Underground tunnel discovered in Stone Age tomb in Germany that may have been used for medieval cult rituals
Archaeologists excavating a Stone Age burial site in Germany have discovered a mysterious “earth tunnel”, probably built by someone in the Middle Ages to hide a ritual performed in secret thousands of years after the grave was dug. At the end of 2025, the German National Heritage Administration (LDA) in the state of Saxony-Anhalt was […]
China has banned all fishing to save the Yangtze River. This “nuclear” option appears to be working.
China’s Yangtze River has shown signs of recovery since a 10-year commercial fishing ban was introduced in 2021. The number of large fish is increasing and endangered animals such as the Yangtze sturgeon (Sinosturia dabryanus) and the Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) are also recovering, a new study finds. “These results show that restoring […]
Surprising research reveals that the oldest black hole in the universe may still exist
Immediately after the Big Bang, the newborn universe was a wild and hot place. In that cosmic soup, primordial black holes, the universe’s first black holes formed from pockets of extremely dense matter, could soon take shape. For many years, our understanding of these objects, especially small objects, was that they would eventually simply disappear […]
A strange rocky world lurks at the edge of an ‘inside-out’ planetary system discovered
Astronomers have discovered an unusual planetary system orbiting far beyond where rebellious rocky planets would be expected to form. Rocky planets usually develop closer to their star, while gaseous planets form further out. This is the case in our solar system, where a vast asteroid belt draws a line between rocky Mars and gaseous Jupiter. […]
Risk of death from pregnancy in US is 44 times higher than risk of death from abortion, new analysis reveals
Figures often cited to compare the risks of pregnancy and abortion in the United States may significantly underestimate the risk of death from pregnancy, according to a new analysis. The study, published Jan. 21 in the journal JAMA Network Open, suggests that the risk of pregnancy-related death may be at least 44 times higher than […]
China’s carbon emissions may have reached a critical tipping point sooner than expected
Carbon dioxide emissions from China have been flat or falling for 21 months, meaning the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter may have reached a global tipping point sooner than expected. China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions fell by 1% in the final quarter of 2025, and likely by 0.3% for the year, just below the record […]
Massive upgrade to Antarctic ‘ghost particle’ observatory could pave the way for physics breakthroughs
A detector for ‘ghost particles’ trapped in Antarctic ice has received a major upgrade. The IceCube neutrino observatory is being expanded for the first time in its 15 years of service. Engineers added more than 600 new instruments to the bottom of the detector, which now consists of 92 rows of neutrino detectors buried in […]
‘DNA origami’ may be the key to making an effective HIV vaccine, early research suggests. Here’s how it works:
Vaccines designed using “DNA origami” activated more of the key immune cells needed to fight HIV than traditional vaccines built on protein scaffolds, a new mouse study found. “DNA origami” refers to precisely engineered three-dimensional scaffolds made of folded DNA that can hold and present viral antigens (fragments of the virus that the immune system […]
Medieval gold ring with dazzling blue gemstone discovered in Norway is ‘a fantastically beautiful and rare specimen’
Archaeologists excavating a medieval town in southern Norway had an “out-of-body” experience when they stumbled upon a dreamlike find: a delicate gold ring with a dazzling blue gemstone. “I was completely shaken up and had to ask the people at the construction site if they were messing with me,” Linda Orsheim, an archaeologist at the […]
Newly discovered radio signals from the center of the galaxy could put Einstein’s theory of relativity to the test
Is there an ultra-dense core of a gigantic star lurking at the center of the Milky Way? Scientists think they may have discovered just that. It’s a signal from a pulsar, the fast-rotating core of an ancient star at the center of our galaxy. This unusual discovery could be used to test the predictions of […]