How government use of AI could hurt democracy
Countries are eager to use AI to automate some government processes, but this risks eroding citizens’ trust and feelings of democratic control – because AI mistakes can ruin their lives
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We may have finally solved an ultra-high-energy cosmic ray puzzle
The IceCube neutrino detector has allowed researchers to resolve a debate about what types of particles make up ultra-high-energy cosmic rays – but much remains unknown about these rare events
Cutting to the core of how 3D structure shapes gene activity
In biology textbooks and beyond, the human genome and DNA therein typically are taught in only one dimension. While it can be helpful for learners to begin with the linear presentation of how stretches of DNA form genes, this oversimplification undersells the significance of
Antibody mapping chip speeds up vaccine research by revealing hidden binding sites quickly
A new microchip invented by Scripps Research scientists can reveal how a person's antibodies interact with viruses—using just a drop of blood. The technology offers researchers faster, clearer insights that could help accelerate vaccine development and antibody discovery.
Exploring animal life in the radioactive shadows of Chornobyl and Fukushima
A team of researchers in France are building on fundamental experimental research undertaken in the Ukrainian Chornobyl exclusion zone with a new project in the Japanese Fukushima Prefecture to further our understanding of what it means for animals to live and reproduce in
Elon Musk's New Grok 4 Takes on ‘Humanity’s Last Exam’ as the AI Race Heats Up
Elon Musk has launched xAI’s Grok 4—calling it the “world’s smartest AI” and claiming it can ace Ph.D.-level exams and outpace rivals such as Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s o3 on tough benchmarks
Polar vortex patterns explain shifting US winter cold despite warming climate
Despite a warming climate, bone-chilling winter cold can grip parts of the U.S. In a study appearing in Science Advances, researchers found that two specific patterns in the polar vortex, a swirling mass of cold air high in the stratosphere, steer extreme cold to different
Polymer coating extends half life of MXene-based air quality sensor by 200% and enables regeneration
Cleaning products, candles, cribs, and cosmetics are just a few of the common household items that emit formaldehyde, a colorless, odorless chemical that, when present in the air at levels higher than 0.1 parts per million, has been found to be a risk to human health.
Part of Grand Canyon evacuated as wildfire spreads
Spreading wildfires forced the evacuation on Friday of part of the famed Grand Canyon, with the US National Park Service appealing for visitors to stay calm.
Sled dog genetic history sheds light on human migration patterns into Greenland
The histories of sled dogs and humans in the Arctic have been intricately linked for thousands of years, so it is no surprise that the migration patterns of these dogs mirror those of humans through the Arctic. Sled dogs have assisted humans with the difficult tasks of
A newly discovered interstellar object might predate the solar system
3I/ATLAS might be over 7 billion years old, a new study reports, which would make it the oldest comet known. But experts caution we need more data.
Marjorie Taylor Greene Plans Hearing on Geoengineering amid Cloud Seeding Conspiracy Theories
Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has said she will hold a hearing on geoengineering as conspiracy theories have swirled around cloud seeding after the recent floods in Texas
3I/ATLAS: Scientific paper details what's known about the third-ever interstellar object
When the news started to spread on July 1, 2025, about a new object that was spotted from outside our solar system, only the third of its kind ever known, astronomers at Michigan State University—along with a team of international researchers—turned their telescopes to capture
Sustainable food safety means managing risk, not erasing it
In an ideal world, every piece of food we eat would be free of pathogens at all times. In the real world, though, where 600 million people contract a foodborne illness every year, this just isn't the case. In fact, it's impossible—microbes are just too ubiquitous, and food
Polyethylene packaging may have lower global warming impact than alternatives, study finds
A new Europe-focused study reveals that polyethylene (PE), the most widely used packaging material in Europe, has lower life cycle global warming potential (GWP)—often used to assess greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—than conventional packaging alternatives, such as paper, metals,
Some sharks in the north Atlantic may delay their fall migrations south
Certain migratory species of sharks may remain swimming and feeding in Atlantic Ocean waters in areas of the northeast coast for longer periods of time later into fall before they head toward southern waters. Led by researchers in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
How the genome defends itself against internal enemies
An international research team has deciphered a mechanism of the evolutionary arms race in human cells. The findings provide insights into how mobile elements in DNA hijack cellular functions—and how cells can defend themselves against this in order to prevent conditions such
Time machine in drones? Photorealistic depiction shows Great Hungarian Plain before water regulations
Many of us have wondered what a landscape we see in a modern photograph might have looked like centuries ago. This question is especially intriguing when we know that the scenery has been radically transformed by human intervention over the past centuries.
Homelessness Prevention Unit participants 71% less likely to enter a shelter, study finds
A new report from the California Policy Lab at UCLA shows promising early results from Los Angeles County's Homelessness Prevention Unit (HPU). The report found that people in the HPU program were 71% less likely to enter a homeless shelter or have contact with street outreach
Europe's first deep-space optical communication link
The European Space Agency (ESA) successfully established a transmission-reception optical link with NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment onboard its Psyche mission, located 265 million kilometers away, using two optical ground stations developed for this
Sparking new ideas on how wildfire influences climate
Wildfires have spread across the planet for millennia, but they are increasing as the climate warms. Decimated forests, depleted crops, and destroyed buildings are the hallmark of wildfire devastation. Another is the effect on air quality and even the entire climate system.
Black and minoritized people feel forced to disguise their identities
A groundbreaking analysis of 750,000 household records by Heriot-Watt University reveals Black families accepted as statutorily homeless are less than half as likely to gain social housing as their white counterparts.
Artificial sweeteners leave bitter aftertaste for the environment
New research has found increasing levels of artificial sweeteners in wastewater treatment plants, with downstream impacts on the environment.
Narcissism and other dark personality traits linked to AI cheating in art universities
In many countries, there is an academic cheating crisis with students misusing artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT to write essays, dissertations and other assignments. According to new research, certain personality traits make some students more likely to pass off
Higgs-boson properties clarified through decay pattern analysis
The ATLAS collaboration finds evidence of Higgs-boson decays to muons and improves sensitivity to Higgs-boson decays to a Z boson and a photon.
The KATRIN experiment sets new constraints on general neutrino interactions
Neutrinos are elementary particles that are predicted to be massless by the standard model of particle physics, yet their observed oscillations suggest that they do in fact have a mass, which is very low. A further characteristic of these particles is that they only weakly
The Biggest-Ever Digital Camera Is This Cosmologist’s Magnum Opus
Tony Tyson’s cameras revealed the universe’s dark contents. Now, with the Rubin Observatory’s 3.2-billion-pixel camera, he’s ready to study dark matter and dark energy in unprecedented detail. The post The Biggest-Ever Digital Camera Is This Cosmologist’s Magnum Opus first
Less hype, more drama: AI and the changing discourse of global news coverage
A new journal article by a researcher at the University of Manchester offers insight into how artificial intelligence (AI) is portrayed in leading newspapers worldwide, revealing a more nuanced and critical approach than previously assumed.
Gut microbes may flush ‘forever chemicals’ from the body
Experiments in mice show that some gut bacteria can absorb toxic PFAS chemicals, allowing animals to expel them through feces.
Celebrate the JWST's third anniversary with this stunning image
On July 11, 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope finished its commissioning and commenced science operations. In the three years since, the powerful infrared space telescope has delivered on its promise. It's looked back in time and surprised us with the galaxies it found. It's
Whitefish decline a 'big' problem in Great Lakes, biologist says
The story of Great Lakes whitefish is not a happy one, state fish biologist Stephen Lenart warned on July 10, but it needs to be told as their numbers decline.
Heterometallic nanosheets containing multiple metal ions achievable through new technique
Coordination nanosheets are a unique class of two-dimensional (2D) materials that are formed by coordination bonds between planar organic ligands and metal ions. These 2D nanomaterials are increasingly utilized in energy storage, electronic devices, and as electrode-based
Plant phototropism regulated by acetylation–phosphorylation cross-talk, study finds
Plant phototropism—directional growth in response to light—serves as a key adaptive mechanism, optimizing photosynthesis and development. Central to this process is phototropin 1 (phot1), a primary blue light photoreceptor that mediates light perception and subsequent
NASA selects instruments for Artemis lunar terrain vehicle
NASA has selected three instruments to travel to the moon, with two planned for integration onto an LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) and one for a future orbital opportunity.
Data transfer speeds increase significantly through new optical chip design
Artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT are notorious for being power-hungry. To tackle this challenge, a team from the Center for Optics, Photonics and Lasers (COPL) has come up with an optical chip that can transfer massive amounts of data at ultra-high speed. As thin as
Indian Ocean fisheries play outsized role in nutritional security
A new study by an international team of researchers has revealed the huge role Indian Ocean fisheries play in feeding the world and supporting nutritional security.
Guests at a feast in Iran's Zagros Mountains 11,000 years ago brought wild boars from all across the land
Have you ever stopped by the grocery store on your way to a dinner party to grab a bottle of wine? Did you grab the first one you saw, or did you pause to think about the available choices and deliberate over where you wanted your gift to be from?
A parasitic worm may help rebuild blue crab populations in the Chesapeake Bay
Parasitic, egg-eating worms might sound like the stuff of nightmares, but they're simply a fact of life for blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay.
Four fungi related to species that hijack brains of insects discovered in Thailand
The cordyceps species in "The Last of Us," Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, is real and does exactly what the show purports —just not in humans, according to medical experts.
Plastic-based spectrometers offer low-cost, compact solution for broadband spectral imaging
A multinational research team, including engineers from the University of Cambridge and Zhejiang University, has developed a breakthrough in miniaturized spectrometer technology that could dramatically expand the accessibility and functionality of spectral imaging in everyday
Mantle's hidden role in tungsten formation upends long-held geological theories
Tungsten (W), a hard, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant metal, is indispensable to modern high-tech industries—from aerospace and defense to computing. While its global distribution is uneven, most tungsten deposits share defining geological traits: close ties to highly
New AI tool models protein dynamics, aiding drug discovery and protein research
A major scientific advance in protein modeling developed by Microsoft Research AI for Science, has been published in Science. The study introduces BioEmu, a generative deep learning system that emulates the equilibrium behavior of proteins with unprecedented speed and accuracy.
Muscle-like gel polymer gets stronger with a new recipe
A new recipe, or design guidelines, for a self-strengthening muscle-like hydrogel has been developed through strategic integration of computational, information, and experimental research. The resulting gel exhibits rapid reinforcement under mechanical stress with improved
Novel tool to study stress-dependent subcellular protein localization changes
Using a high-throughput fluorescence microscopy system and machine learning algorithms, oxidative stress-related changes in protein localization have been mapped by researchers from Japan. Furthermore, a comprehensive database called Localizatome has been developed by compiling
Retarding corrosion of a magnesium alloy using a polymer coating in dynamic electrolyte flow conditions
Imagine going through a surgery where the doctor proposes the use of a temporary implant that dissolves by itself with time in the human body, thereby avoiding a painful second surgery. As great as that would sound, the challenges are plenty when it comes to designing an
Artificial cooling 'urgent' for Great Barrier Reef after warming spike
A drop in shipping emissions has caused a surge in warming at the Great Barrier Reef, fuelling calls for drastic actions such as marine cloud brightening to lower the risk of coral bleaching
New Horizons visited Pluto 10 years ago. We’re still learning from it
Over the past decade, researchers have been puzzling through Pluto’s mysteries. Meanwhile, the New Horizons probe heads for interstellar space.
Waste Wars Tracks the 'Wild Afterlife' of Garbage on an International Black Market
Alexander Clapp, author of new nonfiction book 'Waste Wars,' tracks the world-wide blackmarket trade of our garbage
Climate could warm another 0.5°C if we fail to capture far more CO2
Models suggest that meeting climate targets will be virtually impossible without steep emissions cuts paired with a huge expansion of carbon management technologies
Trees on city streets cope with drought by drinking from leaky pipes
Urban trees lining streets fare better in dry spells than those in parks – now it seems that leaky water pipes are the reason for their endurance
