How Female Anglerfish Evolved to Have It All
Researchers examined over 100 anglerfish species and built a detailed family tree, revealing that female lures evolved not only for hunting but also to attract mates. The study, published in Ichthyology and Herpetology, shows a striking diversification of bioluminescent and chemical lure mechanisms across the deep‑sea family. By linking DNA data with physical traits, the work clarifies how sexual selection and predation pressures shaped the iconic glowing appendages. The findings underscore the complex evolutionary pathways of one of the ocean’s most enigmatic groups.
Nature Is Still Molding Human Genes, Study Finds
A new study published in Nature examined DNA from 15,836 ancient human remains and identified 479 genetic variants that were favored by natural selection in the past 10,000 years, overturning the notion that human biology has been largely static since the...
In Defense of Dumb Dogs
Emily Anthes argues that many dog owners overestimate their pets' intelligence, a bias similar to the Lake Wobegon effect. While scientific studies place average canine cognition on par with toddlers aged one to three, surveys show two‑thirds of owners believe...
A New Exhibition at New York’s Natural History Museum Honors Fossil Hunters
New York’s American Museum of Natural History has opened an exhibition honoring the museum’s historic Gobi Desert expeditions, from Roy Chapman Andrews’ 1920s discoveries to modern work by Mark Norell and Michael Novacek. The show highlights iconic finds such as...
Another Giant Leap Reminds Us How Small We Are
NASA’s Artemis II mission concluded on Friday with a clean splashdown in the Pacific after a ten‑day lunar orbit. The four‑person crew gathered scientific data, photographed the Moon and tested life‑support systems, marking a critical step toward sustained lunar exploration. Beyond...
Artemis II Splashdown Gives NASA Momentum in Renewed Moon Race
NASA’s Artemis II mission splashed down safely in the Pacific on April 11, 2026, concluding the first crewed deep‑space flight since 1972. The four‑person crew—three Americans and a Canadian—completed a lunar‑orbit trajectory that demonstrated the Space Launch System’s performance and re‑entry capabilities....
How Recovery Personnel Will Secure Artemis II Capsule at Sea After Splashdown
NASA’s Artemis II Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific off San Diego, leaving four astronauts afloat in a vessel that survived re‑entry temperatures near 5,000 °F. Five airbags on the capsule’s top automatically inflated, righting the spacecraft and stabilizing it against waves...
Why Manatees Need Humans to Slow Down and Pay Attention
Boat collisions accounted for roughly 25% of all manatee deaths in Florida last year, according to state data. Since January 2026, at least 31 sea cows have been killed in similar incidents, including a 9‑foot‑5‑inch female rescued in Cape Coral...
Patients Are Using Chatbots to Fight Medical Bills, With Mixed Results
Patients are increasingly turning to free AI chatbots like Claude and ChatGPT to dispute medical bills, exemplified by a couple who used Claude to challenge a $22,604 emergency‑room charge. The American Hospital Association has flagged this growing DIY trend as...
Artemis II Astronauts Head Home After Historic Journey Around the Moon
NASA’s Artemis II mission completed a historic lunar flyby, sending four astronauts 248,655 miles from Earth and behind the Moon’s far side for the first time since the 1972 Apollo program. The crew—NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian Space...
NASA’s Artemis II Astronauts Spread ‘Moon Joy’ to the Public
NASA’s Artemis II crew completed a historic lunar flyby, capturing high‑resolution images of the far side while expressing vivid wonder about the Moon’s landscape. Astronauts such as Christina Koch described an "overwhelming sense" of being moved, turning technical briefings into emotionally resonant...
Idaho Cut Services for People With Schizophrenia. Then the Deaths Began.
Idaho eliminated Medicaid‑funded assertive community treatment (ACT) services for people with severe mental illness, including schizophrenia, in late 2025. Within weeks, several patients lost access to home‑based care and medication management, and at least five deaths were reported, highlighting the...
Trump Calls Artemis II Astronauts After Their Historic Journey Around the Moon
President Donald Trump held a brief call with the Artemis II crew hours after their Orion spacecraft completed a historic flyby of the Moon’s far side, marking the deepest human journey from Earth since the Apollo era. The president praised the...
The Dark Side of the Moon Is Really the Far Side
The New York Times clarifies that the so‑called "dark side" of the Moon is a misnomer; the far side receives as much sunlight as the near side but remains hidden from Earth‑based observers. The article notes NASA’s current focus on...
Houston Cheers on Artemis II Moon Mission, Reclaiming Its Place as ‘Space City’
The Artemis II crewed lunar‑flyby mission launched from Florida on April 3, 2026, with flight control transferred to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Over a thousand spectators gathered at Space Center Houston to watch the live broadcast, turning the city’s historic space...
For Many Patients Leaving the I.C.U., the Struggle Has Only Just Begun
Joseph Masterson, a 63‑year‑old lawyer, survived a cardiac arrest and spent 18 days in the intensive care unit, including 14 on a ventilator. During his stay he developed delirium, required antipsychotics, and lost weight despite tube feeding. After discharge he...
Artemis II Pilot Test Drove the Orion Capsule on the Way to the Moon
NASA astronaut Victor Glover manually piloted the Orion crew capsule during Artemis II after it separated from the Space Launch System’s second stage. Glover described the controls as responsive and superior to the ground simulator. Program manager Howard Hu likened the...
H.H.S. Takes a First Step Toward Restoring Vaccine Advisory Committee
The Health and Human Services Department is set to renew the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) charter for two years, allowing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to appoint new members after a federal judge halted the committee’s work....
The Awe of a Moon Launch in an Age of Trump, Turmoil and Tribal Divisions
Artemis II launched on April 2, 2026, sending four astronauts on a lunar flyby and testing critical deep‑space systems. The mission revives the spirit of Apollo 8, offering a brief unifying moment amid intense domestic division. President Trump gave a 35‑second acknowledgment before shifting...
Can Science Predict When a Study Won’t Hold Up?
A DARPA‑funded initiative called SCORE set out to create an AI‑driven credit score for scientific papers, hoping to flag research that would stand up to replication. The project examined hundreds of studies across fields, comparing original results with repeat experiments....
How to Watch NASA’s Artemis II Moon Launch Online
NASA’s Artemis II mission, the first crewed lunar flyby in more than five decades, is slated for launch on Wednesday evening, April 1, 2026. The flight will circle the Moon before returning to Earth, marking a pivotal step toward a permanent lunar presence....
NASA’s Mission Back to the Moon
Artemis II is set to launch on April 1, marking the first crewed deep‑space flight since 1972. The mission will send NASA astronauts on a lunar flyby, testing Orion’s life‑support and navigation systems. It forms the second step of NASA’s Artemis program,...
Uncovering the World’s Newest and Deadliest Drugs
U.S. overdose deaths are soaring as novel synthetic drugs, especially ultra‑potent fentanyl analogs and synthetic cannabinoids, flood the market. Researchers in a Pennsylvania lab are creating digital chemical fingerprints to identify molecules that standard toxicology cannot detect. The ease of...
First Canadian Astronaut Will Travel to the Moon Amid Fraying U.S.-Canada Relations
Canada will see its first astronaut, Jeremy Hansen, fly aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission, the first crewed lunar flyby since 1972. The four‑person crew will launch from Kennedy Space Center and circle the Moon before returning to Earth. Hansen’s participation makes...
The Fragile Hope for Salmon Recovery in Maine
Atlantic salmon, extinct from Maine’s Sandy River after 19th‑century dams, are being reintroduced through a hands‑on restoration program. Marine scientist Paul Christman and volunteers released thousands of fertilized eggs into Avon Valley Brook, a tributary with fast, oxygen‑rich flow. The...
Did Scientists Just Detect an Exploding Black Hole?
The KM3NeT underwater observatory detected a 220 peta‑electron‑volt neutrino, an energy level over 100,000 times greater than any particle produced in Earth‑based colliders. The event, recorded on Feb. 13, 2023, has sparked speculation that it may originate from an exploding primordial black...
Jesse Roth, Who Advanced the Understanding of Diabetes, Dies at 91
Renowned endocrinologist Dr. Jesse Roth, who proved that diabetes stems from defective insulin receptors, died at 91. Over a 50‑year career he led groundbreaking research at the NIH, Johns Hopkins, and the Feinstein Institutes, reshaping how scientists view hormone signaling....
Glass Threads Spun From a Volcano’s Bubbly Magma
A new interdisciplinary study explains how Pele’s hair, the ultra‑thin volcanic glass strands named after the Hawaiian fire goddess, forms when bubbly magma is stretched by high‑velocity gas jets. Researchers observed strands up to two feet long that can be...
Wicked Stepmother No Longer, a Female Pharoah Gets a Reputational Makeover
Recent research published in Antiquity reexamines the damage to statues of Egypt’s 18th‑dynasty queen Hatshepsut, suggesting the destruction was not solely ordered by her successor Thutmose III. The study, led by doctoral candidate Jun Yi Wong, analyzed decades of excavation notes and photographs,...
We’ve Been Underestimating Flying Foxes
Researchers have quantified that Australia’s flying foxes generate between $195 million and $673 million annually by facilitating the growth of over 91 million trees, primarily eucalypts. Historically deemed pests and even eradicated with napalm, these large fruit bats now appear essential to the...
Tango Therapy: How the Dance of Passion Is Helping Parkinson’s Patients
Tango therapy at Ramos Mejía Hospital in Buenos Aires uses weekly dance sessions to help Parkinson's patients improve balance, stiffness, and coordination. Neurologists Dr. Nélida Garretto and Dr. Tomoko Arakaki designed the program around the slow, short steps and pauses...
J. Michael Bishop, Nobel Prize Winner for Cancer Research, Dies at 90
J. Michael Bishop, Nobel laureate who uncovered oncogenes, died at 90 from pneumonia. His 1989 Nobel Prize with Harold Varmus identified gene families that mutate into cancer‑causing oncogenes, fundamentally altering tumor biology. Bishop joined UCSF in 1968, later serving as...
New Spider Mimics ‘The Last of Us’ Zombie Fungus Cordyceps
Researchers have identified a new spider species in Ecuador’s Amazon that mimics the appearance of the parasitic fungus Gibellula, a relative of the cordyceps made famous by “The Last of Us.” The spider, belonging to the rarely seen genus Taczanowskia,...
How New Mexico Became an Obamacare Success Story
After the federal enhanced ACA subsidies expired, New Mexico became the only state to replace them with state‑funded assistance. The move averted an estimated 27,000 residents losing coverage and added roughly 10,000 new enrollees, setting a record for the state...
Gerd Faltings of Germany Wins 2026 Abel Prize in Mathematics
German mathematician Gerd Faltings has been awarded the 2026 Abel Prize for his landmark proof of the Mordell conjecture, now known as Faltings’ theorem. The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters announced the honor, which carries a cash award of...
Why Some Birds Seem to Be Developing a Cigarette Habit
Researchers at the University of Łódź observed that blue tits deliberately place cigarette butts in their nests, a behavior echoed in finches across the Americas and New Zealand. The study tracked 99 hatchlings in three nest‑box conditions and found that tobacco‑derived...
A ‘Hail Mary’ for Earth, Built on Solid Science
Andy Weir’s “Project Hail Mary,” a hard‑science novel about saving Earth from a star‑eating algae, is hitting theaters on Friday with Ryan Gosling portraying scientist Ryland Grace. The film, the second adaptation of Weir’s work after “The Martian,” showcases the...
A Meteor Streaks Across the U.S. and Rattles Ohio With an Explosive Boom
A 6‑foot, 7‑ton asteroid entered Earth’s atmosphere over Lake Erie on March 17, 2026, producing a bright fireball that streaked across the sky from Indiana to New York. Traveling at roughly 45,000 mph, it fragmented over Valley City, Ohio, generating a loud...
Iceland’s Chief ‘Lava Cooler’ Is Bracing for the Next Volcanic Eruption
Icelandic firefighter Helgi Hjorleifsson led a groundbreaking experiment to cool and redirect lava threatening Grindavik, its power plant, and the Blue Lagoon tourist site. The team successfully protected the infrastructure during the 2023 eruption swarm, preventing widespread evacuations. Authorities now...
A New Lifeline Helps Inmates Transition to Life Outside the Bars
California’s Medicaid program now reimburses health care services provided inside jails and prisons, giving inmates access to prescription medication, mental‑health treatment, and case‑management before release. The policy, backed by corrections officials, aims to smooth the transition to community life and...
Earlier Cholesterol Testing Can Reduce Heart Attacks and Strokes, New Guideline Says
The American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology and nine other medical groups released new guidelines urging cholesterol testing as early as age ten and aggressive LDL reduction beginning around age thirty. The recommendations aim to lower lifelong LDL...
E.P.A. Moves to Weaken Limits on Ethylene Oxide
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a rule to weaken limits on ethylene oxide emissions from medical device sterilization plants. The change would affect roughly 90 facilities and eliminate the requirement for continuous emissions monitoring. About 2.3 million people, many in low‑income...
Space Jam: NASA’s MADCAP Team Directs Traffic at the Moon
NASA’s Mission Analysis and Design for Cislunar and Planetary (MADCAP) team has been quietly tracking every spacecraft in lunar orbit for the past 15 years. In March 2025 the privately‑run Blue Ghost lander narrowly avoided a collision with another orbiter,...
In Criminal Cases, Moss Is Often Underfoot and Overlooked
Scientists and law‑enforcement officials are highlighting moss as a forensic asset often ignored in crime scenes. In a 2025 Pennsylvania case, a forensic botanist used moss growth on a victim's clothing to estimate the remains had been in the woods...
Her Lab Worked to Future-Proof Fruits and Vegetables
The Horticulture Innovation Lab, funded by USAID, focused on under‑funded fruit and vegetable research to improve nutrition for marginalized populations worldwide. It partnered with scientists across Africa, South Asia, and Central America, delivering soil guidance, climate‑adapted varieties, and low‑energy cooling...
A Third of Americans Have Cut Spending or Borrowed Money for Health Care
A new West Health‑Gallup poll reveals that one‑third of Americans – about 82 million people – are cutting everyday expenses or borrowing money to afford health‑care. Health‑care costs now rank above food, gas and utilities as the nation’s top economic worry....
Why Falling Cats Always Seem to Land on Their Feet
A new study published in *The Anatomical Record* reveals that cats’ upper thoracic spines can rotate up to 360 degrees, enabling rapid mid‑air reorientation. Researchers examined cadaver spines and performed controlled drop tests on live cats, finding the upper spine...
Anthony J. Leggett Dies at 87; Won Nobel for Theories on Superfluids
Anthony J. Leggett, the 2003 Nobel laureate who explained the superfluid transition of helium‑3, died at age 87 in Urbana, Illinois. His theoretical work clarified why helium‑3 could become a frictionless quantum fluid, a phenomenon long thought impossible. Leggett’s insights...
From 1968: Lise Meitner, Physicist, Is Dead at 89; Paved Way for Splitting of Atom
The New York Times republished the 1968 obituary of Austrian‑born physicist Lise Meitner, who died at 89. Meitner calculated the massive energy released when uranium atoms split, laying the theoretical foundation for the atomic bomb and modern nuclear power. For three decades she...