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As the construction of a hydroelectric dam loomed, archaeologists raced to uncover Angola's earliest dated burials and its only known cremation at a 15th-century settlement before it vanished beneath the water.

In the words of a former Antarctic tour guide we interviewed: "You'd see massive glacier calvings, and you'd just want to cry. But all the guests would be cheering. And you'd be like … 'can you not put two and two together?'"

Historians and archaeologists know that maize was a central food source and cultural symbol across the ancient Maya world, but much of what is known has come from studies focused on large Maya cities and elite burials.

People who receive information on social media play a greater role in the spread of misinformation than research has acknowledged, according to research published in the International Journal of Enterprise Network Management. The researchers argue that efforts to tackle "fake news" should focus as much on why users share false information as on identifying those who create misleading content.

When Amy posts a photograph of herself on Instagram, she knows what will attract attention. A picture of her in a bikini may receive thousands of views. A post explaining the realities of living with a stoma (an opening in her abdomen that directs waste to a bag attached to it) may reach far fewer people.

Researchers have developed a DNA vacuum that can suck genetic traces from animals out of the air and reveal which animals live in an area. In two new studies, the researchers collected air samples in three natural areas in Denmark and showed that the method can be used to map local wildlife. This brings them a major step closer to better monitoring biodiversity using DNA from the air.

Dozens of archaeological sites were destroyed by looting during Syria's civil war, which began in 2011 and lasted until 2024. Because the last comprehensive analysis was published in 2017, the extent of more recent damage to cultural heritage sites since 2016—including at UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Palmyra, long-running archaeological excavations like Mari, and the ancient Roman city of Apamea, known for its Great Colonnade—has been largely unknown.

All cells in the human body—and the motions they enable, from our beating hearts to our wiggling toes—use energy generated by a molecule called ATP. Its energy is thought to be released to fuel cellular processes in only one way: when ATP's decomposition is initiated by an enzyme, a specific type of protein.

A Taiwan–led study of Mandarin-speaking learners shows that the sounds we hear and produce are deeply shaped by our prior language experience, offering new insights into how humans learn and use language.

SpaceX's mammoth Starship rocket blasted off Friday on another test flight stretching halfway around the world, this time releasing 20 of the most advanced Starlinks.

Authorities have evacuated more than 340,000 people and suspended work and rail services as Typhoon Noul approaches southern China, with flight cancellations announced in Hong Kong.

Scottish firefighters fought a wildfire Saturday that was burning through Cairngorms National Park in the north, with authorities advising residents to evacuate.

What dangers does smoke from wildfires pose? Who is most at risk? Here are some answers to health questions often asked, especially now with fires in France and Spain.

Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus)—the world's biggest fish—are one of the most charismatic marine species. They connect with the hearts of anyone lucky enough to encounter them, making people deeply curious about their lives and invested in their conservation.

Swidden agriculture—often called "slash-and-burn"—has been practiced on every inhabited continent throughout human history, and for decades it has been blamed for the destruction of the world's rainforests. However, a new study of more than 18,000 forest patches around the world found that the environmental impact of swidden is more nuanced and less destructive than the term "slash-and-burn" suggests—and that unwritten social rules in small societies, not government oversight, often regulate lan

Ecologists have long understood that biodiversity is paramount to ecosystem stability. Until now, however, most ecological research has focused on a single layer of ecological life at a time—for example, plant or animal communities. In reality, ecological systems have multiple layers that interact continuously. Plants are eaten by herbivores, herbivores are eaten by predators, and fluctuations at one trophic level, or an organism's specific position in the food chain, can ripple through the enti

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Saturday firefighters were working to "save lives" in the blazes raging west of Madrid, as authorities said a separate fire in the east killed one person.

Thousands crowded into emergency shelters in France and Spain on Sunday after wildfires drove more than 300,000 people to flee their homes and vacation accommodations.

Chinese astronomers report the detection of a peculiar optical transient event that occurred in the center of a dwarf galaxy. The newly discovered event, designated AT2019ijn, is a fast-rising, slow-decaying blue optical transient with exceptionally bright radio emission. The finding was detailed in a paper published July 6 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Modern research on secondary metabolites from microbes, plants and marine organisms has revealed a remarkable diversity of chemical structures and bioactivities with broad applications in biotechnology, agriculture and medicine. Most natural products are composed of primary biogenic elements such as carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen.

One of Europe's highest distinctions in condensed matter physics has been awarded for a discovery that is reshaping our understanding of magnetism: The 2026 Europhysics Prize of the European Physical Society (EPS) Condensed Matter Division goes to Professor Jairo Sinova of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), Dr. Libor Šmejkal and Professor Tomas Jungwirth for their discovery of altermagnetism—a previously unknown fundamental class of magnetism.

Researchers from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) are playing a key role in the summer exhibition wONDERLAND at the Yper Museum. Thanks to interdisciplinary research on more than 1,000 excavated skeletons, they have succeeded in giving the anonymous medieval city dweller a face and a voice once again after centuries.

Museums, libraries, archives and heritage organizations face a difficult problem: Many of the objects they preserve are made from materials that naturally deteriorate.

Jessica Metcalf's work stinks. Literally. But the Colorado State University professor's research may be key to protecting livestock and wildlife from a flesh-eating parasite.

Researchers from the University of Amsterdam and the University of New South Wales have answered a question that has been around for decades: whether ions of the metal ytterbium can enter certain long-lived, nearly stable states and, if so, for how long. The measured long-lived states may find applications in quantum computers and atomic clocks.

The rapid growth of sustainable finance in recent years has fueled interest in green investment, ranging from green bonds and environmental, social and governance (ESG) funds to energy-efficient cryptocurrencies. While these assets are often grouped under the broader umbrella of green finance, their interaction during periods of market stress remains largely unexplored.

A learner stands in a room with a bottle, a cup and a book. The task is to figure out, step by step, where each object belongs in the room. Under the table? Or perhaps on the chair? A humanoid robot gives the instructions—but in Swahili, a language the learner does not know. To solve the puzzle, the learner must gradually decipher what the robot is saying.

For more than a century, scientists have sought to reconstruct human evolution using diverse lines of evidence, including fossils, genetic variation across populations and ancient DNA. Building on these approaches, researchers are increasingly using large population biobanks to investigate how natural selection continues to shape the genomes of living populations.

Anticancer prodrugs have attracted significant attention from the medical and scientific communities in recent years because of their potential to improve treatment precision while reducing side effects. These drugs are engineered to remain inactive until they are activated at specific sites or under particular physiological conditions within the body, at which point they release their therapeutic effect.

Nitrate contamination of drinking water poses a major health concern, particularly in agricultural communities where fertilizers, livestock manure and septic systems can leach nitrates into groundwater. Many rural households rely on private water wells, which may not be routinely tested, leading some to consume contaminated water without realizing it.

Photographs can reveal things that are otherwise impossible for the naked eye to see, be they distant galaxies or microscopic cells. Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University have developed a practical and versatile imaging technique that makes another usually invisible phenomenon visible: surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), light waves that travel along metal surfaces.

Imagine searching for a gemstone in a dark cave: You use a flashlight, looking for a rainbow-colored glint in the darkness. Now, imagine 10 other people in the cave with you, using different-colored flashlights at the same time. Suddenly, you can no longer tell which light is coming from your gemstone, which light is from another flashlight or which light is coming from a reflection off another unknown object. That is what echolocation with multiple, overlapping frequencies would be like. But no

A study carried out on smallholder farms in northern Peru shows that Blanco de Piura, a native fine-flavor cacao variety, can achieve productivity levels comparable to those of commercial varieties widely grown across Latin America. The research, led by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and the University of Göttingen in collaboration with Cooperativa Agraria Norandino, shows that Blanco de Piura—renowned for its exceptional flavor and aroma—can produce an average of 1,200 to 1,5

If you look up invasive species in a textbook, there's a good chance you'll find a picture of a brown tree snake. Native to Australia and the South Pacific, the brown tree snake arrived on Guam sometime after World War II, possibly by stowing away aboard cargo planes.

The most severe droughts in the ancient Eastern Mediterranean arose when multiple natural climate cycles coincided, according to a new study from Stockholm University published in Science Advances. The findings shed new light on the climate conditions surrounding the Late Bronze Age collapse and may help improve understanding of future drought risks in a warming world.

Drones are increasingly being used for disaster response, infrastructure inspection and environmental monitoring. However, most drone systems rely primarily on cameras and other visual sensors, which can become ineffective in smoke, dust, darkness or collapsed structures. Odor sensing could provide a valuable complementary capability by enabling drones to detect gas leaks and chemical emissions that cannot be identified through visual sensing alone. Yet a major challenge has limited the practica

Photonic microchips can process data at extremely high speeds and are embedded in a wide variety of today's technologies. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) and Harvard University have now succeeded in developing three functional components for such chips that are up to 500 times smaller than conventional designs. The researchers used inverse design, a computer algorithm, to achieve this. The results are published in Nature Communications.

The pearly razorfish (Xyrichtys novacula) is a small marine animal that lives in sandy coastal waters and feeds on creatures like shrimp. Known locally in Spain's Balearic Islands as raors, it is a popular dish in many homes and restaurants across the region.

Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi have discovered that the malaria parasite relies on a specific type of fat to survive and multiply within the human host, uncovering a previously unknown vulnerability that could help guide future treatments.

A new review led by the University of East London (UEL) has uncovered a major blind spot in air pollution research. Despite domestic gardens covering vast areas of Britain's towns and cities, researchers found no direct evidence showing whether they reduce pollution levels or improve the air people breathe at home. There is a huge gap in understanding the role of domestic gardens in air quality.

Ancient samples from the moon's far side are helping scientists uncover how asteroid impacts shaped the early solar system. The findings challenge decades of thinking about when those impacts occurred and offer new insights into the conditions that influenced Earth's evolution.

As the climate becomes increasingly variable and extreme events become more frequent, accelerating the use of innovations that can strengthen agricultural resilience has become a priority for agrifood systems. Science has made progress in developing solutions with the potential to help farmers address these challenges. However, ensuring that knowledge about these innovations reaches more farmers and is understood, adapted and scaled remains one of the major challenges in research for development

La Trobe University scientists have uncovered the critical role fatty cell structures play in our body's early detection and defense against viruses. Published in Nature Communications, the discovery could open the door to a new type of antiviral strategy that harnesses the body's innate defense mechanisms rather than targeting individual viruses.

Birdsong carries meaning across open space, helping birds attract mates, defend territory and communicate with rivals. While there has been much research into the use of birdsong across species, researchers have lacked a single global framework that explains birdsong complexity and how it differs from place to place. But now, in a study recently published in Science, a group of researchers in France have analyzed more than 116,000 bird songs from 3,160 passerine species around the world, allowin

Europe's wildfire crisis forced more than 80,000 people to flee for safety Friday, as vacationers boarded boats to escape fires on a French peninsula and Spanish officials ordered mass evacuations in towns near Madrid.

The promise of quantum computing is to solve complex problems faster and more energy-efficiently than today's supercomputers—from optimizing logistics to simulating molecules. This goal is coming within reach as the number of qubits—the computational units of quantum computing—increases.