Astronomers discover giant cosmic sheet around the Milky Way

Nearly a century ago, astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that almost all galaxies are receding from the Milky Way. This observation became a cornerstone of modern cosmology because it provided key evidence that the universe is expanding and that it began with the Big Bang. Even during Hubble’s era, however, astronomers…

Electrons catapult across solar materials in just 18 femtoseconds

Scientists have discovered that electrons can be propelled across solar materials at speeds close to the fastest nature allows, a result that challenges long accepted ideas about how solar energy systems operate. The finding could open new paths for designing technologies that capture sunlight more efficiently and convert it into…

AI blood test finds silent liver disease years before symptoms

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) driven liquid biopsy that analyzes genome wide patterns of cell free DNA (cfDNA) fragments circulating in the blood. The test examines how these DNA pieces break apart and where they appear across the genome. Using this…

Scientists discover the switch that revives exhausted cancer-fighting T cells

Researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and UC San Diego have identified new genetic mechanisms that influence how key immune cells decide their fate. These cells, known as CD8 “killer” T cells, can either develop into durable defenders that provide lasting protection or…

Humpback whale recovery is changing who fathers the calves

A new study from the University of St Andrews, published on February 27 in Current Biology, shows that the influence of age on male humpback whale reproduction has shifted as whale populations rebound after centuries of commercial whaling. Whaling once pushed many large whale species to the edge of extinction.…

Scientists finally see the atomic flaws hiding inside computer chips

Researchers at Cornell University have used high resolution 3D imaging to identify atomic scale defects inside computer chips for the first time. These tiny imperfections can interfere with chip performance, making them a major concern for modern electronics. The new imaging technique was developed through a collaboration with Taiwan Semiconductor…

ALMA captures the most detailed image ever of the Milky Way’s turbulent core

Astronomers have unveiled a striking new view of the center of the Milky Way, exposing an intricate network of cosmic gas filaments in unprecedented detail. The image was produced using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and forms the largest ALMA dataset ever assembled. This massive map will help scientists…

Scientists discover a hidden force that helps wire the brain

As the brain develops, neurons grow long extensions known as axons. These structures connect different regions of the brain and transmit signals both within the brain and throughout the body. To establish these connections, axons must travel along very specific routes through brain tissue. Their journey depends on chemical signals…

Ocean temperatures may be protecting Earth from a planet-wide drought

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN), working with international collaborators, have discovered that ocean temperature patterns play a key role in limiting how widely droughts spread across the globe. Their findings, published in Communications Earth & Environment, are based on climate records spanning 1901-2020. The analysis shows…

T. rex took 40 years to reach full size, study finds

For many years, paleontologists have studied annual growth rings preserved inside the fossilized leg bones of Tyrannosaurus rex. Much like the rings inside a tree trunk, these marks help scientists estimate how old the dinosaurs were when they died and how quickly they grew. Earlier research suggested that T. rex…

Half of Amazon insects could face dangerous heat stress

“Current evaluations of the heat tolerance of insects such as moths, flies, and beetles paint a differentiated — and at the same time alarming — picture,” says study author Dr. Kim Holzmann, a researcher at the Chair of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU). The research suggests…

Scientists discover the protein that malaria parasites can’t live without

Researchers from several international institutions have uncovered new details about how the malaria parasite grows and spreads. Their work has identified a specialized protein that the parasite needs in order to survive and move between hosts, making it a promising target for future antimalarial drugs. The discovery focuses on a…

Record-breaking photodetector captures light in just 125 picoseconds

Electrical engineers at Duke University have created the fastest pyroelectric photodetector ever demonstrated, a device that detects light by sensing the tiny amount of heat it produces when absorbed. The ultrathin sensor can capture light across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. It operates at room temperature, requires no external power source,…

New drug cuts seizures by up to 91% in children with rare epilepsy

An experimental therapy for children with a severe and difficult to treat form of epilepsy appears to be both safe and highly effective at reducing seizures, according to results from an international clinical trial led by UCL (University College London) and Great Ormond Street Hospital. The findings suggest the treatment…

2700-year-old teeth reveal the hidden lives of Iron Age Italians

Teeth can hold remarkable clues about how people lived thousands of years ago. A new study published in the open access journal PLOS One, led by Roberto Germano of Sapienza University of Rome and colleagues, shows how the teeth of Iron Age Italians preserve detailed evidence about their health, diet,…

Scientists capture a magnetic flip in 140 trillionths of a second

A team led by Ryo Shimano at the University of Tokyo has directly observed how electron spins flip inside an antiferromagnet, a material in which opposing spins cancel each other out. By capturing this process in action, the researchers identified two separate switching mechanisms. One of them outlines a practical…

Popular fruits and vegetables linked to higher pesticide levels

Certain fruits and vegetables may raise the amount of pesticide chemicals found in the human body, according to a new peer reviewed study conducted by scientists at the Environmental Working Group (EWG). Pesticides have been associated with cancer, reproductive problems, hormone interference, and nervous system harm in children. Because traces…

Climate models may be missing massive carbon emissions from boreal wildfires

Wildfires sweeping through the vast boreal forests of Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, and Russia could be having a larger impact on the climate than scientists once believed. A new study led by researchers at UC Berkeley suggests these northern fires may release far more carbon into the atmosphere than current estimates…

World’s smallest OLED pixel could transform smart glasses

Smart glasses are widely seen as a breakthrough technology because they can project digital information directly into a person’s line of sight. Yet real world adoption has lagged, largely because the hardware required to power these displays has been bulky and impractical. A major obstacle comes from classical optics, which…

A simple hand photo may be the key to detecting a serious disease

Researchers at Kobe University have created an artificial intelligence system that can identify a rare endocrine disease simply by examining photos of the back of the hand and a clenched fist. The approach avoids facial images, helping protect patient privacy while still achieving high diagnostic accuracy. Scientists say the technology…

Study finds wild release can be deadly for rescued slow lorises

A new scientific study suggests that returning rescued wildlife to natural habitats does not always end in success. In some situations, animals released after time in captivity face serious risks, and the wild can become what researchers describe as a “death trap.” The findings appear in the journal Global Ecology…

Scientists just found the brain’s hidden defense against Alzheimer’s

Scientists at UCLA Health and UC San Francisco have discovered why certain brain cells are better equipped than others to withstand the buildup of tau, a toxic protein closely linked to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The findings point to biological differences that may help explain why some neurons survive…

Neutrinos could explain why matter survived the Big Bang

Researchers at Indiana University have helped make a significant advance in our understanding of the universe through a partnership between two leading international neutrino experiments. Neutrinos are extremely small, nearly massless particles that constantly pass through space, planets, and even our bodies, yet rarely interact with anything. Findings published in…

What snow monkeys’ steamy baths are really doing to their bodies

Japanese macaques, better known as snow monkeys, are famous for sitting in steaming hot springs when temperatures drop. While the warm water clearly helps them cope with winter cold, researchers at Kyoto University found that these baths do more than provide heat. “Hot spring bathing is one of the most…

Scientists build a “periodic table” for AI

Choosing the right method for multimodal AI—systems that combine text, images, and more—has long been trial and error. Emory physicists created a unifying mathematical framework that shows many AI techniques rely on the same core idea: compress data while preserving what’s most predictive. Their “control knob” approach helps researchers design…

This simple blood protein could stop a deadly black fungus

An international team of scientists has discovered that albumin, the most abundant protein circulating in human blood, plays a powerful and previously unrecognized role in protecting the body from mucormycosis, a rare but frequently deadly fungal infection. The findings were published in Nature. The research was led by George Chamilos,…