Science

• An ecosystem is not a still life. • Even where everything looks stable-a woodland, a lake, the soil-the internal ‘bookkeeping’ keeps changing: how many individuals belong to whic

• In a paper published in the journal Small, a team of physicists from IISER Pune have developed tiny electronic devices from a special semiconductor material called bismuth oxysel

• By applying new methods of machine learning to quantum chemistry research, Heidelberg University scientists have made significant strides in computational chemistry. • They have

• Despite rare earth elements’ importance in manufacturing cell phones, magnets and a host of other consumer and commercial electronics, the lack of a sustainable, environmentally

• Chemistry-powered membrane autonomously opens and closes nanoscale pores, mimicking biological ion channels. • Pores are fabricated at angstrom-scale widths, matching the size of

• In a new study, published in Cell, researchers describe a newfound mechanism for creating proteins in a giant DNA virus, comparable to a mechanism in eukaryotic cells. • The find

• For more than a century, Mendelian genetics has shaped how we think about inheritance: one gene, one trait. • It is a model that still echoes through textbooks-and one that is in

• Canadian schools now face crisis-level violence and harassment, prompting calls for hazardous workplace classification. • University of Ottawa researchers highlight alarming inci

• Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have discovered a way to breach one of cancer’s most stubborn defenses: the impenetrable fortress that solid tumors build around th

• Corralling a wild rhinoceros into a small chute to give it eyedrops might seem like a crazy plan. • But if it’s crazy and it works, then it’s not crazy.

• Quantum computer research is advancing at a rapid pace. • Today’s devices, however, still have significant limitations: For example, the length of a quantum computation is severe

• First demonstration of weak magnetic fields altering cellular protein structures. • Isotopes used alongside magnetic fields to induce quantum-level changes in cells. • Technique

• A Purdue University digital forestry team has created a computational tool to obtain and analyze urban tree inventories on public and private lands with record-breaking speed at

• The performance of rechargeable batteries is governed by processes deep within their components. • A fundamental understanding of electrochemistry, structure-property-performance

• A new study from the School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics reveals a surprising insight into the operation of the ancestral brain: the visual cortex of turtles is

• Living cells are highly organized, yet they are not assembled using rigid blueprints or by following a predetermined plan. • Instead, order emerges on its own from countless inte

• Proteins often function in pairs or groups, concealing their internal connection points and making it difficult for scientists to study their individual units without altering th

• Scientists are proposing to build a laser in a crater on the moon to help future lunar missions land safely in the dark and find their way around. • This ultra-stable light sourc

• Antarctic ice sheet behaves as multiple interacting basins, not a single tipping element. • Study by Potsdam Institute and Max Planck reveals distinct critical thresholds. • Curr

• Prussian blue electrode shows record cesium adsorption capacity. • Targets radioactive Cs⁺ ions, high solubility threat. • Simplified fabrication reduces production complexity. •

• About 56 million years ago, Europe and North America began pulling apart to form what became the ever-expanding North Atlantic Ocean. • Vast amounts of molten rock from Earth’s m

• A new study finds entrepreneurs become more committed to their business ventures when they are told they will fail, increasing their efforts to make those businesses successful.

• In the whole history of Earth’s climate, few events are as extreme as those that geologists call ‘Snowball Earth.’

• Archival storage poses lots of challenges. • We want media that is extremely dense and stable for centuries or more, and, ideally, doesn’t consume any energy when not being acces

• Pekingese (left) and Japanese chin (right) dogs have a high risk of breathing problemsMichael Schultze, KATAMOUNT/Alamy Pekingese (left) and Japanese chin (right) dogs have a hig

• Paediatricians do more than just treat children’s ailments - or dress up as princesses. • A team of 10 in China had their blood screened to help develop treatments for common chi

• What if Homo erectus (H. • erectus), the direct ancestor of modern humans, arrived in China much earlier than we thought? • Research published in Science Advances may rewrite our

• Scientists have identified a further 12 dog breeds as being at risk of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome-a condition that can cause serious breathing problems-including

• The most high-risk conditions for fires are increasingly happening across countries at the same time, making resulting wildfires even more challenging to tackle, new research rev

• Certain markers of high status may more strongly boost attitudes toward women versus men, and low status markers may more strongly worsen attitudes toward men versus women-with b

• New research shows a single year of warmer-than-average Arctic temperatures can cause malnutrition in Arctic seals, intensifying risks to Inuit food security and northern ecosyst

• Developed a digital twin model to forecast groundwater levels in Enschede, Netherlands. • Model uses real‑time data to anticipate flooding and drought conditions early. • Enables

• Imagine you’re all alone, driving along in a rocky, unforgiving desert with no roads, no map, no GPS, and no more than one phone call a day for someone to inform you exactly wher

• When scientists want to study aging and how to slow it down, they often turn to microscopic worms or lab mice among other models. • The former are too different from humans, whil

• Janette Kerr Janette Kerr Royal West of England Academy Both artists and astronomers are, in a way, translators. • They convert what we can see into a story we can tell. • InCosm

• BBC/Curious Films/Rory Langdon BBC/Curious Films/Rory Langdon The chances are that you think about artificial intelligence far more today than you did five years ago. • Since Cha

• Alicia Clarke/Alamy Alicia Clarke/Alamy I am currently readingThe Big Oyster: History on the half shell, a chronicle of New York City told through its renowned oyster beds. • Eve

• Josie Ford Josie Ford Feedback isNew Scientist’spopular sideways look at the latest science and technology news. • You can submit items you believe may amuse readers to Feedback

• Orlando Gili/Millenium Images Orlando Gili/Millenium Images Your friends are likely to have more friends than you do. • Don’t worry, it’s nothing personal. • It’s just about how

• Cavan Images/Alamy Cavan Images/Alamy International Women’s Day, held annually on 8 March, is a stalwart of what we might call the ‘awareness calendar’ - the loose collection of

• Elaine Knox Elaine Knox Someone inhales fungal spores. • They might get a bit bitey. • Something gruesome happens and the horror spreads. • Such is the fate of many inCold Storag

• Dwight Ellefsen/FPG/Archive Dwight Ellefsen/FPG/Archive The Laws of ThoughtTom Griffiths, William Collins (UK) Macmillan (US) FOR nearly 70 years, cognitive researchers have been

• Fuller/VWPics/Alamy Jon G. • Fuller/VWPics/Alamy Pollution is making many cities unlivable for their human inhabitants, but it is also tearing ant families and communities apart.

• After weeks of relentless rain and flooding, and even more forecast, 2025’s droughts and hosepipe bans feel like ancient history.

• A new study from Bar-Ilan University is shedding light on a long-overlooked social group in archaeology: the elderly. • While research on women and children has flourished in rec

• For anyone who relies on coffee to start their day, coffee wilt disease may be the most important disease you’ve never heard of. • This fungal disease has repeatedly reshaped the

• The CMS Collaboration has shown, for the first time, that machine learning can be used to fully reconstruct particle collisions at the LHC. • This new approach can reconstruct co

• Researchers in the Harvard John A. • Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences have devised a new way to make some of the sma

• River deltas are among the most complex and productive environments on Earth. • Yet, they face serious threats from upstream industrialization and climate change, which alter sup

• CEOs who survived natural disasters prioritize workplace safety, reducing injury rates. • Their firsthand crisis experience translates into stronger safety protocols for employee

• During Australia’s unprecedented heat wave in late January, air temperatures reached 50°C in inland South Australia.

• The carbon footprint of the Olympic Games remains substantial, despite reforms by the International Olympic Committee. • A new study by the University of Lausanne shows that the

• On January 30, 2026, SpaceX filed an application with the US Federal Communications Commission for a megaconstellation of up to 1 million satellites to power data centers in spac

• Corals living in coastal bays with strongly fluctuating temperatures and environmental conditions are better able to withstand heat and other stressors than their counterparts on

• Some time around 1683, amateur Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek scraped the plaque from between his teeth and peered at it through a home-made microscope.

• Setting sail from the busy port of Plymouth in Devon, the tall ship Pelican of London takes young people to sea, often for the first time.

• A University of Alberta research team has identified a new drug target to treat harmful E. • coli bacteria-which cause nearly 250,000 deaths a year from urinary tract infections

• Who says that butterflies in the stomach are only for the young? • A new study by psychologist Iris Wahring from the University of Vienna and her international team shows that wh

• Researchers at the University of Osaka have developed a highly transparent material made entirely from natural wood without adding plastic and uncovered why some wood becomes cle

• Bumble bees generate intense heat while hovering, raising body temperature 30‑35°C above ambient. • Rapid wing flapping powers flight muscles, producing metabolic heat that can b