Science news

Orcas filmed smashing giant sunfish into thousands of pieces

Researchers in the Gulf of California have documented a dramatic orca behavior never described before. In two separate encounters, one orca…

NASA will test SpaceX and Blue Origin Moon landers before the next lunar landing

NASA is preparing for future astronaut landings on the Moon with an unusually ambitious orbital rehearsal. During Artemis III in 2027, Orio…

NASA’s Webb telescope discovers giant planet hiding in one of astronomy’s most famous systems

A giant planet had been hiding inside one of astronomy’s most closely studied planetary systems, concealed by a bright disk of cosmic dust.…

Scientists discover the hidden brain switch that assigns bees their jobs

Researchers found that specific brain circuits help decide which jobs bees perform as they age. When those circuits were switched off, olde…

Ancient ferns turned Triassic Europe into a wildfire inferno

Ancient fern savannahs may have transformed parts of Europe into a wildfire-prone inferno during the end-Triassic mass extinction. New foss…

Lab-grown mini brains may predict which Alzheimer’s treatments will work

Miniature brain models grown from patients’ cells revealed striking differences in how Alzheimer’s-related tissue responds to an antidepres…

A strange quantum effect dramatically boosts energy transfer

Researchers discovered a proton-assisted mechanism that greatly improves how triplet energy moves between quantum dots and nearby molecules…

Scientists revive a powerful antibiotic that superbugs had defeated

Scientists have found a way to revive vancomycin, a powerful antibiotic that some dangerous bacteria have learned to resist. Instead of cre…

New cancer strategy could stop tumors before resistance takes hold

Researchers are applying evolutionary theory to cancer by changing treatments before tumors have time to develop resistance. Mathematical m…

Magic mushrooms may reshape the brain long after the trip ends

A single dose of psilocybin produced measurable changes in brain activity and possible changes in brain structure that lasted for up to a m…

China’s Chang’e-6 reveals why solar wind hits the Moon’s two sides differently

China’s Chang’e-6 samples have uncovered a surprising difference between the Moon’s two hemispheres. Solar wind particles penetrated deeper…

Astronomers find the first atmosphere on a rocky world in the habitable zone

Astronomers have found the first confirmed atmosphere around a rocky planet in another star’s habitable zone. The planet, LHS 1140 b, revea…

Ancient DNA reveals a chilling secret at China’s 4,000-year-old Shimao city

Ancient DNA from China’s vast 4,000-year-old Shimao settlement is revealing how one of East Asia’s earliest complex societies was organized…

A hidden “switch-off” signal could predict solar storms seven years early

A newly discovered turning point in the Sun’s 11-year cycle could allow scientists to predict future solar activity years earlier than befo…

Scientists found mystery bacteria inside one of the ocean’s most elusive whales

Scientists studying decades of pygmy sperm whale strandings have uncovered three previously unknown types of Helicobacter bacteria hiding i…

New molecular map reveals how the flu virus hijacks human cells

Scientists uncovered how influenza A commandeers human cells, including a surprising strategy that dissolves tiny structures in the nucleus…

This food compound may help vaccines work better in older adults

A naturally occurring compound found in foods such as wheat germ, mushrooms, and aged cheese may help older adults build stronger protectio…

Dying Sun-like stars may kick themselves through space

Dying Sun-like stars may not fade away quietly. As blobs of gas erupt unevenly from their swollen surfaces, each burst gives the star a tin…