Solving gutter water runoff; lead carpenter Lasana Harper talks about his journey into carpentry; replacing a ceiling fan.

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Country music singer Vince Gill offers a tour of his favorite spots in Nashville, Tenn.; kitchen island legs are fashioned from recycled cedar posts; exterior paint colors are selected.

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Fish chicharron at El Maviri restaurant; a rustic pan de mujer with a family of breadmakers in Altata; El Cuchupetas seafood restaurant in Mazatlán, Mexico.

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For centuries, we’ve imagined Neanderthals as distant cousins — a separate species that vanished long ago. But thanks to AI-powered genetic research, scientists have revealed a far more entangled history. Modern humans and Neanderthals didn’t just cross paths; they repeatedly interbred, shared genes, and even merged populations over nearly 250,000 years. These revelations suggest that Neanderthals never truly disappeared — they were absorbed. Their legacy lives on in our DNA, reshaping our understanding of what it means to be human.

A cat named Pepper has once again helped scientists discover a new virus—this time a mysterious orthoreovirus found in a shrew. Researchers from the University of Florida, including virologist John Lednicky, identified this strain during unrelated testing and published its genome. Although once thought to be harmless, these viruses are increasingly linked to serious diseases in humans and animals. With previous discoveries also pointing to a pattern of viral emergence in wildlife, scientists stress the need for more surveillance—and Pepper remains an unlikely but reliable viral scout.

A surprising new study has uncovered over 200 misfolded proteins in the brains of aging rats with cognitive decline, beyond the infamous amyloid and tau plaques long blamed for Alzheimer’s. These shape-shifting proteins don’t clump into visible plaques, making them harder to detect but potentially just as harmful. Scientists believe these “stealth” molecules could evade the brain’s cleanup systems and quietly impair memory and brain function. The discovery opens a new frontier in understanding dementia and could lead to entirely new targets for treatment and prevention.

A major breakthrough in Maya archaeology has emerged from Caracol, Belize, where the University of Houston team uncovered the tomb of Te K'ab Chaak—Caracol’s first known ruler. Buried with elaborate jade, ceramics, and symbolic artifacts, the tomb offers unprecedented insight into early Maya royalty and their ties to the powerful Mexican city of Teotihuacan.

Adopting a physically active lifestyle at any stage of adulthood significantly lowers your risk of dying from any cause, especially from cardiovascular disease. A sweeping analysis of 85 studies confirms that those who stay active consistently reduce their mortality risk by 30–40%, while even those who become active later in life enjoy a 20–25% reduction.

A university student on a fossil-hunting field trip in Dorset made a stunning discovery: a 145-million-year-old jawbone belonging to a previously unknown mammal species with razor-like teeth. With the help of CT scanning, 3D printing, and expert analysis, the fossil was revealed to be Novaculadon mirabilis, a multituberculate that lived alongside dinosaurs. This is the first find of its kind from the area in over a century, and the fossil’s preservation and sharp-toothed structure are offering new insights into early mammal evolution — all thanks to a beach walk and a sharp eye.

Even in a warming climate, brutal cold snaps still hammer parts of the U.S., and a new study uncovers why. High above the Arctic, two distinct polar vortex patterns — both distorted and displaced — play a major role in steering icy air toward different regions. One sends it plunging into the Northwest, while the other aims it at the Central and Eastern U.S. Since 2015, the westward version has been more common, bringing intensified cold to the Northwest in defiance of global warming trends. This stratospheric detective work offers fresh insight into extreme winter weather — and could supercharge long-range forecasts.

Scientists at ETH Zurich have broken new ground by generating over 400 types of nerve cells from stem cells in the lab, far surpassing previous efforts that produced only a few dozen. By systematically experimenting with combinations of morphogens and gene regulators, the researchers replicated the vast diversity of neurons found in the human brain. This breakthrough holds major promise for studying neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, creating more accurate models for drug testing, and eventually even enabling neuron replacement therapies.

A team of researchers has discovered that a protein called cypin plays a powerful role in helping brain cells connect and communicate, which is crucial for learning and memory. By uncovering how cypin tags certain proteins at synapses and interacts with the brain’s protein recycling system, scientists are opening doors to possible treatments for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and traumatic brain injuries. This breakthrough could be the first step toward boosting brain resilience and cognition.

A team at Scripps Research has created a microchip that can rapidly reveal how a person's antibodies respond to viruses using only a drop of blood. This game-changing technology, called mEM, condenses a week’s worth of lab work into 90 minutes, offering a powerful tool for tracking immune responses and fast-tracking vaccine development. Unlike earlier methods, it needs far less blood and delivers more detailed insights, even revealing previously undetected antibody targets on viruses like SARS-CoV-2 and influenza.

Researchers at the University of Illinois have pulled off a laser first: they built a new kind of eye-safe laser that works at room temperature, using a buried layer of glass-like material instead of the usual air holes. This design not only boosts laser performance but also opens the door to safer and more precise uses in defense, autonomous vehicles, and advanced sensors. It’s a breakthrough in how we build and power lasers—and it might change what lasers can do in the real world.

Mars may not have always been the dry and dusty world we imagine. A staggering network of ancient riverbeds, spanning over 15,000 kilometers, has been discovered in the planet’s Noachis Terra region, suggesting that flowing water, fueled by precipitation, was once widespread. Unlike previously studied valley networks, these “inverted channels” reveal a long history of persistent water activity, challenging the idea that Mars was merely cold and dry.

A newly discovered comet, 3I/ATLAS, may be the most ancient visitor ever detected, potentially older than our solar system itself. Unlike previous interstellar objects, this ice-rich comet seems to originate from the thick disk of the Milky Way, a region filled with ancient stars. First spotted in July 2025, it’s already showing signs of activity and could help scientists understand more about galactic chemistry and the origins of planetary systems.

NASA is gearing up for an exciting chapter in lunar exploration by sending a trio of high-tech instruments to the Moon. Two of the devices will be attached to a new lunar rover capable of carrying astronauts or operating remotely, while the third will gather data from orbit. These tools will hunt for ice, map minerals, and analyze what lies beneath the surface, offering a clearer picture of the Moon s makeup and potential resources.

In its closest-ever dive into the Sun’s atmosphere, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has returned stunning new images and data that bring scientists closer to solving one of the Sun’s biggest mysteries: how the solar wind is born. Captured from just 3.8 million miles away, the footage shows chaotic collisions of solar eruptions, twisting magnetic fields, and the origin zones of the solar wind—phenomena that shape space weather and can disrupt life on Earth. This unprecedented view from inside the corona is helping scientists understand and predict the Sun’s violent behavior like never before.

Scientists have discovered a revolutionary new method for creating quantum states by twisting materials at the M-point, revealing exotic phenomena previously out of reach. This new direction dramatically expands the moiré toolkit and may soon lead to the experimental realization of long-sought quantum spin liquids.

In a bold step toward sustainable space travel, scientists are engineering a radically small, protein-rich rice that can grow in space. The Moon-Rice project, led by the Italian Space Agency in collaboration with three universities, aims to create crops that thrive in microgravity while boosting astronaut nutrition and well-being.