Science

An unprecedented study of 123 bird species reveals clues about how some birds produce such powerful calls while leaving open the question of why extreme loudness evolved. A bird can unleash a call loud enough to rival a jackhammer, yet measuring that blast in the wild is surprisingly difficult. Sound weakens as it travels, so [...]

Squid have hundreds more sensory cells than scientists realized, with hair bundles that may help explain how human hearing works and breaks down. Water flowing over a squid’s head and arms brushes tiny past bundles of hair-like projections that help the animal sense movement around it. Scientists have known about these sensory structures for years, [...]

Sea cucumber tissue kept growing for more than three years after removal, surviving in seawater teeming with microbes. Like Thing, the disembodied hand in The Addams Family, a severed piece of sea cucumber tissue kept living without the body it came from, prompting scientists to describe the animal as a “real-life zombie.” Weeks after being [...]

Stretching a quantum material revealed two distinct superconducting states, challenging previous assumptions about its behavior and offering new clues to the mechanisms behind superconductivity. Stretching a crystal by less than 1% has allowed scientists to separate two distinct superconducting states in a material that has puzzled physicists for years. The experiment also increased the temperature [...]

Rare stellar deaths have given astronomers a new clue to when supermassive black holes suddenly produce jets. Black holes separated by millions of times in mass may follow the same rule when they launch powerful jets into space. Astronomers studying stellar destruction events have found that supermassive black holes can switch on jets when their [...]

A new study puts very different dark matter theories through the same quantitative test of “naturalness.” Some of the most familiar assumptions about dark matter may depend less on the type of dark matter being proposed than on the details of how a particular model produces it. A new analysis by Stefano Profumo, professor of [...]

As I’m writing this I’m able to stare out into my driveway at my trusty Honda Odyssey. Most of the public’s association with Honda is through their “mobility” products - i.e. their cars. But the company has an impressive track record of other technical achievements, not the least of which has been in robotics. Now, it’s teaming up with space infrastructure firm Redwire to develop an automated laboratory support system for use on future commercial space stations.

New research suggests that healthy brain aging may reflect a shift in cognitive priorities rather than simple decline. The aging brain may not simply be a younger brain in decline. New research from the University of Arizona argues that healthy aging involves a shift in cognitive priorities, with less emphasis on preserving precise details and [...]

A viewing platform at Massai Point in Chiricahua National Monument. Will it become the 64th national park in the U.S.? Image via Lucy Whitt. Used with permission. You deserve a daily dose of good news. For the latest in science and the night sky, subscribe to EarthSky’s free daily newsletter. Arizona’s Chiricahua poised to become 64th US National Park A quiet national monument tucked into southeastern Arizona is poised to become North America’s newest national park. Chiricahua

A transplant drug improved brain blood flow in a four-week study of healthy adults at higher genetic risk of Alzheimer’s, suggesting a possible role in prevention. Blood flow to parts of the brain can drop years before memory problems appear in people who carry APOE4, a gene variant associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer’s [...]

Researchers found that sleeping too little was associated with elevated risk across a surprisingly wide range of conditions. Sleeping less than five hours a night was associated with a higher risk of dozens of diseases in a large study that tracked nearly 100,000 adults for almost nine years. The analysis also found that people who [...]

Here’s an easy way to use the prominent M or W shape of Cassiopeia to locate the Double Cluster in Perseus. Catch the wonder of the night sky. Subscribe to EarthSky’s free daily newsletter for the latest in science, stars, planets and more. Double Cluster in Perseus The Double Cluster in Perseus consists of two open star clusters near each other on the sky’s dome. Amateur astronomers know them as h Persei and chi Persei. The two clusters reside in the northern part of the const

Through photographs, spoken observations, drawings, and annotations, the Artemis II crew created a unique scientific record—one that is now available to the science community and the public for further study. Explore highlights here, and find the full suite of reports and select data resources at the bottom of the page.

Potential ‘Second generation’ planet detection around a dying stellar white dwarf opens a whole new chapter of exoplanetary science.

How children are raised may matter for social well-being worldwide, with surveys across three culturally different countries linking supportive childhoods to adults’ trust and sense of belonging. At home, a child seeking comfort depends on a caregiver’s response, while time for free play offers room to explore. A University of Nottingham-led study linked these experiences, [...]

A crystal that uses light to produce hydrogen from water could open a new route to cleaner, more affordable fuel. Hydrogen can power a fuel cell car, yet making that fuel from natural gas releases carbon dioxide before it ever reaches the tank. Water offers another source of hydrogen, but separating its hydrogen atoms from [...]

A famous Scottish fossil is forcing scientists to rethink what claw-like feet really reveal about the move onto land. Pressed flat inside two slabs of Scottish rock, a 345-million-year-old skeleton seemed to carry some unmistakable signs of life on land. Its four limbs ended in five-digit feet, and the tips of its fingers and toes [...]

Gut bacteria may hold clues to cancer survival and chemotherapy side effects before treatment even begins. A tumor can produce large amounts of lactate, a molecule that some gut bacteria consume as food. Mayo Clinic researchers found higher levels of both lactate and one of those bacteria, Veillonella parvula, in adults diagnosed with colorectal cancer [...]

A weekly wall-squat session may help keep blood pressure gains from slipping away. A study published in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine found that adults who first completed four weeks of isometric exercise could retain some blood pressure improvements with just one or two sessions a week for another four weeks. Those who continued [...]

Scientists have demonstrated a promising new approach to restoring limited vision in people with advanced inherited blindness. An experimental treatment combining gene therapy with specialized goggles has helped some people with advanced blindness detect objects and respond to visual cues. Instead of attempting to repair damaged light-sensing cells, the approach gives surviving retinal cells a [...]