Top Science News

July 24, 2025 — Even people who never caught Covid-19 may have aged mentally faster during the pandemic, according to new brain scan research. This large UK study shows how the stress, isolation, and upheaval of lockdowns may have aged our brains, especially in older adults, men, and disadvantaged individuals. While infection itself impacted some thinking skills, even those who stayed virus-free showed signs of ...

July 24, 2025 — Scientists in Switzerland have cracked open a century-old viral mystery by decoding the genome of the 1918 influenza virus from a preserved Zurich patient. This ancient RNA revealed that the virus had already adapted to humans at the very start of the pandemic, carrying mutations that made it both more infectious and more immune-resistant. By ...

July 24, 2025 — HIV antivirals may be the key to stopping HTLV-1, a deadly virus with no cure. In a decade-long study, researchers successfully suppressed the virus in mice and discovered a way to kill infected cells, offering hope for the first preventative and curative ...

July 23, 2025 — Imagine concrete that not only survives wildfires and extreme weather, but heals itself and absorbs carbon from the air. Scientists at USC have created an AI model called Allegro-FM that simulates billions of atoms at once, helping design futuristic materials like carbon-neutral concrete. This tech could transform cities by reducing emissions, extending building lifespans, and mimicking the ...

July 20, 2025 — Scientists have used DNA's self-assembling properties to engineer intricate moiré superlattices at the nanometer scale—structures that twist and layer like never before. With clever molecular “blueprints,” they’ve created customizable lattices featuring patterns such as honeycombs and squares, all with remarkable precision. These new ...

July 19, 2025 — Scientists have cracked a century-old physics mystery by detecting magnetic signals in non-magnetic metals using only light and a revamped laser technique. Previously undetectable, these faint magnetic “whispers” are now measurable, revealing hidden patterns of electron behavior. The breakthrough could revolutionize how we explore magnetism in everyday materials—without bulky instruments or ...

July 17, 2025 — Using advanced metasurfaces, researchers can now twist light to uncover hidden images and detect molecular handedness, potentially revolutionizing data encryption, biosensing, and drug ...

July 23, 2025 — Scientists in Svalbard were shocked to find rain and greenery instead of snow during Arctic winter fieldwork. The event highlights not just warming—but a full seasonal shift with major consequences for ecosystems, climate feedback, and research ...

July 23, 2025 — A colossal 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked central Myanmar in March 2025, marking the strongest quake in over a century. What makes this event groundbreaking isn't just the seismic power, it's the unprecedented footage captured by a CCTV camera near the fault line. Researchers at Kyoto University used this rare video to measure the fault's ...

July 22, 2025 — Ancient river landscapes buried beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet have been uncovered by radar, revealing vast, flat surfaces formed over 80 million years ago before Antarctica froze. These hidden features, stretching across 3,500 kilometers, are now acting as natural brakes on glacier flow, potentially moderating current ice loss. Their discovery adds a new piece to the puzzle of Earth's ...

July 21, 2025 — Millions of tons of plastic in the ocean aren't floating in plain sight—they're invisible. Scientists have now confirmed that the most abundant form of plastic in the Atlantic is in the form of nanoplastics, smaller than a micrometer. These particles are everywhere: in rain, rivers, and even the air. They may already be infiltrating entire ...

July 24, 2025 — A massive global survey has revealed that people with eating disorders often turn to cannabis and psychedelics like magic mushrooms and LSD to ease their symptoms, rating them more effective than traditional medications. Surprisingly, common prescriptions like antidepressants were seen as helpful for overall mental health but fell short for eating ...

July 24, 2025 — Even the most powerful AI models, including ChatGPT, can make surprisingly basic errors when navigating ethical medical decisions, a new study reveals. Researchers tweaked familiar ethical dilemmas and discovered that AI often defaulted to intuitive but incorrect responses—sometimes ignoring updated facts. The findings raise serious concerns about using AI for high-stakes health decisions and ...

July 24, 2025 — Even if you're cramming your workouts into the weekend, you might be doing your heart a big favor—especially if you have diabetes. A large study of over 50,000 adults with diabetes found that both “weekend warriors” and those who spread out their exercise during the week saw significant reductions in all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risks. Surprisingly, the pattern of exercise ...

July 22, 2025 — A surprising discovery from Emory University shows that psilocin, the active metabolite of psychedelic mushrooms, can delay cellular aging and extend lifespan. Human cells lived over 50% longer, and mice treated with psilocybin not only lived 30% longer but also looked and aged ...

July 19, 2025 — Erythritol, a widely used sugar substitute found in many low-carb and sugar-free products, may not be as harmless as once believed. New research from the University of Colorado Boulder reveals that even small amounts of erythritol can harm brain blood vessel cells, promoting constriction, clotting, and inflammation—all of which may raise the risk of ...

July 19, 2025 — A groundbreaking pilot in NHS dementia wards is using live music therapy—called MELODIC—to ease patient distress without relying on drugs. Developed by researchers and clinicians with input from patients and families, this low-cost approach embeds music therapists directly into care teams. Early results show improved patient wellbeing and less ...

July 18, 2025 — A massive European study has uncovered a powerful connection between hearing loss, loneliness, and memory decline. Researchers at the University of Geneva found that older adults with hearing impairments who also feel lonely—regardless of actual social isolation—experience faster cognitive ...

July 21, 2025 — People in richer countries aren t moving less they re just eating more. A new Duke study shows that diet, not laziness, is fueling the obesity epidemic across industrialized ...

July 17, 2025 — Premature menopause isn t just a hormonal issue it s a deeply emotional one for many women. A new study reveals that almost 30% experience depression, and it s not just about hormone loss but also grief, identity, and support ...

July 17, 2025 — Yoga, Tai Chi, walking, and jogging may be some of the best natural remedies for improving sleep and tackling insomnia, according to a large analysis comparing various treatments. While cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) remains effective, exercise-based approaches—especially Tai Chi—were shown to deliver significant improvements in total sleep time, efficiency, and reducing how long people ...

July 16, 2025 — Struggling to sleep might be the hidden reason why adults with ADHD traits often feel less satisfied with life. New research reveals a strong link between insomnia and reduced well-being in people with ADHD symptoms, suggesting a vicious cycle where poor sleep worsens attention and emotional issues, and vice ...

July 14, 2025 — Scientists in China have developed a precise method to grow titanium dioxide nanorod arrays with controllable spacing, independent of rod size. This innovation boosts solar cell efficiency by allowing light capture and charge movement to be ...

July 14, 2025 — Researchers have cracked a fundamental optical challenge: how to control both angle and wavelength of light independently—a problem that’s limited imaging and display technologies for years. By harnessing the power of radiation directionality and engineering bilayer metagratings with unique symmetry properties, they’ve decoupled these two ...

July 12, 2025 — Researchers at the University of Illinois have pulled off a laser first: they built a new kind of eye-safe laser that works at room temperature, using a buried layer of glass-like material instead of the usual air holes. This design not only boosts laser performance but also opens the door to safer and more precise uses in defense, autonomous vehicles, and advanced sensors. It’s a breakthrough ...

July 2, 2025 — UF engineers, backed by DARPA and NASA, are perfecting laser-forming techniques that let metal sheets fold themselves into giant solar arrays, antennas, and even space-station parts right in orbit—sidestepping rocket size limits and paving the way for sustainable off-Earth ...

June 25, 2025 — Imagine printing your Martian home from dust, sunlight, and a bit of biology. A new synthetic lichen system uses fungi and bacteria to grow building materials directly from Martian soil, completely autonomously and without human ...

June 24, 2025 — Lichen from the Mojave Desert has stunned scientists by surviving months of lethal UVC radiation, suggesting life could exist on distant planets orbiting volatile stars. The secret? A microscopic “sunscreen” layer that protects their vital cells—even though Earth’s atmosphere already filters out such ...

June 11, 2025 — By using a clever quantum approach that involves two "hands" on a clock one moving quickly and invisibly in the quantum world, the other more traditionally scientists have found a way to boost timekeeping precision dramatically. Even better, this trick doesn't require a matching increase in energy use. The discovery not only challenges long-held beliefs about how clocks and physics work, but ...

July 20, 2025 — Researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have made a promising breakthrough in memory technology by using a nickel-tungsten alloy called Ni₄W. This material shows powerful magnetic control properties that can significantly reduce energy use in electronic devices. Unlike conventional materials, Ni₄W allows for "field-free" ...

July 10, 2025 — A groundbreaking step in AI hardware efficiency comes from Germany, where scientists have engineered a vast spin waveguide network that processes information with far less energy. These spin waves quantum ripples in magnetic materials offer a promising alternative to power-hungry ...

July 8, 2025 — Neural networks first treat sentences like puzzles solved by word order, but once they read enough, a tipping point sends them diving into word meaning instead—an abrupt “phase transition” reminiscent of water flashing into steam. By revealing this hidden switch, researchers open a window into how transformer models such as ChatGPT grow smarter and hint at new ways to make them leaner, ...

July 7, 2025 — Researchers have developed an ultra-thin drumhead-like membrane that lets sound signals, or phonons, travel through it with astonishingly low loss, better than even electronic circuits. These near-lossless vibrations open the door to new ways of transferring information in systems like quantum computers or ultra-sensitive biological ...

July 21, 2025 — Gene editing may hold the key to rescuing endangered species—not just by preserving them, but by restoring their lost genetic diversity using DNA from museum specimens and related species. Scientists propose a visionary framework that merges biotechnology with traditional conservation, aiming to give struggling populations like Mauritius’ pink pigeon a fighting chance against extinction. From ...

July 19, 2025 — Romaine lettuce has a long history of E. coli outbreaks, but scientists are zeroing in on why. A new study reveals that the way lettuce is irrigated—and how it’s kept cool afterward—can make all the difference. Spraying leaves with untreated surface water is a major risk factor, while switching to drip or furrow irrigation cuts contamination dramatically. Add in better cold storage from ...

July 16, 2025 — Hawaiian coral reefs may face unprecedented ocean acidification within 30 years, driven by carbon emissions. A new study by University of Hawai‘i researchers shows that even under conservative climate scenarios, nearshore waters will change more drastically than reefs have experienced in thousands of years. Some coral species may adapt, offering a glimmer of hope, but others may face critical ...

July 21, 2025 — Beneath Yellowstone’s stunning surface lies a hyperactive seismic world, now better understood thanks to machine learning. Researchers have uncovered over 86,000 earthquakes—10 times more than previously known—revealing chaotic swarms moving along rough, young fault lines. With these new insights, we’re getting closer to decoding Earth’s volcanic heartbeat and improving how we predict ...

July 19, 2025 — Clear-cutting forests doesn’t just raise flood risk — it can supercharge it. UBC researchers found that in certain watersheds, floods became up to 18 times more frequent and over twice as severe after clear-cutting, with these effects lasting more than four decades. The surprise? Terrain details like which direction a slope faces played a huge role in flood behavior. Conventional models miss ...

July 16, 2025 — An ancient glacier high in the French Alps has revealed the oldest known ice in Western Europe—dating back over 12,000 years to the last Ice Age. This frozen archive, meticulously analyzed by scientists, captures a complete chemical and atmospheric record spanning humanity’s transition from hunter-gatherers to modern industry. The core ...

July 16, 2025 — Twenty-five years after first warning that oil spills would wane while invasive species and climate impacts would surge, an international team revisits its coastal forecasts and finds many bull's-eyes, alongside surprising misses. Plastic pollution, ocean acidification, and sensory pollution have risen faster than imagined, even as strong treaties curbed chemicals like TBT. The scientists argue ...

July 11, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered DNA from 214 ancient pathogens in prehistoric humans, including the oldest known evidence of plague. The findings show zoonotic diseases began spreading around 6,500 years ago, likely triggered by farming and animal domestication. These ancient infections may still influence us today, and help guide the vaccines of ...

July 3, 2025 — When Siberian volcanoes kicked off the Great Dying, the real climate villain turned out to be the rainforests themselves: once they collapsed, Earth’s biggest carbon sponge vanished, CO₂ rocketed, and a five-million-year heatwave followed. Fossils from China and clever climate models now link that botanical wipe-out to runaway warming, hinting ...

June 3, 2025 — Collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could be triggered with very little ocean warming above present-day, leading to a devastating four meters of global sea level rise to play out over hundreds of years according to a new study. However, the authors emphasize that immediate actions to reduce emissions could still avoid a catastrophic ...

June 3, 2025 — A new study has finally confirmed the theory that the cause of extraordinary global tremors in September -- October 2023 was indeed two mega tsunamis in Greenland that became trapped standing waves. Using a brand-new type of satellite altimetry, the researchers provide the first observations to confirm the existence of these waves whose behavior is entirely ...

July 14, 2025 — A massive spike in young children accidentally ingesting nicotine pouches has alarmed poison control researchers, with a 763% rise reported between 2020 and 2023. Unlike other nicotine products, these pouches have quickly become the most dangerous form ingested, often leading to hospital visits. Experts say appealing packaging and flavors are part ...

July 13, 2025 — Movement helps your mood, but it's not one-size-fits-all. Exercising for fun, with friends, or in enjoyable settings brings greater mental health benefits than simply moving for chores or obligations. Researchers emphasize that context — who you're with, why you're exercising, and even the weather — can make or break the mood-boosting ...

July 7, 2025 — Feeling jittery as the week kicks off isn’t just a mood—it leaves a biochemical footprint. Researchers tracked thousands of older adults and found those who dread Mondays carry elevated cortisol in their hair for months, a stress echo that may help explain the well-known Monday heart-attack spike. Even retirees aren’t spared, hinting that society’s calendar, not the workplace alone, wires ...

June 3, 2025 — The effects of artificial intelligence on adolescents are nuanced and complex, according to a new report that calls on developers to prioritize features that protect young people from exploitation, manipulation and the erosion of real-world ...

May 26, 2025 — A new study examines the emergence of overimitation in infants aged between 16 and 21 months to see if and how it is linked to social affiliation and other forms of imitation. The researchers found that young children engaged in low rates of overimitation and that it was not driven by in-group preference -- meaning they were not acting to please ...

May 26, 2025 — A new study says students appear to be using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) responsibly, and as a way to speed up tasks, not just boost their ...

May 22, 2025 — As the US national debate intensifies around immigration, a new study is challenging conventional wisdom about 'brain drain'--the idea that when skilled workers emigrate from developing countries, their home economies ...

May 27, 2025 — A new study shows that people who proactively reorganise their family routines -- such as adjusting childcare schedules or redistributing domestic responsibilities -- are more likely to demonstrate adaptability and innovation at ...

May 21, 2025 — The way people express emotions while helping others can influence whether their assistance is welcomed, resented, or reciprocated, according to new ...

May 14, 2025 — Being appreciated by colleagues can help employees cope with negative experiences at work, according to a new study. Researchers found that employees experience 'embitterment' -- an emotional response to perceived workplace injustice -- on days when they are assigned more unreasonable tasks than usual. This negative emotion not only affects their work but also spills over into their personal ...

Apr. 14, 2025 — The UK government needs to go beyond offering subsidies for low-carbon technologies (LCTs) like electric cars and solar panels for energy and heating, if it is to meet its net-zero targets by 2050, a report ...