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Understanding how surfaces grow has long been one of physics’ most important challenges. In 1986, researchers introduced the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation, a theory designed to describe growth across a wide range of systems. Over time, this framework has been applied to everything from crystal formation and population dynamics to flame…
Cumberland, British Columbia, grew out of coal mining. For decades, the industry defined daily life, employing thousands of workers and sending millions of tonnes of coal around the world. When mining operations shut down after roughly 80 years, they left behind more than empty tunnels. The closures also created a…
Winter 2026 ended on a dramatic note across southern Alaska. Coastal areas experienced colder-than-average temperatures along with periods of moderate to heavy snowfall. From above, the atmosphere revealed just how unstable conditions had become, with striking cloud formations spreading over the nearby ocean. On March 19, 2026, the final day…
Blue Origin’s MK1 lunar lander, also known as Endurance, is an uncrewed cargo spacecraft designed to test key technologies for future Moon missions. The vehicle is part of a commercial demonstration effort aimed at strengthening Human Landing System capabilities for NASA’s Artemis program. The project highlights a growing public-private collaboration…
A new type of electromagnetic thruster has successfully completed an early test at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), offering a glimpse of how astronauts could one day travel to Mars. If further developed, this technology could also power robotic missions across the solar system. On Feb. 24, engineers at JPL…
MIT neuroscientists have uncovered a surprising feature of the adult brain. It contains millions of “silent synapses,” which are immature connections between neurons that remain inactive until they are needed to help form new memories. For many years, scientists believed these silent synapses existed only during early development, when the…
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have introduced a new way to use artificial intelligence to tackle one of the most difficult challenges in mathematics: inverse partial differential equations (PDEs). These equations are essential for understanding complex systems, but solving them has long pushed the limits of both math and…
A fossil dating back 240 million years has finally been formally identified after spending decades hidden inside a retaining wall. Researchers from UNSW Sydney and the Australian Museum have now named and described the ancient amphibian, bringing new attention to an unusual discovery that began in the 1990s. The specimen…
A new clinical trial suggests that giving immunotherapy before surgery may dramatically improve outcomes for certain colorectal cancer patients. In the NEOPRISM-CRC study, patients treated with a short course of immunotherapy instead of chemotherapy after surgery have remained cancer-free for nearly three years. The trial, led by researchers at UCL and…
A widely performed knee procedure known as partial meniscectomy may not deliver the benefits many patients expect. A major study with a 10-year follow-up has found that trimming a damaged meniscus does not improve symptoms or knee function when compared to a placebo procedure. Partial meniscectomy is one of the…
Going to bed at different times each night during midlife could be a warning sign for future heart problems. New research from the University of Oulu suggests that wide swings in bedtime may significantly raise the risk of serious cardiovascular events, especially for people who spend less than eight hours…
In spring forests, timing is everything. Many insects, especially caterpillars, hatch just as tree leaves are young, tender, and full of nutrients. This perfect alignment gives them immediate access to food, allowing them to begin feeding right away. But oak trees have a surprising response when caterpillars become too abundant.…
Using MIRI (Mid Infrared Instrument) on board the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international team led by former MPIA (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany) PhD student Sebastian Zieba (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, USA) and Laura Kreidberg, MPIA Director and study PI (principal investigator),…
Creating new molecules is one of the toughest tasks in chemistry. Whether the goal is a life-saving drug or a cutting-edge material, each compound must be built through a carefully planned series of reactions. Mapping out these steps requires deep expertise and strategic thinking, which is why chemists often spend…
Improving the quality of fruit while preserving normal plant growth has long been a difficult goal in agriculture. New research suggests this balance may be easier to achieve than previously thought. Scientists found that increasing the activity of a conserved “housekeeping” gene can enhance both the nutritional value and sensory…
A shimmering crystal gets its colorful appearance from the precise arrangement of its atoms in space. In 2012, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Frank Wilczek proposed that a similar kind of order could exist not in space, but in time. He suggested that certain quantum systems could organize themselves into repeating patterns…
Light plays a central role in modern technology, powering everything from televisions and satellites to the fiber optic cables that carry internet data across the globe. Now, physicists at Stanford have developed a way to push light even further. They created a compact optical amplifier, about the size of a…
A group of professional and amateur astronomers in Japan has uncovered evidence that a small, distant object in the outer Solar System is surrounded by a thin atmosphere. The finding is surprising because the object is far too small to hold onto gas for long, raising new questions about how…
A biomaterial designed to travel through the bloodstream could offer a less invasive way to calm inflammation and help injured tissue repair itself. In animal studies, the injectable material improved tissue damage caused by heart attacks in both rodents and large animals. Early proof of concept experiments also suggested that…
Glucagonlike peptide-1 (GLP-1) medications are now a major part of the national conversation about weight loss. From celebrity stories to everyday discussions, drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy are often described as breakthroughs that can help people shed significant weight. However, new research from Rice University suggests the social experience…
Glucagonlike peptide-1 (GLP-1) medications are now a major part of the national conversation about weight loss. From celebrity stories to everyday discussions, drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy are often described as breakthroughs that can help people shed significant weight. However, new research from Rice University suggests the social experience…
Tyrannosaurs are usually depicted as powerful, relentless predators. However, new research shows they also took advantage of opportunities to scavenge. When food was available, they did not hesitate to feed on the remains of dead animals, even down to the last scraps. This finding comes from a study by the…
For more than a century, the National Museum has preserved a remarkable collection of clay tablets from some of the earliest civilizations in the Middle East. Many of these artifacts are over 4,000 years old and written in long-lost languages. For decades, they remained largely untouched, but researchers have now…
Quantum technology is widely expected to transform how large and complex data sets are processed. Although it is currently used mostly in laboratories and research environments, the field is steadily moving toward real-world applications across a range of industries. In a recent study exploring the fundamentals of quantum physics, researchers…
Retinol creams may get most of the attention in the fight against visible aging, but researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU) have pointed to a much bigger and more adventurous possibility: travel. In a 2024 interdisciplinary study published in the Journal of Travel Research, ECU researchers applied the theory of…
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive brain disorder and a leading cause of dementia worldwide. Despite years of research, there is still no cure. New antibody-based treatments that target amyloid β (Aβ) have recently emerged, but their benefits have been modest. These therapies can also be expensive and may trigger…
Climate change is dramatically reshaping how Greenland’s ice sheet melts, according to a new study led by the University of Barcelona and published in Nature Communications. Researchers found that extreme melting events are now happening more often, covering larger areas, and producing significantly more meltwater than in the past. Since…
Scientists are developing a new way to tackle two major global problems at once: plastic pollution and the demand for clean energy. By using sunlight, they are finding ways to turn discarded plastic into useful fuels. A recent study led by Adelaide University PhD candidate Xiao Lu examines how solar-powered…
Materials known as relaxor ferroelectrics have played an important role for decades in technologies such as ultrasound imaging, microphones, and sonar. Their unusual performance comes from the way atoms are arranged inside them. However, that internal structure has been extremely difficult to measure directly, leaving scientists to rely on incomplete…
For more than 500 years, Leonardo da Vinci has been admired as a brilliant artist, inventor, and thinker whose talents seemed far ahead of his time. Now, an ambitious international effort known as the Leonardo DNA Project is bringing scientists closer than ever to uncovering the biological roots of his…
