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Cutting-edge research, news, commentary, and visuals from the Science family of journals. Follow @NewsfromScience for stories from our News team.

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Lab-kept bumble bees roll small wooden balls around for no apparent purpose other than fun, a 2022 study revealed. Learn more on #WorldBeeDay:

Lab-kept bumble bees roll small wooden balls around for no apparent purpose other than fun, a 2022 study revealed. Learn more on #WorldBeeDay:

870,829 просмотров

Controlled via a Bluetooth finger patch, BeetleBot, a beetle-inspired soft robot, can perform various locomotive tasks and provide visual and sensory feedback for potential applications from biomedical assistance to environment exploration. Learn more in Science Advances:

Controlled via a Bluetooth finger patch, BeetleBot, a beetle-inspired soft robot, can perform various locomotive tasks and provide visual and sensory feedback for potential applications from biomedical assistance to environment exploration. Learn more in Science Advances:

111,385 просмотров

A new Spinosaurus species uncovered in northern Niger appears to have been a wading predator of fish like its close relatives, but it lived as many as 1000 kilometers inland from the Tethys Sea. The fossil find may represent a third phase of evolution for this group of massive, fish-eating dinosaurs. Learn more this week in Science:

A new Spinosaurus species uncovered in northern Niger appears to have been a wading predator of fish like its close relatives, but it lived as many as 1000 kilometers inland from the Tethys Sea. The fossil find may represent a third phase of evolution for this group of massive, fish-eating dinosaurs. Learn more this week in Science:

1,098,290 просмотров

These blood-sucking arachnids can’t leap, but it turns out they can fly. Their secret? Static electricity. Learn more: #ScienceMagArchives

These blood-sucking arachnids can’t leap, but it turns out they can fly. Their secret? Static electricity. Learn more: #ScienceMagArchives

108,269 просмотров

Cells are particularly good at solving mazes, according to a 2020 Science study that demonstrates how they are able to navigate long and complicated routes through the body using self-generated chemoattractant gradients. Learn more: #ScienceMagArchives

Cells are particularly good at solving mazes, according to a 2020 Science study that demonstrates how they are able to navigate long and complicated routes through the body using self-generated chemoattractant gradients. Learn more: #ScienceMagArchives

45,591 просмотров

A new Science Robotics study highlights a reinforcement learning–based framework that integrates perceptual uncertainty into policy learning to equip humanoid robots with reactive soccer skills and dynamic behaviors.

A new Science Robotics study highlights a reinforcement learning–based framework that integrates perceptual uncertainty into policy learning to equip humanoid robots with reactive soccer skills and dynamic behaviors.

56,716 просмотров

Researchers have developed a #DeepLearning system called BioEmu that rapidly generates diverse protein conformations, enabling fast, accurate insights into protein flexibility and function. Learn more this week in Science:

Researchers have developed a #DeepLearning system called BioEmu that rapidly generates diverse protein conformations, enabling fast, accurate insights into protein flexibility and function. Learn more this week in Science:

470,876 просмотров

Strands of DNA-like thread coil, loop, and spill upward, evoking the genome's dynamic three-dimensional architecture within the nucleus of a living cell. This special issue, with papers in Science and Science Advances, features single-cell and multiomic studies from the National Institutes of Health Common Fund's 4D Nucleome Program, which examines a fourth dimension of nuclear organization—how this folded structure shapes cell identity, shifts across development and aging, and goes awry in disease. Learn more:

Strands of DNA-like thread coil, loop, and spill upward, evoking the genome's dynamic three-dimensional architecture within the nucleus of a living cell. This special issue, with papers in Science and Science Advances, features single-cell and multiomic studies from the National Institutes of Health Common Fund's 4D Nucleome Program, which examines a fourth dimension of nuclear organization—how this folded structure shapes cell identity, shifts across development and aging, and goes awry in disease. Learn more:

64,893 просмотров

In mitochondria, respiratory supercomplexes (blue) pump protons across crista membranes to create an electrochemical gradient, fueling adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase (pink) to regenerate ATP—the energy currency of life. Now, cryo–electron tomography captures these supercomplexes in their native organization, illuminating how the coordinated action of these molecular machines drives life’s fundamental energy conversion. Learn more this week in Science:

In mitochondria, respiratory supercomplexes (blue) pump protons across crista membranes to create an electrochemical gradient, fueling adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase (pink) to regenerate ATP—the energy currency of life. Now, cryo–electron tomography captures these supercomplexes in their native organization, illuminating how the coordinated action of these molecular machines drives life’s fundamental energy conversion. Learn more this week in Science:

457,458 просмотров

Like a stadium full of sports fans doing the wave, neurons coordinate their electrical signals in rhythmic patterns that sweep across the cortex, the brain’s outermost layer. Recent studies in humans and animals have shown these patterns, called traveling waves, can take on complex shapes, among them a rotating spiral that has been observed during deep sleep, memory retrieval, and other brain processes. A new study has now captured the fast-spinning waves spanning whole brains, offering clues to how they’re organized and what they might do. Learn more: News from Science

Like a stadium full of sports fans doing the wave, neurons coordinate their electrical signals in rhythmic patterns that sweep across the cortex, the brain’s outermost layer. Recent studies in humans and animals have shown these patterns, called traveling waves, can take on complex shapes, among them a rotating spiral that has been observed during deep sleep, memory retrieval, and other brain processes. A new study has now captured the fast-spinning waves spanning whole brains, offering clues to how they’re organized and what they might do. Learn more: News from Science

69,037 просмотров

This week in Science, researchers delve into the #mathematics that shapes growing rose petals. 🌹 Explore our latest issue—featuring a new print design:

This week in Science, researchers delve into the #mathematics that shapes growing rose petals. 🌹 Explore our latest issue—featuring a new print design:

310,496 просмотров

Our 1 May 2025 issue introduces a print redesign—the magazine’s first redesign in 11 years. Developed entirely in-house, this project brought together our staff’s editorial and design expertise. (THREAD 🧵)

Our 1 May 2025 issue introduces a print redesign—the magazine’s first redesign in 11 years. Developed entirely in-house, this project brought together our staff’s editorial and design expertise. (THREAD 🧵)

286,940 просмотров

The tiny predator Lacrymaria olor owes its shape-shifting ability to an “origami-like” cellular architecture, a new Science study finds. The results offer a glimpse into geometrical control of behavior in single cells. Learn more in this week's issue:

The tiny predator Lacrymaria olor owes its shape-shifting ability to an “origami-like” cellular architecture, a new Science study finds. The results offer a glimpse into geometrical control of behavior in single cells. Learn more in this week's issue:

433,105 просмотров

If the promise of a tasty meal makes you want to jump for joy, you may relate to the loggerhead turtle. These animals have an uncontrollable urge to dance whenever they anticipate food—a trait scientists used to test whether the reptiles can memorize their favorite feeding sites based on Earth’s magnetic fields. Learn more on #WorldTurtleDay:

If the promise of a tasty meal makes you want to jump for joy, you may relate to the loggerhead turtle. These animals have an uncontrollable urge to dance whenever they anticipate food—a trait scientists used to test whether the reptiles can memorize their favorite feeding sites based on Earth’s magnetic fields. Learn more on #WorldTurtleDay:

68,089 просмотров

A new Science Robotics study highlights exoskeletons that allow physical therapists and patients recovering from stroke to “feel” each other’s movements as they walk on separate treadmills, enabling nuanced gait correction.

A new Science Robotics study highlights exoskeletons that allow physical therapists and patients recovering from stroke to “feel” each other’s movements as they walk on separate treadmills, enabling nuanced gait correction.

40,401 просмотров

The better humans have gotten at making plastic, the more challenging it has been to unmake it—especially the pieces too small to see. Long after plastic bottles and bags break down, they keep fragmenting into particles so tiny, conventional filtration can’t touch them. They drift through treatment plants and into waterways unimpeded. There, they enter the food chain, and ultimately the body, where they have been found in human organs and are increasingly linked to various diseases such as cancer. Enter nanobots. In a new study, researchers show that tiny magnetic machines made of cagelike materials can tumble through water, sweeping up nanoplastics via the same electrostatic attraction that makes a balloon cling to your hair. Learn more: News from Science

The better humans have gotten at making plastic, the more challenging it has been to unmake it—especially the pieces too small to see. Long after plastic bottles and bags break down, they keep fragmenting into particles so tiny, conventional filtration can’t touch them. They drift through treatment plants and into waterways unimpeded. There, they enter the food chain, and ultimately the body, where they have been found in human organs and are increasingly linked to various diseases such as cancer. Enter nanobots. In a new study, researchers show that tiny magnetic machines made of cagelike materials can tumble through water, sweeping up nanoplastics via the same electrostatic attraction that makes a balloon cling to your hair. Learn more: News from Science

61,811 просмотров

Researchers have genetically altered a mouse to express traits reminiscent of the long-extinct woolly mammoth, including a long, coarsely textured coat, to create the woolly mouse. News from Science

Researchers have genetically altered a mouse to express traits reminiscent of the long-extinct woolly mammoth, including a long, coarsely textured coat, to create the woolly mouse. News from Science

177,162 просмотров

Penguins are some of the world’s most charismatic birds. They look like they’re wearing suits. They appear to fly underwater. And they waddle like sumo wrestlers. Now, scientists say they’ve finally pinpointed the muscle behind this endearing gait: an enigmatic and long-misunderstood tissue that forces the bird’s lower limbs to stay close to its body near the knees. The adaptation not only contributes to penguins’ signature waddle, it also helps keep their bodies streamlined when underwater, allowing them to move efficiently on both land and sea. Learn more: News from Science

Penguins are some of the world’s most charismatic birds. They look like they’re wearing suits. They appear to fly underwater. And they waddle like sumo wrestlers. Now, scientists say they’ve finally pinpointed the muscle behind this endearing gait: an enigmatic and long-misunderstood tissue that forces the bird’s lower limbs to stay close to its body near the knees. The adaptation not only contributes to penguins’ signature waddle, it also helps keep their bodies streamlined when underwater, allowing them to move efficiently on both land and sea. Learn more: News from Science

40,796 просмотров

Researchers reported last year that Ethiopian wolves enjoy licking nectar from red hot poker flowers, documenting this behavior for the first time in a large predator. Learn more: #ScienceMagArchives

Researchers reported last year that Ethiopian wolves enjoy licking nectar from red hot poker flowers, documenting this behavior for the first time in a large predator. Learn more: #ScienceMagArchives

63,698 просмотров

Free housing. Free food. Free protection from predators. There are a lot of perks for beetles and other tiny organisms that live covertly inside ant colonies. But as it turns out, there is a potential downside, too: no way out. Researchers report that a species of rove beetle has taken a one-way evolutionary journey, evolving a clever way to disguise itself that it’ll never be able to undo. If they ever stop refreshing their cloak, they will die. The findings convincingly show how tight knit ecological cohabitation can become locked in. Learn more:

Free housing. Free food. Free protection from predators. There are a lot of perks for beetles and other tiny organisms that live covertly inside ant colonies. But as it turns out, there is a potential downside, too: no way out. Researchers report that a species of rove beetle has taken a one-way evolutionary journey, evolving a clever way to disguise itself that it’ll never be able to undo. If they ever stop refreshing their cloak, they will die. The findings convincingly show how tight knit ecological cohabitation can become locked in. Learn more:

38,313 просмотров

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In 2023, researchers in a deep-sea submersible west of Australia came across several whale skeletons 2400 meters deeper than had ever been described. As the expedition continued, the scientists found an unprecedented abundance of skeletons—the biggest, deepest, and oldest collection ever seen on the sea floor. Learn more:

In 2023, researchers in a deep-sea submersible west of Australia came across several whale skeletons 2400 meters deeper than had ever been described. As the expedition continued, the scientists found an unprecedented abundance of skeletons—the biggest, deepest, and oldest collection ever seen on the sea floor. Learn more:

Science Magazine

497,201 просмотров • 15 дней назад

This is what a Jurassic forest may have sounded like. By combining exquisitely preserved fossil wings with experiments on living insects, computer simulations, and machine learning, scientists have re-created what they say is a partial Middle Jurassic soundscape. If the reconstruction is correct, one of the insect calls would be the oldest known evidence of ultrasonic communication in animals—long before echolocating bats appeared. Learn more: News from Science

This is what a Jurassic forest may have sounded like. By combining exquisitely preserved fossil wings with experiments on living insects, computer simulations, and machine learning, scientists have re-created what they say is a partial Middle Jurassic soundscape. If the reconstruction is correct, one of the insect calls would be the oldest known evidence of ultrasonic communication in animals—long before echolocating bats appeared. Learn more: News from Science

Science Magazine

78,413 просмотров • 4 дней назад

A new Science Robotics study involving a child-sized humanoid robot suggests that the interplay between prediction and curiosity shapes how infants learn how their movements can impact their surroundings.

A new Science Robotics study involving a child-sized humanoid robot suggests that the interplay between prediction and curiosity shapes how infants learn how their movements can impact their surroundings.

Science Magazine

82,393 просмотров • 5 дней назад

M. S. Swaminathan is best known for spearheading India’s green revolution, which drastically increased the country’s food production capacity during the 20th century. In the latest installment of the #SciencePodcast🎙️ series on scientific biographies, writer Priyambada Jayakumar offers listeners an insider’s perspective on the renowned geneticist. 🎧 Listen here:

M. S. Swaminathan is best known for spearheading India’s green revolution, which drastically increased the country’s food production capacity during the 20th century. In the latest installment of the #SciencePodcast🎙️ series on scientific biographies, writer Priyambada Jayakumar offers listeners an insider’s perspective on the renowned geneticist. 🎧 Listen here:

Science Magazine

32,857 просмотров • 3 дней назад

In July 2023, researchers on a whale watching expedition in the Caribbean Sea encountered an unusual scene: 11 sperm whales clustered tightly at the water’s surface. The animals began to inch closer and closer together in the waters off the island of Dominica, with their attention turned to one individual, until a burst of blood tinted the water. At first, the scientists—part of Project CETI, a nonprofit that studies how sperm whales interact—thought the animal had been attacked. But then they saw a tiny tail pop out of the water. The researchers quickly realized they had in fact observed a group of whales helping a calf take its first breath. Even more fortuitous, they had captured it on video from a drone. Read more: News from Science

In July 2023, researchers on a whale watching expedition in the Caribbean Sea encountered an unusual scene: 11 sperm whales clustered tightly at the water’s surface. The animals began to inch closer and closer together in the waters off the island of Dominica, with their attention turned to one individual, until a burst of blood tinted the water. At first, the scientists—part of Project CETI, a nonprofit that studies how sperm whales interact—thought the animal had been attacked. But then they saw a tiny tail pop out of the water. The researchers quickly realized they had in fact observed a group of whales helping a calf take its first breath. Even more fortuitous, they had captured it on video from a drone. Read more: News from Science

Science Magazine

141,009 просмотров • 16 дней назад

Carnivorous sundew plants know they’ve trapped their dinner thanks to glutathione. Learn more in Science Advances:

Carnivorous sundew plants know they’ve trapped their dinner thanks to glutathione. Learn more in Science Advances:

Science Magazine

104,132 просмотров • 13 дней назад

Meowing aside, urine is one of the most important ways cats communicate. Both wild and domestic kitties mark their territories to tell other felines to keep out or to advertise for mates. These unique calling cards can stick around for months, even as the weather and the cat’s own diet change. Now, scientists say they’ve discovered the secret of this sturdy scent. Tiny fat droplets in cat kidneys—whose function has been mysterious for more than a century—encase chemical calling cards unique to each feline, allowing these messages to remain stable long after the cats themselves have left the vicinity, researchers report. Learn more: News from Science

Meowing aside, urine is one of the most important ways cats communicate. Both wild and domestic kitties mark their territories to tell other felines to keep out or to advertise for mates. These unique calling cards can stick around for months, even as the weather and the cat’s own diet change. Now, scientists say they’ve discovered the secret of this sturdy scent. Tiny fat droplets in cat kidneys—whose function has been mysterious for more than a century—encase chemical calling cards unique to each feline, allowing these messages to remain stable long after the cats themselves have left the vicinity, researchers report. Learn more: News from Science

Science Magazine

37,505 просмотров • 4 дней назад

Researchers have designed a robot that can create and cook a cake with up to seven ingredients, more than any other printed food to date. Learn more: News from Science

Researchers have designed a robot that can create and cook a cake with up to seven ingredients, more than any other printed food to date. Learn more: News from Science

Science Magazine

6,649,185 просмотров • 2 лет назад

A new #SciencePerspective highlights the strengths and challenges of “self-driving” laboratories, spaces that combine robotics, high-throughput experiments, AI, and automated analysis to transform scientific discovery. Read more:

A new #SciencePerspective highlights the strengths and challenges of “self-driving” laboratories, spaces that combine robotics, high-throughput experiments, AI, and automated analysis to transform scientific discovery. Read more:

Science Magazine

62,003 просмотров • 11 дней назад

A tiny fly larva living in one of Africa's deepest lakes has evolved air-filled organs strong enough to withstand pressures found more than 200 meters underwater, according to a new Science study. The findings challenge a long-standing explanation for why insects have never colonized the open ocean.

A tiny fly larva living in one of Africa's deepest lakes has evolved air-filled organs strong enough to withstand pressures found more than 200 meters underwater, according to a new Science study. The findings challenge a long-standing explanation for why insects have never colonized the open ocean.

Science Magazine

201,769 просмотров • 1 месяц назад

Recently discovered genetic variants seem to protect against Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting a path toward a cure. But are their powers believable? Learn more:

Recently discovered genetic variants seem to protect against Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting a path toward a cure. But are their powers believable? Learn more:

Science Magazine

45,286 просмотров • 9 дней назад

A new analysis in Science of more than 116,000 bird songs has revealed that the astonishing variety of passerine birdsong is built from just eight basic acoustic motifs, like trills, whistles, and harmonic notes. The findings also reveal that local environments greatly shape how birds communicate around the world. Learn more:

A new analysis in Science of more than 116,000 bird songs has revealed that the astonishing variety of passerine birdsong is built from just eight basic acoustic motifs, like trills, whistles, and harmonic notes. The findings also reveal that local environments greatly shape how birds communicate around the world. Learn more:

Science Magazine

93,221 просмотров • 23 дней назад

For decades, string theory promised a “theory of everything” that described all particles and forces as tiny vibrating strings. Physicists hoped it could also solve one of the field’s deepest problems: reconciling quantum mechanics with gravity. But as string theory grew increasingly elaborate—and experimentally unreachable—many physicists lost hope. Now, some researchers are revisiting the theory from first principles. Learn more:

For decades, string theory promised a “theory of everything” that described all particles and forces as tiny vibrating strings. Physicists hoped it could also solve one of the field’s deepest problems: reconciling quantum mechanics with gravity. But as string theory grew increasingly elaborate—and experimentally unreachable—many physicists lost hope. Now, some researchers are revisiting the theory from first principles. Learn more:

Science Magazine

61,475 просмотров • 16 дней назад

When cells grow together, they often align with their neighbors, forming liquid crystal-like patterns known as “nematic order.” But that order isn’t perfect, and at certain points, the alignment can break down, creating “topological defects”: small regions where cells swirl or fan out instead of lining up cleanly. And according to research published in Science, what looks like a defect can be used strategically as built-in instructions for shaping larger structures. Instead of growing upward, cells can store and release stress in certain places along a previously flat sheetlike structure, forming a bowl, a ridge, or a fold. Learn more:

When cells grow together, they often align with their neighbors, forming liquid crystal-like patterns known as “nematic order.” But that order isn’t perfect, and at certain points, the alignment can break down, creating “topological defects”: small regions where cells swirl or fan out instead of lining up cleanly. And according to research published in Science, what looks like a defect can be used strategically as built-in instructions for shaping larger structures. Instead of growing upward, cells can store and release stress in certain places along a previously flat sheetlike structure, forming a bowl, a ridge, or a fold. Learn more:

Science Magazine

98,379 просмотров • 27 дней назад

In November 2024, environmental police in Rochedo, Brazil, stumbled on an unexpected sight: thousands of orange-and-black bumblebee catfish scaling the slippery rocks behind waterfalls on the Aquidauana River. A week later, a team of Brazilian scientists arrived to document the unprecedented event, detailing their findings in a 2025 study. These videos provide rare insight into the lives and migrations of these little-studied catfish. Learn more: #ScienceMagArchives

In November 2024, environmental police in Rochedo, Brazil, stumbled on an unexpected sight: thousands of orange-and-black bumblebee catfish scaling the slippery rocks behind waterfalls on the Aquidauana River. A week later, a team of Brazilian scientists arrived to document the unprecedented event, detailing their findings in a 2025 study. These videos provide rare insight into the lives and migrations of these little-studied catfish. Learn more: #ScienceMagArchives

Science Magazine

96,237 просмотров • 28 дней назад

Tuna (or any seafood for that matter) is an odd favorite for cats—an animal that evolved in the desert. On #InternationalCatDay, explore the research that may give a biological explanation for this curious craving:

Tuna (or any seafood for that matter) is an odd favorite for cats—an animal that evolved in the desert. On #InternationalCatDay, explore the research that may give a biological explanation for this curious craving:

Science Magazine

99,346 просмотров • 1 месяц назад

Cannibalism is common among insects, but so-called killer flies take it to another level. Small and extremely fast, these predatory insects view any airborne moving object as a potential target—including when that object is another killer fly. This behavior makes mating dangerous: Males risk becoming lunch if they try to make contact with a female or even fly near her. New research finds one way males avoid this fate: by approaching females in a winding, unpredictable flight pattern and then repeatedly dodging as she launches her attack. Learn more: News from Science

Cannibalism is common among insects, but so-called killer flies take it to another level. Small and extremely fast, these predatory insects view any airborne moving object as a potential target—including when that object is another killer fly. This behavior makes mating dangerous: Males risk becoming lunch if they try to make contact with a female or even fly near her. New research finds one way males avoid this fate: by approaching females in a winding, unpredictable flight pattern and then repeatedly dodging as she launches her attack. Learn more: News from Science

Science Magazine

116,068 просмотров • 1 месяц назад

Museum curators faced with cleaning animal skeletons for display may soon turn to an unusual new tool: flesh-eating beetle larvae known as “superworms.” These superworms can clean up an animal carcass in a matter of hours or days while keeping the bones intact, researchers report. Learn more: News from Science

Museum curators faced with cleaning animal skeletons for display may soon turn to an unusual new tool: flesh-eating beetle larvae known as “superworms.” These superworms can clean up an animal carcass in a matter of hours or days while keeping the bones intact, researchers report. Learn more: News from Science

Science Magazine

99,657 просмотров • 1 месяц назад

Hike through a rainforest in Southeast Asia, and you may find yourself in the shadow of giants: towering trees reaching more than 70 meters into the heavens. But despite their stature, these tall trees move water through their lengthy wooden bodies with surprising efficiency—so much so that a recent study argues they may not be as susceptible to drought as once thought. Learn more: News from Science

Hike through a rainforest in Southeast Asia, and you may find yourself in the shadow of giants: towering trees reaching more than 70 meters into the heavens. But despite their stature, these tall trees move water through their lengthy wooden bodies with surprising efficiency—so much so that a recent study argues they may not be as susceptible to drought as once thought. Learn more: News from Science

Science Magazine

30,116 просмотров • 10 дней назад

A new Science Advances study finds the statistical properties of birdsong are similar to those of human language and whale song. Learn more:

A new Science Advances study finds the statistical properties of birdsong are similar to those of human language and whale song. Learn more:

Science Magazine

71,082 просмотров • 27 дней назад