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Recent Discoveries Stories

Among the approximately 16,000 new species described every year, roughly 6,000 are insects. Pictured here is a lanternfly from India.
New research reveals that scientists are naming more species each year than at any time in history, with discoveries accelerating across plants, animals, and fungi.
Mac Oliveauupda
A new MIT led study uses hospital style CT scans to peer inside 5,000 year old copper slag from Tepe Hissar, revealing hidden metal droplets, gas pockets, and complex arsenic chemistry that reshape what we know about early smelting.
DiscoveriesMIT study uses medical CT imaging to reconstruct 5,000 year-old metal productionRebecca Shavit
A new study places leading AI models into a classic economic experiment, revealing how their strategic choices differ from humans.
AIAI models tested in a classic economics game reveal major differences from human thinkingShy Cohen
Quentin Martinez and Eli Amson are discussing the braincase and olfactory bulb endocast of the mammoth skull from the SMNS collections.
DiscoveriesFossil skulls reveal how well extinct mammals could smellJoshua Shavit
This artist’s concept shows the violent collision of two massive objects in orbit around the star Fomalhaut. “Spotting a new light source in the dust belt around a star was surprising. We did not expect that at all,” said Northwestern’s Jason Wang.
SpaceTwo collisions, one star, and a new view of planet formationJoseph Shavit
Researchers design safer mitochondrial uncouplers that boost metabolism without lowering cellular energy levels.
HealthNew experimental molecules encourage cells to work harder and burn more caloriesJoseph Shavit
3D models of the jaw and associated middle ear bones of the Triassic mammal ancestor "Thrinaxodon" show that the switch to mammal-like hearing with an eardrum evolved much earlier than previously thought.
Discoveries250-million-year-old mammal ancestor could hear sounds long before modern mammals evolvedJoseph Shavit
Physicists at MIT have developed a theory showing how superconductivity can emerge inside magnetic materials
DiscoveriesSuperconductivity and magnetism can co-exist in some materials, MIT study findsShy Cohen
A Chinese Academy of Sciences team tracked thirdhand smoke in a real lounge and found a steady background of pollution even without active smoking.
HealthThirdhand smoke: Hidden toxic residue from smoking lingers in homes for yearsJoshua Shavit
The newly identified spiral galaxy Alaknanda, shown in the inset, appears in shorter-wavelength observations from the James Webb Space Telescope. Bright foreground galaxies from the Abell 2744 cluster are also visible in the same field.
SpaceAlaknanda: Ancient spiral galaxy challenges existing knowledge of cosmic evolutionJoseph Shavit
Most global statistics assign emissions to where food is produced. This study instead focused on where food is eaten, since diets drive demand.
Green ImpactChanging your diet could help save the world, study findsRebecca Shavit
New research explains why brains compute differently than AI and what that means for the future of artificial consciousness.
AIScientists rethink consciousness in the age of intelligent machinesJoseph Shavit
ROV image of a partially collapsed gas hydrate mound in the Molloy Deep (Freya mounds), where exposed gas hydrates are visible beneath sediment cover. The mound hosts dense fields of frenulate worms (Sclerolinum spp.), with associated crustaceans and small carbonate crusts.
Green ImpactDeepest Arctic methane seep found at 3,640 meters reveals thriving lifeMac Oliveau
A new study finds that familiar video games like Super Mario Bros. and Yoshi can spark childlike wonder, increase happiness, and reduce burnout risk in young adults.
HealthNew study links classic video game play to increased happinessRebecca Shavit
A team from Mass General Brigham and MIT has created a firefly inspired ingestible capsule that shines light inside the small intestine and reads how much comes back. In pigs, its luminance signal identified acute mesenteric ischemia with about 90 percent accuracy, hinting at a future where a simple pill could help doctors catch this often fatal emergency before the bowel dies.
HealthSwallowable light sensing pill could catch deadly gut ischemia before it killsJoshua Shavit
Dust clouds reflect starlight around the star R Doradus.
SpaceNearby red giant challenges how stars spread the building blocks of lifeJoseph Shavit
JWST observations trace how Milky Way-like galaxies grew from chaotic early systems into stable spiral galaxies over billions of years.
SpaceAstronomers reveal how the Milky Way’s violent youth forged a calmer spiral giantJoseph Shavit