Technology

The announcement that President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the new leader of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has brought renewed attention to many comments the nominee has made…

In a discovery that blurs the line between biology and technology, scientists have found that heart-shaped clams use fiber optic–like structures to channel sunlight through their shells in much the same way that telecommunications…

Citations A. Jamal et al. Tobacco product use among middle and high school students — National Youth Tobacco Survey, United States, 2024. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Vol. 73, October 17, 2024, p. 917. doi:…

Fat tissue may commit weight to memory. For people living with obesity, losing weight can help reduce the risk of health problems such as type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease (SN: 2/29/24). But losing weight and keeping it…

Growing up, Roberto S. Luciani had hints that his brain worked differently than most people. He didn’t relate when people complained about a movie character looking different than what they’d pictured from the book, for…

Experimenting with food Mayonnaise’s texture is perfect for mimicking what a fuel capsule goes through when it’s blasted with lasers to ignite nuclear fusion, Emily Conover reported in “Mayonnaise may shed light on nuclear…

Editor in chief Nancy Shute recounts the 50-year anniversary of the hominid's discovery, which upended the study of human evolution.

Bengaluru, For filmmaker Sandesh Kadur, a National Geographic explorer and the cinematographer for BBC's Emmy nominated 'Planet Earth II', conveying science through storytelling is very important. HT Image "I believe in hitting…

EPA to study tap water carcinogens — Science News, November 16, 1974 There is evidence that clean drinking water in some localities may contain carcinogenic compounds. Many of the compounds detected contain chlorine and…

Off the coast of the Solomon Islands lurks a centuries-old being that is so immense, it can be seen from space. Discovered in October by the National Geographic Society’s Pristine Seas team, it is the world’s largest standalone…

The first samples from the farside of the moon contain signs of surprising volcanic activity near the lunar south pole. Two separate analyses of lunar rocks brought to Earth by China’s Chang’e-6 spacecraft show the rocks formed…

On a warm, sunny day in April, biologists David Duffy and Jessica Farrell prepare to motor down the Matanzas River on a small boat to catalog the area’s aquatic life. Ripples signal the river’s lazy flow along Florida’s…

Nearly two dozen pesticides are associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer in the United States, researchers report November 4 in Cancer. Four of those, the study finds, are also linked to prostate cancer deaths. The…

Inside a specially constructed safe at the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa sit the fragile remains of the world’s most celebrated human ancestor. She was once a hardy survivor in an unforgiving environment, but now her…

Close your eyes and imagine a sound, someone’s voice, coming from your left. It slowly shifts to come from behind you, then moves to your right. Around and around, it circles. Suddenly, the voice jumps. It was clearly in front of…

A molecule in lizard saliva may make it easier to find certain tumors in the pancreas. Insulinomas — benign tumors that can cause low blood sugar and sudden fainting spells — are notoriously hard to detect using current…

BERLIN: Scientists in Germany have discovered amber in Antarctica for the first time, revealing that around 90 million years ago, the continent's climate conditions supported resin-producing forests, Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)…

An extended childhood, a hallmark of human development, may have gotten off to an ancient and unusual start. One of the earliest known members of the Homo genus experienced delayed, humanlike tooth development during childhood…

Muons are getting a move on.  In a step toward new types of particle physics experiments, scientists cooled and then accelerated a beam of muons. The subatomic particles, heavy cousins of electrons, could be accelerated and…

A virus that caused a large outbreak in Brazil this year can spread from a pregnant woman to the fetus. The confirmation of several cases of transmission to the womb means that the virus, called Oropouche, has a feature in…

The misfolded proteins responsible for a fatal neurological illness in deer have a twist. The first detailed structure of an infectious prion that causes chronic wasting disease, or CWD, reveals features that could help guide…

Some of Uranus’ apparent oddities might be due to bad timing. In 1986, the Voyager 2 spacecraft flew past the planet, recording mysteries of its magnetic field. Turns out, Uranus may have just been in an unusual state. A solar…

New Delhi, A first-of-its-kind exercise aiming to secure India's national strategic objectives in space got underway here on Monday with Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan asserting that space is now the "critical enabler" of the…

CE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Three NASA astronauts whose prolonged space station mission ended with a trip to the hospital last month declined to say Friday which one of them was sick. HT Image Astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt…

A truck full of antimatter would make for a seriously epic road trip. And scientists are now one step closer to hauling the substance by motor vehicle. Scientists at the European laboratory CERN have demonstrated the…

DENVER — A drug found in almost every medicine cabinet may be a treatment for a rare genetic disease. Ibuprofen may help children with mutations in a gene called MAN1B1, a study in fruit flies suggests. Geneticist Clement Chow…

People are flocking to nature’s doorstep, and into wildfire territory. Homes constructed where human development meets undeveloped wildland are particularly vulnerable to wildfires and other natural hazards (SN: 11/9/23).…

A colossal census of the cosmos has more than tripled the number of active black holes known to reside in miniature galaxies and found the biggest haul of middleweight black holes to date. The survey turned up about 2,500 dwarf…

Astronaut Sunita Williams along with her fellow astronaut Butch Willmore have been at the International Space Station (ISS) since June 2024. The pair had launched aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 5 for its first crewed flight,…

In the ocean’s abyss, deep-diving whales use echolocation to hunt in pitch dark. Emitting sounds that bounce off objects gives the whales a clear picture of their surroundings. But such a superpower might come with a downside,…