Science News

A nuclear war between India and Pakistan could destroy the ozone layer

Climate models suggest a small nuclear war in the tropics would do even more damage to the ozone layer than a larger…

Oh good, screwworms are back (2025)

# Summary The New World Screwworm, a parasitic fly that lays eggs in living animals' wounds causing them to be eaten…

Avalanche’s desktop fusion reactor delivers blistering-hot plasma

Fusion power startup Avalanche Energy said its reactor prototype heated a plasma to over 10 million degrees C.

Iron Age Britons may have removed the brains of the dead

Scrape marks inside a skull and sharpened limb bones in a set of remains found in Scotland may be evidence of unusual…

Three key vital signs make up the "urban pulse" of a city

Cities are dynamic, not static grids, and urbanization is a "spiky," cyclical, and asynchronous process.

Commonwealth Fusion makes the physics case for its 400 MW reactor

Five peer-reviewed papers update the design and model its expected output.

NASA assigns crew for Artemis III, sets aggressive timeline for flying it

"Artemis III will be an extraordinary demonstration of what is possible."

Nasa names next astronauts for Artemis Moon programme

Nasa names its next Artemis crew, though they will not be walking on the Moon or even going anywhere near it.

Who's the smartest corvid?

Screwworms in US: Human risk is low—but they can burrow through your skull

The chances are low, but not zero.

Frozen squirrel scat preserves ancient DNA from hundreds of species

A complex ecosystem of woolly mammoths, bison, horses and big cats has been elucidated by studying the faeces of small…

The last-ditch plan to save coral reefs from utter destruction

Bleaching has devastated reefs around the world, raising fears of an irreversible shift.

Using Optical Aberrations to Distinguish Real Astronomical Transients

Researcher Ivo Busko demonstrates that fast astronomical transients detected in 1950s Palomar photographic plates…

Solar Energy Saves Europeans $135M a Day

Europe's extensive solar installations are saving the continent over $135 million daily by reducing reliance on fossil…

Gold isn’t inert, it just has bodyguards protecting it

Individual gold atoms move around to form oxidation-proof structures.

Dinosaur-killing asteroid impact site stayed hot for millions of years

Drill cores at the impact site of the Chicxulub asteroid show evidence that, alongside widespread destruction, the…

A cosmic case of mistaken identity that can only be solved right now

Brown dwarfs are somewhere between the size of a planet and a star, so how could we have potentially mistaken two of…

Forever Young: how one molecule can lock plants in a youthful state.(2025)

Biologist Scott Poethig discovered that a single molecule called miR156 acts as a genetic switch controlling when plants…

Why we should all take quantum physics extremely personally

Physics is considered a cold, hard science – but it will transform your life if you view it with a bit more…

Hundreds of aftershocks jolt Philippines as officials say death toll could rise

Dozens of people are dead and hundreds more injured following an earthquake in the country's south.

A giant star may have destroyed itself in one of the rarest explosions

Artemis II crew flew fast, earned new patch: Astronauts' Mach 39 emblem

"It is actually challenging how you measure [Mach] from space."

Why are cells small?

Cells are constrained to small sizes primarily by two physical limitations: the surface area-to-volume ratio, which…

Watch: Southern Lights timelapse filmed from space

This occurrence of aurora australis, or Southern Lights, was captured by NASA astronaut Jessica Meir.

Your empty cuppa could capture carbon

Polystyrene can be upcycled into carbon sponge material.

What really happened when ancient humans migrated out of Africa

The out-of-Africa migration, in which ancient humans went on to inhabit every other continent except Antarctica, may not…

What is a ‘normal’ memory slowdown, and when should I worry?

Lapses in memory are a normal part of ageing but can also be signs of dementia.

Wildlife thrives in solar farm built on restored peatland

A diverse range of bird species has been recorded at a solar park on rewetted peatland in Germany, suggesting that…

A Falcon 9 booster turns 5 years old—and just set a remarkable reuse record

We take the Falcon 9 rocket for granted. But we probably shouldn't.