An artist’s impression of the Kuiper belt ESO/M. Kornmesser The Kuiper belt, a disc of icy rocks on the outermost edges of the solar system, seems to have more structure than we thought. In 2011, researchers found a cluster of objects there on similar orbits that they dubbed the “kernel” of the Kuiper belt –…
A material that slips through skin might someday make needle-free insulin possible for people with diabetes. In mice and mini pigs, attaching the permeating polymer to insulin and applying the resulting compound like a cream normalized blood glucose levels almost as quickly as injecting insulin, researchers report November 19 in Nature. This approach, called transdermal…
November 19, 2025 1 min read Epstein Files Spark Harvard Investigation into Larry Summers E-mails between Larry Summers and the now deceased financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from 2018 and 2019 have raised questions about a relationship Summers pursued with a student By Dan Vergano edited by Claire Cameron Larry Summers, president emeritus and…
In autumn 1945, Lincoln LaPaz crouched over a patch of scorched ground in the Jornada del Muerto desert of New Mexico. LaPaz, an astronomer, was out hunting for meteorites. He had spotted something in the dust: a strange, glittering crust of blood-red glass. This was no meteorite, but it was striking enough that he held…
In September, the federal committee that makes vaccine recommendations voted to change the childhood immunization schedule. That in itself isn’t unusual; past committees have done so over the years. But this time, careful deliberations and evidence-based decisions, hallmarks of past meetings, were absent. The committee removed the option for a combination vaccine as the first…
November 19, 2025 2 min read These Birds Learned to Tweet Like R2-D2. Listen to the Uncanny Results The lovable Star Wars droid is helping to shed light on why some bird species are better at mimicking sounds than others By Kate Graham-Shaw edited by Andrea Thompson Some birds such as starlings (right) are better…
Illustration of Faraday’s experiment showing how light becomes polarised by a magnetic field ENRIQUE SAHAGÚN In 1845, physicist Michael Faraday provided the first direct evidence that electromagnetism and light are related. Now, it turns out that this connection is even stronger than Faraday imagined. In his experiment, Faraday shone light through a piece of glass which…
On supporting science journalism If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. A century ago a father and a sonlabored to replicate the intricatestructure of nearly eight hundredspecies…
Can maths improve these cups of coffee? Alexander Spatari/Getty Images Imagine you have a pot of coffee that amounts to two cups’ worth. It has been brewed badly, so it is much stronger at the bottom than at the top. If coffee is poured out of the pot into two cups, the first one you…
November 18, 2025 4 min read Heart Rate Irregularity Sounds Bad, but Here’s Why You Want a Bit of It Milliseconds of variability, now detected by fitness watches, can improve well-being By Lydia Denworth edited by Josh Fischman Earlier this year I got an Oura ring to track the state of my health. Soon I…
