In a preview of what’s to come for Earth in about 5 billion years, astronomers have spotted a sun-like star gobbling up a planet and belching out a blast of light and energy | Continue reading
Researchers have put together a 30-second movie clip based on a group of mice's brain activity data that was recorded while they watched the footage | Continue reading
It takes just four particles of light to jump-start photosynthesis in a plant’s cells, but the details of what exactly happens after the fourth photon is absorbed has eluded researchers – until now | Continue reading
A new technique for extracting DNA from ancient artefacts without destroying them could give us unprecedented insights about the people who made or wore them | Continue reading
Semi-mythical "earthquakes lights" may be accompanied by changes to Earth's magnetic field. Now researchers says these changes could be used to forecast major tremors | Continue reading
Hormone measurements from the tusk of a male woolly mammoth show these animals went through musth, a seasonal peak in testosterone seen in elephants | Continue reading
The first stars in our universe may have blown up in relatively weak supernovae, and astronomers believe they have found three clouds of ash remaining from those cosmic explosions | Continue reading
The holographic universe theory still grips physicists 25 years since it was first published. Here’s what it is all about | Continue reading
Genetic mutations to an antibody prevented MRSA infections in mice, and boosted the effectiveness of antibiotics for fighting the infection | Continue reading
The coronavirus commonly causes gastrointestinal symptoms, but whether this is due to inflammation, disruption to our microbiome or the virus affecting the permeability of our gut wall is unclear | Continue reading
In lab experiments, chimpanzees and bonobos share peanuts and grapes with other apes who shared food first, doing so at about the same rate as 4-year-old children | Continue reading
Penetrating the blood brain barrier via pulses of ultrasound waves led to a 3-fold increase in the concentration of a chemotherapy drug in people with the brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme | Continue reading
A technique based on high-resolution satelllite images could help researchers monitor tree cover loss, reforestation and the impact of climate change | Continue reading
Cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are rocketing, but what's the cause? Fortunately, we now have a better understanding of the condition - and how to identify those who have it | Continue reading
Radio signals sent to NASA spacecraft could have already reached four neighbouring star systems, and if any aliens tried to respond, we might hear from them within a few years from now | Continue reading
Under new rules in Australia, e-cigarettes will be more tightly regulated as prescription-only pharmaceutical products and nicotine-free vapes will be banned completely | Continue reading
Mating with groups of up to 50 females and fighting off rivals takes its toll on dominant male elephant seals | Continue reading
A device designed for people with photophobia features transparent LCD screens that selectively reduce light from the brightest parts of the scene | Continue reading
High-frequency brainwaves in specific regions of the brain are thought to be a hallmark of consciousness and memory retrieval – now they have been recorded in two people as they died01 | Continue reading
Bacteria are more susceptible to antibiotics when they can't produce fatty acids, suggesting that drugs inhibiting this process could help us overcome antibiotic resistance | Continue reading
A machine that moulds scrap aluminium into automotive parts could help speed up production of electric vehicles while cutting down the industry's dependence on aluminium mining and extraction | Continue reading
The coronavirus lockdowns presented a rare natural experiment to see what happens to wildlife collisions when the traffic declines drastically | Continue reading
Now there is a way to use ink to write words or patterns in liquid, much as you might write on a solid surface, and the letters could conceivably last a very long time | Continue reading
It is thought that quantum computers will eventually be able to crack the encryption methods we use today, but exactly when this will happen is an open question. Now, one cryptographer has started a betting pool | Continue reading
Augmenting the artificial intelligence GPT-4 with extra chemistry knowledge made it much better at planning chemistry experiments, but it refused to make heroin or sarin gas | Continue reading
Understanding the interactions between quantum physics and gravity within a black hole is one of the thorniest problems in physics, but quantum computers could soon offer an answer | Continue reading
The supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way may have blasted out a powerful burst of X-rays two centuries ago, possibly due to eating a star | Continue reading
China’s Zhurong rover has found evidence for liquid water on the surface of Mars - and it probably began as snow or frost that melted into sand dunes | Continue reading
A spring heatwave across parts of southern Europe is seeing temperature records for April broken in many countries. Why is this happening, and will the summer also be hot? | Continue reading
Physicists have simulated strange objects from string theory to determine what they look like – if they exist, they could be mistaken for a black hole when imaged from very far away | Continue reading
In carbonated drinks, the wake from rising bubbles can disturb other bubbles. But when the molecules that give fizzy drinks their flavour coat the bubbles, they can form stable columns as they float | Continue reading
Researchers at the UK’s annual River Restoration conference say that policy-makers and the general public are largely unaware that most of the UK's rivers aren't in their natural state, with huge impacts on biodiversity | Continue reading
Computer simulations of a human brain under the influence of LSD show that entropy increases the most in regions responsible for processing vision and integrating sensory information | Continue reading
The professional body for anaesthetists in the UK has produced hypnosis recordings for patients to listen to as they wait for their operation, and other hospitals worldwide use similar techniques | Continue reading
Balto had a varied ancestry, sharing genes with Siberian huskies, Greenland sledge dogs, Vietnamese village dogs and Tibetan mastiffs | Continue reading
California blackworms gather together in tangled-up balls to preserve moisture during droughts, but they can rapidly separate when they perceive danger thanks to a special helical wriggle | Continue reading
AI search engines like Microsoft's Bing Chat often fail to provide citations to back up statements, or cite information incorrectly - and this is more likely when answers sound more convincing | Continue reading
DNA analysis has revealed that a single-celled alga has a strange conglomeration of different organisms living inside it | Continue reading
Camera traps at two dens in Kenya have captured evidence of porcupines and warthogs occupying dens at the same time as their predators, spotted hyenas | Continue reading
A four-legged robot has been designed to imitate the bouncing and lunging motion of a seal on land, but struggles to turn while moving forwards | Continue reading
A brain mechanism that enables us to carry out tasks to achieve a certain reward may get disrupted when a jackpot prize is in sight | Continue reading
A brain mechanism that enables us to carry out tasks to achieve a certain reward may get disrupted when a jackpot prize is in sight | Continue reading
Astronomers have found one huge star eating another, but the smaller star is predicted to eventually become a black hole and go on to feed off its companion | Continue reading
A recent outbreak of avian flu has killed 15 per cent of the wild population of California condors, and officials are bracing for the virus’ spread | Continue reading
A capsule that electrically stimulates stomach cells has been tested in pigs, and could one day help treat nausea, vomiting and lack of appetite in people | Continue reading
A suspense-filled new podcast series digs into biotech firm BioViva's claim that it successfully injected someone with experimental, anti-ageing gene therapies | Continue reading
No matter where you live, Mars is currently taking a little stroll through Gemini, so it is a great time to get to know this constellation with its twin stars, Castor and Pollux, and take a look at the Red Planet too, says Abby Beall | Continue reading
From the development of agriculture to the global rise of religions, Jonathan Kennedy's book describes how infectious diseases have been a decisive force in shaping human history | Continue reading