Denisovan DNA influences the immune systems of modern Oceanians — but researchers aren't sure why
Genes inherited from the now-extinct Denisovans are actively playing a role in the immune system of some people from Oceania.
A Vietnam Veteran Collected Fossils for 66 Years. One, Mislabeled 'Baby Lamprey,' Made Paleontologists Reconsider How Vertebrates Moved From Water to Land
The fossil turned out to be a hatchling of a crocodile-like creature, and it suggests, according to a new study, that early animals did not use metamorphosis to evolve to dwell on land
Carbon Dioxide and Water Played Key Roles in Historic Mount Etna Eruptions
Understanding these dynamics can help geologists assess the risk of future eruptions.
Stages of Star Formation
This NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month shows the giant molecular cloud Orion A, an area of the sky replete with star-forming clouds.
Climate Extremes May Be Reshaping Monkeys’ Social Structures
Large groups have their pros and cons. But a changing climate may push them off balance.
AI teaches asset traders not to sweat the small stuff
Financial markets are governed by a combination of rational and irrational forces, statistical probabilities and “animal spirits.” It takes fluency in both to understand the market, let alone beat it. Yet market actors, including asset traders, now frequently use machine-learning…
Deeply plowing farm fields can do more harm than good
Heavy plowing can impair water’s flow through the ground. The problem was found by “listening” to tiny seismic signals caused by rain infiltrating the soil.
AI-driven optical tweezers sort hundreds of particles per hour without humans
By teaching an AI to use optical tweezers, researchers from the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology have sped up the analysis of life’s smallest components. The AI platform captures particles, takes measurements and loads new samples, all…
Women’s Health Diagnostics Across the Lifespan: Evolving Insights from Heart to Mind
The details on Women’s Health Diagnostics Across the Lifespan: Evolving Insights from Heart to Mind, from start to finish.
Compensation Challenges Strain Graduate and Postdoctoral Researchers
A report from the US Government Accountability Office revealed that stark pay disparities influence young researchers’ decisions to start or stay in an academic program.
'This was a pioneering achievement': Stone Age people put up posts to observe the solstices near Stonehenge long before the stones of sacred site were placed
The discovery of two ancient holes at Stonehenge suggests people placed posts there to help observe the summer and winter solstices around 5,000 years ago.
From 718 options to one standout, catalyst screening method reveals durable RuO₂ candidate
Why settle for a trial-and-error approach, reviewing an almost endless number of combinations, when you can systematically narrow the list to something more manageable using established data and knowledge?
Clocks made from an atomic nucleus just ticked on for the first time
Senior physics writer Emily Conover has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago. She is a two-time winner of the D.C. Science Writers’ Association Newsbrief award and a winner of the Acoustical Society of America’s Science Communication Award.
AI’s Promise Requires Innovation in Governance, Not Technology Alone
New research highlights that without a coordinated global agreement, AI risks accelerating the very crises it could help solve.
'A mixture from zero to infinity': Physicists split apart a photon — and ended up with an improbable swarm of particles
Physicists have found that splitting a photon would lead to a complex state that may change the way we think of particles.
Our brains underestimate Elon Musk’s wealth
Our brains underestimate Elon Musk’s wealth
Automation Concerns Prompt Editor Resignation
An editor resigned from a Frontiers journal after an automated AI tool overrode his expert reviewer invitations, claiming the system undermines academic integrity.
Why more male than female newborns may get the crucial vitamin K shot
Aimee Cunningham is the biomedical writer. She has a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University.
Hubble Sees Swarm of Galaxies
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features the galaxy cluster MACS0329-0211.
What Tires Leave Behind Can Become Toxic Fish Food
Tire particles might seem tasty, if you’re a fish—but a new study shows how this pervasive microplastic can affect growth and behavior in marine species.
Meet Bruce, the disabled kea parrot who is the boss of his flock
With half a beak, Bruce has developed a unique fighting style that has won him top status in his flock, videos and documented interactions reveal.
Frozen Greenland middens preserve 4,500 years of farms, seal hunts and toilets
Greenland has a long and checkered history of human settlement: several Paleo-Inuit cultures since approximately 2,500 BCE, descendants of Vikings between the 10th and 15th centuries, and early modern Danes since 1721. All left their traces on the landscape, for…
The Revolution in DNA Sequencing Through the Ages
In just a few decades, DNA sequencing technologies evolved from slow, manual processes to rapid, automated ones, making decoding the genome more accessible.
5,000-year-old burial of man with battered skull found in kiln in Germany — and he may have been a human sacrifice
An injured man from the Corded Ware culture was buried in a pit previously used as a kiln, and he may have been sacrificed.
Soil Biogeochemistry Models Omit Key Processes Due to Geographic Bias
Popular soil biogeochemistry models inadequately represent regionally-important processes and lack transferability, resulting in poor predictions of soil organic carbon stocks in sub-Saharan Africa.
Black holes unleash delayed radio 'burps' years after tearing apart stars
Astronomers using the U.S. National Science Foundation Very Large Array (NSF VLA) have found that when a supermassive black hole tears apart an unlucky star, the fireworks are not over when the first flash fades. Years after the initial outburst,…
'Is having two legs useful' in space?: Astronaut John McFall explains what life in orbit might be like for the first physically disabled person in space
ESA astronaut John McFall tells Live Science what it would mean to become the first physically disabled person in space — if he travels to the first-ever commercial space station next year — and how life in orbit might affect…
The AI Revolution Mirrors the Green Transition
The AI buildout and the green transition each present significant and similar opportunities and challenges.
Aurora Australis
The aurora australis arcs over Earth during an active solar event in this photograph taken at approximately 11:32 p.m. local time from the International Space Station as it orbited 271 miles above the Indian Ocean southwest of Perth, Australia on…
2026 World Cup Creates Perfect Conditions for Infectious Disease Spread
Here’s the full list of 2026: 2026 World Cup Creates Perfect Conditions for Infectious Disease Spread. The complete rundown is in the article.
Hundreds of sea level studies have underestimated ocean rise
One widely used “geoid” technique may have missed up to a century of sea level rise — so risks could hit millions of people far sooner than expected.
A new approach to the EU's promised cross-border climate action
The EU must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 relative to 1990—of which 5 percentage points can be achieved through climate action elsewhere, according to the 2025 law. A study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact…
Postdoc Portrait: Kaushik Chanda Studies Circular RNA in Neurodegeneration
This postdoctoral fellow investigates how long non-coding RNAs regulate mitochondrial behavior in neurodegenerative disease models.
Lavish Roman villa discovered outside Rome's walls may have been frequented by Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius
The villa, which came to light because it was illegally excavated, was found in an area frequented two millennia ago by the emperors Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius.
No, mastic gum won’t reshape your jaw
Chewing gum made from mastic resin is a Greek staple that has some benefits for the mouth and gut. But it won’t change your face shape.
