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A remarkably preserved fossil from Argentina is helping scientists sharpen the picture of how snakes evolved. The specimen belongs to Najash rionegrina, an ancient rear-limbed snake that lived nearly 100 million years ago. Its skull shows that these early snakes still had a cheekbone, also called the jugal bone, a…
Researchers from Cairo University and the Technical University of Munich (TUM), working within the ScanPyramids research project, have uncovered two concealed air-filled anomalies inside the third-largest pyramid at Giza. For years, scientists have suspected there might be an undiscovered entrance along the eastern side of the Menkaure pyramid. New investigations…
Physicists have used a machine learning approach to reveal unexpected details about how particles interact in complex systems. Their work focuses on non-reciprocal forces, where one particle influences another differently than it is influenced in return. The findings, published in PNAS, come from a collaboration between experimental and theoretical physicists…
For more than 25 years, researchers at Northwestern Medicine have been studying people age 80 and older known as “SuperAgers” to understand how some individuals maintain exceptional mental sharpness late in life. These individuals consistently perform on memory tests at levels similar to people at least 30 years younger, challenging…
Researchers at McGill University and the Douglas Institute have discovered that two distinct types of brain cells function differently in people with depression. The findings, published in Nature Genetics, offer important clues that could lead to new treatments designed to target these specific cells. They also provide a clearer understanding…
A minimally invasive outpatient procedure may help people avoid regaining weight after stopping popular medications like Ozempic and semaglutide, according to research being presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2026. About 70% of people who stop these drugs eventually regain much of the weight they lost, often within 18 months.…
Scientists have created a new type of nanoelectronic device that could significantly reduce how much energy artificial intelligence systems consume. The innovation works by copying how the human brain processes information, offering a more efficient alternative to today’s power-hungry AI hardware. The research team, led by the University of Cambridge,…
Far beneath Earth’s surface, slow-moving convection currents churn within the mantle. These currents are closely tied to the movement of tectonic plates, and they do more than just shift the plates above. They also stretch and distort the mantle material itself. A new study published in The Seismic Record shows…
A newly described prehistoric reptile is giving scientists a surprising look at how some ancient animals may have changed the way they moved as they grew. Researchers say this “peculiar” crocodile relative likely began life walking on four legs, only to adopt a two-legged stance as it reached adulthood. The…
Every breath you take is part of a very ancient story. The steady movement of your chest, the muscles between your ribs pulling outward, and the air filling your lungs feel completely routine. Yet this familiar process traces back hundreds of millions of years. A remarkably preserved reptile that died…
Scientists have created a thin plastic film that can physically destroy viruses the moment they land on its surface. The breakthrough could help reduce the spread of disease from frequently touched items like smartphones, keyboards, and hospital equipment. Beyond its effectiveness, the material is also designed to be practical for…
Changes in eyesight are one of the most common signs of aging. Sit in a dimly lit restaurant with someone over 60, and you will likely hear them say, “Hold on — let me pull out my cell phone. I need more light to read the menu!” But what if…
Colorectal cancer is among the most common cancers in Western countries and remains a major cause of cancer-related deaths. While factors like age, diet, and lifestyle are known to influence risk, the exact triggers behind the disease are still not fully understood. In recent years, scientists have increasingly focused on…
Neutrophils, a type of white blood cell circulating in the bloodstream, act as some of the body’s first responders to infection and inflammation. When the immune system is activated, their numbers can rise quickly, altering the balance between neutrophils and other immune cells. Doctors can measure this balance using a…
A new study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution examines the remains of 132 individuals buried in a large megalithic tomb near Bury, about 50 kilometers north of Paris. The site was used during two separate time periods, with a significant population decline occurring around 3000 BC between them. Genetic…
Astronomers have identified something surprising on a distant gas giant: water ice clouds. The discovery was made by a team led by Elisabeth Matthews at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), and it challenges many existing models of how exoplanet atmospheres behave. The planet, known as Epsilon Indi Ab,…
A striking new pitviper with a vivid grass-green body and amber-like eyes has been discovered in the misty mountains of western Sichuan, China. Blending seamlessly into its lush surroundings, this snake had gone unnoticed for years, hiding in one of the world’s richest biodiversity regions. Researchers from the Chengdu Institute…
Scientists have introduced a new way to track ocean surface currents across vast areas with far greater detail than before. The technique, known as GOFLOW (Geostationary Ocean Flow), uses deep learning to analyze thermal images captured by weather satellites that are already in orbit. Because it relies on existing satellites,…
Magnetic materials believed to host a quantum spin liquid have drawn strong interest because of their potential to reveal exotic states of matter and advance quantum computing. However, appearances in the quantum world can be misleading. A new study published in Science Advances and co-led by Rice University’s Pengcheng Dai…
For more than 150 years, a guiding idea in geometry has shaped how mathematicians think about surfaces. Originating with the French mathematician Pierre Ossian Bonnet, the principle states that if you know two key properties of a compact surface at every point, its metric and its mean curvature, then you…
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease is now the most common liver condition worldwide, affecting about one in three adults. It develops when excess fat builds up inside liver cells, which can lead to serious liver damage and also increases the risk of dying from heart and blood vessel disease. A…
A new international study published in Current Biology reports the analysis of ancient mitochondrial DNA extracted from eight Neanderthal teeth found in Stajnia Cave in Poland. Using this material, researchers were able to reconstruct the genetic profile of a small group of Neanderthals who lived at the same location, north…
Identifying a new species is not always straightforward. Scientists usually rely on physical traits that separate one species from another, but in nature those differences do not always fall into neat categories. Sometimes two different species look almost identical. These are called cryptic species. In other cases, a single species…
In June 2024, a group of Penn State meteorology and atmospheric science researchers set out on a road trip along the East Coast in a modified 2013 Toyota Sienna. The van was outfitted with a custom-built telescopic weather instrument extending from the roof. Their goal was to track down Florida’s…
A long-standing puzzle involving dozens of unusually small dinosaur fossils has finally been resolved. Specimens once believed to represent a miniature species of armored dinosaur have now been identified as young ankylosaurs. This discovery is giving researchers a clearer picture of how these heavily armored dinosaurs grew and developed. Liaoningosaurus…
The deep interiors of ice giant planets such as Uranus and Neptune may contain a previously unknown form of matter. This possibility comes from new computer simulations conducted by Carnegie scientists Cong Liu and Ronald Cohen. Their study, published in Nature Communications, suggests that carbon hydride could take on an…
Researchers from the XPANCEO Emerging Technologies Research Center, working with Nobel Laureate Prof. Konstantin Novoselov (University of Manchester and the National University of Singapore), have uncovered unusual optical behavior in arsenic trisulfide (As2S3), a crystalline van der Waals semiconductor. Their findings show that this material can be permanently altered by…
Researchers have created a powerful new imaging method that reveals far more detail about ultrafast events in the microscopic world than ever before. These processes unfold in incredibly short times, often within hundreds of femtoseconds, and have traditionally been difficult to study. The new approach allows scientists to observe and…
A team led by Prof. Tao Zhang and Prof. Yanqiang Huang at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), working with Prof. Wei Liu of DICP and Prof. Yanggang Wang of the Southern University of Science and Technology, has directly tracked oxygen movement…
A molecule that helps control gene activity has now been tied to both the growth of skin cancer and its ability to avoid the body’s immune defenses, according to new research. Scientists from NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center found that a key protein, known as the transcription…
