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Linus Pauling was one of the most brilliant scientists of the 20th century. He won two Nobel prizes and transformed our understanding of chemical bonds and the structure of proteins. Late in his career, though, he became famous for something very different: a passionate belief that very high doses of…
Liquid iron in Earth’s outer core can behave in surprising ways. Scientists discovered that a large flow of molten material deep beneath the Pacific Ocean changed direction for reasons that remain unclear. Data from ESA satellites helped researchers trace the shift and build a more detailed picture of what is…
Researchers led by the University of Texas at Austin have created a soft wearable patch that improved REM sleep in real-world testing without medication or surgery. Known as NEUSLeeP, the device combines gentle ultrasound stimulation with electrodes that track brain activity as it happens. This allows the patch to influence…
I recently rewatched Armageddon, complete with Bruce Willis, oil drillers sent into space, and an asteroid the size of Texas racing toward Earth. Beneath all the Hollywood spectacle is a fascinating question: What could humanity actually do with an asteroid if we were able to reach and use one? The…
Researchers used multiple sampling techniques to determine which microorganisms lived inside Ötzi during his lifetime and which arrived after his death. The later microbes could have colonized the body while it remained frozen in the glacier or during more than 30 years of modern conservation. Genetic material recovered from internal…
A major new study provides strong reassurance about the use of acetaminophen (paracetamol) and ibuprofen (Advil) during a baby’s first year. Researchers found no evidence that either common pain reliever increases the risk of eczema or bronchiolitis, a respiratory illness that often affects young children. Earlier studies had raised concerns…
University of Maryland astronomers have identified a dormant supermassive black hole positioned far from the center of its host galaxy. The discovery marks the first time scientists have found an inactive black hole at such a great distance from a galactic core. Because the black hole was not actively consuming…
Researchers have created a hollow CdS@polydopamine nanoreactor that imitates two important features of living cells. The design offers a new way to reproduce some of the highly organized chemical functions of cells inside synthetic nanomaterials. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The research was…
Flowering plants in pollinator gardens, agricultural fields, and residential landscapes often grow alongside weeds that are controlled with herbicides. Honeybees regularly visit these same areas while collecting nectar and pollen, raising questions about what happens when they are exposed to weedkillers during their daily foraging. A Virginia Tech study found…
Nearly half of dementia cases may be connected to risk factors that people can potentially change, including smoking and high blood pressure. New research from Lund University has identified how specific risk factors are associated with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, the two most common causes of dementia. A person’s…
Changes in gene activity may contribute to neck and back pain by damaging the discs that act as the spine’s natural shock absorbers, according to new research. A study using zebrafish found that altered gene activity can cause minerals to accumulate within the spine. This process resembles bone forming where…
Fertilization is commonly portrayed as an intense contest in which millions of sperm race toward a single egg. New research from evolutionary biologists at Syracuse University, University of Siena, Italy, and University of Szeged, Hungary, points to a more complex picture. In some species, reproductive success may depend not only…
Scientists have long believed that warm, salty water flowing from the Indian Ocean around the southern tip of Africa and into the Atlantic helps support one of the planet’s most important ocean circulation systems. This flow, known as Agulhas Leakage, has been considered a major contributor to the Atlantic Meridional…
Air pollution may make rheumatoid arthritis more active and increase the likelihood of painful flare-ups, according to a new study. The strongest connection involved fine particulate matter found in dust, soot, and smoke (PM2.5). Published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (ARD), The EULAR Journal, by Elsevier, the findings…
Nightmares can be one of the most distressing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition that may develop after a person experiences a disaster, serious accident, violence, combat, or another severe trauma. During sleep, people with PTSD may feel as though they are living through the event again in…
As millions of people were coming down from the excitement of the FIFA World Cup Final recently, a different kind of excitement was building within the mathematical community. Levent Alpöge, a mathematician working at the artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic, made a very casual announcement on X that he had…
Researchers have discovered an unusually rich fossil site in a remote region of Canada’s Northwest Territories, revealing new details about some of the earliest complex animals on Earth. The fossils belong to the Ediacaran biota, a collection of mostly soft-bodied organisms that lived on ancient seafloors more than 500 million…
A person’s posture may subtly affect both emotional state and decision-making, according to new research from McGill University. In a laboratory study, participants who sat upright reported more positive feelings and performed better during a task involving risk and reward than participants who slouched or sat in the control condition.…
What allows people to keep working toward a goal when the challenge becomes more demanding? Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have identified a brain mechanism that may help explain how motivation is maintained. Their study found that orexin neurons play an important role in sustaining and regulating motivated behavior.…
More than 4,000 snake species live today, all descended from heavily modified lizard ancestors. Yet scientists still do not fully understand how snakes developed their long, limbless bodies. Because early snake fossils are rare, researchers have struggled to determine which environments and behaviors shaped their evolution. For many years, the…
A 31-foot predator that once hunted dinosaurs across what is now the eastern United States has been reconstructed in scientifically accurate, life-size form for the first time. Dr. David Schwimmer, a Columbus State University geology professor and internationally recognized authority on the giant North American crocodilian genus Deinosuchus, contributed decades…
Scientists have discovered an enormous body of magma deep beneath Tuscany, even though the region shows few of the surface clues typically associated with such systems. Using a seismic imaging method called ambient noise tomography, researchers detected approximately 6,000 km3 of volcanic fluids buried 8 to 15 km below the…
Wildfires occur across Europe each summer, but the fires that swept through Spain and France in July 2026 ranked among the most destructive either country had experienced in decades. Some of the worst outbreaks developed in southwestern France’s Gironde Department and in Spain’s Ávila and Madrid provinces during the middle…
Stanford researchers have identified a previously unknown immune cell that destroys nearby cells by exploding. The process unfolds so rapidly and completely that the cell disappears within minutes, leaving virtually no trace. The discovery was made in planarian flatworms, small aquatic animals known for their extraordinary ability to regenerate. Even…
A solar eclipse, the Perseid meteor shower, brilliant Venus, and a deep partial lunar eclipse will make August an unusually eventful month for skywatchers. August Skywatching Highlights Aug. 5: Last Quarter Moon Aug. 12: A total solar eclipse crosses northern Russia, Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain, and part of Portugal. A…
Fossilized dinosaur bones uncovered in Wyoming contain tooth marks that were likely made by Tyrannosaurus rex, according to research published July 15, 2026, in the open-access journal PLOS One. The study was led by Bethania C. T. Siviero of Loma Linda University and her colleagues. Bite marks preserved in fossil…
Jumping genes are genetic parasites found in bacteria, plants, animals, and humans. They can be released inside cells as small RNA molecules from ribonucleic acid (RNA), then use specialized mechanisms to insert themselves into new locations within the genetic material. These movements can give cells new traits, making jumping genes…
Researchers have developed a bioengineered chewing gum that may offer a new way to target microbes associated with head and neck cancer. In tests involving oral samples from patients, extracts from the gum sharply reduced one virus and two types of bacteria linked to the disease. The research team was…
Scientists have discovered the earliest known evidence of the structures that eventually became spider fangs in a fossil dating back 518 million years. The finding was made by researchers from Yunnan University and the University of Leicester. Whether associated with the deadly reputation of the Black Widow or the fictional…
Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have achieved a major milestone in hydrogen power by operating a new compressorless gas turbine for a record 303 seconds. The burner uses an advanced form of pressure-gain combustion and surpassed NASA’s previous record of 250 seconds. The result also marks progress…
