Science News

Alaskans will be flying blind after NSF decommissions ocean monitoring network

Alaska's multibillion-dollar fishing industry and vulnerable coastal communities at risk.

The first complex cells had genes from a complex mix of species

Our ancestors' genomes were built through successive waves of gene transfers.

Dramatic photo of ibis being guided to their winter homes wins award

Student Gunnar Hartmann wins Nature’s 2026 Scientist at Work photography competition for this shot of migrating northern…

Vaping after quitting smoking is linked to lung cancer

A study of 4.5 million people suggests that ex-smokers who take up vaping are more at risk of dying from lung cancer…

Ditching cigarettes for vapes may curb the cancer benefits of quitting

A study of 4.5 million people suggests that ex-smokers who take up vaping are more at risk of dying from lung cancer…

200,000 Human Neurons Learned to Play Doom, Pointing to Low-Power Biological Computing

Cortical Labs connected 200,000 human neurons grown from blood-derived stem cells to its CL1 silicon interface, teaching…

Four days of extreme rain killed 7% of world's rarest orangutans, study says

Climate change-induced weather events are pushing orangutan populations to extinction, says a study.

A Written Language for the Cherokee So Efficient It Was Thought to Be Magic

# Summary In 1821, Cherokee silversmith Sequoyah invented a 86-symbol syllabary that allowed the Cherokee language to…

Organic foods are not healthier or pesticide free

# Summary Organic foods are not healthier or pesticide-free, contrary to widespread consumer beliefs, according to…

What Is It Like to Be a Bat? [pdf] (1974)

Whale graveyard dating back five million years discovered

The Indian Ocean site is "far beyond anything we had imagined", one researcher says.

Why controversial ideas in science shouldn't always be dismissed

Researchers suggesting that the keto diet could treat mental health conditions find themselves uncomfortably aligned…

Striking photos show how sands are encroaching on oases in the Sahara

A photo essay from Tommy Trenchard explores efforts to protect the fragile ecosystems of oases in Chad

Think you have a good sense of humour? So do most people…

Feedback is alarmed by a study that explored how funny people think they are, and that discovered certain traits in…

New Scientist recommends a brilliant take on the evolution of birds

Palaeontologist Steve Brusatte's The Story of Birds offers an excellent and sometimes startling account of bird…

Why SpaceX 2040 Revenue FCST $4.3T in highly unlikely

SpaceX's projected $3.4 trillion revenue by 2040 (182× its 2025 revenue) requires 41.5% annual growth for 15 years from…

We managed to glean some interesting details about the Artemis III mission

"I was on the phone with Blue Origin leadership that night, all the next day, all through the weekend."

How JPL Keeps the 13-Year-Old Curiosity Rover Doing Science

NASA's Curiosity rover, which has been exploring Mars for over 13 years, continues operating through innovative…

Reading for pleasure is sharply down among schoolkids, report shows

Reading for pleasure among U.S.

Wolves seen hunting European bison in rare camera-trap recording

Europe’s largest land animal, the bison, is thought to be relatively unthreatened by predators, but footage from…

Millions of fossil whale bones found in deep-ocean ‘necropolis’

Researchers diving 7 kilometres deep in a crewed submersible have discovered a vast collection of whale bones, including…

Hundreds of new moons are revealing our solar system's violent history

The outer solar system once seemed like a quiet backwater.

A nuclear war between India and Pakistan could destroy the ozone layer

Climate models suggest a small nuclear war in the tropics would do even more damage to the ozone layer than a larger…

Oh good, screwworms are back (2025)

# Summary The New World Screwworm, a parasitic fly that lays eggs in living animals' wounds causing them to be eaten…

Avalanche’s desktop fusion reactor delivers blistering-hot plasma

Fusion power startup Avalanche Energy said its reactor prototype heated a plasma to over 10 million degrees C.

Iron Age Britons may have removed the brains of the dead

Scrape marks inside a skull and sharpened limb bones in a set of remains found in Scotland may be evidence of unusual…

Three key vital signs make up the "urban pulse" of a city

Cities are dynamic, not static grids, and urbanization is a "spiky," cyclical, and asynchronous process.

Commonwealth Fusion makes the physics case for its 400 MW reactor

Five peer-reviewed papers update the design and model its expected output.

NASA assigns crew for Artemis III, sets aggressive timeline for flying it

"Artemis III will be an extraordinary demonstration of what is possible."