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Recent Discoveries Stories

World maps distort size and shape by design. Learn why projections matter and how they shape global understanding.
World maps feel familiar and factual, but every flat map bends reality. Understanding why reveals how geography shapes perception.
Rebecca Shavitupda
Maynooth University simulations show rare feeding bursts let early light-seed black holes grow into cosmic giants.
SpaceComputer models reveal how early black holes grew so quickly after the Big BangMac Oliveau
SpaceExtraterrestrial life may exist on many more worlds than previously thoughtJoseph Shavit
A life reconstruction of Prototaxites taiti growing in the 407-million-year-old Rhynie chert ecosystem.
DiscoveriesGiant Prototaxites fossil reveals an extinct branch of complex life on EarthJoshua Shavit
Environmental degradation due to dryland salinity, causing trees to die and inducing serious hillslope gully and sheet erosion at the base of a mesa landscape west of Charters Towers, Northern Queensland, Australia.
Green ImpactOur world is entering an ‘era of global water bankruptcy’, UN scientists declareRebecca Shavit
An image of the olfactometer line-up. Embedded image shows the inner workings of the olfactometer.
HealthUPenn researchers trained dogs to sniff out canine cancer by scentHannah Shavit-Weiner
A new analysis of 341 pivotal drug trials shows that only a tiny fraction reflect the racial and ethnic mix of the United States. Black and Hispanic participation has dropped in recent years, even as precision medicine expands, raising sharp questions about who modern treatments are really built for.
HealthScientists map a road to fairer, more inclusive drug developmentMelanie Livingstone
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s 2024 NIRCam image shows protostar EC 53 circled.
SpaceJWST solves a longstanding cosmic mystery about comet crystalsJoshua Shavit
Deep layers of molten rock inside some super-earths could generate powerful magnetic fields—potentially stronger than Earth’s—and help shield these exoplanets from harmful radiation.
SpaceDeep magma oceans generate magnetic fields to protect planets and support lifeJoseph Shavit
A first of its kind Canadian trial finds that children with peanut allergy can gain strong protection from very small daily peanut doses, cutting side effects and making treatment more realistic for families.
HealthChildren only need small daily doses of peanuts to gain protection, study findsMac Oliveau
In the background, Associate Professor Sergio Ioppolo (left) and Postdoc Alfred Thomas Hopkinson (right) discussing experimental plans. In the foreground, two ultra-high vacuum chambers used to investigate reactions under interstellar medium conditions.
SpaceComplex building blocks of life form spontaneously in space, study findsJoseph Shavit
Azurite traces on a Final Palaeolithic stone from Germany suggest Ice Age people used blue pigments, likely on skin or fabrics now lost.
DiscoveriesArchaeologists find Europe’s oldest known blue pigment useRebecca Shavit
New research shows women view AI as riskier than men, driven by job exposure and lower tolerance for uncertainty
AIWomen think artificial intelligence is riskier than men do, study findsShy Cohen
A new theory from Heidelberg University shows how quasiparticles emerge and vanish as particle motion changes.
DiscoveriesNew unified theory connects two fundamental domains of modern quantum physicsJoshua Shavit
A new lab study suggests GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide may protect retinal cells from diabetes-like damage, supporting trials in patients.
HealthGLP-1 weight-loss drugs could help protect eyes from diabetic retinopathyHannah Shavit-Weiner
New research shows sperm RNA changes with age in mice and humans, revealing a molecular clock tied to fertility and offspring health.
HealthHuman sperm RNA changes with age, study findsMac Oliveau
Gigantic storms swirl across the surface of Jupiter. These storms have made it impossible to see what lies beneath—but a new simulation led by a UChicago scientist adds new depth to our understanding.
SpaceResearchers find Jupiter holds 1.5x more oxygen than the SunJoshua Shavit