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Science news: space, biology, climate, medicine and the research changing how we live.
Research shows how cultural and social innovations have given humans extraordinary power to transform ecosystems, with both positive potential and serious environmental costs.
Scientists at Shanghai Jiao Tong University discovered that a Retsat gene variant evolved in yaks and Tibetan antelopes boosts production of ATDR, a vitamin A metabolite that stimulates oligodendrocytes to regenerate myelin.
WatchHonor's humanoid robot "Lightning" finished ahead of all 12,000 human competitors, shattering the human half-marathon world record in a race that signals a stunning leap in real-world robotic endurance.
April 8, 2024 eclipse caused measurable drop in human-generated ground vibrations across urban areas in path of totality before quickly rebounding.
Researcher argues Anthropocene era demonstrates humanity's capacity for both massive destruction and collective positive change through cultural evolution.
Argentine ants given caffeinated sugar learned to find food 38% faster by taking straighter paths, suggesting a breakthrough approach to making poisonous baits more effective.
Stuart Orkin and Swee Lay Thein shared the $3 million prize for identifying the fetal hemoglobin switch that made the CRISPR therapy Casgevy possible — the first gene-editing treatment ever approved by the FDA.
Northwestern University engineers create printed artificial neurons that generate lifelike electrical signals capable of activating real brain tissue.
Argentine ants given caffeinated sugar learned food locations more efficiently, taking straighter paths and reducing travel time by up to 38 percent without moving faster.
Researchers uncover how virus-like particles help bacteria share DNA by triggering host cells to burst open and release genetic couriers.
A six-year Gates Foundation-funded study showed that targeting a specific stage of meiosis completely halted sperm production in mice, with full fertility restored within six weeks of stopping treatment.
Unique sedimentary formations in Gale Crater, 3.6 billion years old, suggest Mars once had a denser atmosphere capable of generating intense storm events lasting only minutes.
Mental sharpness fluctuations can add or subtract up to 40 minutes of productive work daily, University of Toronto research reveals.
The IUCN upgraded the iconic species from Near Threatened to Endangered on April 9, projecting the population will halve by the 2080s without major emissions reductions.
The Quest 3S entry-level headset rises to $349.99 on April 19, adding to a wave of consumer tech price hikes tied to AI-driven component shortages.
The MIT-founded startup reached B annualized revenue in February 2026 and projects B by year end. Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital, and Nvidia are leading the oversubscribed round.
The four-person NASA crew traveled 252,756 miles from Earth — 4,111 miles beyond the Apollo 13 record — and photographed the lunar far side that no human eyes had ever directly seen.
Kevin Weil, Bill Peebles, and Srinivas Narayanan are departing as OpenAI shuts down Sora and OpenAI for Science in favor of a disciplined focus on enterprise revenue.
A landmark new study drawing on 1,600 years of ocean proxy data found AMOC already weaker than at any point in the modern record — and accelerating in its decline.
Seventeen transits of rocky world K2-18c revealed atmospheric water, carbon dioxide, and a tentative signal of dimethyl sulfide — a molecule produced almost exclusively by biological processes on Earth.
Research reveals that ozone-depleting chemicals still permitted for industrial use are escaping into the atmosphere at much higher rates than previously thought.
Industrial chemical leaks are occurring at much higher rates than expected, potentially delaying ozone healing until 2047.
Scientists solve long-standing mystery of methane emissions from oxygen-rich ocean waters, revealing process that may intensify as planet warms.
Crushed skull forgotten in drawer reveals new species that challenges understanding of early dinosaur evolution and mass extinction.
On World Quantum Day, IonQ announced it had successfully photonically interconnected two separate trapped-ion quantum computers, solving a core bottleneck on the path to large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computing and landing a DARPA contract in the same announcement.
University of Washington researchers identified that warmer, drier springs cause vegetation to absorb nearly 70% of snowmelt before it reaches the river, upending traditional forecasting methods relied upon by seven states.
Using synchrotron X-ray CT imaging, scientists from the University of the Witwatersrand proved that Lystrosaurus — Earth's greatest mass extinction survivor — reproduced by laying soft-shelled eggs, answering a question paleontologists have pursued for decades.
University of Hawaii study finds no evidence Indigenous Hawaiians hunted waterbirds to extinction, pointing instead to climate change and invasive species.
Halocell Energy and Sofab Inks demonstrated that integrating metal oxide nanoparticle inks into the charge transport layer keeps perovskite modules at near-100% efficiency after 1,300 hours at 85% humidity and 65°C.
German scientists replaced conventional acid etching with a molten salt and iodine process to produce atomically perfect MXene sheets with tunable electromagnetic properties for radar, shielding, and electronics.