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New Research

If a theoretical dark matter particle interacts with liquid xenon in an underground tank, these light sensors should detect the resulting flash of light. 

Scientists May Have Finally Detected a Hint of Dark Matter, the Mysterious, Invisible Stuff That Holds the Universe Together

A South Dakota-based instrument built to detect theoretical dark matter particles has sensed a particle interaction that’s difficult to explain with known phenomena. But more data is needed to confirm that the strange substance—which scientists have never directly observed—is, indeed, the culprit

Since calorie restriction is known to slow aging, researchers wanted to know if GLP-1s—which curb appetite—could do the same.

GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drugs Can Slow Aging and Extend Life Span, Mouse Study Suggests

Older female mice—equivalent in age to 60-year-old women—given daily injections of the active ingredient in Ozempic lived about 12 percent longer than animals that didn’t receive the drug

Study co-author Lisa Tauxe inserts samples into a thermal demagnetizer.

New Research

Researchers Have Figured Out How to Spot Fake Ancient Pottery Using the Earth’s Magnetic Field

The magnetic North Pole has shifted over the millennia, leaving clues in the minerals that make up clay antiquities

Scientists studied the fossils of prehistoric relatives of katydids.

Scientists Recreated the Long-Lost Chirps of Jurassic Insects. Listen to the Simulated Soundscape of 165 Million Years Ago

With artificial intelligence and careful modeling of fossilized wings, researchers reproduced how some extinct, katydid-like insects might have made noise

Observations by amateur astronomers and imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope have revealed a ten-sided shape around Saturn’s south pole.

A Mysterious Decagon Unexpectedly Appeared Around Saturn’s South Pole. The Ten-Sided Shape Seems to Be a Wave in the Atmosphere

Decades ago, scientists found a hexagon around Saturn’s north pole. Now, recent images reveal a decagon in the planet’s southern hemisphere—and it seems to have recently formed

Egyptian officials announced the new discoveries last week.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover a 4,000-Year-Old Tomb With a False Door at Egypt’s Ancient Saqqara Necropolis

In addition to the tomb, which once belonged to a high-ranking official, excavations revealed a network of burial shafts that still held human remains and funerary objects

The ration kept an individual's daily intake of sugar at around 40 grams, about ten cubes of sugar. After the restriction ended, consumption of the sweetener nearly doubled.

World War II Sugar Rationing Data Hints That Limiting Intake of the Sweet Stuff Early in Life Lowers the Risk of Dementia and Cancer

For roughly a decade leading up to September 1953, the United Kingdom limited sugar purchases. Scientists studied health outcomes in people born during the ration and right after

Alfie and Bailey, the first dogs whose genes were edited so they lack the allergy-inducing protein Can f 1.

Allergic to Dogs? These Gene-Edited Beagles Could Pave the Way to Your Dream Canine Companion That Won’t Trigger Sniffles

Geneticists altered Alfie and Bailey’s DNA so that they don’t produce a major allergen. However, canines like them are not currently commercially available, and some experts express ethical concerns about altering the animals’ genes

The new study examined Mars' gravitational field to infer its interior structure.

Mars’ Southern Half Is Weirdly Warm Underground. The ‘Thermal Anomaly’ Might Explain Why the Planet’s Hemispheres Look So Different

Researchers used a novel technique to figure out what’s going on inside the Red Planet. The work suggests that the interior of the southern hemisphere is hundreds of degrees hotter than that of the northern hemisphere and partially molten

An artist's interpretation of what Chosha praecursor might have looked like while splitting its time between water and land 324 million years ago in what is now Texas.

This Ancient Insect Had 24 Legs—and Could Help Explain How the Ancestors of Modern-Day Bugs Took Over the Land

A previously undescribed critter that lived 324 million years ago appears to have been a transitional species that lived between land and sea. It could help researchers fill an 80-million-year gap in the fossil record of how crustaceans evolved into insects

A male Cope's gray treefrog is smaller than a female and attaches to her back as she looks for a spot to lay eggs.

Female Treefrogs Experience ‘Choice Overload’ Amid Too Many Mating Calls From Males

Faced with a chorus of potential mates, female Cope’s gray treefrogs may be overwhelmed by the number of options and struggle to make a careful decision, a study suggests

Records uncovered by researcher Christopher Moore indicate that stones from Sandown Castle were repurposed in a Victorian-era extension of Constable's Gate at Dover Castle (pictured here).

Cool Finds

Stones From One of Henry VIII’s Fortresses Spent More Than a Century Hidden in Plain Sight. New Research Suggests the Victorians Repurposed Them as Building Materials

Recently discovered archival records indicate that workers constructing an extension of the Constable’s Gate at Dover Castle in the late 19th century reused fragments of the Tudor-era Sandown Castle

The digital facial depiction was created by the Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University.

New Research

See the Digitally Reconstructed Face of an Ancient Man Who Witnessed England’s Greatest Upheaval

The so-called “Conquest Man” was buried in England in 1079, just over a decade into the reign of William the Conqueror. Researchers recently analyzed the skeleton’s DNA and teeth to learn more about him

A sample of cerebrospinal fluid is processed at the University of California, San Francisco, long Covid research lab.

For Many Americans, Covid Is Still a Chronic, Disabling Disease. These Scientists Are Working Tirelessly to Bring Them Relief

Long Covid saps the strength and vitality of patients, who have little recourse to fight it. A team of specialists—including an afflicted researcher working mostly from her bed—is looking for answers

Researchers documenting and analyzing the inscriptions

Deep Inside a Spanish Cave, Roman Women May Have Worshipped a Mysterious Goddess

Best known for its Paleolithic art, Valencia’s Cova de les Dones also contains a Roman sanctuary where researchers say women appear to have played an active role in the worship of a female deity

An estimated one million to two million petroglyphs are spread across the Burrup Peninsula and the Dampier Archipelago, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Historical Pollution, Not Current Industrial Emissions, Damaged the World’s Largest and Oldest Collection of Ancient Rock Art, Study Suggests

Researchers say that past exposure to sulfur dioxide is likely to blame for the increased porosity of the Murujuga rock art created by the Ngarda-Ngarli people tens of thousands of years ago

Many stars orbit the Milky Way's central supermassive black hole. But S301's orbit, shown in red, is the only one known to be close enough to feel the effects of the black hole's theorized spin.

This Star Orbits Our Galaxy’s Heart at a Record-Breaking Speed—and Could Help Uncover Secrets About the Behemoth Black Hole There

The speedster travels at up to 56 million miles per hour, or about 8 percent the speed of light. It also gets very close to the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way

Researchers observed bearded capuchins in Brazil eating birds (shown here), lizards, rodents, opossums, snakes and other small vertebrates.

When Fruit Is Scarce, These Monkeys Hunt Animals. The Behavior May Offer Clues About the Origins of Humans’ Meat-Eating Habits

The bearded capuchins of northeastern Brazil typically eat plant-based foods, but they turn to small vertebrates when those sources are limited. Our ancestors may have done the same, eventually allowing predatory behaviors to be more frequently passed on in our lineage

The studied species, brown-lipped snails, are native to Europe.

Snails Can Make Their Slime Sticky, Slippery, Foamy or Hard Depending on Their Needs. Here’s How They Tweak Their Multipurpose Mucus

The critters can alter the proportions of calcium and collagen in the versatile substance, which changes the protein structure. The different textures can help snails glide, climb or protect themselves

An archaeologist holds the triangular padlock found around the Polish woman's left big toe.

Why Was This 17th-Century Polish Woman Buried With a Padlock on Her Toe and an Iron Sickle Across Her Neck?

New research suggests that the people who buried the young woman took precautionary measures to stop her from coming back to life and exacting revenge on them

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