Deep-Earth Map Reveals a Lost U.S. Continent
The 20‑million‑dollar Magnetotelluric (MT) Array has released its final 3‑D conductivity map of the United States, revealing a massive, previously hidden crustal slab dubbed the Piedmont Resistor that stretches from Maine to Georgia. The slab, formed by volcanic activity during Pangaea’s breakup 200 million years ago, concentrates induced electric currents during solar storms, raising grid‑failure risk. The data also pinpoint ancient sutures that guide exploration for critical minerals such as lithium and rare earths. The project, now complete after two decades, sets a global standard for deep‑earth imaging and informs both energy‑security and resource‑development strategies.
‘Modern European Family’ Predates Fall of Rome, DNA Reveals
A new study published in *Nature* analyzed DNA from 258 burials in southern Germany, spanning 400‑750 CE, to reconstruct family trees up to six generations. The genetic data show that northern migrants trickled into the Roman frontier provinces and intermarried with...
Battle over DNA Within Fertilized Eggs May Explain Why some IVF Procedures Fail
A new mouse study published in Nature reveals that keeping maternal and paternal pronuclei separate in fertilized eggs promotes normal development. Up to 8% of IVF‑derived zygotes fuse these pronuclei prematurely, creating a single oversized pronucleus with altered DNA methylation....
To Misinformation Researchers, AI Is a Scourge—And a Powerful New Tool
Researchers tracking the Russian‑run site DCWeekly.org discovered a sudden shift to generative AI, dramatically increasing the volume of propaganda without losing credibility. An EU report shows AI‑generated disinformation accounted for 27% of foreign influence attempts in 2025, nearly three times...
As Foot-and-Mouth Disease Explodes in South Africa, Experts Warn of Threats in Other Countries
South Africa’s cattle industry is reeling from a foot‑and‑mouth disease (FMD) outbreak that originated in Kruger National Park’s buffalo, costing an estimated $360 million this year. The government has declared a national disaster, imported millions of vaccine doses, and aims to...
Severe Malaria May Affect Children’s Cognitive Abilities More than a Decade Later
A long‑term Ugandan cohort study of nearly 1,000 children shows that survivors of cerebral malaria or severe malarial anemia score lower on cognitive and math tests up to 15 years after infection. The deficits translate to a loss of roughly...
Fog Is a Vital Water Resource. Could It Disappear in a Warming World?
Scientists have launched a $3.65 million, five‑year Pacific Coastal Fog Research project to systematically measure California's fog chemistry, water contribution, and climate response. The initiative will deploy mesh fog collectors at 15 sites from San Diego to Mendocino and use a novel...
An Interspecies Grooming Ritual May Have Been Spotted in Desert Ants
Entomologists have documented a cleaning mutualism between the large red harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex barbatus) and much smaller Dorymyrmex ants in Arizona desert habitats. Researchers observed Dorymyrmex workers climbing onto harvester ants for about a minute, licking and nibbling the hosts’...
Rollout of Powerful New HIV Prevention Tool in Lower Income Countries Gets a Boost
The U.S. State Department and the Global Fund announced a major scale‑up of Gilead’s long‑acting HIV prevention drug lenacapavir, targeting 3 million people in low‑income countries over the next three years—a 50 % increase from the original 2 million commitment. Lenacapavir, which showed...
Department of Energy’s Tech Incubator Doubles Down on Fusion Power
The Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency‑Energy (ARPA‑E) announced a $135 million infusion for fusion research over the next 18 months, matching the total it has spent on the technology in the past 12 years. The funding aims to accelerate...
Penguins Become Marine Detectives, Thanks to Pollutant-Detecting Anklets
Researchers equipped Magellanic penguins in Argentine Patagonia with soft silicone ankle bands that passively absorb per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In a pilot covering 55 birds from 2022‑2024, 91% of the bands recorded at least one PFAS, identifying nine distinct...
Trump Seeks to Jump-Start Long-Planned Antarctic Research Icebreaker
President Trump’s FY 2027 budget request earmarks $900 million for a new U.S. Antarctic research icebreaker, the Antarctic Research Vessel (ARV), a fraction of the $2 billion‑plus price tag estimated for the ship. The proposal revives a program stalled after the NSF ended...
AIs Can ‘Memorize’ Data They Shouldn’t. Can They Be Forced to Forget?
Researchers at USC and the Max Planck Institute have released Hubble, the first open‑source suite designed to investigate memorization in large language models. Leveraging 200,000 GPU hours from NVIDIA via the NSF’s NAIRR program, they trained nearly two dozen custom LLMs...
Relics of an Ancient Sandstorm on Mars Point to Earth-Like Winds
NASA’s Curiosity rover captured fossilized supercritical climbing ripples in 3.6‑billion‑year‑old rocks within Gale crater, indicating an ancient sandstorm that moved sand waist‑high. The ripple geometry implies Mars once possessed an atmosphere thick enough to generate Earth‑like winds, a stark contrast...
‘We’re Failing Newborns’: The Global Push to Reduce Infant Deaths Is Losing Steam
The United Nations’ 2030 goal to cut neonatal mortality to 12 per 1,000 live births is slipping, with more than 60 countries—especially in Africa—far off track. Neonatal deaths remain at 2.3 million annually, driven by prematurity, asphyxia, and infections, while power...