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Scientists say they have very strong evidence that the adult human brain is capable of making new neurons, a point of ongoing controversy in neuroscience.

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed an environmentally safer type of plastic that can be used for wearable electronics, sensors and other electrical applications. The material, a so-called ferroelectric polymer, is made without fluorine, considered a "forever" chemical that hurts the environment because compounds made with it don't break down quickly or at all.

A new investigation into old Kepler data has revealed that a planetary system once thought to house zero planets actually has two planets that orbit their star in a unique style, like an old-fashioned merry-go-round.

Chemists at the School of Science of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have recently made significant progress in photocatalysis by unveiling a "super" photoreductant, marking a major advancement in organic synthesis.

Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, have developed a tunable system that paves the way for more accurate sensing in a variety of technologies, including biomedical diagnostics. The result is published in Nature.

Understanding where and in what quantities essential elements for life have existed on Earth's surface helps explain the origin and evolution of life. Phosphorus is one such element, forming the backbone of DNA, RNA, and cellular membranes.

The elusive planet will be shining at its very best for the year.

Managing radioactive waste is one of the core challenges in the use of nuclear energy. In particular, radioactive iodine poses serious environmental and health risks due to its long half-life (15.7 million years in the case of I-129), high mobility, and toxicity to living organisms.

Modern low-power solutions to computer memory rely heavily on the manipulation of the magnetic properties of materials. Understanding the influence of the chemical properties of these materials on their magnetization ability is of key importance in developing the field.

The ability to analyze gene expression at the single-cell level—known as single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq)—has transformed life sciences, driving discoveries across immunology, oncology, and developmental biology. Over 40,000 studies have leveraged this technique to map the complex diversity of cells within tissues and organisms.

On March 28, 2025, a major earthquake with a moment magnitude (Mw) of 7.7 struck Mandalay, central Myanmar (referred to as the 2025 Myanmar earthquake). This event caused severe shaking and substantial damage in Myanmar and neighboring countries. Aftershock distribution extended southward from the epicenter, indicating predominant southward rupture propagation.

Tsunami earthquakes are characterized by the generation of disproportionately large tsunamis relative to the observed ground shaking, complicating timely evacuation efforts. Understanding their generation mechanisms and associated risks is therefore critical.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins have expressed interest in letting H5N1 outbreaks spread unchecked through U.S. poultry farms. Health experts warn it could lead to a new pandemic.

Porous materials have a wide range of applications due to their capacity to act as filters, or lightweight structural materials that use less material than a solid substance. Researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, created a new material fine enough to filter things like viruses but is strong enough to be a rigid construction material for devices. The study is published in the journal Science.

Ecologists are concerned that forest ecosystems will not keep pace with a rapidly changing climate, failing to remain healthy and productive. Before the rapid climate change of the past century, tree populations in the Northern Hemisphere adapted to colder and warmer periods over thousands of years.

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have reconciled two closely related but contentious mechanisms underlying transcription, the process of converting genetic information in DNA into messenger RNA. Phase separation has been proposed as a driving force in transcription due to its ability to selectively concentrate proteins and DNA in discrete droplets.

A new DNA model suggests humans didn't reach Australia until 50,000 years ago, but archaeological data disagrees.

Ruins of the Palaspata temple complex from the millennia-old Tiwanaku civilization are unraveling some mysteries about the relatively unstudied society.

An experiment in lab mice found that certain human gut bacteria can absorb PFAS, commonly called "forever chemicals," until they are excreted, new study finds.

If an intestinal inhabitant such as the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli) becomes resistant to many antibiotics, it can cause serious health problems if it enters the bloodstream. How can such potentially dangerous multi-resistant bacteria be effectively removed from the gut?

Scientists have found evidence that the Asian continent was free of permafrost all the way to its northerly coast with the Arctic Ocean when Earth's average temperature was 4.5˚C warmer than today, suggesting that the whole Northern Hemisphere would have also been free of permafrost at the time.

Like all complex organisms, every human originates from a single cell that multiplies through countless cell divisions. Thousands of cells coordinate, move and exert mechanical forces on each other as an embryo takes shape.

Twenty years ago, cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Spelke took a strong position in an ongoing public debate. "There are no differences in overall intrinsic aptitude for science and mathematics among women and men," the researcher declared. A new paper in the journal Nature, written by Spelke and a team of European researchers, provides what she called "an even stronger basis for that argument."

NASA's newest astrophysics space telescope launched in March on a mission to create an all-sky map of the universe. Now settled into low-Earth orbit, SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) has begun delivering its sky survey data to a public archive on a weekly basis, allowing anyone to use the data to probe the secrets of the cosmos.

The COVID pandemic illustrated how urgently we need antiviral medications capable of treating coronavirus infections. To aid this effort, researchers quickly homed in on part of SARS-CoV-2's molecular structure known as the NiRAN domain—an enzyme region essential to viral replication that's common to many coronaviruses.