Scientific Discoveries

Explore the latest scientific discoveries, science news, breakthroughs and developments from around the world.

Latest Scientific Discoveries

All News →
Does written language speed up or slow down cultural change?
Science News

Does written language speed up or slow down cultural change?

The written word is one of humanity's most important information technologies. Without it, mathematical and scientific discoveries would be lost to history. But it can also lock ideas in place long after they've stopped making sense. So does writing speed up cultural change or slow it down?Russell Gray, a professor in the Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, heads a research project investigating how writing affects the way languages change. His team uses methods borrowed from evolutionary biology to trace languages through family trees — similar to the way biologists trace species. Language is one element of cu...

📅 2026-10-10 09:00:00    •    Live Science
Scientists may have found why diabetic wounds refuse to heal
Science News

Scientists may have found why diabetic wounds refuse to heal

Chronic diabetic wounds may fail to heal because immune cells remain locked in damaging inflammatory states instead of transitioning toward tissue repair. Researchers are exploring treatments that reprogram these immune responses, raising hopes for more targeted and effective therapies for diabetic ulcers.

📅 2026-10-10 03:00:35    •    ScienceDaily
A famous quantum effect can finally be predicted in real materials
Science News

A famous quantum effect can finally be predicted in real materials

Scientists have developed a powerful new way to calculate the Kondo effect, a strange quantum phenomenon that appears when magnetic atoms are embedded in metals. Instead of relying on simplified models, the method uses the real atomic and electronic structures of materials, allowing researchers to predict their behavior with far greater accuracy.

📅 2026-10-10 01:59:39    •    ScienceDaily
Geologists uncover evidence of a missing Late Cretaceous magmatic arc in northwestern Iran
Science News

Geologists uncover evidence of a missing Late Cretaceous magmatic arc in northwestern Iran

Mountains preserve evidence of ancient oceans, moving continents and tectonic processes that have shaped Earth over millions of years. Later deformation, erosion and burial, however, can obscure important parts of this geological record. An international research team led by Istanbul Technical University (ITU) has identified evidence of a previously unrecognized Late Cretaceous continental magmatic arc in northwestern Iran.

📅 2026-10-10 00:20:05    •    Phys.org
Food testing reveals how diet can add to exposure to 'forever chemicals'
Science News

Food testing reveals how diet can add to exposure to 'forever chemicals'

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—a vast family of chemicals used largely for their nonstick, water-repellent and grease-resistant properties—are called "forever chemicals" because of their remarkable resistance to degradation. They are now ubiquitous in our environment.

📅 2026-10-09 23:00:01    •    Phys.org
Three quantum-inspired cores leave opposite fingerprints on the ringing of black holes
Science News

Three quantum-inspired cores leave opposite fingerprints on the ringing of black holes

Every black hole hides a question at its center. Einstein's theory predicts that whatever falls in is crushed into a singularity, a point of infinite density where the theory itself breaks down. Most physicists expect quantum gravity to replace that point with something finite. But the center lies hidden behind the horizon. How could we ever learn what is there?

📅 2026-10-09 21:40:01    •    Phys.org
Aspens 'remember' past drought in their leaves, 3-year experiment finds
Science News

Aspens 'remember' past drought in their leaves, 3-year experiment finds

Drought is written into trees, appearing as narrow bands in their annual growth rings. But aspen may go farther, creating "functional memories" of previous dry years reflected in the chemistry of their leaves, according to new research by University of Utah biologists.

📅 2026-10-09 20:40:06    •    Phys.org
NASA advances LISA mission contributions with new test telescope
Science News

NASA advances LISA mission contributions with new test telescope

NASA has taken the next step in the process of developing a new all-glass telescope for the LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission, a space observatory designed to detect ripples in space-time called gravitational waves.

📅 2026-10-09 20:40:01    •    Phys.org
Plant-bacteria partnership reveals how roots access iron locked in soil
Science News

Plant-bacteria partnership reveals how roots access iron locked in soil

A new study led by Paul Schulze-Lefert from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, in collaboration with Ricardo F.H. Giehl at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Gatersleben, revealed how Arabidopsis plants adapt their chemical communication with the bacterial root microbiota to maximize the acquisition of bio-unavailable iron from acidic or calcareous soils. The study is now published in Cell.

📅 2026-10-09 20:20:07    •    Phys.org