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June 26, 2026

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Scientists Stunned by Signs of Ancient Life in a Place No One Expected

June 26, 2026 Scientists exploring ancient seafloor rocks in Morocco discovered mysterious wrinkle patterns where they were never expected to occur. These structures are normally linked to microbial mats in shallow, sunlit waters, yet the rocks formed hundreds of ...

Butter and Margarine Look Similar but Their Chemistry Changes Everything

June 26, 2026 The battle between butter and margarine comes down to chemistry. Butter’s naturally occurring fats create rich flavors, golden browning, and flaky baked goods, while margarine’s modified plant oils offer consistency and a longer shelf life. ...

From Pet to Pest, Goldfish Can Wreck Entire Ecosystems

June 26, 2026 A new study reveals that goldfish can do far more than survive in the wild—they can fundamentally reshape freshwater ecosystems. Researchers found they cloud water, damage food webs, and hurt native fish populations, sometimes triggering major ...

Researchers Discover Why Fructose Doesn't Satisfy Hunger Like Glucose

June 26, 2026 A new study found that fructose and glucose may look the same on a nutrition label, but the brain treats them very differently. In mice, glucose strongly reduced activity in hunger-promoting brain cells, while fructose had a much weaker effect. ...

A “Ghost” Great White Shark Just Reignited a 160-year Mediterranean Mystery

June 26, 2026 The capture of a juvenile great white shark in Spain has provided fresh evidence that the Mediterranean's elusive "ghost" population of great whites still survives. Researchers reviewing 160 years of ...

This Newly Discovered Ballista Spider Catapults Ants Into a Deadly Trap

June 26, 2026 Scientists have discovered a “ballista spider” that builds a spring-powered silk trap designed specifically to catch aggressive green tree ants. The ant unknowingly triggers the mechanism itself, launching into the spider’s web in one of ...

Earth May Have Been Seeding Venus with Life for Billions of Years

June 25, 2026 A new study suggests Earth may have been sending tiny hitchhikers to Venus for billions of years. Researchers found that asteroid impacts could launch microbes into space, where some might survive the journey and end up suspended in Venus' clouds. ...

Einstein Probe May Have Caught a Black Hole Tearing Apart a White Dwarf for the First Time

June 25, 2026 Astronomers may have witnessed one of the rarest and most dramatic cosmic events ever seen: a long-sought intermediate-mass black hole ripping apart a dense white dwarf star and devouring it. The ...

This Common Vitamin Deficiency Can Mimic Normal Aging

June 25, 2026 Vitamin B12 is needed in microscopic amounts, but a shortage can have major effects on health and energy. The vitamin was first linked to a lifesaving liver treatment for pernicious anemia nearly 100 years ago. Today, researchers are finding that ...

FDA-approved Drug May Finally Help Immunotherapy Defeat Rare Liver Cancer

June 25, 2026 Researchers found that a rare liver cancer evades immunotherapy by luring immune T cells away from the tumor and trapping them in nearby fibrous tissue. An FDA-approved drug called AMD3100 freed those T cells to attack the cancer, significantly ...

Scientists Discover How a Single Cell Builds a Brain with 170 Billion Cells

June 25, 2026 How does a single cell build a brain with billions of precisely organized neurons? Researchers suggest that brain cells use their lineage—their cellular family tree—as a kind of positional map. Cells that come from the same ancestor stay near ...

After 70 Years of Excavation, Ancient Sardis Becomes a UNESCO World Heritage Site

June 25, 2026 After nearly seven decades of excavation, the legendary ancient city of Sardis has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site, celebrating years of discoveries that continue to reshape its history. ...

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NASA’s Lucy Finds a Wobbling Peanut-Shaped Asteroid With Signs of Ancient Water

June 25, 2026 NASA’s Lucy spacecraft discovered that asteroid Donaldjohanson is a wobbling, peanut-shaped relic born from a violent collision and slowly reshaped ...

The Universe May Be Hiding Conscious Minds Stranger Than We Can Imagine

June 24, 2026 What if consciousness isn’t limited to brains like ours? Philosophers Eric Schwitzgebel and Jeremy Pober argue that consciousness could arise in many different forms of life, even in beings built ...

Scientists Discover Ancient Brain Cells That Help Block Distractions

June 24, 2026 Scientists have discovered a tiny group of neurons in an ancient brain region that acts like a built-in focus filter, helping the brain ignore distractions and zero in on what matters most. When ...

Scientists Discover Hidden “footprints of Death” That May Help Viruses Spread

June 24, 2026 Scientists have uncovered a surprising new twist in what happens when cells die. As dying cells break apart, they leave behind tiny “footprints of ...

Why South Africa’s Leopards Shrank to Half Their Normal Size

June 24, 2026 A hidden population of South African leopards has revealed a remarkable evolutionary story. Researchers analyzing entire leopard genomes discovered that the Cape Floristic Region’s leopards are not ...

Early Humans Were Bringing Fire Into Caves 1.8 Million Years Ago

June 24, 2026 A new study suggests early humans were using fire in South Africa’s Wonderwerk Cave as far back as 1.79 million years ago. Researchers found burned bones deep inside the cave, where natural ...

Scientists Just Discovered How Queen Bees Are Really Made

June 24, 2026 For decades, scientists thought royal jelly was the secret ingredient that turned an ordinary honeybee larva into a queen. New research reveals the process is far more remarkable: young worker bees ...

The Tea in Your Kombucha Changes More Than Just the Taste

June 23, 2026 Scientists discovered that kombucha’s flavor, chemistry, and antioxidant activity vary dramatically depending on the tea used to make it. Green and oolong tea kombuchas emerged as the most ...

A Rare Interstellar Visitor Triggered a SETI Search for Alien Technology

June 23, 2026 SETI scientists searched the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS for radio signals that could indicate extraterrestrial technology but found nothing beyond human-made interference. Even so, the ...

Scientists Finally Solved How H5N1 Bird Flu Hid in Dairy Cows

June 23, 2026 Researchers uncovered why H5N1 bird flu attacks cows’ udders instead of their lungs: the virus’s preferred receptors are concentrated in mammary tissue. The breakthrough could help scientists ...

New Solid-State Material Converts Sunlight Into Higher-Energy UV Light

June 26, 2026 A new sunlight-powered material can convert visible light into higher-energy UV light, overcoming a challenge that has frustrated scientists for years. The breakthrough could enable cleaner air ...

Ebola and Hantavirus Can Start Like the Flu but Turn Deadly Fast

June 22, 2026 Two dangerous viruses are back in the spotlight, reminding health officials how quickly infectious diseases can become serious threats. Hantavirus, often linked to rodents, can cause severe heart and ...

This Simple Twist Could Bring Quantum Computers Closer to Reality

June 20, 2026 Researchers found that twisting layered sheets of hexagonal boron nitride can dramatically change the light produced by quantum emitters embedded within the material. The technique offers an ...

The Secret Language Behind Animal Cooperation

June 20, 2026 Animals from different species often rely on surprisingly sophisticated communication to work together, whether finding food, cleaning parasites, or gaining protection. New research suggests these ...

New Superconducting X-Ray Detector Is Up to 1,000 Times More Sensitive

June 24, 2026 A groundbreaking superconducting X-ray spectrometer has begun operation at BESSY II, giving Europe its first TES-based system and boosting photon detection efficiency by up to 1,000 times. The ...

This Emerging Treatment Is Helping People Avoid Knee Replacement Surgery

June 22, 2026 A minimally invasive treatment called GAE is helping people with chronic knee pain get back to gardening, cycling, and other activities without undergoing knee replacement surgery. Early studies ...

Scientists Say Most People Need More Protein Than Current Guidelines Suggest

June 22, 2026 A new review suggests that doing more exercise and eating more protein than current minimum recommendations may help people stay stronger, sharper, and more independent as they age. The goal ...

Scientists Discover Neurons Must Break Their DNA to Build the Brain

June 21, 2026 As newborn neurons make their way through the developing brain, they must squeeze through incredibly tight spaces to reach their final destinations. Researchers discovered that this physical journey ...

Hidden Geological Process Offsets Carbon Emissions from Thawing Permafrost

June 20, 2026 Scientists found that thawing permafrost can trigger increased rock weathering, a natural process that absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere. In some regions, this carbon uptake was strong enough to fully ...

Scientists Expected a Black Hole but Found a Neutrino Factory Powered by Stars

June 19, 2026 A distant galaxy nicknamed Shadow Blaster may have revealed a surprising source of cosmic neutrinos: extreme star formation instead of a supermassive black hole. The discovery suggests that hidden, ...

Researchers Found a Wordle Strategy That Wins 99% of the Time

June 19, 2026 Researchers developed a Wordle-solving strategy that succeeds 99% of the time by focusing on information gain rather than likely answers. The method uses Shannon entropy to identify guesses that ...

Scientists Reprogram Brain Immune Cells to Fight Alzheimer’s

June 19, 2026 A newly identified molecule called OLE helped restore the brain’s immune cells to a more protective state in Alzheimer’s models. The treatment reduced toxic plaque buildup and improved memory, ...

Ozempic Changed Obesity Treatment, but Experts Say the Real Revolution Is Next

June 20, 2026 The obesity treatment landscape is changing fast, with GLP-1 drugs opening the door to more effective care than ever before. Experts now envision a future where medications, minimally invasive ...

Arizona Reservoir Nearly Vanishes After Snowpack Collapse Triggers Massive Fish Kill

June 18, 2026 A historic lack of snow in the Gila River watershed has left Arizona’s San Carlos Reservoir less than 1% full, triggering a massive fish kill and an indefinite closure. Despite the bleak ...

Ancient DNA Reveals Plague Was Already Killing Humans 5,500 Years Ago

June 18, 2026 Plague was already a deadly killer 5,500 years ago, long before cities, farming, or the rat-infested conditions usually linked to historic outbreaks. By analyzing ancient DNA from hunter-gatherer ...

Ozempic and Wegovy Linked to Surprising Drop in Violent Behavior

June 17, 2026 A Rutgers study suggests GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy may weaken the link between impulsive tendencies and violent behavior. The surprising finding hints that these medications could affect ...

A Daily Probiotic May Help Relieve Depression and Anxiety

June 17, 2026 A small clinical trial suggests that probiotics may offer a surprising mental health boost for older adults with depression. Seniors who took a daily probiotic alongside their regular antidepressant ...

NASA’s Cold Atom Lab Is Creating One of the Weirdest Forms of Matter in Space

June 23, 2026 NASA’s upgraded Cold Atom Lab is turning the International Space Station into a frontier for quantum research, creating ultra-cold matter that behaves in astonishing ways. The experiments could ...

Butterfly That Barely Ages Could Help Unlock Longevity Secrets

June 22, 2026 Scientists discovered that Heliconius butterflies have evolved an extraordinary lifespan, living several times longer than closely related species. Even more surprising, some show little sign of ...

SpaceX Wants to Build AI Data Centers in Space. Will It Work?

June 18, 2026 The race to build data centers in space is gaining momentum as AI drives unprecedented demand for computing power. Orbital facilities could tap into abundant solar energy and avoid many of the ...