A newly identified ichthyosaur from the UK’s Jurassic Coast is rewriting part of the prehistoric playbook. Nicknamed the “Sword Dragon of Dorset,” the three-meter-long marine reptile lived during a poorly understood window of evolution when major ichthyosaur groups were disappearing and new ones emerging. Its beautifully preserved skeleton — complete with a blade-like snout and possible last meal — helps pinpoint when this dramatic transition occurred.

Scientists have proposed a surprising connection between solar flares and earthquakes. When solar activity disturbs the ionosphere, it may generate electric fields that penetrate fragile fracture zones in Earth’s crust. If a fault is already critically stressed, this extra electrostatic pressure could help trigger a quake. The idea doesn’t claim direct causation, but it offers a fresh way to think about how space weather and seismic events might interact.

Deep inside the Milky Way, an invisible force is quietly holding everything together — its magnetic field. Now, researchers have created one of the most detailed maps ever of this hidden structure, revealing surprising twists in how it flows through our galaxy.

After nearly 50 years of failed attempts and scientific speculation, chemists at Saarland University have achieved what many thought might be impossible: creating a long-sought silicon-based aromatic molecule. By replacing carbon atoms in a famously stable ring-shaped compound with silicon, the team synthesized pentasilacyclopentadienide — a breakthrough published in Science.

Deep in the Congo Basin, vast peatlands quietly store enormous amounts of Earth’s carbon — but new research suggests this ancient vault may be leaking. Scientists studying Africa’s largest blackwater lakes discovered that significant amounts of carbon dioxide bubbling into the atmosphere come not just from recent plant life, but from peat that has been locked away for thousands of years.

Subtle changes in brain blood flow and oxygen use are closely linked to hallmark signs of Alzheimer’s, including amyloid plaques and memory-related brain shrinkage. Simple, noninvasive scans may one day help spot risk earlier—by looking at the brain’s vascular health, not just its plaques.

Researchers are engineering bacteria to invade tumors and consume them from the inside. Because tumor cores lack oxygen, they’re the perfect breeding ground for these microbes. The team added a genetic tweak that helps the bacteria survive longer near oxygen-exposed edges — but only once enough of them are present to trigger the change. It’s a carefully programmed biological attack that could one day offer a new way to destroy cancer.

CU Boulder researchers have designed microscopic “racetracks” that trap and amplify light with exceptional efficiency. By using smooth curves inspired by highway engineering, they reduced energy loss and kept light circulating longer inside the device. Fabricated with sub-nanometer precision, the resonators rank among the top performers made from chalcogenide glass. The technology could lead to compact sensors, microlasers, and advanced quantum systems.

A sweeping nationwide study has found that U.S. counties located closer to operating nuclear power plants have higher cancer death rates than those farther away. Researchers analyzed data from every nuclear facility and all U.S. counties between 2000 and 2018, adjusting for income, education, smoking, obesity, environmental conditions, and access to health care. Even after accounting for those factors, cancer mortality was higher in communities nearer to nuclear plants, particularly among older adults.

A Martian volcano once thought to be the result of a single eruption turns out to have a much more complex past. Orbital imaging and mineral data show it developed through multiple eruptive phases, all powered by the same evolving magma system underground. Shifts in mineral composition reveal the magma changed over time, hinting at different depths and storage histories. Mars’ interior was far more active than previously believed.

Far beneath the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,000 kilometers off Portugal’s coast, lies a colossal underwater canyon system that dwarfs even the Grand Canyon. Known as the King’s Trough Complex, this 500-kilometer stretch of trenches and deep basins formed not from rushing water, but from dramatic tectonic forces that once tore the seafloor apart.

People whose sugar intake was restricted before birth and in early childhood had markedly lower rates of heart disease later in life. Compared to those never exposed to rationing, their risks of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and cardiovascular death were cut by roughly 20–30%.

A new 30-year analysis reveals that melting land ice is now the main force behind rising global sea levels. Researchers discovered that oceans rose about 90 millimeters since 1993, with most of the increase coming from added water mass rather than just warming expansion. Ice loss from Greenland and mountain glaciers accounts for the vast majority of this gain. Even more concerning, the rate of sea-level rise is accelerating.

Training harder may do more than build muscle—it could transform your gut. Researchers found that intense workouts change the balance of bacteria and important compounds in athletes’ digestive systems. When training loads dropped, diet quality slipped and digestion slowed, triggering different microbial shifts. These hidden changes might influence performance in ways scientists are only beginning to understand.

A UCLA study in mice reveals that aging muscle stem cells accumulate a protein that slows repair but boosts survival. This protein, NDRG1, acts like a brake, preventing cells from activating quickly after injury. When researchers blocked it in older mice, muscle healing sped up dramatically — but stem cells became less resilient over time. The work suggests aging may reflect a survival trade-off rather than straightforward decline.

A century after Erwin Schrödinger sketched out a bold vision for how we perceive color, scientists have finally filled in the missing pieces. A Los Alamos team used advanced geometry to show that hue, saturation, and lightness aren’t shaped by culture or experience — they’re built directly into the mathematical structure of how we see color. By defining a crucial missing element known as the “neutral axis,” the researchers repaired a long-standing flaw in Schrödinger’s model and even corrected tricky visual quirks like the way brightness can subtly shift perceived hue.

Scientists at Stanford Medicine have unveiled a bold new kind of “universal” vaccine that could one day protect against everything from COVID-19 and the flu to bacterial pneumonia and even common allergens. Instead of targeting a specific virus or bacterium, the nasal spray vaccine supercharges the lungs’ own immune defenses, keeping them on high alert for months. In mice, it slashed viral levels, prevented severe illness, and even blocked allergic reactions.

Cleaner wrasse have revealed a remarkable new side of fish intelligence. Marked with fake parasites, they used mirrors to inspect and remove the spots—far faster than seen in earlier tests. Even more striking, some fish dropped shrimp in front of the mirror to watch how its reflection moved, a form of exploratory “contingency testing.” The findings suggest self-awareness may extend well beyond mammals.

Babies born in the early 2000s were exposed in the womb to far more “forever chemicals” than researchers once realized, according to a new study. By using advanced chemical screening on umbilical cord blood, scientists detected 42 different PFAS compounds, including many that standard tests do not routinely check for. These long lasting chemicals are found in common products like nonstick cookware, food packaging, and stain resistant fabrics, and they can build up in the body over time.

Far beyond Neptune, in the frozen depths of the Kuiper Belt, many ancient objects oddly resemble giant snowmen made of ice and rock. For years, scientists wondered how these delicate two-lobed shapes could form without violent collisions tearing them apart. Now researchers at Michigan State University have recreated the process in a powerful new simulation, showing that simple gravitational collapse can naturally produce these cosmic “snowmen.”