A large genetic study shows that many people carry DNA sequences that slowly expand as they get older. Common genetic variants can dramatically alter how fast this expansion happens, sometimes multiplying the pace by four. Researchers also identified specific DNA expansions linked to severe kidney and liver disease. The findings...
A new study casts doubt on life beneath Europa’s ice
Europa’s buried ocean has made it one of the most exciting places to search for life beyond Earth. However, new calculations suggest its seafloor may be calm, cold, and largely inactive, with little energy to support living organisms. Unlike Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io, Europa experiences weaker tidal forces that fail...
Wildfires are polluting the air far more than thought
Scientists have discovered that wildfires release far more air-polluting gases than previously estimated. Many of these hidden emissions can transform into fine particles that are dangerous to breathe. The study shows wildfire pollution rivals human-made emissions in some parts of the world. This helps explain why wildfire smoke can linger...
Breakthrough lets scientists watch plants breathe in real time
Scientists have created a new way to watch plants breathe—live and in high definition—while tracking exactly how much carbon and water they exchange with the air. The breakthrough could help unlock crops that grow smarter, stronger, and more drought-resistant.
11,000-year-old dog skulls reveal a hidden origin story
Dogs began diversifying thousands of years earlier than previously believed, with clear differences in size and shape appearing over 11,000 years ago. A massive global analysis of ancient skulls shows that early dogs were already adapting to different roles in human societies. This challenges the idea that dog diversity is...
The invisible energy cost that keeps life from falling apart
Living cells pay a hidden energy price not just to run chemical reactions, but to keep them on track and block all the alternatives. A new thermodynamic framework makes it possible to calculate these overlooked costs and compare different metabolic pathways. When tested on photosynthesis, the method showed that nature...
The poison frog that fooled scientists for decades
Researchers discovered that a poison frog species described decades ago was based on a mix-up involving the wrong museum specimen. The frog tied to the official species name turned out to be brown, not the colorful animal shown in the original photo. After tracing old records and images, scientists corrected...
This simple math trick could transform earthquake science
Earthquakes happen daily, sometimes with devastating consequences, yet predicting them remains out of reach. What scientists can do is map the hidden layers beneath the surface that control how strongly the ground shakes. A new approach speeds up complex seismic simulations by a factor of about 1,000, making risk assessments...
A NASA satellite caught a giant tsunami doing something scientists didn’t expect
When a huge earthquake struck near Kamchatka, the SWOT satellite captured an unprecedented, high-resolution view of the resulting tsunami as it crossed the Pacific. The data revealed the waves were far more complex and scattered than scientists expected, overturning the idea that large tsunamis travel as a single, stable wave....
A Greenland glacier is cracking open in real time
A meltwater lake that formed in the mid-1990s on Greenland’s 79°N Glacier has been draining in sudden, dramatic bursts through cracks and vertical ice shafts. These events have accelerated in recent years, creating strange triangular fracture patterns and flooding the glacier’s base with water in just hours. Some drainages even...