Stay informed about scientific discoveries, research developments and new findings from around the world.
Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a new family of materials that use light to produce hydrogen from water, opening the door to new ways of converting the sun's rays into clean energy.
From the air, Wainwright, Alaska, looks like a perfectly stable band of homes and roads between the Chukchi Sea and a vast, flat tundra. But just below the surface, the frozen ground on which this town was built contains large bodies of ice. Along the eroding coastal bluffs, that hidden ice is becoming exposed and melting away.
Alex Pascal (left), Avijit Ghosh, Jeff Dunn, and Amit Goldenberg. Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer Science & Tech Who’s in charge here? Scholars, industry leaders debate how to reduce risks of AI, ensure humans remain in charge of development Clea Simon Harvard Correspondent September 29, 2026 4 min read What do we want from AI? That was the question posed by Alex Pascal, executive director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, at the outset of a panel discussion co-hosted by the center on how AI “can serve people and make our society better.” The powerful, potentially game-changing technology has been in the headlines in recent months after high-profile reports of expe...
Arts & Culture ‘Design is not a single thing,’ and these projects prove it Complexity a common theme in GSD students’ option studios Anna Lamb Harvard Staff Writer September 29, 2026 4 min read Sarah Whiting. Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer Students at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design don’t just apply their knowledge in the classroom — they tackle real-world challenges facing communities across the world, including in advanced “option studios,” where innovations in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning and design are among this year’s projects. “Design is not a single thing,” said Dean Sarah Whiting during a kickoff event this month. “It’s not a single technique...
Work & Economy Why AI hasn’t triggered mass layoffs — yet Illustration by Stuart Kinlough/Ikon Images Sy Boles Harvard Staff Writer September 29, 2026 7 min read Artificial intelligence can do some jobs already, but experts say CEOs have good reasons to keep humans on the payroll If you’re looking for omens of an AI jobs apocalypse, you can certainly find them. News outlets report more layoffs attributed to AI this year than last. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei famously said in 2025 that AI could wipe out half of entry-level white-collar jobs within five years. Entry-level job postings have fallen by up to 73 percent in four years, by some counts. Other data points are more reassuring. Largely b...
Disorder, exotic shapes and great uncertainty: while mathematicians understand phenomena in low and high dimensions very well, the 4D world raises many questions
Earth's life-support systems are in peril — and they're getting worse — but although the window for action is closing, we still have a chance to give our planet a sustainable future, a new report finds. The report, called "Planetary Health Check 2026," was written by more than 60 scientists and assessed the state of interconnected natural systems, or planetary boundaries, upon which Earth's stability and resilience depend. When these boundaries are crossed, researchers say there's an increasing risk of serious and irreversible harm.According to the report, seven of the nine identified planetary boundaries have already been breached, including climate change, ocean acidification and biosphere...
An artist's reconstruction of what the newly described bird-like dinosaur (Norellraptor barsboldi) would have looked like. (Image credit: Mr. Zhao Chuang)A predatory bird-like dinosaur with four wings discovered in China adds evidence to the idea that flight evolved several times in different dinosaur groups.The exceptionally well-preserved feathered dinosaur, which has been named Norellraptor barsboldi, was 3 years old when it died and measured just 21 inches (57 centimeters) long. It was found in the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation in northeastern China, which dates to between 145 million and 100 million years ago.N. barsboldi had the sharply curved predatory teeth and claws you'd exp...
Along with the two Princeton professors, 2013 graduate alumnus Kaiyu Guan has also been awarded one of this year's 20 MacArthur Fellowships.
The 10th century treatment called Bald’s eyesalve attacks microbes in multiple ways. Molecule mixtures from it may inspire modern medicine.
The largest defensive wall at Oued Beht. Archaeologists think its base was constructed about 4,000 years ago. (Image credit: G. Lucarini, Oued Beht Archaeological Project)Archaeologists have unearthed 4,000-year-old defensive walls in Morocco that are the oldest structures of their kind in North Africa outside the Nile Valley.The discovery expands what's known about the human development of this region of northwestern Mediterranean Africa, known as the Maghreb, particularly about the adoption of agriculture."For more than a century, the Maghreb was treated as a blank space in the story of Mediterranean later prehistory," Giulio Lucarini, an archaeologist at Italy's National Research Council,...
Juice is on its way to study Jupiter’s moons, with a little assist from Earth’s gravity
Elusive, satellite-stalking spacecraft could unleash space war—or help keep orbital peace
Gaps in early warning systems and community preparedness contributed to the high death toll from Nepal’s debris flow.
Scientists are developing a possible alternative to LASIK that reshapes the cornea without cutting it or using a laser. The technique uses a small electric potential and a specially shaped platinum lens to temporarily soften the cornea, allowing it to be molded in about a minute.
Depression may change which emotional faces children notice most, but the pattern appears to depend on family history. Children at higher familial risk became increasingly focused on sad faces, while lower-risk children with rising symptoms paid less attention to happy ones.
Scientists have developed and experimentally demonstrated a long-sought method for identifying W states, an important form of multi-photon quantum entanglement. The technique could make complex entangled systems much easier to measure, opening new possibilities for quantum teleportation, communication, and computing.
A 245-million-year-old marine reptile fossil preserves an astonishing amount of detail, including its stomach, liver, and intestines. The discovery reveals that Austronaga minuta was highly adapted for swimming even though its digestive system remained surprisingly simple.
A massive MRI study found that Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, psychiatric disorders, and addiction are associated with distinct patterns of accelerated brain aging. The strongest effects appeared in Alzheimer’s and mild cognitive impairment, while ADHD and autism showed no significant overall difference.
Wildlife researchers have found that both recreation and roads affect wolverine populations in Canada's Rocky Mountains and Columbia Mountains.
Season 2 follows people losing their ability to speak — and the AI and brain implants helping them find their voices again.
A new system sends faint electrical pulses through tissue instead of over Bluetooth. In rats, it made the animals flex one of their hind legs on cue when one of their front paws moved
QUICK FACTSWhere is it? Caldas Novas, Goiás, Brazil [-17.788739460, -48.70589106]What's in the photo? A giant, sponge-like dome towering above its surroundingsWhich satellite took the photo? Landsat 9When was it taken? May 19, 2025This striking satellite snap shows a giant, "sponge-like" dome towering over central Brazil. The dark monolith and the rare biome that covers it are key to the region's famed hot springs. The imposing oval structure, which is around 12 miles (20 kilometers) long and 7 miles (12 km) across, is known as the Caldas Novas dome, or Serra de Caldas, according to NASA's Earth Observatory. It is located in southeast Goiás state and towers up to 1,000 feet (300 meters) abov...
Landing on a moving target is a challenge for all flying animals. For bumblebees, a flower swaying in the wind creates an erratic landing pad. Reaching it means matching its sideways motion while continuing to face it. When the bee turns in flight, its view of the flower changes, which complicates the feat.