Science

The Webb telescope found that a far-off little red dot is the oldest known black hole, shrouded by gas that could help explain the ruby color.

Rachel Feltman: For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Rachel Feltman. Experimental archaeology takes a hands-on approach to understanding the past. Instead of just studying ancient objects researchers re-create them. They build 30-foot medieval catapults, perform ancient surgeries with stone tools and prepare authentic Roman banquets using techniques so traditional, not even your nonna would recognize…

Shanghai saw many days of extreme heat and humidity in 2024 REUTERS/Nicoco Chan The planet experienced a record number of dangerously hot, humid days in 2024 as climate change increases global humidity to unprecedented levels. The global average number of high humid heat days over land exceeded the 1991-2020 average by 35.6 days last year,…

What does interpretation really mean when it comes to quantum theory? Shutterstock/cybermagician If you asked a thousand physicists, they would all disagree. This statement could apply to any number of topics – whether the universe is infinite, what dark matter is made of, how to make wires conduct perfectly efficiently – but it isn’t just…

Someone with paralysis using the brain-computer interface. The text above is the cued sentence and the text below is what is being decoded in real-time as she imagines speaking the sentence Emory BrainGate Team People with paralysis can now have their thoughts turned into speech just by imagining talking in their heads. While brain-computer interfaces…

Classical type 1 diabetes may not be the most common diabetes subtype in sub-Saharan Africa Miro May / Alamy Some sub-Saharan African people with the autoimmune disease type 1 diabetes actually have a newly recognised, non-autoimmune form of it – which may require new treatment strategies. All people with diabetes have difficulty producing or using…

August 14, 2025 4 min read New Brain Device Is First to Read Out Inner Speech A new brain prosthesis can read out inner thoughts in real time, helping people with ALS and brain stem stroke communicate fast and comfortably By Emma R. Hasson edited by Allison Parshall Andrzej Wojcicki/Science Photo Library/Getty Images After a…

Researchers stabilised a ring-shaped carbon molecule by adding “bumpers” to protect its atoms Harry Anderson A new type of all-carbon molecule has been studied under normal room-temperature conditions. This marks only the second time this has ever been done, after spherical buckyballs were synthesised 35 years ago. The breakthrough could lead to extremely efficient materials…

In The Martians, journalist David Baron recounts scientific and public debate over purported intelligent life on the Red Planet.

August 14, 2025 2 min read Here’s Why Rabbits Are Sprouting Tentacle Horns Rabbits spotted with hornlike growths on their face in northern Colorado are doing better than they look By Stephanie Pappas edited by Jeanna Bryner This eastern cottontail rabbit has growths protruding from its head because it is infected with a papilloma virus….