Even more

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  NPR · 3d ago

  Scientists say August was Earth's hottest month they've measured

  The European climate service Copernicus said the Earth just sweltered through its hottest month on record in August. Scientists said the heat surge is mostly due to human-caused climate change.

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  The Guardian · 3d ago

  ‘One of the biggest discoveries in science’: have scientists found dark matter? – podcast

  For decades physicists have been puzzling over the enigma of dark matter. We think it makes up 85% of the matter in the universe, but the mysterious substance cannot be seen or detected, and we know about it mainly through observations of the gravitational effects it has on other things. But now scientists believe they may be a step closer to detecting it. Science editor Ian Sample explains to Madeleine Finlay why, if confirmed, the finding could completely transform our understanding of the universe. And Dr Samuel Eriksen, senior research associate at the University of Bristol, and first author of the research paper, explains how the finding has been received in the physics communitySupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

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  BBC · 3d ago

  August joint-hottest month on record as climate change and El Niño drive heat

  Climate change and the rising influence of El Niño saw August reach the record for warmest month.

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  NPR · 3d ago

  Are we any closer to detecting dark matter?

  NPR's Scott Detrow talks with theoretical astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan of Yale University about a strange blip recorded by a dark matter detector in South Dakota and what the fluke could mean.

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  The Guardian · 4d ago

  Indonesian foragers may have sucked on mind-altering nuts 25,000 years ago, research finds

  Analysis of two skeletons reveals tooth wear and traces of psychoactive substance in what may be earliest known evidence for human drug takingWhat may be the earliest known evidence for human drug taking has been traced to ancient Indonesian foragers who sucked on mind-altering nuts as long as 25,000 years ago.Analysis of two exceptionally rare skeletons from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi revealed dramatic tooth wear and traces of a psychoactive substance in the individuals’ remaining teeth, suggesting they routinely sucked on hard, abrasive betel nuts. Continue reading...

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  The Guardian · 4d ago

  Hurrah, lie-ins may be good for us – if only I can convince my five-year-old daughter | Arwa Mahdawi

  CEOs may like to get up at the crack of dawn and go for a run, but I prefer optimising my life with lie-ins, trashy films, swearing and coffeeThis evening I’m going to tuck my five-year-old into bed and read her a chapter from one of her princess books, followed by a summary of research recently presented at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology. Once upon a time, I’ll tell her, there was a scientist called Dr Nawon Lee who authored a study that found having a weekend lie-in may be very good for you and can protect against high blood pressure. Our accomplished protagonist Dr Lee said: “People should not feel lazy or guilty for sleeping a little longer on the weekend.” And the moral of this story, dear child, is that you should try not to wake your mothers up at 6am every day.Unfortunately, I’m not sure that all the peer-reviewed science in the world will convince my early riser to have a weekend lie-in. Still, as a big fan of sleep and someone who has never once felt guilty for hitting the snooze button, I have to say I feel vindicated by this new study. CEOs can get up at 4am and run 10 miles before eating five foraged mushrooms if they want to, but I’m going to protect my heart health by sleeping in, any opportunity I can get, thank you very much.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

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  BBC · 4d ago

  Watch: Downed trees and flooding as Hurricane Lowell batters western Hawaii

  The storm brought damaging winds and torrential rain to parts of the island on Monday and Tuesday, triggering concerns about flash flooding and mudslides.

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  BBC · 4d ago

  How cleaning up the air is speeding up global warming - and revealing a bigger problem

  A curious online row over this summer's heatwaves points to a wider - and worrying - shift in climate science.

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  The Guardian · 5d ago

  How meteorologists recreated weather that helped decide second world war

  Experts helped guide weather scenes in Pressure – a film depicting dramatic buildup to 1944’s D-day landingsDressed in a Royal Air Force uniform and sporting a trim moustache, Andrew Scott looks slightly queasy – as well he might. Behind him is a huge map of the Channel, and in front of him is Brendan Fraser, looming with a request: “I need a forecast,” he says.Starring in the film Pressure, based on a true story, Scott plays the meteorologist Gp Capt James Stagg – the man who must tell Gen Eisenhower – played by Fraser – whether conditions will be suitable for the D-day landings scheduled to take place on 5 June 1944. But a large storm is approaching the Normandy coast. Continue reading...

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  The Guardian · 5d ago

  Are rich people really worse behaved? Here’s the science – podcast

  Who’s more likely to steal sweets from a child? According to science, it’s the rich. A study seemingly confirming our suspicions about the moral behaviour of the wealthy was one of the winners of the 2026 Ig Nobel prizes, which honour research that makes you laugh and then think. Science editor Ian Sample tells Madeleine Finlay what the researchers think could be behind the phenomenon, and they explore some of the other awards, including one for a surprising quality we look for in our friends and another for a biomechanical definition of kissingRich people more likely to steal children’s sweets, finds Ig Nobel prize-winning studySupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

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  BBC · 5d ago

  Gaps in evidence on vaccinating badgers against TB, researchers say

  Researchers want increased monitoring of the vaccination's impact on the disease and a review of the evidence.

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  NPR · 6d ago

  'Her body temperature was 106': How heat is killing Americans in their homes

  Heat kills thousands of people across the U.S. every year. The risk is especially high for the millions of Americans who live in manufactured housing like mobile homes and trailers.

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  NPR · 8d ago

  From bottles to bakery: How scientists create edible cookies from recycled plastic

  New research at the American Chemical Society meeting showcased a potentially edible cookie made out of — plastic!

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  NPR · 8d ago

  Biologist Andrew Newhouse on the genetic revival of the American chestnut

  The American chestnut once dominated the Eastern woodlands. NPR's Scott Simon talks to Andrew Newhouse, an environmental biologist, about efforts to bring these trees back from the brink of extinction.

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  NPR · 8d ago

  This week in science: Archaeology fakes, hurricanes and lizards, and heat health effects

  NPR's Regina Barber and Nate Rott talk about a new way to spot archaeological fakes, how hurricanes may have influenced lizard evolution and the health effects of extreme heat.

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  The Guardian · 9d ago

  Alcohol-related cancer deaths in US have more than doubled over three decades

  Study finds just one drink per day could raise risk of disease with impacts extending far beyond liver cancerAlcohol-related cancer deaths in the US have more than doubled over three decades, with new research showing that just one drink per day could raise cancer risk and that the impacts extend far beyond liver cancer.Researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, analyzed more than three decades of Global Burden of Disease data. Their study, published in August in the Lancet Regional Health, found that annual cancer deaths attributed to alcohol climbed from 11,361 in 1990 to 23,126 in 2023. Continue reading...

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  NPR · 9d ago

  Scientists map key protein interactions linked with profound autism

  Research published in the journal Science illuminates a "missing piece" in the biological understanding of profound autism and offers new targets for drug development.

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  The Guardian · 9d ago

  New Zealand drugs regulator approves use of MDMA to treat severe PTSD

  New Zealand decision follows Australian approval in 2023 of psychedelics to treat PTSD and treatment-resistant depressionTwo psychiatrists in New Zealand won approval on Friday to prescribe pharmaceutical-grade MDMA to people with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).The move by New Zealand’s pharmaceutical regulatory body Medsafe makes the country only the second worldwide to approve the party drug for use in treating PTSD, following Australia in 2023. Continue reading...

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  The Guardian · 13d ago

  Space junk punched a new hole in the moon. It’s not ours to abuse | Moriba Jah

  The space industry treats the sky as a place to dump what it no longer wants. We must develop a new model of accountabilityOn 5 August, a piece of a derelict SpaceX rocket traveling at 5,400 miles an hour met with the moon and punched a fresh hole into it near Einstein Crater. Astronomers were thrilled. The European Southern Observatory caught sodium and lithium flaring in the debris plume and called it a bonus. The media called it a light show. Nobody was physically hurt, so nobody is responsible, and within a week the story was gone.I have spent 20 years tracking the junk humanity leaves behind in space for a living, and I want to tell you plainly what that crater actually is: a receipt. It’s what you get when an entire industry treats the sky, and now the moon, as a place to dump what it no longer wants, and calls the dumping “normal operations” or “space exploration”. Continue reading...

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  The Guardian · 24d ago

  There is nothing scientific about The Great ADHD Myth? ‘documentary’ | Gina Rippon

  Channel 4’s programme wastes a chance to ask important questions about how ADHD is diagnosed and treated, instead indulging in unscientific methods and conspiracy theoriesProf Gina Rippon is emeritus professor of cognitive neuroimaging at the Aston Brain Centre, Aston UniversityWhen Channel 4 announced that it would air a documentary titled The Great ADHD Myth?, an outpouring of fury followed. Despite this, I set out to approach it as a scientist – not just as a scientist whose own work has dealt with developmental disorders, but as someone who has enormous respect for the scientific process and for the importance of evidence-led debate.Channel 4’s press release claimed the documentary sought to determine whether attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was a “genuine neurodevelopmental disorder, or a social construct”. At one level this is a brave enterprise. ADHD is recognised worldwide as a disorder, by the World Health Organization and our own NHS among others. Estimates suggest ADHD affects roughly 8% of children and adolescents and about 3% of adults worldwide. To overturn this consensus would require robust, reproducible findings capable of explaining away decades of genetic, developmental and clinical research. The press release described the documentary as “science-led”, which hinted at just such an enterprise. Was it really science-led?Prof Gina Rippon is emeritus professor of cognitive neuroimaging at the Aston Brain Centre, Aston University, and the author of the books The Gendered Brain and The Lost Girls of AutismDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

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  The Guardian · 29d ago

  The Fauci hearing was painful to watch. But we need answers on Covid-19’s origin| David Relman

  Despite the recent hearings in Congress, we seem to be even further from the goal of understanding Covid-19’s origin’s than we have ever beenAs a microbiologist and infectious disease clinician, it has been tough to watch the recent devolution of public discourse on Covid-19 origins. It has been especially difficult for me to read the comments of Anthony Fauci about the origins debate in his now-public diary. And it has been painful to watch the televised spectacle hosted by the US senator Rand Paul on 29 July involving a hostile interrogation of Fauci.Despite many early pleas, including my own, for a dispassionate, objective assessment of what we know, don’t know and need to know about Covid-19 origins, we seem to be even further from this goal now than we have ever been – plagued by politicization, polarization and illogical thinking.David Relman is a professor of medicine and microbiology at Stanford University. He was an inaugural member of the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity and president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America Continue reading...

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Every science story on this page is aggregated live from trusted global newsrooms including BBC, NPR, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, WIRED, TechCrunch, ESPN and more. Headlines refresh automatically every two minutes, so what you see here is always the current picture — no staleness, no manual curation delay.