over centuries, writers, politicians, and artists reshaped these stories to reflect…

Researchers have pinpointed a super-Earth in the habitable zone of a nearby M-dwarf star only 18 light-years away. Sophisticated instruments detected the planet’s gentle tug on its star, hinting at…

Water trapped inside tiny molecular cavities behaves in a surprisingly energetic way, pushing outward like people crammed in an elevator. When a new molecule enters these narrow spaces, the confined…

Scientists discovered that lowering a specific molecule helps microglia switch into a protective state that quiets brain inflammation in Alzheimer’s. A small group of these cells seems to have an…

Worker bees stage coordinated revolts when viral infections weaken their queen and lower her pheromone output. This disruption drives many of the queen failures that beekeepers struggle with today. Field…

Scientists flew the XL-Calibur telescope on a high-altitude balloon to measure polarized X-rays from Cygnus X-1. These measurements reveal details about the chaotic, superheated material swirling around black holes. The…

A new nasal-delivered nanotherapy shows promise against aggressive glioblastoma tumors. By activating the STING immune pathway using gold-core spherical nucleic acids, researchers were able to reach the brain without invasive…

Scientists have uncovered a surprising second type of lion roar, using AI to decode vocal signatures with remarkable precision. This breakthrough sheds new light on how lions communicate and offers…

Researchers discovered that copper oxide catalysts form metallic copper mid-reaction, triggering a dramatic boost in ammonia output. The insight offers a roadmap for designing cleaner, more efficient ammonia-production technologies.

Around 115 million years ago, northern Australia’s seas hosted a colossal shark that rewrites what we thought we knew about early ocean predators. New fossil discoveries show that modern-type sharks…

Scientists discovered that deep earthquake faults can heal far faster than expected, sometimes within hours. Slow slip events in Cascadia reveal repeated fault movements that only make sense if the…

Hunter-gatherers at Poverty Point may have built its massive earthworks not under the command of chiefs, but as part of a vast, temporary gathering of egalitarian communities seeking spiritual harmony…

Researchers uncovered how estrogen subtly reshapes learning by strengthening dopamine reward signals in the brain. Rats learned faster when estrogen levels were high and struggled when the hormone’s activity was…

New measurements of radio galaxies reveal that the solar system is racing through the universe at over three times the speed predicted by standard cosmology. Using highly sensitive data from…

Paleontologists have analyzed an exceptionally long sauropod trackway at the West Gold Hill Dinosaur Tracksite in Colorado, the United States. Their results show that the giant dinosaur which made it…

Although dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and wolves (Canis lupus) can interbreed and produce fertile offspring, hybridization between the two is far more rare than domestic and wild populations of other…

Researchers have tested protenemata, brood cells and sporophytes of Physcomitrium patens under simulated space environments, identifying spores as the most resilient, and subsequently exposed them to the space environment outside…

Ruhr University Bochum researchers Gianmarco Maldarelli and Onur Güntürkün highlight three central areas in which birds show remarkable parallels to conscious experience in mammals: sensory consciousness, neurobiological foundations, and accounts…

Wolves, the wild ancestor of dogs, are the only large carnivores that have undergone domestication by humans. The post Ancient Humans Introduced Wolves to Remote Baltic Sea Island 5,000 Years…

The newly-discovered moon has an estimated diameter of 38 km (23.6 miles) and a V magnitude of 28, likely making it the faintest satellite ever found around a trans-Neptunian object.…

Ruhr-Universität Bochum’s Dr. Albert Newen and San Francisco State University’s Dr. Carlos Montemayor propose to distinguish three core phenomena of phenomenal consciousness: basic arousal, general alertness and reflexive (self-)consciousness. The…

NASA’s STEREO (Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory), the NASA/ESA SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory), and NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) missions have the unique ability to observe…

Two enormous structures buried deep inside Earth may retain geochemical signatures distinct from the surrounding mantle. The post Geoscientists Find Explanation for Mysterious Structures within Earth’s Mantle appeared first on…

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have released a beautiful new image of part of N159, a massive star-forming cloud located about 160,000 light-years away in the constellation of…

The Moon formed from a giant impact of the proto-Earth with the ancient protoplanet Theia. The post Moon-Forming Protoplanet Theia Originated from Inner Solar System, New Research Suggests appeared first…

Using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope with data from ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), two team of astronomers have captured a mid-infrared image of a system of four serpentine…

The ecological transformation of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) has become among the most paradigmatic yet contested case studies in environmental archaeology. The post Invasive Polynesian Rats Played Key Role in…

The new ultraviolet (UV) images from the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) camera aboard NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) orbiter are unique among all observations of the interstellar comet…

The new images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera onboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will allow astronomers to better estimate the size of 3I/ATLAS, the third known interstellar…

Kissing occurs in most living large apes, and likely also occurred in Neanderthals, first evolving in the ancestor to this group 21.5-16.9 million years ago, according to new research led…

Thanks to the data collected by the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) onboard ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) spacecraft orbiting Mars, scientists have improved the predicted location of…

Nigella sativa, or black cumin, is a flowering plant from the Ranunculaceae family long used in traditional medicine across South Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. The post Black Cumin…

Teasing out biochemical information from ancient organic-rich sediments, notably the timing of the emergence of photosynthesis relative to the inferred oxygenation of Earth’s atmosphere, remains a challenging opportunity. The post…

A member of the ICQ Comet Observations group has released a new image of 3I/ATLAS, the third object and the second comet from outside the Solar System confirmed. The post…

Russia is attacking Ukraine with Shahed-136-type drones every night now. Ukraine has put up additional air defences in

Nuclear bomb is a weapon that employs the energy from a nuclear reaction. Resulting radiation and the fallout

Russia’s main air-defence systems are S-300 and S-400. Those are expensive missile systems, capable of engaging all kinds

More accurately predicting periods of increased hurricane activity weeks in advance may become possible due to new research

Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems have developed a robotic leg with

AstraZeneca has entered into a collaboration with biotech firm Immunai Inc., investing $18 million to utilize Immunai’s advanced

Astronomy has always relied on light to convey information about the universe. But capturing photons — such as

Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook, showcased its new augmented reality (AR) glasses prototype, Orion, during its annual Connect conference.

Nebius Group, an Amsterdam-based tech company born from the division of assets previously owned by Russian technology giant

In the desert of Texas, an innovative construction project is unfolding—one that uses a crane-sized 3D printer to

PayPal Holdings announced a major development on Wednesday, allowing U.S. merchants to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency directly

Russia has covertly established a weapons program in China to create long-range attack drones for use in the

The Sukhoi Su-57 is a Russian fifth-generation fighter jet, built as a response to the American F-22 Raptor.

Alphabet’s Google is partnering with Volkswagen to provide cutting-edge artificial intelligence capabilities for an in-app assistant designed specifically

Stability AI, an emerging leader in artificial intelligence, announced on Tuesday that renowned filmmaker James Cameron, director of

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denies reports that Iran has transferred a large quantity of Fath 360 short-range ballistic

Russia has emerged as the primary foreign actor using artificial intelligence (AI) to sway the U.S. presidential election,

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has announced plans to launch approximately five uncrewed Starship missions to Mars within the