Science News
Scientists are decoding elephant rumble calls, including ‘greetings’ and ‘coos’
Scientists are piecing together why elephants make these low calls and what they might mean
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Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.
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This giant stick insect fooled scientists for decades
Scientists have identified two new species of large Australian stick insects, including one that lays extraordinary “lidded” eggs never before recorded in the group. The discovery also revealed that a familiar stick insect had been misidentified for decades, showing how much biodiversity may still be hiding in plain sight.
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New “plant armor” more than triples strawberry yields
A new protective fabric boosted strawberry yields by as much as 3.56 times while blocking insects and still allowing sunlight, rain, and airflow to reach the plants. Originally inspired by research on military clothing, Plant Armor could also help farms reduce pesticide and water use.
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This new qubit could be 100 times less error-prone in superfluid quantum computer breakthrough
A proposed qubit made with superfluid helium could cut quantum computing error rates by around 100 times by shielding quantum information from common forms of electromagnetic noise. If experiments confirm the predictions, the technology could eventually work alongside today’s superconducting qubits or serve as a new kind of quantum memory.
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This light-powered AI can spot deepfakes with nearly 98% accuracy
UCLA researchers built an AI system that uses light to analyze more than a dozen videos simultaneously, detecting deepfakes with nearly 98% accuracy. Its speed, low energy demands, and resistance to attacks could make it a powerful tool for screening the growing flood of AI-generated video.
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This diet may slow brain aging by 2.5 years
People who followed the MIND diet more closely showed slower brain shrinkage and less grey matter loss over time, with the strongest differences equivalent to about 2.5 years of delayed brain aging. Berries and poultry were linked with healthier brain changes, while sweets and fried fast foods were associated with greater tissue loss.
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After the storm: When recovery creates a community crisis
The storm ends, the fire goes out, floodwaters recede.
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A video of a humpback whale and her dead calf reveals the animals’ bond
A female humpback whale may have spent days with her stillborn calf. This rare sighting may suggest that baleen whales experience grief.
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1 in 13 adults under 30 already had hidden artery plaque
More than half of 16,000 apparently healthy adults had signs of atherosclerosis, with arterial plaques already detectable in about 1 in 13 people ages 18 to 29. Researchers say directly imaging the arteries could reveal hidden cardiovascular disease years or even decades before symptoms appear.
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Navigating tough conversations with people who have dementia about stopping driving
At some point, all people with dementia must stop driving due to the impact of cognitive impairment on skills critical for safe driving—but when is the right time, and how should this sensitive matter be best approached?
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The hidden pressure behind responding to a boss's good news
Have you ever found yourself listening to someone share their good news and felt pressure to respond with excitement, even if you didn't feel particularly enthusiastic? Does that pressure feel even greater when the person sharing the news is your boss?
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Empty nets in Latin America as fish flee El Niño
Fishermen along Latin America's Pacific coast are reeling in half-empty nets as ocean warming aggravated by El Niño causes tuna, anchovies and other top catches to migrate to cooler waters.
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Democratic Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed explains how science influences his politics
Scientific American spoke to the Michigan Senate candidate about how his background in medicine has shaped his outlook
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How climate change is altering petrichor, the glorious smell after it rains
As the planet changes, so will this nostalgia-triggering scent
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Archeologists unearth a ‘major’ early Christian monastery in Scotland
The site, located on the island of Lismore, may have been established by Saint Mo Luóc in the sixth century C.E.
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Study shows how research can change person conducting it
In 2012, I began an interview study with two multilingual language learners, focusing on their motivations for learning languages. It eventually developed into a nine-year longitudinal study.
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'Catastrophic': Swiss glaciers lose fifth of mass in five years
Switzerland's glaciers, which are disproportionately affected by climate change, have lost nearly 20% of their mass in five years, experts said Thursday, with 2026 registering the second-biggest melt on record.
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Could quitting ultra-processed food boost your mental health?
People with depression who dramatically cut ultra-processed foods experienced notable improvements in their symptoms in a small preliminary study. Researchers suspect healthier eating may benefit the brain partly by reducing gut damage and chronic inflammation.
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Rice work: Dutch test new crop to save sinking peatlands
In a soggy field between Amsterdam and The Hague, farmer Sander Roeleveld plows a small white combine harvester into his crops, gathering a grain never before harvested in the Netherlands: rice.
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Indonesia haze chokes neighbors, but little legal recourse
Haze from Indonesian wildfires has blanketed neighboring Malaysia and Singapore for more than a month, closing schools and sending respiratory complaints skyrocketing.