From clever cockatoos to vomiting spiders, these cool critters captivated us this year.
Data from Axial, the most-monitored underwater volcano, are helping geophysicists hone eruption predictions. For Axial, 2026 is their next bet.
By moving around, some cancer cells force attacking immune cells to just nibble at the edges rather than engulf them completely.
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute talks about life’s complexities, from its evolution on Earth as a single cell to complex human behavior.
Researchers are keeping an eye on the building-sized asteroid 2024 YR4, which has a 4 percent chance of hitting the moon seven years from now.
An NIH scientist’s maverick approach reveals legal, ethical, moral, scientific and social challenges to developing potentially life-saving vaccines.
Solve the crossword from our January 2026 issue, in which we take a crack at geological principles
Gut problems like irritable bowel syndrome are often worse in women. A mouse study reveals a pain pathway involving estrogen, gut cells and bacteria.
A massive collision between two asteroid-sized bodies around a nearby star offers a rare look at the violent process of planetary construction.
Psychiatrist Robert Custer spent his life convincing doctors that compulsive gambling was not an impulse control problem. Today, his research is foundational for diagnosis and treatment.
The Terra Hunting Experiment will track the wobbles of dozens of stars nightly for years in the most focused hunt yet for an Earth twin.
Bragging rights and an adrenaline rush aren’t the only reasons to start the year with a frigid swim. A dip in icy water builds resilience.
3-D microscopy shows that the giant bacterium Thiovulum imperiosus squeezes its DNA into peripheral pouches, not a central mass like typical bacteria.
Machine learning techniques that make use of tensor networks could manipulate data more efficiently and help open the black box of AI models.
Cats were domesticated in North Africa, but spread to Europe only about 2,000 years ago. Earlier reports of “house” cats were wild cats.
It’s possible to defy gravity using sound waves, magnets or electricity, but today’s methods can’t hoist heavy items high in the sky.
A mysterious excess of far-ultraviolet light seen across the Milky Way could come from the annihilation of clumpy dark matter.
A mosquito proboscis repurposed as a 3-D printing nozzle can print filaments around 20 micrometers wide, half the width of a fine human hair.
In the aftermath of slavery, white psychiatrists diagnosed Black people with “religious excitement” and claimed they were unfit for freedom.
When the early Earth’s magma ocean crystallized 4.4 billion years ago, the deep mantle trapped an ocean’s worth of water, scientists say.
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Overharvesting has raised conservation concerns for a widely foraged plant, but researchers say that better genetic insights could support more effective protection efforts. For years, the wild ramp community has…
Deep-sea mining trials revealed significant but localized biodiversity loss in one of the planet’s least explored ecosystems. Global demand for critical metals is rising sharply, prompting many countries to explore…
Overestimated nitrogen availability has led climate models to exaggerate how much plant growth can offset rising CO2 levels. Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are a major driver…
Fossils can reveal far more than the shapes of ancient creatures. Molecules preserved inside old animal bones provide clues about past diseases, what those animals ate, and the climates they…
NASA’s Carruthers mission will film Earth’s elusive exosphere to understand space weather, atmospheric escape, and planetary habitability. A NASA mission aims to photograph a feature of Earth that is usually…
Electrical sparks inside Martian dust devils have been detected for the first time, reshaping how scientists understand the planet’s atmosphere and climate. On Mars, strong winds routinely generate swirling columns…
Cannabis with more THC may slightly dull chronic pain—but the relief is modest, short-lived, and comes with trade-offs. A large review of clinical trials involving more than 2,300 adults with…
Clearing out “aged” brain cells dramatically reduced seizures and restored memory in a new epilepsy study. Temporal lobe epilepsy is a neurological condition marked by repeated seizures and problems with…
Replacing a missing brain lipid may calm overactive blood vessels and restore healthy blood flow—opening a new path toward treating dementia. A potential new approach to treating reduced brain blood…
For some people, everyday sights and sounds quietly hijack decision-making—and refuse to let go. People naturally learn to connect what they see and hear with what happens next. Over time,…
A fatty diet doesn’t just damage the liver — it rewires its cells in ways that give cancer a dangerous head start. Eating a diet high in fat is one…
The world’s energy demand is rising, and NREL’s ULIS power module could help meet it. Demand for energy worldwide is climbing rapidly, driven in part by power hungry data centers…
Scientists are turning to milk proteins, starch, and nanoclay to create biodegradable plastics that break down quickly in soil. As concerns grow about damage to the environment and potential risks…
Harmful genetic mutations in sperm become much more common as men grow older, and new research shows this is not simply due to random DNA damage over time. Instead, some…
Even with modern medicine, infections caused by bacteria and viruses remain a leading cause of death worldwide. Scientists are now exploring whether diet may play a role in shaping the…
Attention disorders such as ADHD arise when the brain struggles to separate important signals from irrelevant noise. At any moment, the brain is flooded with information, and staying focused depends…
A bizarre group of underground plants shows how life can thrive even after abandoning sunlight and sex. Not all plants are green or rely on sexual reproduction, and these exceptions…
Researchers report that oil-field emissions are reshaping regional atmospheric processes. Earth’s climate is shifting rapidly, with the most dramatic changes occurring in polar regions. A team of researchers from Penn…
Stanford, CMU, Penn, MIT, and SkyWater Technology reached a major milestone by producing the first monolithic 3D chip manufactured at a U.S. foundry, achieving the highest density of 3D chip…
For millions of people living with long COVID, symptoms like shortness of breath, mental fog, and deep fatigue continue long after infection, with no clear explanation. Now, a group of…
Natural killer (NK) cells play a critical role in protecting the body from illness. They act quickly to eliminate invading pathogens, foreign substances, and infected cells before these threats can…
As the immune system weakens with age, researchers have found a way to temporarily boost its function by reprogramming liver cells to support T-cell development. As people get older, the…
As fish disappear, African penguins are being pushed into direct competition with fishing fleets, deepening their fight for survival. Researchers led by the University of St Andrews have found that…
A nearly invisible material made mostly of air could redefine how windows stop heat and save energy. Physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder have created a new type of…
Some ants thrive by choosing numbers over strength. Instead of heavily protecting each worker, they invest fewer resources in individual armor and produce far more ants. Larger colonies then compensate…
New research suggests Alzheimer’s may start far earlier than previously thought, driven by a hidden toxic protein in the brain. Scientists found that an experimental drug, NU-9, blocks this early…
Black holes are among the most extreme objects in the universe, and now scientists can model them more accurately than ever before. By combining Einstein’s gravity with realistic behavior of…
MIT scientists have achieved the first-ever lab synthesis of verticillin A, a complex fungal compound discovered in 1970. Its delicate structure stalled chemists for decades, despite differing from related molecules…
Eating full-fat cheese and cream may be associated with a lower risk of dementia, according to a large study that tracked people for more than 25 years. Those who consumed…
A new AI developed at Duke University can uncover simple, readable rules behind extremely complex systems. It studies how systems evolve over time and reduces thousands of variables into compact…
A Brazilian study has confirmed that Joseph’s Coat, a plant used for generations in folk medicine, can significantly reduce inflammation and arthritis symptoms in lab tests. Researchers observed less swelling,…
Researchers studying a massive landslide in Alaska have detected strange seasonal seismic pulses caused by water freezing and thawing in rock cracks. These faint signals could become an important early…
Astronomers have uncovered a massive hidden planet and a rare “failed star” by combining ultra-precise space data with some of the sharpest ground-based images ever taken. Using the Subaru Telescope…
A new study shows dopamine isn’t the brain’s movement “gas pedal” after all. Instead of setting speed or strength, it quietly enables movement in the background, much like oil in…
Sediments from a Roman latrine at Vindolanda show soldiers were infected with multiple intestinal parasites, including roundworm, whipworm, and Giardia — the first time Giardia has been identified in Roman…
For years, scientists thought Saturn’s moon Titan hid a global ocean beneath its frozen surface. A new look at Cassini data now suggests something very different: a thick, slushy interior…
Superconductors promise loss-free electricity, but most only work at extreme cold. Hydrogen-rich materials changed that—yet their inner workings remained hidden because they only exist under enormous pressure. Now, researchers have…
Old military air samples turned out to be a treasure trove of biological DNA, allowing scientists to track moss spores over 35 years. The results show mosses now release spores…
By studying tiny distortions in the shapes of distant galaxies, scientists mapped dark matter and dark energy across one of the largest sky surveys ever assembled. Their results back the…
Balanophora is a plant that abandoned photosynthesis long ago and now lives entirely as a parasite on tree roots, hidden in dark forest undergrowth. Scientists surveying rare populations across East…
Long before opioids flooded communities, something else was quietly changing—and it may have helped set the stage for today’s crisis. A new study finds that as church attendance dropped among…
Researchers have revealed that so-called “junk DNA” contains powerful switches that help control brain cells linked to Alzheimer’s disease. By experimentally testing nearly 1,000 DNA switches in human astrocytes, scientists…
An instrument aboard NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft captured rare ultraviolet observations of an interstellar comet while Earth-based telescopes were blinded by the Sun. The spacecraft’s unique position provided an unprecedented…
In a rare and historic achievement, Children’s Hospital Colorado successfully completed its first dual heart and liver transplant in a pediatric patient. The life-saving surgery was performed on 11-year-old Gracie…
After injury, the visual system can recover by growing new neural connections rather than replacing lost cells. Researchers found that surviving eye cells formed extra branches that restored communication with…
New research reveals when glaciers around the world will vanish and why every fraction of a degree of warming could decide their fate.
Scientists have discovered that T cell receptors activate through a hidden spring-like motion that had never been seen before. This breakthrough may help explain why immunotherapy works for some cancers…
Long before whales and sharks, enormous marine reptiles dominated the oceans with unmatched power. Scientists have reconstructed a 130-million-year-old marine ecosystem from Colombia and found predators operating at a food-chain…
Cosmic “touchdown airbursts” — explosions of comets or asteroids above Earth’s surface — may be far more common and destructive than previously thought, according to new research. Unlike crater-forming impacts,…
Gravitational waves from black holes may soon reveal where dark matter is hiding. A new model shows how dark matter surrounding massive black holes leaves detectable fingerprints in the waves…
A small tweak to mitochondrial energy production led to big gains in health and longevity. Mice engineered to boost a protein that helps mitochondria work more efficiently lived longer and…
Astronomers have detected spacetime itself being dragged and twisted by a spinning black hole for the first time. The discovery, seen during a star’s violent destruction, confirms a prediction made…
A new bioluminescent tool allows neurons to glow on their own, letting scientists track brain activity without harmful lasers or fading signals. The advance makes it possible to watch individual…
Researchers announced over 70 new species in a single year, including bizarre insects, ancient dinosaurs, rare mammals, and deep-river fish. Many were found not in the wild, but in museum…
Much of the western U.S. is overdue for wildfire, with decades of suppression allowing fuel to build up across millions of hectares. Researchers estimate that 74% of the region is…
Researchers have uncovered that the body uses different molecular systems to sense cold in the skin versus internal organs. This explains why surface chills feel very different from cold experienced…
AI tools designed to diagnose cancer from tissue samples are quietly learning more than just disease patterns. New research shows these systems can infer patient demographics from pathology slides, leading…
Researchers have identified a previously overlooked protein that helps regulate appetite and energy use in the body. This “helper” protein supports a key system that decides whether the body burns…
Traces of opium found inside an ancient alabaster vase suggest drug use was common in ancient Egypt, not rare or accidental. The discovery raises the possibility that King Tut’s famous…
Researchers have found that fossilized dinosaur eggshells contain a natural clock that can reveal when dinosaurs lived. The technique delivers surprisingly precise ages and could revolutionize how fossil sites around…
A long-standing physics mystery has been solved with the discovery of emergent photon-like behavior inside a strange quantum material. The finding confirms a true 3D quantum spin liquid and unlocks…
A missing brain molecule may be disrupting neural wiring in Down syndrome, according to new research. Replacing it in adult mice rewired brain circuits and improved brain flexibility, challenging the…
After a decade of painstaking measurements, scientists have delivered a major plot twist in particle physics: a long-hypothesized “mystery particle” likely doesn’t exist. Using the MicroBooNE experiment at Fermilab, researchers…
California researchers are preparing for the possible return of the New World screwworm, a parasitic fly that feeds on living flesh and once devastated U.S. livestock. By monitoring traps and…
Sorbitol, a popular sugar-free sweetener, may not be as harmless as its label suggests. Researchers found it can be turned into fructose in the liver, triggering effects similar to regular…
A rare tick-borne allergy linked to red meat has now been confirmed as deadly for the first time. A healthy New Jersey man collapsed and died hours after eating beef,…
Ramanujan’s elegant formulas for calculating pi, developed more than a century ago, have unexpectedly resurfaced at the heart of modern physics. Researchers at IISc discovered that the same mathematical structures…
A museum visit sparked a revelation when a Roman glass cup was turned around and its overlooked markings came into focus. These symbols, once dismissed as decoration, appear to be…
Scientists at Northern Arizona University are developing a promising new way to detect Alzheimer’s disease earlier than ever before—by tracking how the brain uses sugar. Using tiny particles in the…
A mysterious cloud of ultra-hot dust around Kappa Tucanae A may finally have an explanation: a hidden companion star. The star’s extreme orbit carries it straight through the dust zone,…
Researchers used miniature human brains grown in the lab to uncover why certain genetic mutations lead to abnormally small brains. Changes in actin disrupted the orientation of early brain cell…
Over 8,000 years ago, early farming communities in northern Mesopotamia were already thinking mathematically—long before numbers were written down. By closely studying Halafian pottery, researchers uncovered floral and plant designs…
Scientists have digitally reconstructed the face of a 1.5-million-year-old Homo erectus fossil from Ethiopia, uncovering an unexpectedly primitive appearance. While its braincase fits with classic Homo erectus, the face and…
People think online platforms are overflowing with toxic and misleading content, but the reality is far calmer. A small group of highly active users creates most of the harm, while…
Using camera traps, ornithologists have photographed a previously unknown species of jewel-babbler in the forested karst of the Southern Fold Mountains in Papua New Guinea. The post New Species of…
Researchers have found ancient gases and fluids trapped in 1.4-billion-year-old halite crystals from northern Ontario, Canada. The post Scientists Find Ancient Air Bubbles in 1.4 Billion-Year-Old Salt Crystals appeared first…
Using the WISPR (Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe) instrument aboard NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, scientists observed the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS from October 18 to November 5, 2025. The post NASA’s…
The Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition approximately 50,000 to 38,000 years ago is marked by the decline and extinction of Neanderthals, the emergence and expansion of anatomically modern Homo sapiens.…
This new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is one of the best ever views of Arp 4, a visual pair of galaxies in the constellation of Cetus. The…
In the 4th century BCE, at least four wooden plank boats the island of Als off the coast of Denmark. The post Archaeologists Find Fingerprint of Ancient Seafarer on 2,400-Year-Old…
Fomalhaut -- the 18th brightest star visible in night sky -- is orbited by a compact source, Fomalhaut b, which has previously been interpreted as either a dust-enshrouded exoplanet or…
Anchiornis huxleyi is a species of non-avian theropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation in northeastern China The post Jurassic Dinosaur Fossils Shed Light on Evolution of Flight appeared…
Scientists using the Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) instrument aboard NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft have observed 3I/ATLAS, only the third confirmed interstellar object ever detected entering the Solar System from beyond. The…
The data from NASA’s Cassini mission to Saturn initially led researchers to suspect a large underground ocean composed of liquid water on Titan. The post Titan Does Not Have Subsurface…
Bees are well known for their species and remarkable behavioral diversity, ranging from solitary species that nest in burrows to social species that construct highly compartmentalized nests. The post Paleontologists…
Using data gathered by a suite of space- and ground-based telescopes, astronomers have discovered AT 2024wpp, the most luminous fast blue optical transient (LFBOT) ever observed. The post Record-Breaking Cosmic…
PSR J2322-2650b, an enigmatic Jupiter-mass exoplanet orbiting the millisecond pulsar PSR J2322-2650, appears to have an exotic helium-and-carbon-dominated atmosphere unlike any ever seen before. The post Webb Detects Exotic Helium-and-Carbon-Rich…
Paleoanthropologists have examined and reconstructed DAN5, a 1.5-million-year-old fossilized skull of early Homo erectus found in Gona in the Afar region of Ethiopia. The post 1.5-Million-Year-Old Fossil Reveals New Details…
Paleontologists have unearthed a dense assemblage of dugong remains at the site of Al Maszhabiya in the Early Miocene Dam Formation of Qatar. The post Sea Cow Communities Have Engineered…
New research led by scientists from the University of Cambridge and Latrobe University challenges the classification of the Little Foot fossil as Australopithecus prometheus. The post Remarkable Fossil from South…
A new genus and species of nimravid from the middle Oligocene epoch has been identified from the fossilized remains found in northern China. The post Paleontologists Discover New Species of…
Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have discovered chemical fingerprints of primordial stars weighing between 1,000 and 10,000 times the mass of the Sun in GS 3073, an…
Paleontologists have unearthed a 66-million-year-old mosasaurine tooth in the Hell Creek Formation in North Dakota, the United States. The post Mosasaurs Could Inhabit Freshwater Environments, New Fossil Discovery Suggests appeared…
Scientists at King’s College London have identified strong links between theobromine, a common plant compound that comes from cocoa, and measures of epigenetic aging, suggesting that theobromine is relevant to…
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