Sci.News: Breaking Science News

A model of the inner Solar System showing the asteroids discovered by Rubin in light teal; known asteroids are dark blue. Image credit: NSF / DOE / Vera C. Rubin Observatory / NOIRLab / SLAC / AURA / R. Proctor / NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio / ESA / Gaia / DPAC / M. Zamani, NSF’s NOIRLab.

Vera C. Rubin Observatory Discovers Over 11,000 New Asteroids

Apr 3, 2026 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Vera C. Rubin Observatory have discovered over 11,000 new asteroids, including hundreds of trans-Neptunian objects and 33 previously...

This Hubble image shows IC 486, a barred spiral galaxy some 380 million light-years away in the constellation of Gemini. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / M.J. Koss / A.J. Barth.

Hubble Space Telescope Focuses on IC 486

Apr 2, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Hubble team has released a beautiful close-up shot of the barred spiral galaxy IC 486. This Hubble image shows IC 486, a barred spiral galaxy some...

Vitamin D3 may be effective in the treatment of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure, myocardial infarction, vasculopathy, stroke and diabetes. Image credit: Aloísio Costa Latgé.

Higher Vitamin D in Midlife May Be Associated with Lower Levels of Alzheimer’s Biomarker Years Later

Apr 2, 2026 by News Staff

In new research, University of Galway’s Dr. Martin David Mulligan and his colleagues followed nearly 800 participants from the Framingham Heart Study...

An artist’s reconstruction of Balticolasma wunderlichi male. Image credit: Joshua Knüppe.

Bizarre Harvestman Species Found Preserved in Ukrainian and Baltic Amber

Apr 2, 2026 by Natali Anderson

In a paper published online March 18 in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, paleontologists described a new species of harvestman found in two pieces...

An artist’s impression of an ultrahot Jupiter. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Ultra-Hot Jupiter WASP-189b Mirrors Its Star’s Chemistry, Astronomers Find

Apr 1, 2026 by News Staff

Using the Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrometer (IGRINS) on the Gemini South telescope at the International Gemini Observatory, astronomers have directly...

The surprisingly complex anatomy of Megachelicerax cousteaui. Image credit: Masato Hattori / Harvard University.

500-Million-Year-Old Fossil Identified as Oldest Known Chelicerate

Apr 1, 2026 by News Staff

Paleontologists at Harvard University have described a large predatory arthropod from the Middle Cambrian of Utah featuring massive three-segmented chelicerae....

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe approaching the Sun. Image credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.

Closer Look at the Sun Reveals More Chaotic Magnetic Heart

Apr 1, 2026 by News Staff

A new analysis of data from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe shows that protons and heavy ions react differently to solar magnetic reconnection events, suggesting...

A simple schematic of the configuration of the solar wind-driven Earth magnetosphere and the rapidly rotating Saturn magnetosphere. Image credit: Xu et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-69666-9.

Saturn’s Magnetic Shield is Skewed, Offering Clues to Alien Worlds

Apr 1, 2026 by News Staff

Archival data from ESA’s Cassini mission reveal that Saturn’s protective magnetic bubble is lopsided, shaped not just by the solar wind but by its...

Nickel is present in bright magnesium-sulfate veins in Jezero crater on Mars, supporting an authigenic origin. Image credit: Manelski et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-70081-3.

Nickel-Rich Rocks Discovered by Perseverance Hint at Complex Chemistry on Early Mars

Apr 1, 2026 by News Staff

New findings from Neretva Vallis, an ancient river channel that once transported water into Jezero crater on Mars, reveal unusually high nickel levels...

An artist’s impression of the asteroid 2025 MN45. Image credit: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory / NOIRLab / SLAC / AURA / P. Marenfeld.

Earth’s Building Blocks Came from Close to Home, Planetary Scientists Say

Mar 31, 2026 by News Staff

A new analysis of isotopic signatures across planets and meteorite parent bodies suggests our home world formed entirely from inner solar system material,...

A pile of tuyères at the site of Didé West 1 in Senegal. Image credit: Anne Mayor.

2,400-Year-Old Iron-Smelting Workshop Unearthed in Senegal

Mar 31, 2026 by News Staff

Excavations at the archaeological site of Didé West 1 in eastern Senegal have uncovered an exceptionally well-preserved iron-smelting workshop dated between...

Ayumu the chimpanzee spontaneously produced long, multicomponent instrumental displays by drumming, dragging, and throwing self-detached objects. Transition and rhythm analyses revealed non-random sequencing partially resembling pant-hoot structure, predominantly isochronous timing, and a more stable tempo when using tools than with the body. Accompanying play-face and silent bared teeth expressions suggest high arousal and positive affect, supporting the idea that affective vocal expression can be externalized through instrumental sound. Image credit: Hattori et al., doi: 10.1111/nyas.70239.

Chimpanzee’s Drum Solo Offers Clues to Origins of Music

Mar 31, 2026 by News Staff

Researchers who analyzed dozens of spontaneous performances by a captive male chimpanzee named Ayumu say the animal’s steady rhythms and expressive ‘play...

The Galápagos lava heron (Butorides sundevalli). Image credit: Casey Klebba / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Galapagos Lava Heron is Distinct Bird Species, New Study Shows

Mar 30, 2026 by Natali Anderson

The Galápagos lava heron, a small heron that stalks the lava-strewn shores of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, may finally have secured its place as a...

Large naturalistic style thylacine with sharp teeth from Injalak Hill, Northern Territory, Australia. Image credit: Craig Banggar.

Researchers Discover Tasmanian Tiger and Tasmanian Devil Paintings in Northern Australia

Mar 30, 2026 by News Staff

Both the Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) and the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) are believed to have become extinct on the Australian...

Gigantic griffinfly in a Carboniferous forest.

Gigantic Prehistoric Dragonfly-Like Insects May Not Owe Their Size to Oxygen: Study

Mar 30, 2026 by News Staff

Long thought to be fueled by increased atmospheric oxygen concentration, enormous griffinflies from the Carboniferous period, 300 million years ago, may...

You et al. studied supercooled water at timescales before ice formation by heating high- and low-density amorphous ices using infrared ultrafast laser pulses, followed by X-ray scattering; they observed a rapid increase in the heat capacity indicating a critical divergence at 210 K coincident with enhanced density fluctuations. Image credit: POSTECH University.

Physicists Find First Experimental Evidence of Elusive Critical Point in Supercooled Water

Mar 30, 2026 by News Staff

By probing supercooled water with ultrafast lasers before it crystallizes, physicists at Stockholm University observed telltale signs of a long-theorized...

Reconstruction of a Triassic coelacanth schematically showing the otophysic connection linking the ossified lung to the inner ear and enabling underwater hearing. Image credit: A. Beneteau & L. Cavin, MHNG.

Triassic Coelacanths May Have Heard the Ocean with Their Lungs

Mar 30, 2026 by News Staff

An analysis of two 240-million-year-old coelacanth fossils suggests a bizarre sensory adaptation: an ossified lung that transmitted sound to the inner...

Life reconstruction of Masripithecus moghraensis. Image credit: Mauricio Antón.

Early Miocene Fossil Fills Gap in Ape Family Tree

Mar 29, 2026 by News Staff

Paleontologists have identified a new genus and species of fossil ape that lived about 17-18 million years ago in northern Egypt. The discovery suggests...

Gubatan et al. demonstrate that vitamin D promotes immune tolerance to gut microbiota in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Image credit: Gubatan et al., doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2026.102703.

Vitamin D Shows Promise in Resetting Immune System in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Mar 26, 2026 by News Staff

New research suggests that vitamin D supplements can reshape how the immune system responds to gut bacteria in patients with inflammatory bowel disease,...