News

This week, legal rights have been granted to the planet’s oldest bee species in a world-first, commonly used ADHD medications don’t work in the way we thought they did, and the human body gave up making its own vitamin C – we might finally know why. Finally, 2025 was a big year for oncology. Here […]

It’s a new year, and what better way to kick it off than by looking back on some of the biggest conservation wins we’ve achieved in the last quarter-century? From making “runways” for the UK’s largest bird to re-wiggling rivers, conservationists have come up with all sorts of ways to give nature a helping hand. […]

Scientists have used AI to identify two novel subtypes of multiple sclerosis (MS), which could offer new, targeted treatments for patients. MS affects around 2.8 million people across the world. It’s a chronic condition where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the protective cover, called myelin, that surrounds nerve cells. The damage to this sheath […]

For 140 years, a leggy mystery has eluded scientists working in Antarctica. Here, you’ll find enormous sea spiders that are a great example of something called “polar gigantism”, a phenomenon where animals get supersized in cold environments compared to their warmer relatives. Weird thing is, despite their enormous size, nobody knew where they came from. […]

China has decided to take hypergravity to a whole new level – testing both materials and fundamental physics in a regime we have not been able to explore in the lab. After breaking the record for most powerful centrifuge in September last year, Zhejiang University has now got an even better version. The rest of […]

Meet the smallest member of the Antarctic true seals: the Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossii). This species is the rarest, least studied, and least frequently seen of the Antarctic seals, which also include Weddell’s seals and four other species. They are so elusive, in fact, that it’s thought no underwater photographs of this species existed – […]

A couple of decades ago, anthropologists unearthed an enigmatic ape-like fossil that roamed the Sahara region over 7 million years ago. It didn’t fit neatly into their existing understanding, but it was clearly significant. Now, a new study has weighed in on the bones with more evidence that this species walked on two legs and may […]

In 2018, scientists described a new species of spider-like arachnid that lived 100 million years ago. Like modern spiders, it had spinnerets, a palpal organ for sperm transfer, and four paired walking limbs. Very much unlike modern spiders, however, it also had a tail. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign […]

GLP-1 receptor agonists, developed as treatments for type 2 diabetes, have become some of the most in-demand drugs on the market. Studies are published at least weekly on their effects, reporting both unexpected bonuses for health, and worrying side effects. With millions of people now taking them, and many more likely to in the near […]

Are bears getting soft on us? After centuries of living in close proximity with people, a population of brown bears has evolved to become unusually calm for a species famous for its mightiness and no-nonsense temper. The Apennine brown bear (Ursus arctos marsicanus), also known as the Marsican brown bear, is a critically endangered subspecies […]

Quantum mechanics is weird. When you think you have reached the bottom of its weirdness, you always discover a new subbasement with even weirder stuff. The number one hater of this weirdness was none other than Albert Einstein; he believed that reality had to be deterministic. His famous quip, “God does not play dice with […]

For prehistoric hunter-gatherers, building a funeral pyre to cremate their dead was a real faff, and simply wasn’t worth all the effort or the investment in terms of the amount of valuable firewood required to burn a human body. However, new research shows that a Stone-Age community in Malawi did in fact honor a female […]

The blue whale might be the largest known animal ever to have lived on the planet, but it turns out it has a rival, at least when it comes to length. It’s tentacle-y, it’s deliciously peachy and red, it’s… the lion’s mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata). The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please […]

The period between Christmas and New Year’s is a confusing time for many. After weeks of festivities and overindulgence, the calendar becomes a blur, and the days of the week melt into one another. The old year feels finished, but the new one hasn’t quite arrived. If you ever feel unsettled during this strange lull, […]

So. It’s December 31, and that means one thing: that the world – and specifically, Axial Seamount, the volcano lying on the seafloor off of the Pacific Northwest – has just a handful of hours remaining to prove last year’s scientists right by erupting before the end of 2025. Of course, as satisfying as such […]

Cancer touches most of us at some point in our lives, whether it’s getting a diagnosis ourselves or supporting a friend or family member through a treatment journey. Countless hours of scientific research each year are dedicated to developing innovative new therapies and improving survival rates, and 2025 was no exception.  As Health & Medicine […]

The gentle giants that are the sea cows – meaning manatees and dugongs – are some of the most iconic animals out there, but they’ve also become vulnerable to extinction through the actions of humans – and it’s not even the first time this has happened. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. […]

In a first for nature and the planet, an insect has been given official legal rights. The revolutionary move comes from Peru, where the world’s oldest bee species is responsible for pollinating over 80 percent of Amazonian flora. In recognition of their service, Peru has awarded the bees and their ecosystems inherent rights including: The […]

Faces are a central part of human interaction and sometimes the main source of information about the people we meet. Throughout history, faces have been the subject of fascination and fear, providing insights into someone’s identity and emotional state while also being a focus for social judgments and prejudices. And, according to a new review, […]

Saltwater crocodiles are not to be messed with – they’re the largest of all the living reptiles, have the strongest bite of any animal, and are notoriously unfussy about what they use that bite on. Still, even the most fearsome of apex predators haven’t mastered it all; these crocs might be good at swimming in […]