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Science News

Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.

'There are no easy answers here': New study forecasts a dire dip in food production if key Atlantic currents collapse
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'There are no easy answers here': New study forecasts a dire dip in food production if key Atlantic currents collapse

Weakening Atlantic Ocean currents could cripple agriculture in some of the world's major breadbaskets, threatening global food security and raising the price of basic commodities, new research finds.The study, which hasn't been peer-reviewed yet, investigated how a roughly 60% decline in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) would impact global food production. The AMOC is a system of ocean currents that regulates the global climate and brings heat from the tropics to the Northern Hemisphere.However, the system is currently the weakest it's been in more than 1,000 years, having lost 10% to 20% of its strength due to climate change, estimates show.In the new study, researcher...

📅 2026-09-11 17:32:31    •    Live Science
Brain's ability to hear a musical beat remains distinctly human, study suggests
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Brain's ability to hear a musical beat remains distinctly human, study suggests

The seemingly trivial ability to hear a regular pulse in music is a remarkable—and perhaps distinctively human—feature of the brain. In a wide-ranging critical review, Gábor Háden of the HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences and Henkjan Honing of the University of Amsterdam evaluate more than two decades of research into how this capacity develops and has evolved. Their paper was published this week in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

📅 2026-09-11 17:20:04    •    Phys.org
Travel bots are making decisions for us—convenient, but should we trust them?
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Travel bots are making decisions for us—convenient, but should we trust them?

Imagine telling your phone that you want a quiet boutique hotel near a city center, below a certain price, with a decent breakfast and late checkout. A few seconds later, an AI assistant compares the options, explains why each one fits and helps complete the booking. This is no longer hypothetical.

📅 2026-09-11 17:20:02    •    Phys.org
'Maybe that is how Transformers started': Readers react to the possibility of AI becoming self-aware
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'Maybe that is how Transformers started': Readers react to the possibility of AI becoming self-aware

While artificial intelligence (AI) systems can now solve challenging math equations and respond in human-like language, the question of AI consciousness has moved from the realm of sci-fi to scientific discussion. The debate has become more mainstream thanks to a recent preprint study that examined "consciousness steering," an AI-tuning technique that affects how an AI model expresses ideas about self-awareness. The researchers suggested that if AI is allowed to claim it is conscious, it's also more likely to state that it believes in ghosts or vampires. Although the study hasn't been peer-reviewed yet, it raises a big question in the world of AI research: Could AI one day develop real consc...

📅 2026-09-11 17:07:09    •    Live Science
Electrical pulses convert PFAS waste into valuable silver fluoride
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Electrical pulses convert PFAS waste into valuable silver fluoride

Fluorinated waste, like that found in firefighting aqueous film-forming foam, can act as a significant environmental pollutant. Recently, James Tour's lab at Rice University developed a method to capture fluoride from these waste streams and recycle it into a useful reagent, silver fluoride, that could be used in other manufacturing processes. This process is published in Nature Chemical Engineering.

📅 2026-09-11 17:00:07    •    Phys.org
Why making friends at university feels harder than it really is
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Why making friends at university feels harder than it really is

The summer before starting university can bring multiple worries for students: worrying about obtaining a place in a desired program, navigating the clearing process to confirm a place, securing housing, sorting out financial aid, preparing for academic study and even finding the right school supplies.

📅 2026-09-11 17:00:05    •    Phys.org
How the body adapts to extreme heat
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How the body adapts to extreme heat

As heatwaves become more frequent and severe, scientists are studying whether heat acclimation can help protect vulnerable populations.

📅 2026-09-11 17:00:00    •    Science News
Libraries are a lifeline, new research finds
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Libraries are a lifeline, new research finds

New research has highlighted the important role public libraries play in supporting communities, helping people build connections, access support and improve their well-being through everyday interactions.

📅 2026-09-11 16:40:07    •    Phys.org
Microscopic fragments of ancient alien tech may litter the moon — and scientists have a plan to find them
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Microscopic fragments of ancient alien tech may litter the moon — and scientists have a plan to find them

Tiny fragments of ancient alien tech may be strewn across the surface of the moon, and it may be relatively easy to find these microscopic relics, scientists propose in a new study.The theoretical study does not claim to have found any evidence of advanced alien civilizations; rather, it offers a new way to search for clues of their existence. Unlike Earth, the moon has no functional atmosphere or magnetic field, so it is completely exposed to the vacuum of space. As a result, it is constantly bombarded by meteorites, as well as hit by a steady stream of microscopic particles from the rest of the solar system and beyond. Because the moon has no water or tectonic movements, this microscopic m...

📅 2026-09-11 15:29:59    •    Live Science
Research shows agricultural fungicides drive evolution of multidrug resistance in soil microbes
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Research shows agricultural fungicides drive evolution of multidrug resistance in soil microbes

Two newly published studies from Trinity College Dublin scientists raise significant concerns about the use of agricultural fungicides.That is because they show fungicides can rapidly drive soil microbes to evolve multidrug resistance to clinically important drugs and, when combined with warmer temperatures, disrupt soil microbes in ways that negatively affect plant growth.

📅 2026-09-11 14:00:01    •    Phys.org
When a company 'believes' something false that causes harm, who's to blame? Professor offers a new answer
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When a company 'believes' something false that causes harm, who's to blame? Professor offers a new answer

When Boeing certified the 737 Max in 2017 as safe to fly, a flight-control system it had approved caused two crashes that killed 346 people. When Takata kept shipping airbag inflators it had cleared for use, the devices exploded on impact, triggering the largest automotive recall in U.S. history. When a Hollywood armorer handed Alec Baldwin a gun on the set of "Rust," she believed it held no live rounds, but it did, and the shot killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

📅 2026-09-11 13:40:04    •    Phys.org
Planes on a snake? Scientists discover various crab species hitching rides on sea snakes
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Planes on a snake? Scientists discover various crab species hitching rides on sea snakes

Like all other snakes, sea snakes shed their skin as they grow. But because they live near the surface of the open ocean, they don't have the benefit of removing their old skin by slithering against a hard surface. Instead, they wriggle into a pretzel and use the friction generated by their scales to get the job done.

📅 2026-09-11 13:40:02    •    Phys.org
Low-cost phone lessons keep children learning during emergency school closures across five countries
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Low-cost phone lessons keep children learning during emergency school closures across five countries

The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns forced people to find ways to get things done remotely. Companies developed systems that made working from home run smoothly. Educators also had to shift to mobile phones and group video calls to get their lessons across and make sure students didn't lose out on their progress. This exposed the need for education systems to be more resilient and adaptive to local and global disruptions.

📅 2026-09-11 13:20:08    •    Phys.org