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Microscopic fragments of ancient alien tech may litter the moon — and scientists have a plan to find them
Researchers propose that tiny technological remnants left over from extinct alien civilizations could have landed on the moon after traveling through interstellar space. It may not take long to find them, the team claims.
Life Science Core Day to connect Cornell’s facility resources with researchers
Life Science Core Day, taking place Sept. 22, offers Cornell researchers a chance to explore an extraordinary range of specialized life science core facilities, technologies, and expertise available to them from across campus in one place.
Art and science exhibit relays plight of amphibians, fishes
Flagler College welcomes interdisciplinary artist, biologist, environmental researcher and educator Dr. Brandon Ballengée as the Crisp-Ellert Art Museum’s (CEAM) Artist-in-Residence now through …
Researchers reflect on longterm health impacts of 9/11
The 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks is a reminder that the horrific events of that day continue to be felt a quarter-century later. While 2,753 people perished in the initial attacks on the World ...
Uniting sequence and structure to map the protein universe across billions of years of evolution
An international team of researchers, including those at the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at the Institute of Science Tokyo, has developed a protein language model that brings together two fundamental ...
Rutgers Turfgrass Research Field Days Showcase Innovation and Industry Collaboration
Turf professionals from across the United States and abroad gathered this summer for the 2026 Rutgers Turfgrass Research Field Days, where they explored the latest advances in turfgrass science and management while engaging directly with Rutgers researchers, faculty, staff, and students. The annual educational outreach events highlighted cutting-edge research and practical solutions for golf courses, […]
Neighborhood environments impact long-term health of 9/11 responders
Twenty-five years after the September 11 terrorist attacks, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have found that environmental conditions where World Trade Center responders live may influence their long-term physical and mental health.
Your next prescription could be treating a side effect from the last one
A major Ontario study found 24 common medication chains in which one drug’s side effects can be mistaken for a new medical problem, leading to another prescription. Researchers say closer medication reviews, pharmacist involvement, and automated alerts could help prevent these potentially harmful prescribing cascades.
One of science’s biggest mysteries could be solved by fossilised feather in dinosaur dung
By studying this feather, researchers have found clues that help explain why birds are the only group of dinosaurs that survived the mass extinction
Chimp convalescence, ant amputation: the wild world of animal doctors
When people are sick, we seek out medications and treatments to help heal. For a long time, scientists thought that was a uniquely human ability. But it turns out, many other animals do a version of it too! And since the late 1980s, western researchers have been trying to get a peek behind the curtain. And aside from just cataloguing all the cool examples just to know, there’s a real hope that studying animals’ medical cabinets may be the most promising way to expand our own. We get into the weeds with freelance science journalist Mandy Nguyen.Interested in more animal stories? Email us your ideas and questions to explore at shortwave@npr.org. They may become a future episode!Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
Scientists just made quantum computer operations 1,000 times faster
Researchers have found a way to perform certain quantum operations more than 1,000 times faster, cutting thousands of repeated control cycles down to just one. The advance could reduce errors and bring reliable, fault-tolerant quantum computers closer to reality.
How did ancient Israelites make wine? Scientists are stomping grapes to find out
Researchers use reconstructed Hasmonean winepress, four tons of Merlot and modern sensors in attempt to recreate how residents of Holy Land prepared their libations
Scientists find signs of extreme aging and youth in the same 117-year-old
A remarkably detailed study of Maria Branyas, who lived past 117, reveals that extreme longevity may involve both intense aging and powerful biological protection at the same time. Researchers found signs of advanced aging, but also low inflammation, beneficial gut bacteria, protective genetic features, and a biological age younger than her chronological age. Because she avoided major disease, the study offered a rare look at aging itself rather than the illnesses that often accompany it.
Heart damage may occur from getting too much light at night, study finds
Darkness should be recognized as one of the vital signs for health, researchers suggest.
IBM and NASA Release Open-Source AI Model to Support Lunar Exploration
YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, N.Y., Sept. 10, 2026 — IBM and NASA today announced the open-source release of the NASA‑IBM Lunar Foundation Model, one of the first publicly available foundation models for scientific exploration of the Moon, now available. Trained on an extensive lunar observation dataset curated by IBM and NASA researchers, the model can help scientists […]
URI study reveals how waist size and body mass index are associated with mortality in older adults
KINGSTON, R.I. – Sept. 10, 2026 – A longitudinal study led by University of Rhode Island researchers found that waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) provide distinct and complementary information about mortality risk among older adults. Previous studies examining BMI among older adults have produced seemingly conflicting findings regarding mortality risk. This study used […]
Researchers Are Looking Into 9/11’s Health Effects on Those Who Were Young at the Time
The federal World Trade Center Health Program will launch a group in 2027 to study people who were 21 and under during and immediately after the terror attacks.
Science, Service and a Passion for Wheat: Simsek Helps Connect U.S. Wheat to the World
Understanding wheat, improving the foods made from it and sharing knowledge has defined Dr. Senay Simsek career as a cereal scientist and researcher. It has also made her a valued technical expert for U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), helping international customers better understand the quality, functionality and value of U.S. wheat. Today, Simsek serves as department […]
Breast density laws linked to higher ultrasound use after mammography
Two kinds of legislation can help drive supplemental imaging for women with dense breasts, according to researchers from Penn State College of Medicine.
UNM Boosts Quantum Science & Tech Education
As New Mexico makes significant investments to establish itself as a leader in quantum technology, The University of New Mexico is expanding its
Science at the edge of the ice
Researchers returned to Milne Fiord year after year to monitor its ice shelf and the freshwater lake beneath the ice. Their measurements ultimately helped reconstruct how Canada’s last epishelf lake disappeared following the ice shelf’s 2020 breakup.
Scientists uncover 149 species new to science on ancient Indian Ocean seamounts near Australia
Researchers examining ancient underwater volcanoes identified 149 species never before described by science in the Indian Ocean near Australia.
New measure captures how scientists’ identities shift across academic disciplines
Rice and Michigan State researchers have developed and validated a new way to measure the extent to which scientists remain closely connected to the core of their discipline over the course of their careers.
Scientists want to 3D print houses on Mars with the help of yeast
Mars is a terrible place to build a house. It’s bitterly cold, blasted by radiation, and a near vacuum. Not to mention that the building materials, even for a modest shelter, could spend months hurtling through space before construction begins. But they don’t have to. In a study publishing September 10 in the journal Chem Circularity, researchers developed a recipe that could one day be used to 3D print houses on Mars. The recipe combines Martian rocks with Earthly ingredients: gelatin and yeast. Once dried and hardened, this living building material is as strong as low-grade concrete and can be broken down, recycled, and brewed again for new construction.
UNM expands academic commitment to quantum information science, engineering and technology
As New Mexico makes significant investments to establish itself as a leader in quantum technology, The University of New Mexico is expanding its academic efforts to prepare students for the opportunities emerging alongside this growing industry and new...
Scientists capture two DNA strands zipping together for the first time
Scientists have directly observed how two negatively charged DNA molecules can pair up despite normally repelling each other. Positively charged metal ions appear to bridge the gap, helping matching DNA helices align groove for groove like a molecular zipper. The discovery confirms a theory proposed two decades ago and could help researchers understand DNA interactions involved in cancer and other cellular processes.
How geopolitical rifts cut scientific collaboration
Researchers have measured how worsening geopolitical relations hobble scientific collaboration, at last quantifying the impact of rifts between governments on cooperation between labs. Over the last decade, a tenser world has thrown up new barriers to cross-border science. Collaboration between the US and China has dimmed as the two countries have sunk into an ever-deeper rivalry. Links between Russia and Europe have collapsed following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But while a concern, the magnitude of the damage is less than might be expected. For all the geopolitical turmoil of the last decade, international scientific collaborations are near a record high. “Some part of the story is positive,” said Shreyas Gadgin Matha, a social scientist at Harvard University and an author of the new study. “Research collaborations are largely resilient.” Matha and colleagues looked at data on cross-border research papers and patents in the period 2000-23, and analysed how they were impacted by countries’ political relations, as measured by how often states voted together in the United Nations. They found that when states drift apart at the UN by the median difference in votes between all countries, joint scientific papers decline by 3.1% over the next three-year period. To put that in context, over the last decade, the US and China have diverged by around a third of that difference in votes every three years. In other words, on average, it takes quite a significant diplomatic rift even to trigger a small single-digit percentage drop in joint papers. “In the short term, even something like a 3% reduction [in joint papers] is, in some ways, not that big of a number,” said Matha. Research remains more international than ever, according to an analysis extending to 2023 released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2025. We’re still living in an era of unprecedented scientific globalisation, the analysis says, with 27% of papers in OECD countries written across borders. In 1970, just 2% of articles had authors from different countries. Longer-term damage?However, this trend towards increasing international collaboration “has lost momentum and might be partly breaking down,” the OECD analysis says, largely due to a fall in the intensity of US-China joint papers since 2018. Matha and his colleagues stressed they are not complacent about the global science system. For now, “it's pretty resilient,” said co-author Muhammed Yildirim, director of academic research at Harvard’s Growth Lab. But if links are weakened, through the denial of study visas, for example, then this could have a much longer-term effect, cascading through generations of scientists, he added. Related articlesChina becomes Russia’s biggest collaborator after war decimates science ties with the west US scientists prefer German to Chinese collaborators, study finds Horizon Europe is now truly global. But what comes next? Another finding of the study, Burning bridges or bridging divides: Geopolitics and collaboration in research and innovation, is that trust appears easier to destroy than create.The hit to scientific collaboration when countries drift apart is around three times as big as the growth in joint papers when they move closer, the paper finds. “It's far easier to break these ties than to mend them, and that that also perhaps has some larger policy lesson,” said Matha.PatentsThe results around patents were less clear cut. Some methods of analysis found a statistically significant link between a diplomatic rift and a drop in co-patenting, but others did not. According to Yildirim, patents with cross-border inventors are often developed by multinational companies, which may have invested heavily in global R&D facilities, so are less likely to change how they operate simply due to a change in the geopolitical weather. “That's why we might not be seeing the effect immediately in technology,” he said.By contrast, researchers might be more sensitive to geopolitics, because visa policies can quickly affect who meets who at academic conferences, he went on. International collaboration on patents is much lower than for academic articles, the study shows. It peaked at around 10% in 2010, and has since fallen back to around 8%. This could be because China dramatically ramped up domestic patents in the 2010s, said Yildirim, squeezing the international share.
NASA, IBM Launch AI Foundation Model for Lunar Science
NASA is bringing artificial intelligence to the study of the Moon, helping researchers transform how they analyze the Moon’s surface. In an ongoing
Mizzou researcher describes two previously unknown insect species
Sites’ work adds to decades of research at the university documenting Earth’s biodiversity through taxonomy and field exploration.
Scientists create brilliant white material without a drop of white pigment
Researchers have created a foam-based material that produces intense whiteness and water repellency without titanium dioxide pigments or PFAS chemicals. Inspired by natural structures in snow, clouds, flowers, and lotus leaves, the material uses tiny pores to scatter light while its rough surface repels water. The technology could offer a more sustainable way to make white, water-resistant everyday materials.
25 Years Later, Studying the Health Effects of 9/11
What began with researchers studying World Trade Center dust has evolved into 25 years of environmental health research, occupational medicine, and clinical care for those exposed during the 9/11 rescue and recovery effort.
How geopolitical rifts cut scientific collaboration
Researchers have measured how worsening geopolitical relations hobble scientific collaboration, at last quantifying the impact of rifts between governments on cooperation between labs. Over the last decade, a tenser world has thrown up new barriers to cross-border science. Collaboration between the US and China has dimmed as the two countries have sunk into an ever-deeper rivalry. Links between Russia and Europe have collapsed following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But while a concern, the magnitude of the damage is less than might be expected. For all the geopolitical turmoil of the last decade, international scientific collaborations are near a record high. “Some part of the story is positive,” said Shreyas Gadgin Matha, a social scientist at Harvard University and an author of the new study. “Research collaborations are largely resilient.” Matha and colleagues looked at data on cross-border research papers and patents in the period 2000-23, and analysed how they were impacted by countries’ political relations, as measured by how often states voted together in the United Nations. They found that when states drift apart at the UN by the median difference in votes between all countries, joint scientific papers decline by 3.1% over the next three-year period. To put that in context, over the last decade, the US and China have diverged by around a third of that difference in votes every three years. In other words, on average, it takes quite a significant diplomatic rift even to trigger a small single-digit percentage drop in joint papers. “In the short term, even something like a 3% reduction [in joint papers] is, in some ways, not that big of a number,” said Matha. Research remains more international than ever, according to an analysis extending to 2023 released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2025. We’re still living in an era of unprecedented scientific globalisation, the analysis says, with 27% of papers in OECD countries written across borders. In 1970, just 2% of articles had authors from different countries. Longer-term damage?However, this trend towards increasing international collaboration “has lost momentum and might be partly breaking down,” the OECD analysis says, largely due to a fall in the intensity of US-China joint papers since 2018. Matha and his colleagues stressed they are not complacent about the global science system. For now, “it's pretty resilient,” said co-author Muhammed Yildirim, director of academic research at Harvard’s Growth Lab. But if links are weakened, through the denial of study visas, for example, then this could have a much longer-term effect, cascading through generations of scientists, he added. Related articlesChina becomes Russia’s biggest collaborator after war decimates science ties with the west US scientists prefer German to Chinese collaborators, study finds Horizon Europe is now truly global. But what comes next? Another finding of the study, Burning bridges or bridging divides: Geopolitics and collaboration in research and innovation, is that trust appears easier to destroy than create.The hit to scientific collaboration when countries drift apart is around three times as big as the growth in joint papers when they move closer, the paper finds. “It's far easier to break these ties than to mend them, and that that also perhaps has some larger policy lesson,” said Matha.PatentsThe results around patents were less clear cut. Some methods of analysis found a statistically significant link between a diplomatic rift and a drop in co-patenting, but others did not. According to Yildirim, patents with cross-border inventors are often developed by multinational companies, which may have invested heavily in global R&D facilities, so are less likely to change how they operate simply due to a change in the geopolitical weather. “That's why we might not be seeing the effect immediately in technology,” he said.By contrast, researchers might be more sensitive to geopolitics, because visa policies can quickly affect who meets who at academic conferences, he went on. International collaboration on patents is much lower than for academic articles, the study shows. It peaked at around 10% in 2010, and has since fallen back to around 8%. This could be because China dramatically ramped up domestic patents in the 2010s, said Yildirim, squeezing the international share.
Indigenous fisherwoman finds ‘lost’ spinach pipefish, not seen by science in 40 years
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. On the final day of a two-week expedition, where researchers were searching for a “lost” species along Papua New Guinea’s Sepik River, Helen Asu arrived with two small, greenish-brown fish. She had caught them while fishing for prawns […]
As AI transforms science, researchers need far more support
Prospect of AI creating “new scientific paradigm” necessitates big picture responses from across research community
Autism Decoded: New Science Is Opening Paths to Better Treatments
In the past few decades, researchers have identified hundreds of genes that increase the risk of autism spectrum
To protect science in the AI era, train researchers better
Universities must guide on how distrust is manufactured and how misconduct operates, says Baraa Khuder
UMD researchers explain the science behind why leaves change color
UMD researchers explain the science behind why leaves change color
Viewpoint: Unlocking Europe’s wildfire data
Europe is already investing in the science, technology and infrastructure needed to understand, prevent and fight wildfires. Copernicus provides satellite-based Earth observation and environmental information, while the European Forest Fire Information System provides information on fire danger and forest fires across Europe. Weather and climate systems add forecasts of heat, drought, wind and humidity; historical fire databases show where fires have occurred; and researchers generate increasingly detailed knowledge about fuels, fire behaviour, forecasting, modelling and risk management. Meanwhile, new European research projects are adding digital twins and other tools to this growing ecosystem.However, these data do not necessarily sit together, nor are they necessarily described, structured or governed in ways that allow them to be used together. Much of the information is public, but some is commercially held. Some is sensitive. Some is subject to legal, security or operational restrictions. Even when data can be legally accessed, different systems may use different formats, terminology and rules.Europe therefore faces an unusual paradox: we have vast amounts of relevant information to respond to the wildfire challenge, but not the means to bring it together. For example, a wildfire researcher or emergency service might need to ask whether a particular combination of vegetation, drought, wind and topography has historically been associated with rapid fire spread. The relevant information may exist in several institutions, using different systems and subject to different conditions of access.The challenge is to conduct an authorised analysis that interacts with these sources, combines the results and respects the rules imposed by each data custodian.An important part of the answer can be found in the Fair principles, the idea that data should be findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. Developed more than a decade ago, these principles have become a central reference point for modern data stewardship, making it easier for people and machines to find data, understand what it means and determine whether it can be reused.Readability by machines is essential, since AI systems will be key to meeting the data challenge. Bring analysis to the dataThe proposition is not to give an AI system unrestricted access to sensitive databases. Quite the opposite. The goal is to make it possible for approved algorithms to go to the data, rather than requiring sensitive data or large datasets to be copied to wherever the analysis happens.Imagine an analysis asking a series of questions of different data stations. At one station it might examine weather and climate data; at another, historical fire records; at another, experimental measurements of fire behaviour. The algorithm does not need to download everything. It can operate within the environment permitted by each data custodian and return only the results that the rules allow to leave.This is sometimes described as data visiting, and related approaches already exist in areas such as federated analysis and federated learning.Sensitive data should therefore not be treated as a free-for-all for machines. This requires appropriate governance at multiple levels. Access needs to be authenticated and authorised. The purpose of an analysis should be defined. The code or model being run should be controlled. Data custodians should be able to specify what can be queried and what results can leave their environment. Activities should be auditable and human oversight should remain where the consequences require it.In other words, the objective is not to trust AI with the data. It is to design systems in which AI never has more access than it needs.As open as possible, as closed as necessaryFair data should also not be confused with open data. Some wildfire data should be openly available. Other information may legitimately need to remain restricted because it concerns critical infrastructure, security, commercial interests, privacy or operational capabilities. The principle should be: as open as possible, as closed as necessary.The important point is that restricted data should not automatically become unusable data. If machines can discover what information exists, understand its meaning, establish where it came from and determine the conditions under which it can be used, authorised analyses can potentially be carried out without the underlying data ever leaving the environment in which it is protected.Restricted data can still be Fair and machine-actionable.This is also an important question of data sovereignty. European institutions should not have to surrender control of their data to a handful of technology platforms in order to benefit from AI. Nor does Europe need to start again by building one giant repository for every piece of wildfire information. The better approach is to connect what already exists.This is the principle behind emerging approaches such as Tryangle, developed through the Leiden Initiative for Fair and Equitable Science. Rather than creating another centralised data warehouse, the approach seeks to provide an interoperable layer through which approved algorithms can visit distributed data sources while respecting the rules of their custodians.In this way, a data station can remain where it is. Its custodians can retain control. Existing databases and applications do not have to be abandoned. What changes is their ability to communicate with other systems through common, machine-readable descriptions, access rules and interoperability mechanisms.But approaches like this need data that meets the Fair principles. Only then can an interoperable ecosystem safely begin to turn fragmented information into collective intelligence.Data infrastructure is wildfire infrastructureThe implications of this approach are entirely practical. Firefighters could gain better intelligence about local and evolving risks. Land managers could test prevention strategies using more comprehensive information about fuels, weather and past fires. Researchers could compare evidence across ecosystems without repeatedly moving huge datasets between institutions. Smaller regions and resource-constrained teams could access analytical capabilities without having to build large data infrastructures themselves.Europe is already investing heavily in satellites, databases, research programmes, forecasting systems and scientific expertise. The question is whether we will connect those investments well enough to turn them into actionable intelligence.That requires policymakers and funders to treat data infrastructure as seriously as physical infrastructure. Data generated or supported through European public funding should be Fair, verifiable and machine actionable by design, wherever legally and ethically possible.Related articlesData Corner: Europe’s burning need for wildfire mitigation researchClimate monitoring must remain a global enterprise, experts sayIn practice, that means funding not only the production of data, but also the infrastructure that makes data usable across systems: metadata, provenance, interoperability, access mechanisms and governance. Where data must remain restricted, we should ensure that it can still be securely discovered, verified and used for authorised analysis.Initiatives such as the European Open Science Cloud offer an existing framework through which these principles can be put into practice. What is needed now is to accelerate implementation and make them a standard part of how Europe funds and builds research and innovation systems.We do not need another generation of disconnected databases. The data is already there. The opportunity is to make it work together, securely, responsibly and quickly enough to help prevent the next fire, rather than simply document the last one.Jean-Claude Burgelman is professor emeritus at the Free University of Brussels (VUB) and editor-in-chief at Frontiers Policy Lab. For more than 20 years he held leading roles in research and innovation policy at the European Commission.
'America's Nobel' prizes go to sleep and hemophilia researchers, and to Michael J. Fox for Parkinson's advocacy
The Lasker Foundation has announced the winners of its 2026 awards for basic medical research, clinical science and public service.
Anthropic researcher's resignation sends warning about the dangers of AI development
Jacob Coxon, who said he spent three years doing research at both Anthropic and OpenAI, said Tuesday on the social platform X that the two AI companies are more focused on beating each other and global competitors in developing the most advanced model possible than they are on safety.
Scientists Made Ice Stay Solid Above 2,000°C. The 'Superionic Ice' Could Be Found Inside Uranus and Neptune
The researchers squeezed water to millions of atmospheres and discovered a bizarre new form of ice.
Local scientists air concerns about federal funding losses in Arlington town hall
Researchers at a Massachusetts science town hall said funding instability is pushing scientists out of academia and threatening the pipeline that feeds the state’s research and technological economy
Concerned Scientists Air Their Concerns to Rep Clark
Researchers at a Massachusetts science town hall said funding instability is pushing scientists out of academia and threatening the pipeline that feeds the state’s research and technological economy
ICE’s ‘Midway Blitz’ operation cost Chicago businesses $1.2 billion: Study
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Chicago-area operation cost local businesses more than $1.2 billion last year, according to a new study. The study, conducted by researchers at the Unive…
What are the safety challenges facing tradeswomen in construction?
Researchers from Oregon Health and Science University conducted a study to find out.
UT San Antonio prepares biomedical researchers for entrepreneurial innovation
UT San Antonio is preparing biomedical researchers to think beyond scientific discovery, equipping them to consider how promising research can move from the laboratory toward real-world impact.
How Hollywood Shapes Our Understanding of Health
A study sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) shows that chronic illness is historically underrepresented on screen, while a growing coalition of studios, researchers, and patient advocates work to change that reality.
UMD researchers explain the science behind why leaves change color
Scientists say tracking pigment levels can show how trees respond to weather patterns
See the highest-resolution footage of a black hole jet ever taken, thanks to AI and 27 years of observations
Researchers combined 100-plus images of a single black hole into an AI-powered video to chart the activity of a mighty blazar's jet.
C. diff coordinates threat response to survive in gut
Researchers at Vanderbilt Health have discovered a unique system C. diff uses to simultaneously sense and respond to two different threats.
U Researcher Featured on Huberman Lab, a Top Global Health Podcast
Most of us learned that mitochondria are the “powerhouses of the cell.” Jared Rutter wants people to know they are much more interesting than that....
In 1971, researchers moved 10 wall lizards onto a small Croatian island — 36 years later, their descendants had stronger bites and a plant-heavy diet, with valves in their intestines that the scientists could not find in the population on their original island.
Ten transplanted wall lizards founded a population with a different diet, stronger bites and distinctive gut anatomy. Follow-up studies examine the roles of plasticity and genetic change.
Lava-Covered Planets Are Defying a Key Rule of Planetary Science
Researchers developed a model showing how lava-covered planets close to their stars can hold onto their atmospheres, which could help guide the search for life beyond our solar system. Some planets orbit so close to their stars that intense radiation should strip away their atmospheres. Yet several of these scorching, lava-covered worlds still retain thick
Hoping customers would return after Operation Metro Surge, immigrant businesses are still waiting
These anecdotal reports match preliminary data from government and other researchers.
The Science Behind Big Mistakes and 4 Things You Can Do to Avoid Them
Researcher shows many big mistakes can be avoided or minimized if people pay more attention to early factors. Here's what you need to know.
Scientists Who Study Sleep and Narcolepsy Win Prestigious Lasker Award
The two researchers have won a prestigious Lasker Award. Their findings laid the groundwork for a new drug that addresses the sleep disorder’s root cause.
Science researchers honoured by RSC
New fellows are leading experts on sustainable agriculture, fish adaption and plant immune response.
Scientists find a bone-building switch that could fight osteoporosis
An experimental compound called AP503 significantly strengthened bones in mice by activating GPR133, a receptor that boosts bone formation while slowing bone loss. Because the same treatment has also been linked to stronger muscles, researchers see intriguing potential for combating age-related decline and osteoporosis.
Cats want to talk to us. Scientists are trying to decipher the meow
Cats are conversationalists. Researchers suggest the meow has evolved over centuries as a tool to better communicate with humans.
‘I’m listening hard’: Teens increasingly turn to AI chatbots for mental health support
In the past year, researchers have observed a 50% increase in reliance on AI chatbots for mental health support among teens.
Anthropic researcher quit, says AI labs are 'gambling with our lives'
An Anthropic researcher who once worked at OpenAI just quit. He's the latest insider warning that the AI race has become dangerously reckless.
US Research Cuts Drive Scientists to Germany
US-based researchers are seeking academic asylum in Germany following the Trump administration’s funding cuts—a loss to American science.
Why a shorter eating window may not mean better metabolic health
In a nationally representative cross-sectional study of 16,973 Korean adults, researchers identified three distinct eating patterns based on the timing and distribution of daily energy intake. Eating later within a shorter daily window was associated with higher odds of metabolic syndrome, elevated blood pressure, triglycerides, and fasting glucose, while frequent grazing showed a mixed metabolic profile.
Astrocyte changes may explain how stress affects mental health
A new study led by UCLA Health researchers has identified a specific type of brain cell and a tiny structure on its surface that changes when the body is under stress, which may help explain why stress can lead to anxiety and depression.
UC Berkeley Welcomes QuantrolOx to its Quantum Innovation Corridor
Quantum researchers and campus leaders heralded the arrival of QuantrolOx at UC Berkeley’s Roger Herst Quantum Nexus. The occasion marks the first U.S. office for QuantrolOx, establishing a foothold
A beginner’s guide to open science
Open science may seem impenetrable for early career researchers. Sarahanne Field explains what it is and how to get started
“Parachute science” is failing the tropics, home to more than 80% of insect species
Insects quietly hold much of the natural world together, yet conservation efforts are overlooking the tropical regions where more than 80 percent of insect species live. Monash University researchers have developed a global framework to close this gap by combining scientific studies with museum collections, local expertise, citizen science, social media records, and new technologies.
Faculty Focus: Chris Erickson, College of Business
Chris Erickson has spent 40 years at NMSU as an economics professor, researcher and mentor. Erickson, a professor in the Department of Economics, Applied Statistics and International Business in...
Congratulations to Our New CRUK Funded Researchers - Cancer Research UK Science and Innovation
Congratulations to Our New CRUK Funded Researchers - Cancer Research UK Science and Innovation / Amy Case, Andy Scarsbrook, cancer, Cancer Research UK Science
This cosmic particle was never meant to reach Earth. Now, scientists think they finally know why it did
In 2022, researchers detected a very odd photon from an enormous gamma ray burst that should have been destroyed on its way to Earth
Endometriosis may increase type 2 diabetes risk
Researchers found that some women with endometriosis may have increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
From science to screen time: 4 key takeaways from the latest PISA results
Amid reading declines that included a 14-point drop for the U.S., researchers are looking at the role digital learning and AI may have played.
In 2018, scientists seeded clouds over China's Muz Taw Glacier to make snow; the brighter surface was followed by 14% to 17% less ice loss in a preliminary experiment
Researchers in China have tried to make artificial snow over China’s Muz Taw Glacier to slow its melting. The experiment conducted in 2018 involved seeding clouds with silver iodide, which helped trigger snowfall over the glacier.
Are rich people really worse behaved? Here’s the science
Who’s more likely to steal sweets from a child? According to science, it’s the rich. A study seemingly confirming our suspicions about the moral behaviour of the wealthy was one of the winners of the 2026 Ig Nobel prizes, which honour research that makes you laugh and then think. Science editor Ian Sample tells Madeleine Finlay what the researchers think could be behind the phenomenon, and they explore some of the other awards, including one for a surprising quality we look for in our friends and another for a biomechanical definition of kissing
Scientists Discover the 7 Stages a Meteoroid Goes Through Before Hitting Earth
An analysis of 75 meteorite falls identified seven distinct processes that occur as space rocks melt, break apart, and slow down before reaching the ground. A space rock entering Earth’s atmosphere does far more than simply “burn up.” By examining 75 meteorite falls recorded in videos and photographs, researchers identified seven distinct stages that shape
New-to-science Amazon frog stands out for its slow ‘lazy’ song
Scientists recently described a new species of a tiny brown frog found in the Amazonian floodplain forests of Ecuador and northwestern Brazil. It looks nearly identical to related species but its slow, widely spaced out call sets it apart, researchers note in a study. “I’ve had to get into arguments because people said the frog […]
Where on Earth is safest from global catastrophe?
Researchers have worked out the safest, most resilient country to be in during an apocalyptic event.
AZ's R&D chief Barr touts internal 'science success story' after IL-33 antibody's stellar showing in COPD
With a detailed data drop that AstraZeneca’s R&D chief described as an internal “science success story,” the British Big Pharma has secured an FDA priority review for what it believes could become a flagship biologic in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In detailed results from the late-stage Oberon and Titania trials—first teased in March and detailed in full at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Barcelona this week—the drugmaker laid out the extent of its IL-33 inhibitor’s potential to reduce moderate and severe exacerbations in a wide range of COPD patients still struggling with those “lung attacks,” as AstraZeneca’s Sharon Barr, Ph.D., called them, despite using standard-care inhaled therapy. In the headline results, a 300 mg dose of tozorakimab given once every four weeks curbed those moderate and severe exacerbations in the studies’ primary population of former smokers by 29% in the Oberon study and 34% in Titania. In the overall population of both current and former smokers, these reductions were 30% and 29%, respectively, versus placebo and inhaled standard of care. The benefits also extended to clinically meaningful exacerbation reductions in all prespecified patient subgroups and specifically turned up promising signals in patients across a range of blood eosinophil counts, with Barr telling Fierce that “it’s the details that make this even more exciting than the high-level results that we’ve already shared.” In fact, during AZ’s tozorakimab poster presentation at the ERS 2026 Congress this past weekend, attendees were so enamored by the data that event organizers had to encourage people to clear the room and look at the other presentations on offer, Barr said in an interview. “I think it really speaks to the fact that there is a lot of buzz around these data because the entire respiratory community has been so desperate for new therapies for these patients,” she explained. The respiratory disease continues to represent a “staggering unmet medical need,” Barr said, highlighting the COPD exacerbations that the Oberon and Titania studies homed in on, which she added carry a greater mortality risk than a heart attack. “When a patient has a severe exacerbation, only about half of them are still alive within three and a half years,” she pointed out. As for tozorakimab specifically, Barr christened the molecule “an AstraZeneca science success story,” harkening several years back to the point at which researchers began to explore IL-33 as a driver of respiratory disease, and COPD in particular. At the same time, “there was still so much that wasn’t understood,” she admitted, highlighting the insight that IL-33 signals through both ST2 and EGFR through the RAGE pathway, a discovery Barr attributed to AstraZeneca's own scientists. Understanding the need to tackle both pathways in COPD—and aware of competitor candidates in the hopper, including one that bound ST2—the company ultimately had to make some “courageous decisions,” Barr said. These included taking a prior COPD molecule offline and going back to the drawing board to reinvent its potential IL-33 label “to make sure that we had a molecule that could block signaling through both arms of the pathway, through both the reduced form and the oxidized form, knowing that we wouldn’t be first, but striving to be best.” “When we put [tozorakimab] into the clinic, we firmly believed that we had a differentiated molecule, and we saw the other molecules blocking just ST2 or partially blocking IL-33, unable to deliver two positive pivotal studies in COPD,” Barr explained. “We kept marching forward because we believed our molecule was differentiated, and now I think we have the clinical validation that supports that.” Ultimately, AstraZeneca finds itself on much better footing these days when it comes to potential biologic rivals to tozorakimab in COPD. Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent, for instance, is approved to treat COPD exacerbations in patients with high eosinophil counts, but not low ones. Meanwhile, the future has become cloudier for other next-gen IL-33 candidates from Sanofi and Regeneron, as well as Roche, which have suffered trial flops in recent years. One other potential ingredient for AstraZeneca’s success in its duo of studies was that the company was “ambitious in the trial design, willing to look at an all-comers population,” Barr said, “and willing to enroll the most severe patients.” Prior studies for would-be biologics rivals in COPD “avoided enrolling” those patients, she pointed out. She also highlighted the Big Pharma’s painstaking design of exacerbations in its trial, which “gave us a very rigorous readout,” and pointed to “the extra effort and investment” the company put in to understand the effect of mucus plugs in patients. Barr described mucus production as a “key feature in disease diversity,” noting that mucus plugs—obstructing clumps of mucus that block patients’ airways—are associated with worse outcomes in COPD. In its data announcement, AstraZeneca noted that an integrated analysis of Oberon and Titania found tozorakimab “demonstrated a reduction in patients’ mucus plug score,” with the pharma claiming its biologic is the first to deliver such results in a broad COPD population. “So being able to reduce those mucus plugs, we expect, is an important part of driving benefit for patients who are living with COPD,” Barr said. Again touching on the breadth of the study populations, Barr added that tozorakimab “worked across all eosinophil levels in both current and former smokers across all levels of lung function,” which she suggested “really simplifies decision-making for clinicians, and it allows them to offer therapy to the broadest possible patient population.” In the highest patient eosinophil count group, tozorakimab helped chart a 43% reduction in exacerbation risk, which Barr stressed were “unprecedented data.” In the mid-level group, AZ’s drug delivered a 23% reduction and, in the lowest group, a 34% reduction in eosinophils, which Barr said suggests efficacy “in all patient subgroups.” As for AZ’s recent guidance upgrade on the medicine’s sales opportunity, the lift from a $3 billion to $5 billion range to $5 billion plus was informed by multiple factors, Barr said, including the fact that “in 2024, there were multiple competitors, and there aren’t anymore.” Additionally, “we know that this is a massive unmet medical need, and this is a really incredible set of data that we think will be very convincing to the clinical community,” Barr said. Looking ahead to a potential evolution of the COPD treatment landscape, Barr noted that most patients start treatment in the community with an option like a triple therapy, and for them, having an option like AstraZeneca’s inhaler Breztri will remain a “really important part” of that journey. But of the patients uncontrolled on triple therapy, which Barr described as “about half of them today,” just a “small fraction” are currently eligible for biologic therapy, which she emphasized AstraZeneca is working to change. Understanding that COPD is not a “one-size-fits-all” disease, AstraZeneca is also looking at its antibody drug Tezspire for patients with T2-driven disease, and the company continues to think about new mechanisms for tackling COPD through both systemic and inhaled drugs, Barr said.
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