News
- Astronomy
This is the first close-up image of a star beyond our galaxy
The first-ever close-up of an extragalactic star looks different than expected and might give a view of what stars look like at the end of their lives.
- Planetary Science
Mars’ potato-shaped moons could be the remains of a shredded asteroid
Phobos and Deimos could have formed from asteroid debris, a new study suggests. An upcoming sample return mission will help test the idea.
- Artificial Intelligence
Here’s why turning to AI to train future AIs may be a bad idea
If future AI models are trained on AI-generated content, they could end up producing more bias and nonsense, researchers caution.
- Cosmology
Einstein’s gravity endures despite a dark energy puzzle
The DESI project previously reported that dark energy — long thought to be constant — changes over time. A new analysis reaffirms that claim.
- Health & Medicine
Vaccines, fluoride, raw milk: How RFK Jr.’s views may shape public health
If confirmed as head of the Department of Health and Human Services, Kennedy could influence U.S. policy on vaccines, drugs and food safety.
- Life
Nature’s first fiber optics could light the way to internet innovation
Mineral crystals in heart cockles’ shells protect symbiotic algae from ultraviolet rays and could lead to innovations in internet infrastructure.
- Health & Medicine
Youth tobacco use has gone down, but the work isn’t over
In 2024, tobacco use among middle and high school students reached a record low, but new vapes and other products with nicotine keep coming.
- Health & Medicine
Keeping weight off may be stymied by fat cells’ ‘memory’ of obesity
Some genetic changes in fat cells don’t go away after weight loss, a study in mice and human cells suggests.
- Neuroscience
Some people don’t have a mind’s eye. Scientists want to know why
The senses of sight and sound are usually mingled in the brain, but not for people with aphantasia.
- Oceans
The world’s largest coral was discovered in the South Pacific
The behemoth coral, discovered in October in the Solomon Islands, is longer than a blue whale and older than the United States.
- Planetary Science
A first look at rocks from the lunar farside create a volcanic mystery
Rocks returned by China’s Chang’e-6 mission suggest volcanic activity just 2.8 billion years ago but lack telltale heat-generating elements.
- Health & Medicine
22 pesticides show links to prostate cancer
The new finding comes from an analysis of pesticide use and prostate cancer incidence in over 3,100 U.S. counties.
