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An experimental drug developed at Michigan Medicine has reversed a serious form of fatty liver disease in animal studies by targeting an unexpected source of liver damage: the gut. The compound, known as DT-109, works by reducing harmful gut bacteria, protecting the intestinal lining, and preventing inflammatory substances from reaching…
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is performing even better than scientists anticipated after engineers completed an extensive series of tests and precision adjustments. The work has brought the observatory’s powerful instruments into exceptionally sharp focus, with its main camera system now delivering image quality nearly 30% better than predicted.…
A bird that migrates thousands of miles has revealed a surprising secret about how wings work. Scientists have discovered that European nightjars sacrifice flight efficiency for agility and use an unexpected wingbeat technique previously associated mainly with bats and insects. The European nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus) is a nighttime hunter that…
Brain cells that normally help protect the brain may play an unexpected role in cognitive decline as we grow older. Scientists have discovered that cells responsible for maintaining the protective coating around nerve fibers can become dysfunctional with age, potentially contributing to the gradual loss of memory and thinking abilities.…
Scientists have discovered a powerful new way to decode the weather on distant worlds, revealing surprisingly organized patterns hidden within the turbulent atmosphere of a mysterious object 20 light-years from Earth. Researchers at Trinity College Dublin used observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to investigate SIMP 0136, a brown…
Forest soils are playing a surprisingly powerful role in removing methane from the atmosphere, and new findings suggest that certain effects of climate change could make them even better at it. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, but microorganisms living in the soil can break…
A good night’s sleep does much more than leave you feeling refreshed. During deep sleep, the body releases growth hormone, a powerful chemical messenger that helps build muscle, strengthen bones, and regulate fat metabolism. For teenagers, getting enough sleep is especially important because growth hormone plays a major role in…
In 1960, Science, one of the world’s leading science journals, published an article with an unambiguous title: Doomsday: Friday, 13 November, A.D. 2026. It predicted that on this future date — less than a month from today — the human population would approach infinity and effectively annihilate itself. The outlandishness…
A new microscope developed at Stanford University allows scientists to watch the tiny structures inside living cells move and interact in real time, providing an exceptionally detailed view without the fluorescent labels typically used to make these structures visible. Researchers at Stanford have created a powerful new imaging system that…
Scientists at the University of Southern California (USC) have discovered a way to produce a potentially renewable supply of cancer-fighting immune cells, opening a promising new direction for cancer treatment. By working with immature cells that can develop into powerful immune defenders, the researchers have created a system capable of…
During World War II, the United States raced to develop the atomic bomb partly out of fear that Nazi Germany might build one first. But how close did Germany actually come to achieving that goal? A new scientific investigation suggests the Nazi nuclear program was much further from success than…
Stress does more than influence how we feel. It can also change what we remember, particularly when an experience is emotionally intense or personally meaningful. Scientists have long known that cortisol, a hormone released during stressful situations, can strengthen emotional memories. What has been less clear is exactly how this…
Astronomers have uncovered a surprising rule that appears to determine when black holes unleash powerful jets of material into space. Even though black holes can differ in mass by millions of times, researchers found that they seem to follow the same fundamental pattern when producing these enormous cosmic outflows. The…
Plastic pollution is one of the world’s most persistent environmental problems. Vast amounts of discarded plastic accumulate in the oceans, sometimes forming enormous garbage patches that threaten marine life. Most conventional plastics break down extremely slowly because microorganisms struggle to digest the synthetic polymers from which they are made. Instead…
Despite remaining offshore, Hurricane Simon battered Mexico’s Pacific coast with powerful winds and flooding. At the same time, NASA satellites captured an extraordinary sight high above the storm: enormous waves rippling through Earth’s upper atmosphere. Hurricane Simon was the latest in a series of powerful tropical cyclones to sweep across…
A protein that helps cancer grow may also hold a surprising key to fighting it. Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have discovered that activating this protein in immune cells can make them more effective at attacking tumors, potentially opening a new path toward treating cancers that resist existing…
Scientists in Japan have discovered that tiny steps just one atom high can act like microscopic railroad tracks, guiding the movement of quantum vortices inside an ultrathin superconductor. Under certain conditions, these vortices moved more than 1,000 times more easily along the steps than across them. Researchers also found that…
A giant crayfish nicknamed “Crawzilla” has sparked an unexpected scientific discovery, revealing a possible biological limit to how large North America’s crayfish can grow. The investigation began when Caitlin Bloomer pulled an enormous Crawzilla crawdad from the mud during a biological survey in Kentucky. Crawzilla is the creature’s actual common…
Antarctic sea ice reached its annual winter peak in September 2026, but the ice covered less ocean than in nearly any other year since satellite measurements began. Its maximum extent was the third lowest on record, adding to growing evidence of a dramatic shift in Antarctica’s frozen waters. Antarctica is…
Scientists have uncovered a biological mechanism that helps explain how exercise protects aging muscles and restores their ability to repair themselves. The discovery reveals why physical activity can counteract some of the changes that weaken muscles with age and points toward potential new treatments for age-related muscle loss. The research,…
Even when a person is fully unconscious under general anesthesia, their brain may still be doing something remarkable: processing language, recognizing patterns, and even anticipating which words will come next. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have discovered that the brain retains surprisingly sophisticated abilities during anesthesia, despite the absence…
Nearly five decades of satellite observations reveal a troubling transformation in the Arctic, where sea ice is shrinking in both summer and winter, and much of the remaining ice is becoming younger and thinner. The Arctic Ocean is covered by a vast expanse of frozen seawater that expands and contracts…
That late-night snack might have consequences beyond extra calories. Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) have found that eating late in the evening is associated with a significantly higher risk of liver disease, suggesting that when you eat could be an important factor in protecting your liver. The…
Scientists have uncovered a promising new way to protect some of the world’s most important food crops from a destructive fungus that threatens global food security. By engineering the natural immune defenses of plants, researchers have developed an experimental approach that could eventually help wheat, rice, and barley resist fungal…
Some cancers grow faster, spread more aggressively, and respond less effectively to treatment than others. Researchers at Virginia Tech are uncovering surprising reasons behind these differences, including how abnormal cancer cells recruit healthy tissue to support tumor growth and why the size of certain cancer cells could help predict their…
An unusually detailed examination of an Alzheimer’s patient’s brain has revealed striking differences between regions where treatment successfully removed harmful amyloid plaques and areas where those plaques remained. The regions cleared of amyloid showed little or no buildup of tau tangles, another protein abnormality strongly associated with brain cell damage…
Strokes are becoming increasingly common among younger adults, challenging the long-held belief that they primarily affect older people. A study examining nearly three decades of medical data found that stroke rates among adults ages 20 to 54 nearly doubled, even as the chances of surviving a stroke improved. The findings,…
A large study led by Rutgers researchers has identified a possible vision risk associated with widely used diabetes and weight loss medications, including Ozempic and Wegovy. The findings suggest that people taking these drugs may face a slightly higher risk of developing a rare eye condition that can cause sudden…
Aging may begin to affect your physical abilities earlier than you expect. A remarkable 47-year Swedish study found that fitness, muscle endurance, and physical performance generally begin declining around age 35, even among people who remain active. But the findings also offer an encouraging message. Although exercise cannot completely prevent…
New research suggests that Australia’s Indigenous population before European colonization was far larger than historical estimates have indicated. Scientists now estimate that approximately 2.22 million Indigenous people lived across the continent before the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, potentially up to seven times the number suggested by some…