'Eventually, It Becomes You': Inventors of New 'Living' Knee Replacement Describe Why This Tech Is Desperately Needed and How It...
Columbia University and the University of Missouri are developing NOVAKnee, a 3D‑printed, biodegradable knee implant seeded with stem‑cell‑derived bone and cartilage. The scaffold is designed to dissolve as new tissue forms, potentially offering a longer‑lasting solution than metal‑plastic prostheses that fail after 15‑20 years. Pre‑clinical testing has progressed from mouse models to large‑animal osteoarthritis studies, with the team targeting first‑in‑human trials by 2028 under the federally funded NITRO program. Researchers envision the technology as a platform that could eventually extend to other joints.
Science History: Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Melts Down, Bringing the World to the Brink of Disaster — April 26, 1986
On April 26, 1986, operators at Chernobyl’s Reactor 4 performed a safety‑test that deviated from protocol, keeping the reactor at half power and causing xenon buildup. A rapid power drop led the crew to withdraw most control rods, triggering a 100‑fold power surge...
Building a Massive Dam Between Alaska and Russia Could Prevent AMOC Collapse, Scientists Say
Scientists modeled a three‑dam system spanning the 51‑mile Bering Strait, proposing that sealing the passage could bolster the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) under low‑emission futures. Their simulations also warn that if the AMOC is already weakened, the same closure...
Thríhnúkagígur: The only Volcano on Earth Where You Can Descend Into a Magma Chamber
Thríhnúkagígur, a dormant volcano near Reykjavík, hosts the world’s only accessible magma chamber. Visitors descend 210 m via a cable elevator into a 3,120 m² cavern decorated with vivid microbial and sulfur‑derived colors. The empty chamber resulted from a 4,500‑year‑old eruption that...
'Strong, Undeniable Public Examples of Something Positive': Astronaut Chris Hadfield on Why Artemis II Hit Him Hard, and Why We...
Veteran astronaut Chris Hadfield praised NASA’s Artemis II mission, saying it struck an emotional chord for him and underscored the public’s willingness to embrace high‑risk exploration. He drew parallels to Apollo 8, noting how both missions offered a collective sense of awe...
'Kraken' Octopus that Lived at the Time of the Dinosaurs Was a 62-Foot-Long Apex Predator of the Ocean
Scientists have re‑examined 27 fossil octopus jaws from Japan and Vancouver Island and identified two Cretaceous species, *Nanaimoteuthis jeletzkyi* and *N. haggarti*, that could have reached lengths of 10‑62 feet (3‑19 m). The larger species would make the newly described kraken the...
'Iran's Maldives' Could Drown in Oil Due to Spills From Air Strikes, Satellites Show
Satellite imagery captured extensive oil slicks in the Persian Gulf after U.S.–Israeli and Iranian air strikes hit refineries, tankers and petro‑chemical sites. The spills are drifting toward Lavan Island and the protected Shidvar wildlife refuge, threatening coral, turtles and seabird...
New Blood Test Aims to Spot Liver Scarring Before It Paves the Way to Cancer
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed a blood test that analyzes cell‑free DNA fragments with a machine‑learning model to identify early‑stage liver fibrosis, a reversible precursor to cirrhosis and liver cancer. In a study of 423 participants, the assay detected...
A Giant 'Shadow' Has Been Creeping Across Mars for 50 Years — and Scientists Aren't Sure Why
A dark, ash‑covered patch in Mars' Utopia Planitia has been steadily expanding for five decades, moving southward at roughly 6.5 km (4 miles) per year. The feature, first photographed in 1976, consists of volcanic minerals such as olivine and pyroxene left by ancient...
Bruce the Parrot Is Missing His Upper Beak — but that Hasn't Stopped Him From Becoming an Undefeated Jousting Champion
Researchers observed Bruce, a kea missing its entire upper beak, develop a novel jousting style that has made him the undefeated alpha male in his captive group. By thrusting with his exposed lower beak, he displaced opponents in 73% of...
Scientists Identify Main Cause of Extreme Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy
Scientists have pinpointed the growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) gene as the leading cause of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), the most severe form of pregnancy nausea and vomiting. The genome‑wide study of nearly 11,000 HG cases and 420,000 controls also highlighted...
Loneliness May Contribute to Memory Issues, but Not Dementia — They Are 'Not the Same Thing'
A new six‑year study of more than 10,000 adults aged 65‑94 found that loneliness is associated with memory difficulties but does not increase the risk of dementia. Participants were dementia‑free at baseline, and researchers tracked cognitive performance while noting loneliness...
700-Year-Old Mummy From Bolivia Contains Earliest Confirmed Evidence of Strep Throat Bacteria in the Americas
Researchers have extracted a near‑complete genome of Streptococcus pyogenes from a 700‑year‑old mummy discovered in a Bolivian chullpa. The DNA shows the bacterium, responsible for modern strep throat and scarlet fever, was present in the Americas centuries before European colonization....
Science News This Week: Physicists Witness Faster-than-Light Darkness Pinpricks, Humans Are Still Evolving, and some Polar Bears Are Getting Fatter...
Scientists reported the first observation of singularities in combined light and sound waves that travel faster than light, a breakthrough that could unveil hidden processes across physics, chemistry and biology. In parallel, researchers captured quantum entanglement between two moving atoms,...
Anglo-Saxon Burial Holds an Older Sister Cradling Her Little Brother After They Both Died 1,400 Years Ago, Possibly of an...
Archaeologists uncovered a seventh‑century Anglo‑Saxon double burial in Cherington containing a teenage girl and a young boy. DNA analysis by the Francis Crick Institute confirmed they were siblings, a rare find for this period. The positioning of the sister cradling...