When gigantism shapes the diet of a superpredator: The Japanese giant salamander’s spectacular transition
A study conducted by researchers at the University of Liège on a large population of Japanese giant salamanders—one of the largest amphibians in the world—reveals that above a certain size, a spectacular transition occurs in the diet of this species, propelling it to the top of the river food chain. The Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus)—an endemic and emblematic species of … ⌘ Read more

Peppermint oil plasma coating could cut catheter infections without releasing drugs
Australian researchers have developed a high‑performance coating made from peppermint essential oil that can be applied to the surfaces of many commonly used medical devices, offering a safer way to protect patients from infection and inflammation. ⌘ Read more

The coming end of ISS, symbol of an era of global cooperation
When the International Space Station comes back to Earth in 2030, it will mark the end of three decades of peaceful international cooperation—and an era when space became central to our daily lives. ⌘ Read more

AI foundation model aims to make stem cell therapies more predictable
One of the most enduring goals in regenerative medicine is deceptively simple: replace a person’s damaged or dying cells with healthy new ones grown in the laboratory. ⌘ Read more

Nanocrystal biohybrids harvest light to reduce N₂ gas to ammonia
Ammonia, a key part of nitrogen fertilizers, is central to sustaining global food production. However, its manufacture is also energy intensive: Ammonia production requires 2% of global energy to meet global demand. Approximately 170 million metric tons (50%) of the global supply of ammonia is produced by the Haber-Bosch process, a common industrial process. Biological nitrogen fixation produces the other 50% of the global amm … ⌘ Read more

Analysis reveals interhemispheric thermal imbalance as key to Asian-Australian monsoon variability
The Asian-Australian monsoon system (A-AuMS) is the world’s most typical cross-equatorial coupled monsoon system. On a seasonal timescale, the summer monsoon in one hemisphere is usually linked to the winter monsoon in the other via outflows. However, robust evidence is lacking as to whether such cross-equatorial monsoon coupling persists during orbital-scale paleoclimate evolution. A … ⌘ Read more

New briefing paper outlines concerns around TikTok moderation policies political influence, and election integrity
A new briefing paper produced by the London Social Media Observatory (LSMO) at Royal Holloway and Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) details emerging risks to democratic participation on TikTok. The LSMO and WFD brought together 45 policymakers, academics, civil society representatives and strategic advisors at a roundtable discussion to explore what the risks are and ho … ⌘ Read more

Genetic analysis of Deep Maniot Greeks reveals a unique lineage in the Balkans
A new genetic study has revealed that the people of Deep Mani, who inhabit one of the remotest regions of mainland Greece, represent one of the most genetically distinctive populations in Europe, shaped by more than a millennium of isolation. The findings, published in Communications Biology, reveal that many lineages can be traced back to the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman period of Greece. ⌘ Read more

Engineered antibody targets bacteria-specific sugar, clears lethal drug-resistant infection in mice
Australian researchers have developed a powerful new way to target deadly, drug-resistant bacteria by designing antibodies that recognize a sugar found only on bacterial cells—an advance that could underpin a new generation of immunotherapies for multidrug resistant hospital-acquired infections. ⌘ Read more

Medieval women used falconry to subvert gender norms
Hawks are taking cinematic flight. In two recent literary adaptations, they are entwined with the lives and emotions of their respective protagonists – Agnes Shakespeare (née Hathaway) and Helen Macdonald. ⌘ Read more

Not an artifact, but an ancestor: Why a German university is returning a Māori taonga
Restitution debates—the questions of whether a cultural object should be returned from a museum or other collection to a person or community—often begin with a deceptively simple question: Who owns an object? ⌘ Read more

Shrinking shellfish? Study uncovers acidic water risks in Indian River lagoon
Florida’s Indian River Lagoon (IRL), one of the state’s most ecologically productive estuaries, is facing a growing but invisible threat that could reshape its marine ecosystems. Over the past decade, the lagoon has suffered severe degradation caused by nutrient pollution, excessive freshwater runoff, harmful algal blooms (HABs), and declining water quality. These changes have led to the loss of tens of thousands of a … ⌘ Read more

Shared purpose outperforms specialization, study shows
A new study published in the Strategic Management Journal challenges long-standing assumptions about managerial specialization by examining when organizations perform better by having leaders collectively pursue multiple objectives rather than dividing responsibilities among them. Addressing the growing complexity of modern organizations—where financial, social, environmental, and technological goals increasingly coexist—the research introduces … ⌘ Read more

Angstrom-scale plasmonic gap boosts nonlinear light output by 2,000% per volt
Researchers at the Institute for Molecular Science (NINS, Japan) and SOKENDAI have demonstrated a more than 2000% voltage-induced enhancement of near-field nonlinear optical responses. To achieve this giant modulation, they focused on an angstrom-scale gap formed between a metallic tip and substrate in a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), which can strongly confine and enhance light intensity through plasmon excitation … ⌘ Read more

What are the warning signs of financial abuse?
Financial abuse is a common and often hidden type of abuse within family and domestic violence, characterized by behaviors that control, restrict, or hide money and financial information, frequently involving a person’s bank accounts, credit cards, tax filings, and business reporting systems. Financial abuse is a very particular subset of economic abuse. It’s an effective form of coercive control that restricts a person’s financial autonomy, decision-making capacity, and … ⌘ Read more

Banning lead in gas worked: The proof is in our hair
Prior to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, Americans lived in communities awash with lead from industrial sources, paint, water supply pipes and, most significantly, tailpipe emissions. A dangerous neurotoxin that accumulates in human tissues and is linked to developmental deficits in children, environmental lead levels have come way down in the years since, and so have human exposures. ⌘ Read more

Some tropical land may heat up nearly twice as much as oceans under climate change, sediment record suggests
Some tropical land regions may warm more dramatically than previously predicted, as climate change progresses, according to a new CU Boulder study that looks millions of years into Earth’s past. Using lake sediments from the Colombian Andes, researchers reveal that when the planet warmed millions of years ago under carbon dioxide levels similar to today’s, tropical land heated up nearly twice … ⌘ Read more

Air pollution causes social instability in ant colonies, triggering attacks on returning nest mates
A research team from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology has shown in a new study that ants returning from habitats affected by air pollution are attacked when they re-enter the colony. The cause: air pollution, especially ozone, changes the colony-specific odor profile of the animals. ⌘ Read more

As AI-generated music advances, humans still lead in creativity, research finds
AI can write songs, but still has a way to go before matching the creativity of tunes made by people, according to Carnegie Mellon University research. ⌘ Read more

Japan says rare earth found in sediment retrieved on deep-sea mission
Sediment containing rare earth was retrieved from ocean depths of 6,000 meters (about 20,000 feet) on a Japanese test mission, the government said Monday, as it seeks to curb dependence on China for the valuable minerals. ⌘ Read more

Single-cell microdevice isolates and profiles extracellular vesicles over weeks
Extracellular vesicles and particles are central to how cells communicate, especially in cancer, where they help shape metastasis and treatment resistance. However, most existing methods analyze vesicles in bulk, masking differences between individual cells. Some single-vesicle techniques offer particle-level detail but lose information about the cell that produced them. Other single-cell platforms face pr … ⌘ Read more

Satellite study reveals 24.2 billion ton annual groundwater loss in High Mountain Asia
A recent satellite-based study has uncovered alarming declines in groundwater storage across High Mountain Asia (HMA), widely known as the “Asian Water Tower.” This critical water source, which sustains agricultural irrigation, urban water supplies and ecological security for hundreds of millions of people in more than a dozen downstream countries, is depleting at a staggering rate of approximately 24.2 billion … ⌘ Read more

Two rare 5th millennium BC fetal burials in Iran reveal variable prehistoric practices
In a study conducted by Dr. Mahdi Alirezazadeh and Dr. Hanan Bahranipoor, published in Archaeological Research in Asia, two exceptionally well-preserved fetal burials from Chaparabad, Iran, dating to the mid-5th millennium BC, were analyzed including burial L522.1, one of the most complete prehistoric infant burials in the Iranian plateau. Despite being buried only meters apart, the two fetal burials exhibit distinct b … ⌘ Read more

Plastic pollution promotes hazardous water conditions, new study finds
Dangerous concentrations of algae such as “red tides” have been consistently emerging in locations around the world. A region in Southern Australia is experiencing a nine-month toxic algae bloom that spans thousands of miles and has caused thousands of deaths across marine species. Such harmful algal blooms (HABs) produce toxins that can force municipalities to close beaches and lakes due to public health risks. ⌘ Read more

First successful lab colony of polyphagous shot hole borer achieved in Western Australia
A major breakthrough has been achieved in the fight against the invasive polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB), Euwallacea fornicatus in Western Australia. Researchers at Murdoch University have successfully established the first stable laboratory colony of PSHB in the state. ⌘ Read more

More than half of transgender youth live in states with restrictive laws or policies
A report published today by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law shows that 53% of transgender youth between the ages of 13 and 17 in the U.S.—approximately 382,800 young people—live in 29 states with laws or policies that restrict their access to gender-affirming care, sports, bathrooms and facilities or restrict the use of gender-affirming pronouns in schools. ⌘ Read more

Light offers a non-invasive alternative to painkillers in veterinary medicine
Turning on the light to turn off pain: This is the principle behind a new analgesic method called light-induced analgesia (LIA), discovered by scientists from the CNRS1 in rodents. Noninvasive and drug-free, LIA proves to be more effective and longer-lasting than commonly used analgesics such as ibuprofen. The study was published in Nature Communications on 26 January 2026. ⌘ Read more

New 3D map of the sun’s magnetic interior could improve predictions of disruptive solar flares
For the first time, scientists have used satellite data to create a 3D map of the sun’s interior magnetic field, the fundamental driver of solar activity. The research, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, should enable more accurate predictions of solar cycles and space weather that affects satellites and power grids. ⌘ Read more

‘Negative viscosity’ helps propel groups of migrating cells, study finds
The cells in our bodies move in groups during biological processes such as wound healing and tissue development—but because of resistance, or viscosity, those cells can’t just neatly glide past each other. ⌘ Read more

How the 2024 presidential election may have changed behaviors around firearms
Firearm purchasing patterns can shift in response to specific events, including presidential elections, according to Rutgers Health researchers. ⌘ Read more

Puzzling slow radio pulses are coming from space. A new study could finally explain them
Cosmic radio pulses repeating every few minutes or hours, known as long-period transients, have puzzled astronomers since their discovery in 2022. Our new study, published in Nature Astronomy today, might finally add some clarity. ⌘ Read more

How a broken DNA repair tool accelerates aging
Although DNA is tightly packed and protected within the cell nucleus, it is constantly threatened by damage from normal metabolic processes or external stressors such as radiation or chemical substances. To counteract this, cells rely on an elaborate network of repair mechanisms. When these systems fail, DNA damage can accumulate, impair cellular function, and contribute to cancer, aging, and degenerative diseases. ⌘ Read more

Overcoming the solubility crisis: A solvent-free method to enhance drug bioavailability
A large share of medicines developed today may never reach patients for a surprisingly simple reason: they cannot dissolve well enough in water. For most treatments, the oral route remains the gold standard because it is convenient and familiar. However, for a pill to work, its active ingredients must first dissolve in the fluids of the gastrointestinal tract before they can be absorbed into the bloodstream. ⌘ Read more

Study shows insect farming byproduct boosts soil health, reduces crop damage
With insect farming projected to produce millions of tons of insects in the coming years, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station researchers offer evidence that the insect farming byproduct called “frass” can improve soil health and reduce insect damage in soybean crops. ⌘ Read more

Wolves and other predators present ‘a crisis,’ California’s environment chief says
On Jan. 27, California lawmakers took initial steps toward addressing the public safety concerns posed by the state’s growing populations of wolves, mountain lions and other predators—issues the state’s top environmental official called a crisis. ⌘ Read more

To reduce CO₂ emissions, policy on carbon pricing, taxation and investment in renewable energy is key
A new study evaluating climate policies in 40 countries over a 32-year period finds that carbon pricing and taxation—combined with investments in renewable energy and research—are among the most effective tools governments can use to reduce CO₂ emissions. ⌘ Read more

Novel quantum refrigerator benefits from problematic noise
For quantum computers to function, they must be kept at extremely low temperatures. However, today’s cooling systems also generate noise that interferes with the fragile quantum information they are meant to protect. Now, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed an entirely new type of quantum refrigerator, which is partly driven by the noise itself. This refrigerator enables very precise contro … ⌘ Read more

Hidden toxin risks during nutrient-starved algal blooms uncovered
Harmful algal blooms continue to threaten coastal ecosystems and seafood safety worldwide. Among the organisms involved, the benthic dinoflagellate Prorocentrum lima is a known producer of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxins such as okadaic acid and dinophysistoxin 1. While earlier studies have linked low nutrient availability to increased toxin production, most have examined short-term stress responses. The effects of prolonged n … ⌘ Read more

Biodegradable bark–plastic composite lets engineers predict product lifetime from tensile tests
Old trees are learning new tricks with the advent of composite materials. A “green composite” made from biodegradable polymers and the waste bark of the Yakushima Jisugi tree was developed by a research team at Tohoku University. When assessing the material, they found that simply testing its mechanical strength—in this case, its tensile strength or ability to resist pulling—could relia … ⌘ Read more

Empowering an AI foundation model to accelerate plant research
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have created a new method that more than doubles computer processing speeds while using 75% less memory to analyze plant imaging data. The advance removes a major computational bottleneck and accelerates AI-guided discoveries for the development of high-performing crops. The new method is detailed in a paper that was presented at the International Conference for High-Performan … ⌘ Read more

Research clarifies record-late monsoon onset, aiding northern Australian communities
Every year, Australia experiences a summer monsoon characterized by the reversal of winds, heavy rainfall, and flooding. In 2024–2025, however, the Australian summer monsoon (ASM) was the latest on record since measurements began in 1957. The monsoon’s timely arrival is critical for Northern Australia. It dictates water security for communities, drives pasture growth for the vital cattle industry, and signals the e … ⌘ Read more

PFAS are turning up in the Great Lakes, putting fish and water supplies at risk. Here’s how they get there
No matter where you live in the United States, you have likely seen headlines about PFAS being detected in everything from drinking water to fish to milk to human bodies. ⌘ Read more

New fear unlocked: Runaway black holes
Last year, astronomers were fascinated by a runaway asteroid passing through our solar system from somewhere far beyond. It was moving at around 68 kilometers per second, just over double Earth’s speed around the sun. ⌘ Read more

Residents from strongly blue or red counties favor like-minded destinations for everyday travel, analysis finds
A new analysis of 471 U.S. counties has found that, for everyday travel, people from counties with particularly strong political leanings—whether liberal or conservative—are more likely to visit like-minded destinations. Zhengyi Liang and Jaeho Cho of the University of California, Davis, U.S., present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One. ⌘ Read more

Microplastics found in a third of surveyed fish off the coasts of remote Pacific Islands
A third of fish living in the remote coastal waters of the Pacific Island Countries and Territories are contaminated with microplastics, with especially high rates in Fiji, according to an analysis published in PLOS One by Jasha Dehm at the University of the South Pacific and colleagues. ⌘ Read more

How a superionic state enables long-term water storage in Earth’s interior
The cycling of water within Earth’s interior regulates plate tectonics, volcanism, ocean volume, and climate stability, making it central to the planet’s long-term evolution and habitability and a key scientific question. While subducting slabs are known to transport water into the mantle, scientists have long assumed that most hydrous minerals dehydrate at high temperatures, releasing fluids as they descend. ⌘ Read more

Hearing angry or happy human voices is linked to changes in dogs’ balance
In a small study, dogs experienced both stabilization and destabilization of their balance upon hearing angry or happy human voices, but angry voices were linked to the biggest destabilizing effects. Nadja Affenzeller and colleagues at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria, present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One. ⌘ Read more

Atlantic nurse sharks show faster growth patterns in Biscayne Bay than nearby Bimini, Bahamas
A new study from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science shows that juvenile Atlantic nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum) grow more rapidly as juveniles and reach smaller maximum sizes than nurse sharks in Bimini, Bahamas—locations so close that these populations have historically been assumed to be the same. ⌘ Read more

Probing the jet base of M87’s supermassive black hole
Some galaxies eject powerful streams of charged particles—jets—from their centers into space. The prominent jet of Messier 87 (M87) in the constellation Virgo is visible over distances of 3,000 light-years and can be observed over the full electromagnetic spectrum. It is powered by the central engine, the supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy with a mass of around 6 billion times that of our sun. The exact location around the black h … ⌘ Read more

How native and non-native plants affect endangered plant species in cities
Research in the Journal of Applied Ecology has identified threats to endangered plants in an urban area, generating information that can be used to guide effective conservation strategies across major cities. Investigators in Germany analyzed data on 1,231 populations of 201 endangered plant species within Berlin’s Flora Protection Program. Threats were categorized and their relative importance was quantified at both po … ⌘ Read more