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Giant armored crustaceans survive thanks to a gene stolen from bacteria
Scientists have long wondered how these bizarre creatures endured for years without food—now they’ve found out why
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Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.
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When AI designs the product, consumers have doubts
A new study from Georgia State University's J. Mack Robinson College of Business and the University of South Florida delivers a pointed warning to companies betting on AI to power their product design: The technology may make products more efficient, but it doesn't necessarily make consumers believe they are more sustainable. In fact, it can do the opposite.
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Too much light at night may quietly reshape your heart
Nighttime light exposure was linked to thicker, stiffer heart chambers and early signs of reduced heart function in a study of more than 11,000 people. The findings suggest that keeping bedrooms darker could be an overlooked strategy for protecting the heart.
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'Ex-Utero' project uses art, science to explore regenerative medicine
On a sunny spring day at Penn State, Cristin Millett, professor of art in the College of Arts and Architecture's School of Visual Arts, inserted a catheter needle into the umbilical vein of a placenta.
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Your next prescription could be treating a side effect from the last one
A major Ontario study found 24 common medication chains in which one drug’s side effects can be mistaken for a new medical problem, leading to another prescription. Researchers say closer medication reviews, pharmacist involvement, and automated alerts could help prevent these potentially harmful prescribing cascades.
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Tiny nanolaser could cut computer energy use in half
Scientists have created an ultra-small nanolaser that could eventually allow microchips to transmit information with light instead of electricity, potentially making computers faster while cutting energy use roughly in half. Thousands of the lasers could fit on a single chip, opening possibilities for more efficient data centers, smartphones, and advanced medical sensors.
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What the backlash to the Industrial Revolution can teach us about handcrafts in the age of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) isn't yet causing widespread job losses in Australia. But with some high-profile business leaders still predicting a looming unemployment "crisis," it's little wonder many people fear AI is coming for their job.
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New analysis reconstructs the dawn of dinosaurs and other reptiles
About 252 million years ago, at the end of the Permian Period, a large proportion of species on Earth rapidly became extinct. After this mass extinction, many groups of organisms began to recover, while reptiles known as archosauromorphs—the group that includes dinosaurs and crocodiles—proliferated.
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Scientists just made quantum computer operations 1,000 times faster
Researchers have found a way to perform certain quantum operations more than 1,000 times faster, cutting thousands of repeated control cycles down to just one. The advance could reduce errors and bring reliable, fault-tolerant quantum computers closer to reality.
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Can people truly walk away from terrorism? Inside the slow work of rehabilitation
As we reflect on the 25 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed almost 3,000 people, terrorism remains an ongoing yet evolving threat that defies easy answers.
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Wasps are disappearing this summer, and scientists are worried
Britain’s wasps have become mysteriously scarce this summer, and scientists suspect an unusual combination of temperature swings, heatwaves, and food shortages may be responsible. Even the wasps that remain appear unusually small, potentially offering a glimpse of how extreme heat could reshape insect populations.
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Study of 1.9 million people finds a striking link between ADHD and gut problems
Researchers analyzing data from more than 1.9 million people found that ADHD is associated with substantially higher rates of digestive problems. People with ADHD had nearly double the odds of constipation, 58% higher odds of irritable bowel syndrome, and more than four times the odds of encopresis.
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How western consumption becomes the Global South's environmental nightmare
Industrialized countries send millions of metric tonnes of used clothing, electronic equipment and other products to the Global South, along with the environmental and health costs tied to producing, consuming and disposing of those goods.
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Maine's sugar kelp reveals four distinct populations vital for restoration
Saccharina latissima, or sugar kelp, is one of the dominant species in Maine's kelp forests, providing food, habitat and clean water to support a rich marine ecosystem. It is also the bedrock of the state's burgeoning kelp aquaculture industry, which relies on the annual harvest of reproductive tissue from the wild.
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Brain shrinkage tied to aging 'pauses' as a woman nears menopause, study finds
The brain undergoes dramatic changes during puberty and pregnancy, but during menopause, the organ's structure remains remarkably stable, a new study suggests. The research, published Sept. 8 in the journal Nature Communications, examined the brain's gray matter, which mostly includes the wrinkled outer surface of the organ, called the cerebral cortex. Past studies have found that the volume of gray matter shrinks markedly during puberty and pregnancy, likely reflecting a fine-tuning of neural circuits during those periods.There's also a gradual decline in gray matter during adulthood that's seen as a normal part of aging, said study co-author Sophie van't Hof, a doctoral student in psychiat...
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Swarovski CL Companion compact binocular review
The CL Companion is Swarovski's dedicated compact binocular, originally introduced 15 years ago, but has now been redesigned in 2026 to appeal to a wider, younger audience. RSPB research found an increase of around 1,000% in birdwatching among Gen Z in the UK since 2018, with a similar boom now happening in the US. The CL Companion sits between the pocket-size CL Pocket and full-size EL and NL ranges, making it the perfect mid-range model that combines portability with excellent optical prowess. The Companion is a grab-and-go, "take it anywhere and everywhere" binocular that is perfect for many different activities, whether that's spotting birds, scoping out your hiking trail or sweeping acr...
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‘Odd couple’ black holes can find each other in space
Two studies find signs of strange black hole binary systems
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Why the Swift telescope was so special
NASA’s formidable gamma-ray burst hunter is doomed to soon reenter Earth’s atmosphere, leaving a glaring gap in our view of the high-energy sky
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Blue light breaks long-standing chemistry rule, unlocking 3D drug building blocks
For more than a century, pharmaceutical companies have relied on flat structures called aromatic rings, which can help drugs bind to target sites in the body. They include benzene rings and other flat, nitrogen-containing rings. But there are limits to their usefulness.
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Finland's largest Viking Age silver hoard discovered by metal detectorist — and it has thousands of coins and pieces of jewelry
The largest hoard of Viking Age silver ever found in Finland — which contains almost 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) of coins and jewelry — has been unearthed by a metal detectorist about 95 miles (150 kilometers) north of Helsinki. The hoard had been divided into two deposits and buried in birch-bark containers. Although the coins and jewelry likely date to between A.D. 1000 and 1050, it's unknown exactly when they were buried, Esko Tikkala, an archaeologist at the Lahti Historical Museum who excavated the hoard, told Live Science in an email.The hoard has not yet been fully cleaned, separated and counted yet, but there are thousands of pieces, Tikkala said. "There are quite a lot of coins in thi...