Mars may look like a quiet, dusty world, but it’s actually buzzing with hidden electrical activity. Powerful dust storms and swirling dust devils generate static electricity strong enough to spark faint glowing discharges across the planet, triggering chemical reactions that
Scientists have created an artificial saliva using a sugarcane protein that can protect teeth and fight bacteria. The key ingredient, CANECPI-5, binds directly to enamel, forming a shield against acids that cause decay. Early tests show it works even better when paired with
Modern food systems may look stable on the surface, but they are increasingly dependent on digital systems that can quietly become a major point of failure. Today, food must be “recognized” by databases and automated platforms to be transported, sold, or even released, meaning
A new study reveals that gut bacteria and metabolites may hold the key to detecting serious digestive diseases earlier and more easily. Using AI, scientists found that biomarkers linked to one condition can often predict others, showing these diseases are more interconnected
Scientists have taken a major step toward futuristic energy tech by building a working prototype of a quantum battery—one that can charge, store, and release energy using the strange rules of quantum physics instead of chemistry. This tiny, laser-powered device hints at a
Humans have always imagined the natural world. From Ice Age cave paintings to the modern day, we depict the animals and landscapes we value—and ignore those we don't.
A sweeping new study reveals that as Arctic permafrost thaws, it is dramatically reshaping rivers and releasing vast amounts of ancient carbon that had been locked away for thousands of years. By analyzing decades of high-resolution data across northern Alaska, scientists found
NASA officials and the crew are starting to prepare in earnest for Monday’s lunar flyby—while also trying to fix the toilet
Insects make up to 90% of all animal species on the planet, and most of them can be found in the tropics, the regions around the equator. Yet we still know surprisingly little about how these species will cope with rising temperatures driven by climate change.
In about 5 to 8 billion years, our sun is expected to evolve into a white dwarf—an extremely dense, Earth-sized stellar remnant that has exhausted its fuel and shed its outer layer. But while our sun is a solitary star, research over the past 15 years has demonstrated that
The Artemis II crew will spend about six hours on Monday observing the moon. Here’s what they’ll be looking for
Extreme heat kills more people in the U.S. each year than hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes combined. But how can we address a seemingly natural force? Heat can often seem solely weather-related, with policies trying to find a solution through temperature metrics, cooling
Animal life is extraordinarily diverse and complex, having colonized almost all environments on Earth—from hostile hydrothermal vents in the deep sea to the skies across our continents. But the planet was not always teeming with complex animal life. For the first 3.7 billion
Humor plays a vital role in helping older adults cope with the challenges of aging and staying socially connected, according to new research.
A quick heart trace taken during a warm-up trot could identify racehorses at risk of cardiac arrhythmias during high-intensity exercise, according to a new study led by the University of Surrey. The screening method analyzes short, routine electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings
Newly discovered fossils have given scientists their first real glimpse of when Earth made a crucial transition from plants and unrecognizably simple animals to the complex creatures that took over the world and would eventually lead to us.
It's a well-established fact that forests and water are deeply connected. For decades, paired-watershed experiments—a scientific method for evaluating land-use impacts on water quantity or quality—have shown that when we lose forests, the total amount of water flowing through
A research team has, for the first time in the world, elucidated the microscopic mechanism by which quantum order is lost and collapses in "open quantum environments" existing in nature. Since perfectly isolated quantum systems cannot exist in reality, this study is expected to
The butternut tree, a close relative of black walnut prized for its pale wood and wildlife value, is on the brink of disappearing from North American forests. A new study from Virginia Tech offers hope that the species could regain its foothold with help from modern data
New research from Michigan State University challenges the popular assumption that narcissists gradually damage their relationships over time.
When paper dries and is subsequently rewetted, its properties change permanently. This phenomenon is known as hornification. New research now shows that the process is more complex than previously assumed, and that temperature, humidity, and fiber type all play decisive roles.
Iridium is a key component in many electrochemical technologies used for chemical transformations. These include producing hydrogen fuel from water, manufacturing chlorine from seawater for use as a disinfectant and extracting metals from their ores. Yet scientists still know
As four astronauts whiz toward a flyby of the moon, looking out for them are mission control experts using cutting-edge technology and lessons learned from the Apollo program 50 years ago.
The White House budget proposal would also curb federal payments for scientific publishing
It's easy to take our eyes for granted. But our recent research shows they took an incredible evolutionary journey to reach their current familiar form.
The third day of the Artemis II mission was relatively quiet, as four astronauts trek out to fly around the moon
They're sipping smoothies, snapping phone pics, dealing with crashed email and fixing broken toilets: astronauts, they're just like us.
Many people think that occasional binge drinking is harmless if they otherwise drink in moderation, but new research suggests that assumption may be dangerously wrong. A large U.S. study found that people with metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a
Warming across the U.S. is far more uneven than it looks at first glance. While only about half of states show rising average temperatures, most are heating up in specific ways—like hotter highs or warmer lows. These hidden shifts vary by region, with the West seeing more
NASA is joining international partners to hunt for ice on the moon in support of future human exploration. The agency is providing a water-detecting instrument, the Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS), to the Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission led by JAXA (Japan Aerospace
You can track the start of spring and the phases of the moon—or you can turn to a formula by mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss
Astrocytes, once thought to be mere brain “support cells,” are now revealed to be key players in fear memory. Researchers found they actively help form, recall, and weaken fear responses by interacting with neurons in real time. Changing astrocyte activity directly altered how
The Artemis 2 astronauts have passed the halfway point between Earth and the moon on Saturday as they sped toward a planned lunar flyby, with NASA releasing initial images of Earth taken from inside the Orion spacecraft.
Artemis 2 astronaut Jeremy Hansen felt like he was "falling out of the sky" as his spacecraft followed its complex flight path to the moon, the Canadian said in a Saturday video call.
The Artemis II astronauts have captured our blue planet's brilliant beauty as they zoom ever closer to the moon.
When tourists travel to Seattle, it's common to take in the Space Needle and the downtown skyline from Puget Sound.
A new breakthrough is transforming MXenes—ultra-thin, high-tech materials—into something far more powerful and precise. Researchers have developed a cleaner, more controlled way to build these materials using molten salts and iodine, eliminating the messy chemical processes
Dying stars may be wiping out nearby giant planets as they expand into red giants. Astronomers found that these close-in planets become increasingly rare around more evolved stars, suggesting many have already been swallowed. The likely cause is a gravitational tug that drags
A group of undergraduate students stumbled into a cosmic time capsule—one of the oldest stars ever discovered—while combing through massive astronomy datasets. What began as a class project quickly turned into a breakthrough when they spotted an extraordinarily “pristine” star