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Science news: space, biology, climate, medicine and the research changing how we live.
The 4.2-million-year-old species, dubbed Ambystoma quetzalcoatli after the Aztec feathered-serpent god, is the first fossil salamander ever named from Mexico and the country's oldest known record of the group.
In a randomized trial, adults who added a glass of 100% juice or a smoothie to their five-a-day reported lower depression scores after four weeks. The effect was small — and the study was industry-funded.
For the first time, archaeologists found undisturbed human remains sealed inside one of the giant stone vessels of the Plain of Jars, confirming the enigmatic megaliths were used for burial.
For the first time, astronomers measured the chemistry of a moon-forming disc circling the exoplanet CT Cha b, finding it rich in carbon-bearing molecules like benzene and acetylene.
New burial-dating of three crania from the Yunxian site puts them at 1.77 million years old — the oldest securely dated human-relative fossils ever found in eastern Asia.
Recent discoveries of more stable motion among distant Kuiper Belt objects are casting doubt on the existence of a massive undiscovered planet beyond Neptune.
A University of Michigan study finds beneficial mutations are surprisingly common, then explains why they almost never take over — a one-two punch that reframes the famous Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution.
Stone tools and ancient plant traces from a now-destroyed site in Côte d'Ivoire push back the oldest known rainforest habitation by more than double — and undercut the idea that our species was born only on the savanna.
Washington University engineers built a metal-phosphide cathode that outperformed platinum-based versions in lab tests, tackling one of the biggest cost barriers to green hydrogen.
Snagged in fishermen's nets in 1990 near Benicarló, the corroded iron hoard was long filed away as ancient Roman. New radiocarbon dating places it in the late 1300s and early 1400s.
Finerenone slowed kidney decline and cut the risk of heart failure and death across a far wider group of patients than it is prescribed for today — results published simultaneously in The Lancet, NEJM and JAMA.
A study of more than 500 teeth from 27 wild primate species finds the same telltale grooves in apes that never use tools — undercutting a century-old assumption about early human behavior.
Researchers find that disappointment triggers acetylcholine surge, making animals more likely to try new strategies when old ones fail.
A new analysis of zircon crystals rules out ice-age transport, pointing to a deliberate, staged journey across ancient Britain some 5,000 years ago.
Newly identified as Praearcturus gigas, the giant was among the first large predators to stalk the land — armed with 16-centimeter pincers.
Researchers demonstrate that compact satellite-based instrument could reveal complete elemental composition across entire lunar surface.
An umbrella review pooling 113 trials and nearly 8,000 participants concludes collagen supplements modestly improve skin hydration, elasticity and osteoarthritis pain, while offering no meaningful boost to sports performance.
A new wave of research argues that the test for consciousness should be how a mind works, not how it behaves — a shift that points toward insects having inner experience while today's chatbots merely 'roleplay' it.
The Polylingual Experimental Terminal beamed data through NASA, Viasat and SES networks from orbit — a milestone that could let future missions hop between commercial and government relays instead of relying on one.
Dartmouth researchers demonstrate that octopuses can master mirror use for spatial reasoning, a skill previously documented only in vertebrates like mammals and birds.
A copper mirror, kohl jars still holding their cosmetic residue and gold-set scarabs were found in the Panhesy tomb at Heliopolis — the first such complete assemblage recovered in the area.
Climate change and aging water systems are helping resilient free-living amoebae expand their reach, researchers warn — and the organisms can shelter other dangerous microbes inside them.
Cambridge researchers and spin-out DIOSynVax report that a vaccine whose key component was designed entirely by machine learning was safe in 39 volunteers and triggered immunity against SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1 and bat coronaviruses.
Researchers show that controlled fire whirls consume up to 95% of oil while cutting soot emissions by 40% compared to traditional burning methods.
A Brown University team stabilized a long-theorized transitional crystal structure — captured directly for the first time — opening a new route to engineering advanced materials.
Using its largest survey to date, the James Webb Space Telescope traced the vast network of filaments and voids connecting more than 164,000 galaxies back to when the universe was just a billion years old.
On the scorching exoplanet WASP-94A b, the James Webb Space Telescope found thick clouds of vaporized rock at dawn that vanish by sunset — a finding that may upend a decade of exoplanet measurements.
Research involving over 110,000 women found those taking Ozempic, Wegovy, and similar medications had significantly reduced cancer rates, though clinical trials are still needed.
A 13-year DNA study of more than 600 belugas in Alaska's Bristol Bay found both sexes reproduce with many different partners, a flexible mating system that preserves genetic diversity in a small, isolated population.
In a Dartmouth experiment, octopuses trained on a virtual crab turned 180 degrees to strike the real target behind them, showing they can treat a mirror as a tool — a skill long thought to belong only to vertebrates.