Top Sciences Discovery

A new study reveals that super agers over 80 have a distinct genetic edge. They are much less likely to carry the gene most associated with Alzheimer’s risk, even when compared with other healthy seniors. Researchers also found higher levels of a protective gene variant in this group. Together, the findings help explain why some people age with remarkably youthful minds.

Scientists found that nasal cells act as a first line of defense against the common cold, working together to block rhinovirus soon after infection. A fast antiviral response can stop the virus before symptoms appear. If that response is weakened or delayed, the virus spreads and causes inflammation and breathing problems. The study highlights why the body’s reaction matters more than the virus alone.

NASA astronaut Suni Williams has retired after 27 years of service and a career defined by endurance, leadership, and firsts in space. She spent 608 days in orbit, completed nine spacewalks, and twice commanded the International Space Station. Williams flew on everything from the space shuttle to Boeing’s Starliner, playing a key role in shaping modern human spaceflight. Her legacy will influence future missions to the Moon and beyond.

A long-standing law of thermodynamics turns out to have a loophole at the smallest scales. Researchers have shown that quantum engines made of correlated particles can exceed the traditional efficiency limit set by Carnot nearly 200 years ago. By tapping into quantum correlations, these engines can produce extra work beyond what heat alone allows. This could reshape how scientists design future nanoscale machines.

Fungal infections are becoming deadlier as drug resistance spreads and treatment options stall. Researchers at McMaster University discovered that a molecule called butyrolactol A can dramatically weaken dangerous fungi, allowing existing antifungal drugs to work again. Instead of killing the fungus directly, the molecule sabotages a vital internal system, leaving the pathogen exposed. The breakthrough could help revive an entire class of antifungal medicines once thought obsolete.

Scientists are learning how to temporarily reshape materials by nudging their internal quantum rhythms instead of blasting them with extreme lasers. By harnessing excitons, short-lived energy pairs that naturally form inside semiconductors, researchers can alter how electrons behave using far less energy than before. This approach achieves powerful quantum effects without damaging the material, overcoming a major barrier that has limited progress for years.

When quantum spins interact, they can produce collective behaviors that defy long-standing expectations. Researchers have now shown that the Kondo effect behaves very differently depending on spin size. In systems with small spins, it suppresses magnetism, but when spins are larger, it actually promotes magnetic order. This discovery uncovers a new quantum boundary with major implications for future materials.

The microbes living in sourdough starters don’t just appear by chance—they’re shaped by what bakers feed them. New research shows that while the same hardy yeast tends to dominate sourdough starters regardless of flour type, the bacteria tell a more complex story. Different flours—like whole wheat or bread flour—encourage different bacterial communities, which can subtly influence flavor, texture, and fermentation.

Researchers from New England Biolabs (NEB®) and Yale University describe the first fully synthetic bacteriophage engineering system for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an antibiotic-resistant bacterium of global concern, in a new PNAS study. The system is enabled by NEB’s High-Complexity Golden Gate Assembly (HC-GGA) platform. In this method, researchers engineer bacteriophages synthetically using sequence data rather than bacteriophage isolates.

New experiments reveal that protein precursors can form naturally in deep space under extreme cold and radiation. Scientists found that simple amino acids bond into peptides on interstellar dust, long before stars and planets exist. This challenges the idea that complex life chemistry only happens on planets. It also boosts the odds that life-friendly ingredients are widespread across the universe.

Epaulette sharks can reproduce without any measurable increase in energy use, stunning researchers who expected egg-laying to be costly. Scientists tracked metabolism, blood, and hormone levels through the entire reproductive cycle and found everything stayed remarkably stable. This efficiency suggests these sharks have evolved to optimize energy in ways not seen before.

Solar Orbiter has captured the clearest evidence yet that a solar flare grows through a cascading “magnetic avalanche.” Small, weak magnetic disturbances rapidly multiplied, triggering stronger and stronger explosions that accelerated particles to extreme speeds. The process produced streams of glowing plasma blobs that rained through the Sun’s atmosphere long after the flare itself.

Scientists have discovered that the human brain understands spoken language in a way that closely resembles how advanced AI language models work. By tracking brain activity as people listened to a long podcast, researchers found that meaning unfolds step by step—much like the layered processing inside systems such as GPT-style models.

Scientists at Stanford Medicine have discovered a treatment that can reverse cartilage loss in aging joints and even prevent arthritis after knee injuries. By blocking a protein linked to aging, the therapy restored healthy, shock-absorbing cartilage in old mice and injured joints, dramatically improving movement and joint function. Human cartilage samples from knee replacement surgeries also began regenerating when exposed to the treatment.

Researchers report that vagus nerve stimulation helped many people with long-standing, treatment-resistant depression feel better—and stay better—for at least two years. Most participants had lived with depression for decades and had exhausted nearly every other option. Those who improved at one year were very likely to maintain or increase their gains over time. Even some patients who didn’t respond initially improved after longer treatment.

After the Big Bang, the Universe entered a long, dark period before the first stars formed. During this era, hydrogen emitted a faint radio signal that still echoes today. New simulations show this signal could be slightly altered by dark matter, leaving behind a measurable fingerprint. Future radio telescopes on the Moon may be able to detect it and shed light on one of astronomy’s greatest mysteries.

Astronomers have captured the most dramatic view yet of a planet losing its atmosphere, watching the ultra-hot gas giant WASP-121b for an entire orbit with the James Webb Space Telescope. Instead of a single stream of escaping gas, the planet is wrapped in two colossal helium tails—one trailing behind like a comet, the other stretching ahead toward its star.

When you’re short on sleep and your focus suddenly drifts, your brain may be briefly slipping into cleanup mode. Scientists discovered that these attention lapses coincide with waves of fluid washing through the brain, a process that usually happens during sleep. It’s the brain’s way of compensating for missed rest. Unfortunately, that internal cleaning comes at the cost of momentary mental shutdowns.

Researchers have found a reliable way to grow helper T cells from stem cells, solving a major challenge in immune-based cancer therapy. Helper T cells act as the immune system’s coordinators, helping other immune cells fight longer and harder. The team discovered how to precisely control a key signal that determines which type of T cell forms. This advance could lead to ready-made cell therapies that are cheaper, faster, and easier to access.

A nearby active galaxy called VV 340a offers a dramatic look at how a supermassive black hole can reshape its entire host. Astronomers observed a relatively weak but restless jet blasting outward from the galaxy’s core, wobbling like a spinning top as it plows through surrounding gas. Using a powerful mix of space- and ground-based telescopes, the team showed that this jet heats, ionizes, and flings gas out of the galaxy at a surprisingly high rate.

NASA’s Artemis II rocket has reached its launch pad after a painstaking overnight crawl across Kennedy Space Center. Engineers are now preparing for crucial fueling and countdown tests ahead of the first crewed Artemis mission. The mission will send four astronauts on a journey around the Moon and back. It’s a key milestone on the path to returning humans to the Moon and pushing onward to Mars.

Long before humans became master hunters, our ancestors were already thriving by making the most of what nature left behind. New research suggests that scavenging animal carcasses wasn’t a desperate last resort, but a smart, reliable survival strategy that shaped human evolution. Carrion provided calorie-rich food with far less effort than hunting, especially during hard times, and humans were uniquely suited to take advantage of it—from strong stomach acid and long-distance walking to fire, tools, and teamwork.

Sensitive hearing may have evolved in mammal ancestors far earlier than scientists once believed. By modeling how sound moved through the skull of Thrinaxodon, a 250-million-year-old mammal predecessor, researchers found it likely used an early eardrum to hear airborne sounds. This challenges the long-held idea that these animals mainly “listened” through their jaws or bones. The results reveal that a key feature of modern mammal hearing was already taking shape deep in prehistory.

A major new scientific review brings reassuring news for expectant parents: using acetaminophen, commonly known as Tylenol, during pregnancy does not increase a child’s risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability. Researchers analyzed 43 high-quality studies, including powerful sibling comparisons that help separate medication effects from genetics and family environment. Earlier warnings appear to have been driven by underlying maternal health factors such as fever or pain rather than the medication itself.

Physicists have unveiled a new way to simulate a mysterious form of dark matter that can collide with itself but not with normal matter. This self-interacting dark matter may trigger a dramatic collapse inside dark matter halos, heating and densifying their cores in surprising ways. Until now, this crucial middle ground of behavior was nearly impossible to model accurately. The new code makes these simulations faster, more precise, and accessible enough to run on a laptop.

A deadly fungus that has wiped out hundreds of amphibian species worldwide may have started its global journey in Brazil. Genetic evidence and trade data suggest the fungus hitchhiked across the world via international frog meat markets. The findings raise urgent concerns about how wildlife trade can spread hidden biological threats.

Researchers found that autistic and non-autistic people move their faces differently when expressing emotions like anger, happiness, and sadness. Autistic participants tended to rely on different facial features and produced more varied expressions, which can look unfamiliar to non-autistic observers. The study suggests emotional misunderstandings are a two-way street, not a one-sided deficit.

Cannabis-based medicines have been widely promoted as a potential answer for people living with chronic nerve pain—but a major new review finds the evidence just isn’t there yet. After analyzing more than 20 clinical trials involving over 2,100 adults, researchers found no strong proof that cannabis products outperform placebos in relieving neuropathic pain. Even when small improvements were reported, especially with THC-CBD combinations, they weren’t large enough to make a real difference in daily life.

While social media continues to circulate claims linking acetaminophen to autism in children, medical experts say those fears distract from a far more serious and proven danger: overdose. Acetaminophen, found in Tylenol and many cold and flu remedies, is one of the leading causes of emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and acute liver failure in the United States.

A huge bar of iron has been discovered lurking inside the iconic Ring Nebula. The structure is enormous, spanning hundreds of times the size of Pluto’s orbit and containing a Mars-sized amount of iron. It was detected using a new instrument that allowed astronomers to map the nebula in far greater detail than ever before. The origin of the iron bar is still a mystery, with one theory suggesting it could be the remains of a vaporized planet.

When scientists sent bacteria-infecting viruses to the International Space Station, the microbes did not behave the same way they do on Earth. In microgravity, infections still occurred, but both viruses and bacteria evolved differently over time. Genetic changes emerged that altered how viruses attach to bacteria and how bacteria defend themselves. The findings could help improve phage therapies against drug-resistant infections.

A Michigan dairy farm took a gamble on a new kind of soybean—and it paid off fast. After feeding high-oleic soybeans to their cows, milk quality improved within days and feed costs dropped dramatically. Backed by years of MSU research, the crop is helping farmers replace expensive supplements with something they can grow themselves. Demand has surged, and many believe it could reshape the dairy industry.

Researchers have turned artificial intelligence into a powerful new lens for understanding why cancer survival rates differ so dramatically around the world. By analyzing cancer data and health system information from 185 countries, the AI model highlights which factors, such as access to radiotherapy, universal health coverage, and economic strength, are most closely linked to better survival in each nation.

Scientists are uncovering a hidden and surprisingly complex earthquake zone beneath Northern California by tracking swarms of tiny earthquakes that are far too weak to feel. These faint tremors are revealing what lies beneath the surface where the San Andreas fault meets the Cascadia subduction zone, one of the most dangerous seismic regions in North America.

A simple change in how primary care clinics approach weight management is delivering big public health wins. PATHWEIGH lets patients openly request help and gives doctors the tools to focus entire visits on weight care. In a massive real-world trial, the program halted population weight gain and increased access to obesity treatment. Now, health systems across the U.S. are lining up to adopt it.

Bamboo shoots may be far more than a crunchy side dish. A comprehensive review found they can help control blood sugar, support heart and gut health, and reduce inflammation and oxidative stress. Laboratory and human studies also suggest bamboo may promote beneficial gut bacteria and reduce toxic compounds in cooked foods. However, bamboo must be pre-boiled to avoid natural toxins.

Scientists have discovered that the adolescent brain does more than prune old connections. During the teen years, it actively builds dense new clusters of synapses in specific parts of neurons. These clusters emerge only in adolescence and may help shape higher-level thinking. When the process is disrupted, it could play a role in conditions like schizophrenia.

A vitamin A byproduct has been found to quietly disarm the immune system, allowing tumors to evade attack and weakening cancer vaccines. Scientists have now developed a drug that shuts down this pathway, dramatically boosting immune responses and slowing cancer growth in preclinical studies.

SpaceX Crew-11 splashed down safely in the Pacific after more than five months in orbit aboard the International Space Station. The four astronauts completed over 140 experiments and traveled nearly 71 million miles around Earth. NASA brought the crew home earlier than planned due to a medical concern, with officials confirming the affected crew member is stable. The mission underscores how quickly today’s space programs can adapt while keeping astronauts safe.

Hydrogen cyanide, a toxic chemical, may have helped spark the chemistry that led to life. When frozen, it forms crystals with highly reactive surfaces that can drive unusual chemical reactions, even in extreme cold. These reactions could produce more reactive molecules that pave the way for life’s basic ingredients. The findings suggest frozen worlds may be more chemically active than once thought.

For years, strange red dots in James Webb images left scientists puzzled. New research shows they are young black holes hidden inside dense clouds of gas, glowing as they devour their surroundings. These black holes are smaller than expected but grow rapidly, shedding light on how supermassive black holes appeared so early in cosmic history. The finding reveals a violent and messy phase of the universe’s youth.

A large international study reveals that mammals tend to live longer when reproduction is suppressed. On average, lifespan increases by about 10 percent, though the reasons differ for males and females. Castrated males avoid the harmful effects of testosterone, while females gain longevity by sidestepping the intense physical demands of pregnancy and nursing. The results underscore a powerful biological trade-off between making offspring and staying alive longer.

Scientists have uncovered how cannabis evolved the ability to make its most famous compounds—THC, CBD, and CBC—by recreating ancient enzymes that existed millions of years ago. These early enzymes were multitaskers, capable of producing several cannabinoids at once, before evolution fine-tuned them into today’s highly specialized forms. By “resurrecting” these long-lost enzymes in the lab, researchers showed how cannabis chemistry became more precise over time—and discovered something unexpected: the ancient versions are often more robust and easier to work with.

Tryptophan does far more than help us sleep—it fuels brain chemistry, energy production, and mood-regulating neurotransmitters. But as the brain ages or develops neurological disease, this delicate system goes awry, pushing tryptophan toward harmful byproducts linked to memory loss, mood changes, and sleep problems.

New research shows tropical forests can recover twice as fast after deforestation when their soils contain enough nitrogen. Scientists followed forest regrowth across Central America for decades and found that nitrogen plays a decisive role in how quickly trees return. Faster regrowth also means more carbon captured from the atmosphere. The study points to smarter reforestation strategies that work with nature rather than relying on fertilizers.

New research suggests statins may protect adults with type 2 diabetes regardless of how low their predicted heart risk appears. In a large UK study, statin use was linked to fewer deaths and major cardiac events across all risk levels. Even those labeled “low risk” benefited, challenging long-held assumptions about who should receive preventive therapy. Side effects were rare and generally mild.

Physicists have long relied on the idea that electrons behave like tiny particles zipping through materials, even though quantum physics says their exact position is fundamentally uncertain. Now, researchers at TU Wien have discovered something surprising: a material where this particle picture completely breaks down can still host exotic topological states—features once thought to depend on particle-like behavior.

Spikes in blood sugar after eating may be more dangerous for the brain than previously thought. In a massive genetic study, people with higher post-meal blood sugar had a much greater risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The effect couldn’t be explained by visible brain damage, suggesting hidden biological pathways may be involved. Researchers say managing blood sugar after meals could become a key strategy for reducing dementia risk.

“BPA-free” food packaging may be hiding new risks. A McGill University study found that several BPA substitutes used in grocery price labels can seep into food and interfere with vital processes in human ovarian cells. Some triggered unusual fat buildup and disrupted genes linked to cell repair and growth. The results raise concerns that BPA replacements may be just as troubling as the chemical they replaced.

In the rapidly disappearing Atlantic Forest, mosquitoes are adapting to a human-dominated landscape. Scientists found that many species now prefer feeding on people rather than the forest’s diverse wildlife. This behavior dramatically raises the risk of spreading dangerous viruses such as dengue and Zika. The findings reveal how deforestation can quietly reshape disease dynamics.

Pancreatic cancer uses a sugar-coated disguise to evade the immune system, helping explain why it’s so hard to treat. Northwestern scientists discovered this hidden mechanism and created an antibody that strips away the tumor’s protective signal. In animal tests, immune cells sprang back into action and tumors grew much more slowly. The team is now refining the therapy for future human trials.

Dark matter, one of the Universe’s greatest mysteries, may have been born blazing hot instead of cold and sluggish as scientists long believed. New research shows that dark matter particles could have been moving near the speed of light shortly after the Big Bang, only to cool down later and still help form galaxies. By focusing on a chaotic early era known as post-inflationary reheating, researchers reveal that “red-hot” dark matter could survive long enough to become the calm, structure-building force we see today.

Foams were once thought to behave like glass, with bubbles frozen in place at the microscopic level. But new simulations reveal that foam bubbles are always shifting, even while the foam keeps its overall shape. Remarkably, this restless motion follows the same math used to train artificial intelligence. The finding hints that learning-like behavior may be a fundamental principle shared by materials, machines, and living cells.

Researchers have discovered a rare new type of diabetes that affects babies early in life. The condition is caused by changes in a single gene that prevent insulin-producing cells from working properly. When these cells fail, blood sugar rises and diabetes develops, often alongside neurological problems. The findings help explain a long-standing medical mystery and deepen understanding of diabetes overall.

A new discovery may explain why so many people abandon cholesterol-lowering statins because of muscle pain and weakness. Researchers found that certain statins can latch onto a key muscle protein and trigger a tiny but harmful calcium leak inside muscle cells. That leak may weaken muscles directly or activate processes that slowly break them down, offering a long-sought explanation for statin-related aches.

Scientists are taking a closer look at monk fruit and discovering it’s more than just a sugar substitute. New research shows its peel and pulp contain a rich mix of antioxidants and bioactive compounds that may support health. Different varieties offer different chemical profiles, hinting at unique benefits. The work could shape how monk fruit is used in future foods and supplements.

A massive international brain study has revealed that memory decline with age isn’t driven by a single brain region or gene, but by widespread structural changes across the brain that build up over time. Analyzing thousands of MRI scans and memory tests from healthy adults, researchers found that memory loss accelerates as brain tissue shrinkage increases, especially later in life. While the hippocampus plays a key role, many other brain regions also contribute, forming a broad vulnerability rather than isolated damage.

Scientists have identified a newly recognized threat lurking beneath the ocean’s surface: sudden episodes of underwater darkness that can last days or even months. Caused by storms, sediment runoff, algae blooms, and murky water, these “marine darkwaves” dramatically reduce light reaching the seafloor, putting kelp forests, seagrass, and other light-dependent life at risk.

A new study reveals that alpha brain waves help the brain decide what belongs to your body. Faster rhythms allow the brain to match sight and touch more precisely, strengthening the feeling that a body part is truly yours. Slower rhythms blur that timing, making it harder to separate self from surroundings. The findings could improve prosthetic design and immersive virtual experiences.

Some people get drunk without drinking because their gut bacteria produce alcohol from food. Researchers have now identified the microbes and biological pathways behind this rare condition, auto-brewery syndrome. Tests showed patients’ gut samples produced far more alcohol than those of healthy people. In one case, a fecal transplant led to long-lasting symptom relief.