Scientists use lasers to determine the age of sharks
Not many scientific studies sound like a Bond film, but ours really does involve lasers, sharks and doctors (of research, not the evil kind).
Headlines
- All
- Africa
- Asia
- Business
- Culture
- Environment
- Europe
- Gaming
- Markets
- Middle East
- Movies & TV
- Music
- Politics
- Science
- South America
- Tech
- World News
Nocturnal migratory birds follow rhythm of the moon, study shows
Moonlight determines when the red-necked nightjar feeds, migrates and raises its young. A groundbreaking long-term study from Lund University shows how the migratory bird's entire annual cycle follows the moon's rhythm.
A simple filter swap could advance marine eDNA biomonitoring
Researchers at Aarhus University have demonstrated that a simple adjustment to water filtration methods can dramatically improve the detection of marine animal DNA when using advanced, PCR-free sequencing. This methodological optimization could help clear a major bottleneck in
Digging deeper: How to protect pets from the New World screwworm
Pet owners may be diligent about routine care, but even a minor wound can put animals at risk for dangerous parasites. One parasite that poses a potential threat is the New World screwworm (NWS), a parasitic fly whose larvae infest wounds and can result in significant tissue
How a vision-restoring gene therapy proved that we can treat inherited diseases
Three 2026 Breakthrough Prize winners reflect on developing Luxturna, a gene therapy that treats blindness caused by rare inherited eye diseases
Metallic scorpion stingers, preeclampsia hope, canceled wind energy projects
A look at what makes scorpions so deadly, why there’s hope for preeclampsia and how President Trump is gutting wind energy
Astronomers explore the surface composition of a nearby super-Earth
Using MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) on board the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team of researchers led by former MPIA (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany) Ph.D. student Sebastian Zieba (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge,
Novel wheat hybrids increase resistance to major fungal disease by up to 70%
A new experimental study has identified a novel genetic locus in a common agricultural weed, Elymus repens, that provides significant resistance to the destructive fungal disease Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) and has now been successfully transferred into wheat to produce FHB
Weight loss drug Ozempic linked to lower depression and anxiety risk
GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide—best known for treating diabetes and driving weight loss under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy—may also deliver a surprising mental health boost. In a massive study tracking nearly 100,000 people over more than a decade, researchers found that
Smart underwear detects lactose intolerance by tracking your farts
A device you attach to your underwear reveals how often you really break wind – and it’s probably more frequently than you think
Alzheimer’s drugs may not work and could raise brain risks
Drugs designed to clear amyloid beta from the brain—once seen as a promising path to slowing Alzheimer’s—may not actually help patients in any meaningful way, according to a major review of over 20,000 participants. Even more concerning, they may increase the risk of brain
Evolution isn’t random. Scientists find the same genes used for 120 million years
Evolution seems to follow a script more often than expected. Researchers found that distantly related butterflies and moths have reused the same pair of genes for over 120 million years to produce strikingly similar warning colors. Rather than altering the genes themselves,
They look like healthy motivation, but these viral posts may do more harm than good for young adults
Social media is filled with posts about fitness and healthy eating aiming to inspire and encourage better lifestyles. However, a new large review study led by an Olympic athlete reveals that this seemingly motivational content can sometimes have unexpected negative impacts on
UK's national soil database released as open-access repository
Cranfield University has launched a new soil and environmental online database and mapping tool, opening up detailed information about land in England and Wales. In collaboration with Defra, Cranfield's Land Information System (LandISPortal)—which includes the National Soil Map
Understanding canine distemper virus and increased risk during summer
With longer days, warmer weather and a little more breathing room in the schedule, summer often feels like the perfect time to bring home a new dog.
Deadly droughts and floods wipe out young California salmon en route to Pacific
Salmon are becoming river "ghosts" as brutal droughts and violent floods cause unprecedented losses on their treacherous journey to the Pacific Ocean, scientists say. A study led by the University of Essex; NOAA Fisheries; University of California, Davis; and Cramer Fish
Study warns cost-cutting use of generative AI could increase cyber-attack risks
Newly published research from a leading computer scientist warns that the use of generative AI to design, train, or perform steps within a machine learning system could increase serious risks. Michael Lones, professor at Heriot-Watt University's School of Mathematical and
Rising temperatures could be driving up antibiotic resistance in soil, 11-year study finds
Every year, millions suffer, and thousands lose their lives to infections that were once easily treatable with the right dose of medication. The drugs are the same; human physiology is the same; the only difference is that microbes, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, have
Synthetic biology promised to rewrite life—with the death of its pioneer, J. Craig Venter, how close are scientists?
When scientist J. Craig Venter and his team announced in 2010 that they had created the first cell controlled by a fully synthetic genome, it marked a turning point in how scientists think about life.
Scientists just discovered what coffee is really doing to your gut and brain
Coffee doesn’t just energize—it actively reshapes the gut and mind. Researchers found that both caffeinated and decaf coffee altered gut bacteria in ways linked to better mood and lower stress. Decaf even improved learning and memory, while caffeine boosted focus and reduced
Malaria didn’t just kill early humans, it shaped who we became
Long before humans spread across the globe, a deadly disease may have quietly shaped where our ancestors lived—and even how we evolved. New research reveals that malaria didn’t just threaten early human survival; it actively pushed populations away from high-risk regions across
How a newly discovered organelle could help reduce cow methane emissions
When cows burp, they send a substantial amount of methane gas into the air, which makes them a leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. According to research published in the journal Science, a newly discovered hydrogen-producing structure within the microbes of cow
Cities are getting hotter—and bigger. New research reveals the scale of the challenge
We tend to think of climate change impacts as dramatic and destructive. Storms and floods that bring down landslides and swamp streets, or raging wildfires that tear through forests and farmland.
The creepy feeling in old buildings might have a surprising cause
A hidden force may be quietly shaping how you feel—and you’d never even know it. Infrasound, an ultra-low-frequency vibration below the range of human hearing, is everywhere from traffic to old buildings. In a small experiment, people exposed to it became more irritable, less
'GangTok': Insights into the presence of gang culture on TikTok
In a new study, a University of Cincinnati sociologist and his research team are shedding light on how TikTok content produced by gang members could be used to better inform law enforcement and policymakers for more appropriate action. The team led by John Leverso, an assistant
New imaging method maps reversed DNA replication forks in single cells
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed a new imaging method, known as RF-SIRF, that quantitatively detects and maps reversed DNA replication forks with single-cell resolution. The results also demonstrated a unique epigenetic code for
Physicists just found a tiny flaw in time itself
Physicists are rethinking one of quantum mechanics’ biggest puzzles: how fuzzy possibilities become definite reality. New research suggests that spontaneous “collapse” processes—possibly linked to gravity—could subtly blur time itself. This wouldn’t affect clocks we use today,
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks this week—here’s how to get the best view
This annual meteor shower occurs as Earth passes through the dusty debris left behind by Halley’s Comet as it journeys around the sun
Scientists found the brain doesn’t start blank, it starts full
The brain’s memory center may begin life more like a crowded web than an empty canvas. Researchers discovered that early neural networks in the hippocampus are dense and seemingly random, then become more organized by shedding connections over time. This pruning process creates