With the devastating hurricanes that swept the southeastern United States at the end of 2024, new and better ways to get critical supplies to disaster zones and rural areas are essential. U.S. National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow… ​With the devastating hurricanes that swept the southeastern United States at the end of 2024, new and …

NSF Graduate Research Fellow contribution to flight could aid disaster relief Read More »

A surprising discovery from a tiny grain of asteroid Ryugu has rocked scientists’ understanding of how our Solar System evolved. Researchers found djerfisherite—a mineral typically born in scorching, chemically reduced conditions and never before seen in Ryugu-like meteorites—inside a sample returned by Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission. Its presence suggests either Ryugu once experienced unexpectedly high temperatures …

A mysterious mineral in asteroid Ryugu may rewrite planetary history Read More »

Scientists have uncovered a surprising new way that urea—an essential building block for life—could have formed on the early Earth. Instead of requiring high temperatures or complex catalysts, this process occurs naturally on the surface of tiny water droplets like those in sea spray or fog. At this boundary between air and water, a unique …

Scientists reveal a spontaneous reaction that could have started life Read More »

A newly discovered radio halo, 10 billion light-years away, reveals that galaxy clusters in the early universe were already steeped in high-energy particles. The finding hints at ancient black hole activity or cosmic particle collisions fueling this energy. ​A newly discovered radio halo, 10 billion light-years away, reveals that galaxy clusters in the early universe …

Record-breaking 10-billion-year radio halo just rewrote the universe’s origin story Read More »

USC researchers have found a promising new brain scan marker that could better detect Alzheimer’s risk — but only for some. The tau-based benchmark works in Hispanic and White populations when paired with another Alzheimer’s protein, amyloid, but falls short for Black participants, revealing critical gaps in current diagnostics. ​USC researchers have found a promising …

This brain scan sees Alzheimer’s coming—but only in some brains Read More »

Deleting a gene called PTEN in certain brain cells disrupts the brain’s fear circuitry and triggers anxiety-like behavior in mice — key traits seen in autism. Researchers mapped how this genetic tweak throws off the brain’s delicate balance of excitation and inhibition in the amygdala, offering deep insights into how one gene can drive specific …

The gene that hijacks fear: How PTEN rewires the brain’s anxiety circuit Read More »

India’s complex ancestry—intertwined with Iranian farmers, Steppe herders, and local hunter-gatherers—has now been decoded through genomic data from 2,762 people. The study uncovers surprising levels of Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA, and how ancient migrations and community traditions have shaped today’s genetic diversity and disease risks. ​India’s complex ancestry—intertwined with Iranian farmers, Steppe herders, and local …

Scientists just reconstructed half the neanderthal genome—thanks to Indian DNA Read More »

Footprints found in the ancient lakebeds of White Sands may prove that humans lived in North America 23,000 years ago — much earlier than previously believed. A new study using radiocarbon-dated mud bolsters earlier findings, making it the third line of evidence pointing to this revised timeline. ​Footprints found in the ancient lakebeds of White …

Buried for 23,000 years: These footprints are rewriting American history Read More »

Wildfires are becoming more intense and dangerous, but a new Stanford-led study offers hope: prescribed burns—intentionally set, controlled fires—can significantly lessen their impact. By analyzing satellite data and smoke emissions, researchers found that areas treated with prescribed burns saw wildfire severity drop by 16% and smoke pollution fall by 14%. Even more striking, the smoke …

Fighting fire with fire: How prescribed burns reduce wildfire damage and pollution Read More »

Leprosy’s tale stretches from 5,000-year-old skeletons in Eurasia to a startling 4,000-year-old case in Chile, revealing that the rare strain Mycobacterium lepromatosis haunted the Americas millennia before Europeans arrived. Armed with cutting-edge ancient-DNA sleuthing, scientists have pieced together remarkably well-preserved genomes that challenge the idea of leprosy as purely a colonial import and hint that …

Ancient DNA reveals leprosy hit the Americas long before colonization Read More »