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Scientists discovered that brain-cell axons may not be smooth tubes as textbooks have shown for more than a century, but instead naturally resemble strings of tiny pearls. Those pearl-like structures can change with neural activity and may help control how quickly electrical signals travel through the brain.
Scientists have found the first evidence that liquid may have flowed across Pluto’s surface in the recent past. Dark features on the enormous Sputnik Planitia glacier appear consistent with liquid nitrogen rising through cracks from deep beneath the ice. Computer models show that nitrogen could melt at the glacier’s base and travel upward like fluid through small conduits. The finding reveals that Pluto may be much more geologically active than its frozen appearance suggests.
New supercomputer simulations suggest JWST’s puzzling Little Red Dots are rapidly growing black holes from the early Universe. Extreme radiation may have helped create unusually massive black hole seeds, while dense surrounding gas allowed them to grow dozens of times faster than black holes can today. The simulated objects closely resemble the Little Red Dots seen by Webb. If correct, they could solve the mystery of how enormous black holes formed so soon after the Big Bang.
Arctic sea ice may move in unexpected ways because individual ice floes are constantly colliding and transferring energy. Researchers found that this simple process can explain several long-standing mysteries about how quickly the ice moves and spreads.
Astronomers have confirmed a Jupiter-size planet less than a million years old, making Elias 2-24 b the youngest known planet and giving scientists a rare look at a world still being born. Its surprisingly rapid formation challenges leading theories about how giant planets come together, especially so far from their stars.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed a 728-foot-wide crater that formed on the Moon in 2024, making it the largest newly formed crater ever identified in the solar system. The impact disturbed the surface for miles around it, creating a surprisingly large cold zone and showing how dramatically a single collision can reshape the lunar landscape.
Anak Krakatau erupted for more than 24 hours in early September, sending volcanic ash up to 50,000 feet into the atmosphere. The ash cloud shut down eight airports, disrupted nearly 3,000 flights, and affected air quality as far away as Jakarta. NASA satellites captured dramatic views of the plume spreading across the region.
A pocket-sized, roughly $100 detector can reveal the invisible stream of cosmic particles constantly passing through Earth and even through our bodies. What began as a student physics project is now being used in major experiments, balloon missions, and potentially future spacecraft.
Scientists discovered a new frog species in the flooded forests of the western Amazon, distinguishing it from nearly identical relatives through DNA and its unique call. Adenomera varcena highlights how much Amazonian biodiversity remains hidden even as habitat loss and climate change threaten these poorly understood species.
A kimchi-derived bacterium can bind to nanoplastics under gut-like conditions and may help carry them out of the body. In mice, the probiotic more than doubled the amount of nanoplastics detected in feces, pointing to a surprising potential use for microbes from fermented foods.
A glacier and rock collapse in Nepal killed nearly 1,400 people and left thousands missing. Scientists say decades of warming helped set the disaster in motion.
In a recent memo, the US government would no longer consider the unintentional killing of protected wildlife as unlawful.
Genetic data confirmed that the small feline, called "tilcayo" by locals, is a new species of cat. It's the first such discovery in more than 100 years.
More than three million people in the UK work night shifts, which can greatly impact their health. What can be done to help them?
Should we embrace air conditioning despite its costs and consequences?
A curious online row over this summer's heatwaves points to a wider - and worrying - shift in climate science.
As the astronauts pass behind the Moon they will experience a moment of silence and solitude as communication with the Earth is blocked.
BBC Science Editor Rebecca Morelle reflects on how it felt to watch history being made.
The structure consisted of two posts that lined up with the solstices 5,000 years ago.
Argentinian geologist Eduardo Olivero became the first scientist to find the remains of a dinosaur in Antarctica in 1986.
