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Science

What happens in the brain when cannabis makes you anxious?

Cannabinoids may intensify anxiety by removing a natural brake on specific neurons in the brain’s fear center, particularly during stressful situations. In mice, shutting down those neurons sharply reduced cannabinoid-related anxious behavior.

Animals may have evolved 200 million years earlier than we thought

New research suggests animals could have evolved as early as 800 to 700 million years ago, roughly 200 million years earlier than some previous estimates. If so, the first animals may have lived before or during Snowball Earth, leaving behind little trace because their soft bodies were rarely preserved.

Humans may not be as hardwired for violence as we thought

A study comparing 100 primate species, including humans, suggests that everyday aggression and lethal violence did not evolve as part of the same simple behavioral spectrum. Species that frequently fight or show mild aggression are not necessarily more likely to kill rivals, while extreme acts such as infanticide and lethal attacks appear to follow their own evolutionary patterns.

NASA Glenn Invites Phase 1 Proposals for Aerospace Power Systems Laboratory

NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is seeking Phase 1 proposals for the design and construction of the Aerospace Power Systems Laboratory. The principal purpose of this procurement is to deliver a laboratory facility to support the testing and development of power systems, with associated site work, infrastructure, and systems. The laboratory will provide modern […]

Lunar Grounding Challenge

As an astronaut traverses the lunar South Pole, tribocharging from walking on the lunar surface and plasma charging from the ambient plasma generate electric charge on the spacesuit. This problem is severely compounded when entering lunar shadows and Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs). In these dark zones, the spacesuit can buildup a substantial negative potential due […]

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NASA to Cover Northrop Grumman CRS-24 Spacecraft Departure

After delivering more than 11,000 pounds of supplies, science experiments, and other cargo to the International Space Station for NASA, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft is scheduled to depart Friday, Oct. 9, as part of the company’s Commercial Resupply Services-24 mission, or Northrop Grumman CRS-24. Watch NASA’s live coverage of undocking and departure beginning at 12:30 […]

Naked Trump statue goes on display in Strasbourg

Titled "The Orange Plague," a gold-coated statue presents Donald Trump sitting on a smaller man's back. The Danish artist blamed Trump for getting in the way of efforts to address climate change.

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Catches Stunning Martian Dawn

A newly released panorama captured by NASA’s Curiosity rover offers the most detailed view yet of distant, wind-carved Martian cliffs, highlighting features the mission’s scientists have long been waiting to see up close. The scene was snapped at 8:30 a.m. local Mars time, showing striking blue hues in the foreground as bright morning light illuminates […]

Astronomers Solve Cosmic Cold Case with NASA Hubble Data

Diligent sleuthing by astronomers uncovered a surprising chemical clue that indicates the white dwarf star HS 0209+0832 may host a second-generation planet. This artist’s concept released on Oct. 5, 2026, depicts that possible explanation. The white dwarf is the “dead” core of a star that burned through all of its nuclear fuel and lost its outer […]

A few drops of this Japanese tree oil may help you sleep more soundly

In a small study, sleeping near the scent of Hinoki root essential oil was linked to fewer nighttime awakenings, better morning alertness, and brain-wave changes associated with smoother sleep onset. The findings suggest an overlooked forestry byproduct could someday become a natural ingredient in sleep and relaxation products.

MIT scientists find a hidden cancer risk of the keto diet

A ketogenic diet increased small-intestinal tumors in cancer-prone mice while reducing tumors in the colon, revealing a strikingly different response within neighboring parts of the gut. Researchers traced the increased risk not to ketones, but to the way intestinal stem cells processed the diet’s high levels of fat. That fat-burning activity pushed the cells to multiply more rapidly, potentially raising the chance of cancerous changes.

Tropical trees built homes for ants. Wasps are taking them over

Predatory wasps are hijacking shelters built by tropical trees for their ant defenders, potentially disrupting an ancient partnership that protects the plants from hungry insects. The takeover is far more common in disturbed landscapes such as oil palm plantations and could have lasting consequences for forest recovery and evolution.

Archaeologists may have finally solved a 100-year-old Florida mystery

Ancient pottery from Tampa Bay appears to have been made by migrant craftspeople who brought specialized Mississippian pottery-making knowledge hundreds of miles south. Remarkably, they even incorporated crushed fragments of older homeland pottery into new vessels, preserving a physical link to their past across generations.

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Scientists finally see how nature moves energy so efficiently

Researchers have captured key steps in a chemical reaction that helps nature transfer energy with remarkable efficiency. Ultrafast X-rays revealed how changes involving electrons and protons are closely linked to the rearrangement of surrounding water molecules. Because similar reactions drive photosynthesis and other energy-conversion processes, the technique could help scientists develop better catalysts, fuel cells, and flow batteries.

Physicists just saw quarks make waves in the Big Bang’s primordial soup

Physicists at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider have captured the clearest evidence yet that quark-gluon plasma, the scorching-hot matter that filled the newborn universe, behaves like a true liquid. By tracking individual quarks as they blasted through the plasma, researchers saw them leave behind ripples, splashes, and swirling wakes much like a duck moving through water. The finding suggests this primordial “soup” is so dense that it can slow speeding quarks and respond collectively as a fluid.

Goodbye joint replacements? Stanford scientists found a way to regrow cartilage and stop arthritis

Scientists have found a surprising way to regrow damaged knee cartilage by blocking a protein that becomes more abundant with age. In old mice, the treatment restored naturally lost cartilage and also helped prevent osteoarthritis after ACL-like knee injuries, while human cartilage taken from knee replacement patients began producing new, functional joint cartilage after exposure to the same inhibitor.

NASA’s Webb Captures Commotion From Nebula’s Stellar Jets

A cauldron of cosmic creation is being revealed in a new image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Webb has unveiled numerous stars formerly hidden by clouds of dust in a stellar nursery known as NGC 7129, which resides about 3,300 light-years from Earth. Stars, the engines of elemental creation, have life cycles that begin […]