News
- Genetics
Gene therapy and special goggles give some blind people limited sight
Optogenetics, recognized by the 2026 medicine Nobel, makes cells respond to light, including eye cells that normally relay signals to the brain.
- Planetary Science
A quake on Mars may have set these rocks rolling
Fresh boulder tracks on Mars could reveal how a quake shook the planet and help scientists detect future tremors from orbit.
- Paleontology
An extinct crocodilian was found among rocks that built the Great Sphinx
Herugavialis is the new name for a fossil found in the same rocks that built the Great Sphinx. The reptile is a unique branch of the gharial family tree.
- Animals
The world’s loudest bird could drown out a rock concert
Bigger bodies and wider beaks help birds like the bare-throated bellbird belt out calls louder than a jackhammer, but why such volume evolved remains unclear.
- Particle Physics
Scientists may have seen dark matter. If they did, what exactly is it?
One theory points to a long-awaited supersymmetric particle called a ‘higgsino.’ But that idea has some issues.
- Planetary Science
A ‘phoenix’ planet was born from the ashes of its dead star
Finding the potential planet hints that our sun’s death could lead to the creation of new worlds.
- Space
Astronomers say they’ve spotted the first miniature quasar pointed at Earth
Microblazars — a miniature version of blazars — may be responsible for mysterious ultra-high-energy particles.
- Animals
Young Yosemite toads survive winter, then emerge with a deadly fungus
A waterborne pathogen flourishes while toads shelter underground. The finding may help conservationists rethink how to protect the threatened species.
- Astronomy
Are hypernovas real?
Uneven supernova explosions may explain the unusual mix of elements in Milky Way stars once thought to be evidence of hypernovas.
- Animals
Here’s how brain-eating amoebas may infect people
Naegleria amoebas’ exploration skills and crawling behaviors could help explain how the brain-eating variety travel into human brains.
- Animals
A video of a humpback whale and her dead calf reveals the animals’ bond
A female humpback whale may have spent days with her stillborn calf. This rare sighting may suggest that baleen whales experience grief.
- Environment
A new map points out U.S. rivers most worth protecting
Scientists graded every river and stream in the contiguous United States, flagging specific repairs each one needs to support aquatic life.
