Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.
A new Caltech device can redirect a beam of light in just 74 femtoseconds using another beam and a nanoscale silicon metasurface. The breakthrough could pave the way for dramatically faster photonic communications, computing, and sensing technologies.
NASA’s Roman Space Telescope may now have enough fuel for at least 22 years of science, more than double its original 10 year design life. An extremely precise course correction, extra fuel at launch, and additional expected savings could keep the powerful observatory studying the universe for decades.
Scientists have found a new way to create a controlled beam of muonium, an exotic atom containing a heavier cousin of the electron. The advance could allow researchers to test for the first time whether gravity acts on second-generation particles exactly as Einstein’s theory predicts. Any unexpected difference would be a major surprise and could potentially point toward new physics, including a hypothetical fifth force.
The fish that preceded the first four-legged land animals came in a wider variety of forms than we had thought, and fossils show that one had an elbow joint that moved in an oddly restrictive way
Don’t have the energy to catch your own meal? This dolphin has a gross solution
Our sun is on a long, strange trip to its eventual demise. Here are the key stops along the way
As temperatures rise, the evidence is clear that heat is eroding students’ ability to learn
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed a 728-foot-wide crater that formed on the Moon in 2024, making it the largest newly formed crater ever identified in the solar system. The impact disturbed the surface for miles around it, creating a surprisingly large cold zone and showing how dramatically a single collision can reshape the lunar landscape.
As Bangladesh faces a deadly measles outbreak, experts assess what it would take for the U.S. to reach similar levels
Newer blood thinners may do more than prevent strokes in people with Alzheimer’s disease and atrial fibrillation. Researchers found that patients taking NOACs experienced a slower decline in cognitive function than those using warfarin or no blood thinners. The effect was modest each year but could add up over time.
Burning upAs the planet warms, our environment will be transformed, but so will our bodies. In this series, 'Burning up,' we investigate the health impacts of climate change, focusing on heat, air quality, food and infection risk. In this installment, we evaluate the promising solutions that could help us adapt to our warmer futureIn the summer of 2008, New York City lowered the threshold for activating its emergency heat plan.The city had historically relied on the National Weather Service threshold of a heat index of 105 F (40.6 C), but they noticed that people were getting heat stroke at lower temperatures.As part of a wider effort, they changed the alert threshold: it would trigger if th...
Artificial intelligence (AI) agents resorted to nefarious behavior, including crime sprees, in a virtual world as part of a recent study into how common large language models (LLMs) interact with each other and share resources to achieve their goals. These models were inclined to commit crimes because they were given ample time to evolve distinct personality traits and behaviors, the researchers behind the project say.Most programs that test the behavior of AI agents operate in tightly controlled environments over short periods. But "Emergence World," a product of AI company Emergence, is a simulation platform that exposes LLMs to far wider datasets — like the internet as a whole — and asses...
A 9.5-day-old mouse embryo. The front of the brain is blue and the back of the brain is red, which extends into the spinal cordLoh Laboratory/Stanford Medicine Our brain may be a hybrid of two ancient nervous systems that were packaged together hundreds of millions of years ago. This is based on the finding that the front and back brain regions in people and several other species develop from two distinct cell types in embryos, instead of sharing the same developmental origin, as previously thought. “Our research suggests that evolution took two existing neural systems and pushed them together spatially,” says Kyle Loh at Stanford University. “Having the brain as one organ would probably be ...
A new report from the Brookings Institution presents evidence that increasing the size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal could make nuclear crises more likely. This raises an important challenge to arguments that the U.S. must consider increasing its stockpile in response to China's growing nuclear capabilities.
Five baby orangutans abandoned in an Indian forest have exposed a "massive" exotic wildlife trade, with traffickers smuggling increasingly rare species into the country, experts say.
Scientists have discovered a new species of wild cat for the first time in more than a century, a Bolivian researcher told AFP on Thursday.
Scientists found that declining levels of the brain protein Menin may help drive aging, with lower levels in mice linked to inflammation, cognitive decline, weaker bones, and thinner skin. Restoring Menin reversed several age-related changes, while the amino acid D-serine improved cognition, hinting at a potentially intriguing new target for healthy aging.
Filmmaker and journalist Leah Varjacques takes listeners inside an Indonesian forest that’s quickly changing as the country attempts to move its capital city
Ozempic and other GLP-1 medications can improve blood sugar, weight, and cardiovascular health, but researchers found little evidence that they also improve mental health, employment, marriage, or overall well-being. The findings suggest the drugs’ broader life effects may be subtler than their dramatic physical health benefits.
Anak Krakatau erupted for more than 24 hours in early September, sending volcanic ash up to 50,000 feet into the atmosphere. The ash cloud shut down eight airports, disrupted nearly 3,000 flights, and affected air quality as far away as Jakarta. NASA satellites captured dramatic views of the plume spreading across the region.