More than 5,000 years after his death, Ötzi the Iceman is still hosting a remarkable mix of ancient and modern microorganisms。 Researchers separated microbes that lived in his body during his lifetime from those that arrived after his death, uncovering traces of his original gut bacteria and cold-loving yeasts that may have survived alongside him i
Thawing Arctic permafrost is releasing ancient carbon into the ocean, raising fears that microbes could turn it into greenhouse gases and accelerate climate change。 But sediment cores collected near Canada’s Herschel Island reveal a more reassuring twist: most of this land-based carbon becomes buried in the seafloor, while only about 10 percent is
DNA traces in the Shroud of Turin reveal a remarkable mixture of human lineages, microbes, plants, animals, and coral accumulated through centuries of handling and travel。 The findings do not prove its age or authenticity, but they expose a hidden biological history preserved in the famous cloth
A ten-month Antarctic experiment found that astronauts may struggle not only with loneliness but also with spending too much time around the same people。 Frequent contact was linked to greater tension and mistrust, while the crew increasingly divided into cultural and language-based groups
A new hollow nanoreactor mimics living cells to make hydrogen peroxide more efficiently using visible light。 Its light-trapping cavity and proton-shuttling shell could open new possibilities for cleaner chemical manufacturing and artificial photosynthesis
Scientists have built the first all-optical photonic time crystal, allowing them to reshape the behavior of terahertz light at extraordinary speeds。 The breakthrough could open the door to ultrafast computing, smarter communication systems, advanced imaging, and a new generation of highly tunable lasers
Scientists traced a mysterious surge of low-energy gamma rays from zinc-70 to magnetic changes occurring inside its nucleus。 The breakthrough could improve models of how stars, supernovae, and neutron star mergers create heavy elements
August brings four major celestial events, including a solar eclipse and the peak of the Perseid meteor shower。 Dark New Moon skies could make the Perseids especially impressive, while Venus will blaze in the west after sunset。 A deep partial lunar eclipse closes the month, darkening most of the Moon
Young Jupiter’s powerful magnetic field may have created a safe zone where several large moons could survive。 Saturn lacked this protection, possibly explaining why Titan stands almost alone among its largest moons
A supermassive black hole has been found lurking about 30,000 light-years from the center of its galaxy—the first dormant black hole detected so far from a galactic core。 It revealed itself only after shredding a passing star and producing a brief, brilliant flare。 Astronomers think it may be the remnant of a devoured galaxy or a black hole flung o
A surprisingly simple change could make sodium-ion batteries far more powerful while opening the door to turning seawater into drinking water。 Researchers at the University of Surrey found that sodium vanadium oxide performs much better when its naturally occurring water is left inside instead of being removed during manufacturing
Scientists have created an “electron lighthouse” that uses laser light to launch and steer electrons through a semiconductor without an applied electrical field。 The quantum effect could eventually improve optical sensors, communications, imaging, and information storage
When atomic nuclei smash together at nearly the speed of light, they create the hottest fluid in the universe, but scientists may have overlooked one of its most important forces。 New simulations reveal that extreme acceleration builds up along the edges of quark-gluon plasma, helping drive its explosive expansion。 This acceleration may do far more
A massive magma reservoir has been detected deep beneath Tuscany, despite showing no obvious signs at the surface。 Scientists mapped the roughly 6,000-cubic-kilometer body using natural ground vibrations recorded by dozens of seismic sensors。 It poses no immediate danger, but the discovery reveals how enormous volcanic systems can remain hidden and
Scientists have identified LHAASO J1912+1014u as a cosmic accelerator that can push protons beyond one quadrillion electron volts。 The finding may help reveal where the Milky Way’s most energetic cosmic rays come from and how they influence the galaxy