A newborn planet munches on gas and dust surrounding its host star
In a first, astronomers imaged a baby planet within a gap in the disk of material around a star, confirming predictions about how rings form.
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What 100 Years of Quantum Physics Has Taught Us about Reality—And Ourselves
This year is the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, according to UNESCO, marking 100 years since quantum mechanics was proposed. The theory hardly needed the extra publicity, though. Look at any science magazine’s trending articles and there’s a good chance quantum stories will be among the top rankings. Cute animals aside, quantum physics…
The Story of CO2 is the Story of Everything review: New book about the story of carbon dioxide is a rousing call to action
Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images The Story of CO2 Is the Story of EverythingPeter Brannen (Allen Lane) Carbon dioxide consumes our thoughts – and rightly so. Its emission from power plants, car exhausts and the burning of natural habitats is making our world warmer and warmer – a fact seriously exercising the minds of politicians…
The foundations of eczema may start to be laid down in the womb
A fetus’s immune cells are affected by the hormones produced by the mother PeopleImages.com – #2323955 Stress during pregnancy, perhaps around the 6-to-8-month mark especially, may prime certain immune cells in a fetus’s skin to overreact, leading to eczema. Immune cells called mast cells in the skin release histamine and other chemicals that trigger redness,…
Bottom Trawling Could Unleash Carbon Dioxide, Worsening Global Warming
August 28, 2025 4 min read A Controversial Fishing Method May Dredge Up a Climate Time Bomb Bottom trawling is a fishing practice that is notoriously destructive to seafloor ecosystems. Now there’s growing evidence that it might unleash planet-warming carbon By Kate McMahon edited by Andrea Thompson A trawl net, full of fish, as it…
Will Australia’s social media ban really keep teenagers safe online?
Access to social media will be controlled in Australia Anna Barclay/Getty Images In just a few months, the online world of Australian teenagers will be turned on its head as the federal government’s ban on social media for under-16s comes into effect. But with the December deadline looming, children and their parents still have no…
20 Years After Hurricane Katrina, How Safe Is New Orleans From Another Catastrophic Flood?
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina drowned New Orleans and notably the city’s low-income Lower Ninth Ward. The flooding killed almost 1,400 people. The levees and floodwalls, primarily built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, failed to hold back the hurricane’s storm surge of seawater. Just a few days after the storm raged, President…
Go-to therapy for chronic sinus condition doesn’t work that well
The sinuses become inflamed in people with chronic sinusitis Science Photo Library/Alamy Surgery is typically a last resort for people with a chronically blocked or runny nose. But in some cases, it may actually work better than the antibiotics that are routinely prescribed to treat the condition. Chronic sinusitis affects about 9 per cent of…
Horses may have become rideable with the help of a genetic mutation
Two key gene variants may have made early domesticated horses more tame and more physically resilient to bearing a rider, researchers report August 28 in Science. The resulting horses were among the most significant advances in Bronze Age biotechnology. Ancient horse DNA suggests modern domesticated horses originated in southwestern Russia more than 4,200 years ago,…
Type 1 Diabetes Patient’s Insulin Production Restored with New Cell Transplant Therapy
August 28, 2025 4 min read New Cell Transplant for Type 1 Diabetes Sidesteps Need for Immunosuppressants Scientists treated a person’s type 1 diabetes with genetically modified insulin-producing cells that evaded immune system attacks. This is the first therapy for the condition that does not require immunosuppressant drugs By Humberto Basilio edited by Lauren J….