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Today so far 2026-09-14 · 12:00 UTC

A newly analyzed DNA sample from a 42,000-year-old Neanderthal specimen reveals that this individual's population experienced 50,000 years of genetic isolation before extinction, providing new insights into the final stages of Neanderthal existence. In public health news, an unvaccinated Pennsylvania woman has died from measles complications, underscoring ongoing concerns about vaccine-preventable diseases. Meanwhile, scientists continue exploring fundamental questions about our universe, from investigating whether the Sun once swallowed a planet to examining the cosmic coincidences that enabled our existence.

Coffee's mood-boosting effects aren't just down to caffeine

A comprehensive study exploring coffee’s physiological effects finds that some of its benefits are down to polyphenols and their influence on gut bacteria

2026-05-07 · 15:00 UTC
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The best new popular science books of May 2026

2026-05-07 · 11:00

A guide to walking, a look at the world’s Google searches and a deep dive into the secrets of our DNA are some of the…

Pressure from individual particles measured for the first time

2026-05-07 · 06:00

A device made using a tiny bead floating in a beam of light can measure extremely small pressures and could help find a…

Dating over 50 is probably on the rise – but we know little about it

2026-05-06 · 20:00

Research into dating has until now almost exclusively focused on younger people, but we’re finally beginning to…

Former Soviet scientific megastructures captured in striking photos

2026-05-06 · 18:00

Eric Lusito crossed the former Soviet Union to explore vast scientific sites, some of which have been deserted for…

Bronze Age Britons fashioned copper-mining tools out of old bones

2026-05-06 · 18:00

An analysis of 150 artefacts from a site in Wales shows that the ancient practice of making tools out of bone persisted…

Less nostalgia, more pain: scientists study 1763 Eurovision songs

2026-05-06 · 18:00

Feedback discovers that the prevailing themes of Eurovision songs may come and go, but the urge to win stays the same.

What to read this week: the excellent Beyond Belief by Helen Pearson

2026-05-06 · 18:00

Solving society's problems with evidence is a work in progress, argues a must-read new book.

Red-light therapy does have health benefits but not the ones you think

2026-05-06 · 16:00

Red-light therapy promises to treat everything from acne and hair loss to depression and chronic pain.

Deforestation could trigger Amazon tipping point in the 2030s

2026-05-06 · 16:00

At least 15 per cent of the Amazon has already been lost, and further destruction could unleash widespread rainforest…

Huge landslide in Alaska caused 481m-high tsunami

2026-05-06 · 13:00

When the slope of a mountain above Tracy Arm fjord, in Alaska, gave way on 10 August 2025, 64 million cubic metres of…

Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass is still an essential read

2026-05-06 · 12:00

This 2013 book by an Indigenous botanist is a quietly urgent act of healing that forces Western science to look at the…

Read the winner of this year’s Young Science Writer Award

2026-05-06 · 10:00

Prize-winning young writer Hasset Kifle, 17, explores how the world of super-competitive running is being transformed by…

Extinct relative of koalas discovered in Western Australia

2026-05-06 · 00:01

Fossils reveal that there were at least two kinds of koala when humans first arrived in Australia, but one died out…

The 50-year quest to create a quantum spin liquid may finally be over

2026-05-05 · 16:00

Creating quantum entanglement inside a solid material is tricky in the lab – but crystals buried in the earth could be…

Where has the deadly hantavirus come from and how does it spread?

2026-05-05 · 13:20

Three passengers on the cruise ship MV Hondius have died due to an outbreak of hantavirus, a rare illness transmitted by…

Woman in cancer remission without treatment in highly unusual case

2026-05-05 · 10:00

A biopsy of a woman's cancer seems to have triggered an immune response against the tumour, putting her into remission

The problem of cosmic inflation and how to solve it

2026-05-05 · 09:00

One of the best-performing models in cosmology is also one with the least physical rationale behind it.

Man destined for Alzheimer's may have been saved by accidental therapy

2026-05-05 · 07:00

Doug Whitney has a genetic mutation that means he should have developed Alzheimer’s disease decades ago, but his…

Quantum computers simulated their biggest molecule yet – with help

2026-05-05 · 05:01

Two quantum computers and two supercomputers teamed up to break the record for the biggest molecule yet to be simulated…

Honey has been used as medicine for centuries – does it really work?

2026-05-04 · 16:08

It is appealing to think something as simple as honey could cure a cold or prevent hay fever, but is there evidence to…

A lost ancient script reveals how writing as we know it really began

2026-05-04 · 16:00

A long-overlooked writing system from 5000 years ago is still largely undeciphered, but could mark the moment humans…

Tiny frozen world unexpectedly appears to have an atmosphere

2026-05-04 · 16:00

A 500-kilometre-wide object in a similar orbit to Pluto challenges our assumptions about small bodies in the outer solar…

300-year-old experiment could become world's best dark matter detector

2026-05-04 · 13:00

An update to an experiment run by Henry Cavendish in 1773 could be a cheaper and faster way to spot a potential dark…

Prebiotic chewing gum could be helpful for gum disease

2026-05-04 · 10:00

A small trial found that chewing gum containing nitrate can ease the symptoms of gum disease by favouring the growth of…

Smart underwear detects lactose intolerance by tracking your farts

2026-05-04 · 06:00

A device you attach to your underwear reveals how often you really break wind – and it’s probably more frequently than…

Doctors Use AI to Spot 'Hidden' Sperm In Men

2026-05-01 · 18:39

Columbia University Fertility Center's Star method uses artificial intelligence to detect rare sperm missed in standard…

2026 will be the hottest year on record, leading scientist predicts

2026-05-01 · 17:24

The second half of this year will almost certainly see the start of an El Niño phase that could lead to extreme heat…

The 4 biggest myths about hydration, according to an expert

2026-05-01 · 12:00

Should you really be drinking eight glasses of water a day? What about reaching for a sports drink after exercise?

Oak trees use delaying tactics to thwart hungry caterpillars

2026-05-01 · 10:00

An infestation of caterpillars can make an oak tree postpone when it opens its leaves next year by three days,…

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