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Science News

Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.

Scientists opened a sealed envelope after 10 years. Gravity still didn’t make sense
Science News

Scientists opened a sealed envelope after 10 years. Gravity still didn’t make sense

A decade-long NIST experiment has produced a new measurement of the universal gravitational constant that differs unexpectedly from another leading result, deepening a 225-year-old physics puzzle. The discrepancy is tiny, but for one of nature’s most fundamental constants, it is large enough to keep scientists wondering whether hidden experimental errors or something more surprising is involved.

📅 2026-09-20 10:30:31    •    ScienceDaily
'On our way to groundbreaking science': Stars turn neon-green in first test image from NASA's Roman telescope
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'On our way to groundbreaking science': Stars turn neon-green in first test image from NASA's Roman telescope

Roman's first test image shows hundreds of stars as green rings of light. After a few more months of tuning, it will capture images as crisp as Hubble's but 100 times bigger. (Image credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Tyler Desjardins (STScI))Quick factsWhat it is: Hundreds of stars, captured in the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's first test imageWhere it is: An unknown section of spaceWhen it was shared: Sept. 15, 2026Imagine opening your eyes for the first time and seeing that the sky is full of green doughnuts.This was the view that greeted NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which just activated its powerful, 300-megapixel infrared camera for the first time. The telesco...

📅 2026-09-20 10:00:00    •    Live Science
Did the Vikings really shoot fiery arrows at funeral boats?
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Did the Vikings really shoot fiery arrows at funeral boats?

In movies and TV shows, it's a popular motif: A dead Viking is placed on a boat, and it drifts slowly out to sea; from land, an archer shoots a fiery arrow that falls onto the boat and engulfs it in flames.It's been seen in the 1958 movie "The Vikings," the History Channel show "Vikings" and fantasy series such as "Game of Thrones." But did the Vikings actually do this?To find out, we asked experts whether there is any archaeological or historical evidence to support the idea.Archaeological evidenceSign up for our newsletterSign up for our weekly Life's Little Mysteries newsletter to get the latest mysteries before they appear online.Our sources noted that a burial like this would leave litt...

📅 2026-09-20 09:00:00    •    Live Science
Ancient DNA reveals how plague kept returning for 400 years after the Black Death
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Ancient DNA reveals how plague kept returning for 400 years after the Black Death

Ancient DNA reveals that plague repeatedly returned to Europe for more than 400 years after the Black Death, evolving into new lineages and spreading through trade, migration, and war. Researchers also developed a method to date ancient plague genomes more precisely, linking many of them to specific outbreaks recorded in historical sources.

📅 2026-09-20 06:46:18    •    ScienceDaily
A 66-million-year-old tooth reveals T. rex was nearly as warm as a human
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A 66-million-year-old tooth reveals T. rex was nearly as warm as a human

Chemical clues preserved inside fossilized T. rex teeth reveal that the dinosaur maintained a body temperature of about 97 degrees Fahrenheit, almost identical to humans. The finding provides direct evidence that the giant predator was warm-blooded, helping explain how it stayed active and survived in chilly environments as far north as Alaska.

📅 2026-09-20 05:56:26    •    ScienceDaily
Einstein’s “spooky action” just survived one of physics’ most extreme tests
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Einstein’s “spooky action” just survived one of physics’ most extreme tests

Physicists have detected strong evidence that heavy, fleeting Z bosons can become quantum entangled during Higgs boson decays at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. The result shows that Einstein’s “spooky action at a distance” survives even under some of the most extreme conditions ever created in a laboratory.

📅 2026-09-20 05:16:00    •    ScienceDaily
Hurricane Hunters reveal 4 warning signs that a storm is about to strengthen
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Hurricane Hunters reveal 4 warning signs that a storm is about to strengthen

Nearly three decades of Hurricane Hunter data reveal four features that can help a tilted tropical cyclone straighten its circulation and become capable of intensifying. The findings could give forecasters an earlier warning that a seemingly disorganized storm is becoming primed to strengthen.

📅 2026-09-20 04:29:23    •    ScienceDaily
Hidden gut defect that may explain why IBD keeps coming back
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Hidden gut defect that may explain why IBD keeps coming back

Researchers have uncovered a hidden molecular warning sign of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that can linger even when patients feel well and appear to be in remission. By studying around 900 human gut biopsies and patient-derived mini-intestines, the team found that intestinal cells can remain unusually primed to die, creating a “smoldering” defect that may help drive future flare-ups.

📅 2026-09-20 03:41:48    •    ScienceDaily
A deadly ebola relative is surging after years in the shadows
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A deadly ebola relative is surging after years in the shadows

A growing Bundibugyo virus outbreak is showing how a little-known relative of Ebola can become a major threat when diagnosis and treatment options are limited. Experts warn that preparing only for familiar pathogens could leave the world vulnerable when rare but deadly viruses suddenly reemerge.

📅 2026-09-20 02:26:36    •    ScienceDaily
How the malaria parasite boosts its transmission potential under stress conditions
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How the malaria parasite boosts its transmission potential under stress conditions

The malaria parasite is able to detect changes in its host's environment and respond by increasing the production of sexual forms capable of being transmitted to mosquitoes. A study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) identifies the molecular mechanism underlying this process. The findings, published in Nature Microbiology, answer what has been one of the major unanswered questions in malaria research for decades.

📅 2026-09-19 21:00:05    •    Phys.org
Sacred springs of South Africa—pure waters or polluted? We found tiny bits of plastic in the samples we tested
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Sacred springs of South Africa—pure waters or polluted? We found tiny bits of plastic in the samples we tested

Across South Africa, natural springs are more than sources of freshwater. Some are places of healing, spiritual cleansing and rituals, where communities collect water and maintain longstanding cultural connections with the environment. For example, during cleansing rituals, people bathe in or collect spring water as a way of seeking spiritual renewal, healing and protection. These are known as sacred springs.

📅 2026-09-19 21:00:01    •    Phys.org
Reconstructing the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926
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Reconstructing the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926

The first storm warning for the Miami area wasn't issued until only a few hours before the powerful cyclone made landfall just south of downtown, leaving residents with little time to prepare for what would become the hurricane of their nightmares.

📅 2026-09-19 19:30:01    •    Phys.org
Two-color light steers electrons through graphene's transient topological state
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Two-color light steers electrons through graphene's transient topological state

The electronic properties of materials are typically determined by their structure under normal, undisturbed conditions, when they are in a state known as equilibrium. Intense light beams, however, can temporarily reshape a material's electronic band structure (i.e., the range of energy states available to electrons), potentially giving rise to new electronic behaviors.

📅 2026-09-19 19:20:01    •    Phys.org
A molecular bridge connects two signaling pathways critical for pollen development
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A molecular bridge connects two signaling pathways critical for pollen development

Cells rely on complex signaling networks in which different molecular pathways communicate with one another. Small GTPases act as molecular switches in these networks, controlling diverse cellular processes such as intracellular transport and cell morphogenesis. Although crosstalk between different families of small GTPases is established in animal cells, whether and how such crosstalk occurs in plants has remained largely unknown.

📅 2026-09-19 19:00:04    •    Phys.org
Global population dataset uses buildings to reveal people's daily movement patterns
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Global population dataset uses buildings to reveal people's daily movement patterns

Researchers at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have released LandScan Mosaic, a next-generation global population distribution dataset that estimates where people are by modeling how buildings are used and occupied throughout the day. Built on the foundation of ORNL's widely used LandScan Global, one of the world's most accurate population distribution datasets, Mosaic's enhancements will improve disaster response, humanitarian assistance, infrastructure planning and national security missions worldwide.

📅 2026-09-19 16:00:02    •    Phys.org