Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.
Researchers have uncovered a hidden immune defense capable of attacking small cell lung cancer, an extremely aggressive disease that often escapes conventional treatments. The specialized immune cells can recognize and destroy cancer cells even when tumors have disguised themselves from the immune system.
Previous accounts of the scientific relationship between communist China and the Soviet Union have depicted it as one of subordination, with the Russians exporting knowledge to the Chinese or scavenging from their bodies of knowledge. A new article in Isis, however, posits that the relationship between Chinese and Soviet scientists was instead one of mutual exchange. In "Brief Encounter: Acupuncture, Pavlov, and Scientific Exchange Between China and the Soviet Union, 1949-1961," authors Liang Wan, Simon Huxtable and Sarah Marks explore the role of acupuncture in uniting the Pavlovian science of the Soviets and traditional Chinese medicine, forming an arena for Sino-Soviet collaboration.
Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is a versatile chemical feedstock whose industrial production relies predominantly on an energy-intensive process with a substantial environmental footprint. One alternative is to produce it using a catalyst activated by light. In an international research project involving the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, researchers have now developed a synthesis strategy that allows them to precisely control the spatial arrangement of ions in a carbon nitride. The resulting photocatalyst is three times as efficient as conventional green production methods. The findings have been published in Advanced Materials.
New research suggests that replacing polyethylene (PE) packaging with paper, glass, aluminum or steel often does not reduce environmental impacts across a product's life cycle.
If you wanted a Nobel Prize, you would do well to study neutrinos. To date, the Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded five times to research related to neutrino detection and discovery. This year, Francis Halzen earned the Nobel "for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin."
Rising temperatures and increasing drought are shortening crop-growing seasons in many parts of the world. Now scientists in Sweden report new advances toward engineering more efficient photosynthesis, work that could eventually contribute to efforts to adapt crops for climate change.
A new design methodology for school playgrounds is demonstrating how children can still enjoy their playtime while being protected from the harmful effects of the sun.
Researchers have observed a molecule in the first instants after it has absorbed light and tracked the coordinated motion of electrons and nuclei with a temporal resolution of three femtoseconds. This is the result achieved by an international research group led by the Politecnico di Milano, which has developed a new apparatus for studying ultrafast photochemical processes.
The Moderna-Merck mRNA cancer vaccine helps prevent cancer recurrence and death, the new results show
From photos and videos to documents, vast amounts of data are stored on hard drives in large data centers. These devices use tiny magnetic regions whose orientation determines the information stored. But how could data be stored even faster in the future? One possible approach involves ultrashort laser pulses, which can alter the magnetic order of materials in an extremely short time.
When a major company's CEO goes through a messy divorce or is arrested for drunk driving, investors often get nervous, worried that the executive's personal struggles will dent their returns. But most people hardly notice when a chief marketing officer has similar personal problems.
What, exactly, is a plant made of? Scientists have a good understanding of the essential nutrients plants need to grow. But what plants need and what they contain are not necessarily the same.
A University of Cambridge–led analysis of maps made from satellite imagery covering over three decades and seven presidents shows how the winner of Brazil's national elections since 1990 directly affected the preservation of its globally vital ecosystems.
A joint research team fabricated a two-dimensional structure that exhibits properties of both the honeycomb and Kagome lattices using organic molecules. They discovered that edge states specific to topological materials (states that exist only at the edges and are distinct from those in the interior) appear in this structure. The team included researchers from NIMS, Toyota Kosen (National Institute of Technology, Toyota College), Saga University, Nara Women's University, Kiel University (Germany) and other institutions.
On Jan. 3, 1117, a strong earthquake shook northern Italy. A manuscript of the 12th century, kept today in the Vatican Library, recorded what came next: "The lakes also rose so much that very few of those living in the villages nearby escaped this danger."
Microgreens are nutritional powerhouses. A team of plant scientists at Penn State conducting research on multiple aspects of microgreens recently published three studies reporting progress on multiple fronts, including iron enrichment, productive indoor growth and a faux lightning technique that could improve microgreens' growth, yield and nutritional quality.
New research started with a special material that behaves unusually when it's extremely cold—135 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (minus 93 degrees Celsius), close to the most frigid temperature ever recorded in Antarctica—and showed that the unusual behavior could be extended to well above room temperature—up to about 135 F (57 degrees Celsius), close to the highest heat ever measured in Death Valley, California.
The 2026 election was the first parliamentary election in Sweden since AI chatbots became a serious part of everyday life—not least for young people and first-time voters. Today, it is possible to turn to a number of services, such as ChatGPT, to get information about politics, reason about political issues or get help polishing arguments. Discussions have also arisen in society about whether political values are expressed in AI-generated texts and, if so, which ones.
New research is shedding light on the diversity of deep-sea siphonophores. A team of scientists from MBARI, the University of Gdańsk, New York University and Yale University conducted a comprehensive examination of Bargmannia siphonophores using museum material, submersible observations and genomic sequencing. This work uncovered two previously unknown species: Bargmannia marlena and Bargmannia pyrosa. The team published their findings in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society last week.
Natural disasters. Hikes. Long, dark nights alone. For many people, dogs offer a sense of safety and comfort in challenging or uncertain times. Cancer researchers at a new lab at Purdue University are partnering with dogs to make cancer less frightening—and less deadly—to some of humanity's very best friends using a technique called tumor ablation.