The world, in perspective.

<p>Learn more about the scientific community coming into office in January</p>

Employee given ‘just 10 minutes to pick up her belongings and go’, tribunal hears

Scientists have developed a remarkable new membrane that separates crude oil at room temperature, using the oil itself to create microscopic filtration channels. The breakthrough could cut refining energy consumption by nearly 32%, carbon emissions by almost 38%, and operating costs by 36%, potentially transforming one of the world's most energy-intensive in

Scientists have uncovered a surprising link between Alzheimer’s-related protein buildup, disrupted brain waves during deep sleep, and fading memory. The findings suggest that hidden changes in how the brain processes memories overnight may contribute to age-related memory loss long before Alzheimer’s symptoms appear.

Scientists have developed a revolutionary gel that could regrow lost tooth enamel by harnessing minerals naturally found in saliva, potentially overcoming one of dentistry’s biggest limitations. The regenerated enamel behaves much like healthy enamel, raising hopes for a simple treatment that could repair damaged teeth, prevent decay, and reduce sensitivity.

Scientists have solved a decades-old mystery and uncovered a hidden immune system defense that protects healthy cells from the very inflammation meant to fight infections. The surprising discovery could lead to new approaches for treating cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and other conditions involving excessive inflammation.

Scientists are advancing a promising new way to fight antibiotic-resistant infections by using viruses that specifically target and kill harmful bacteria. An international team has released the first coordinated guidelines for personalized phage therapy, offering a roadmap for safely bringing this experimental treatment into clinical practice. Early findings

A swarm of thousands filmed on a Victorian mountain top is part of a surge in bogong moth sightings, which researchers say is good news for the endangered mountain pygmy possum.

A federal judge dismissed criminal charges against Kseniia Petrova, the Russian-born Harvard scientist accused of smuggling frog embryos ​into the United States.

<p>By modeling the James Webb Space Telescope&rsquo;s tiny movements, a new technique can reveal up to 15 times fainter alien worlds</p>

Soft tissues like blood generally break down relatively quickly after death. Environmental factors can also produce red blood cell look-alikes, so many outside researchers are cautious about the new study's claims

Scientists propose that the brain’s mysterious cross-wiring, which connects each hemisphere to the opposite side of the body, may have originated more than 500 million years ago in the visual systems of ancient fish. Rather than evolving for a specific advantage, this unusual arrangement may simply be a legacy of evolution building new brain circuits on an a

A new study warns that permanent daylight saving time could force American children to make at least 2 billion additional school commutes in darkness, potentially increasing safety risks and disrupting their biological clocks. Researchers found that fatal crashes involving school-aged pedestrians were roughly twice as likely during dark mornings as after sun

MIT scientists have challenged two decades of conventional thinking by discovering that flexible molecular connections, rather than rigid ones, can unlock entirely new ways to arrange nanoparticles. The breakthrough could lead to a new generation of designer materials with unusual properties and applications in electronics, medicine, and energy.

For nearly 90 years, scientists believed magnetism fell into just two categories, but researchers have now confirmed a remarkable third type called altermagnetism. Using specialized X-rays, they uncovered a unique magnetic signature that proves these materials behave differently from conventional magnets. Altermagnets combine stability with the ability to ef

A new study found evidence of natural selection in the dogs of Chernobyl, but it’s still unclear what drove these genetic differences and what evolutionary advantages they may provide.

Whale expert Vanessa Pirotta has been honoured at a ceremony along with the founder of community shark bite kits, a veteran pilot doctor, and the founders of a youth charity in the state's Mid North Coast.

Stanford researchers have discovered an AI-identified natural molecule that dramatically suppresses appetite and promotes fat loss in animals, potentially offering an Ozempic-like weight-loss treatment without common digestive side effects or significant muscle loss. Called BRP, the molecule reduced food intake by up to 50% and targets a different brain path

Scientists have developed a promising new cancer-fighting strategy that uses carbon monoxide naturally produced by tumor cells to manufacture powerful drugs inside the cancer cells themselves. Early laboratory experiments suggest the technique could selectively attack cancer while sparing healthy cells, potentially paving the way for safer chemotherapy alter

Kseniia Petrova, a researcher at Harvard, has argued that she was vindictively prosecuted after her arrest in 2025.

Scientists have uncovered an unexpected connection between inflammation during pregnancy, placental damage, and autism-like traits in male mice, while females appeared naturally protected. The discovery could help explain why autism is diagnosed more frequently in boys and reveal new opportunities for early intervention.

Eating an avocado and a cup of mango every day may provide surprising benefits for heart health, according to a new study involving adults with prediabetes. After just eight weeks, participants experienced significant improvements in blood vessel function and diastolic blood pressure, particularly among men. These benefits occurred without weight gain or cha

A massive new study reveals that intelligence plays a surprisingly limited role in children's reading success, while visual processing showed no meaningful connection at all. Instead, the strongest predictors are sound recognition, vocabulary, and background knowledge, offering new clues about how to help struggling readers.

<p>The second Trump administration has dismantled, disrupted or weakened many of the country&rsquo;s scientific bodies</p>

With the toad front line now just 100km from Broome, there is hope a 7,500-square-kilometre "waterless barrier" can halt any further advance into WA.

Researchers have detected signals from the smallest distances ever probed.

As a child, Rebeca Quiñonez-Piñón wondered where monarch butterflies stop for a meal and a night's rest on their long migrations across North America. Now she and other scientists are attaching tiny tracking devices to hundreds of butterflies to find those critical stopover locations before they disappear.

Scientists have discovered that a drug originally developed for spinal cord injuries can tackle several key features of Alzheimer’s disease, including DNA damage and inflammation. Already tested for initial safety in humans, the experimental treatment could offer a faster path toward therapies that target the disease at its roots.

Scientists have discovered a possible loophole in the laws that normally prevent black holes from splitting apart, suggesting that extremely fast-spinning black holes might divide into two. The surprising finding raises the possibility of an entirely new black hole phenomenon that future telescopes could potentially detect.

A surprising discovery suggests that rejuvenating the liver could help protect against Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease. USC researchers found that an experimental drug restored aging liver cells in rats, cutting levels of an Alzheimer’s-linked protein in half and bringing bad cholesterol down to youthful levels. The treatment also revived a previously

The Bangka slow loris is still close to extinction, but new research suggests it continues to survive on a tropical Indonesian island. Conservationists are calling for stronger habitat protections and a breeding program, among other measures

<p>Chemical tests on Aratasaurus bone identify presence of heme, the organic compound that allows haemoglobin in blood to carry oxygen around body</p><p>It could be the opening of a Jurassic Park rip-off: scientists examining ancient dinosaur bones find what appear to be fossilised red blood cells, and traces of the molecule that gives the beast’s blood its

In a surprising discovery, scientists found that certain diets associated with obesity can make cancer immunotherapy more effective in mice, challenging traditional assumptions about diet and cancer treatment. The findings suggest that the secret may lie in how food interacts with gut bacteria to strengthen the immune system's response to cancer.

The proposal, which seeks to replace the Breeding of and Experiments on Animals (Control and Supervision) Rule, if notified in their present form, could weaken existing safeguards for animals used in laboratory experiments, PETA India said

A string of AI results have shaken academia, setting off soul-searching, most notably among mathematicians, over the future of their profession.

Systems that generate and test their own hypotheses and then write up the results are no longer a thought experiment.

A major new review challenges the growing enthusiasm for medical cannabis as an insomnia treatment, finding little reliable evidence that it improves sleep quality, sleep duration, or daytime functioning. Researchers caution that this doesn't mean cannabis is ineffective, only that existing studies are too weak to establish whether it works.

<p>Dr Marta Shahbazi was travelling to a conference to receive award for scientific excellence in developmental biology</p><p>An “inspiring” Cambridge scientist died in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/29/spain-mourning-period-deadly-train-crash">Spanish train collision</a> on Wednesday that killed at least 69 people.</p><p><a href="ht

A surprising new study suggests that eating peanuts every day could help support brain health and memory in older adults. Researchers found that consuming about two servings of unsalted, skin-roasted peanuts daily for 16 weeks improved insulin responsiveness in brain regions important for memory, a function that often weakens with age and has been linked to

A University of Cambridge professor has been named as one of the 69 people killed in the deadly high-speed train crash in Spain.

A University of Cambridge professor has been named as one of the 69 people killed in the deadly high-speed train crash in Spain.

A University of Cambridge professor has been named as one of the 69 people killed in the deadly high-speed train crash in Spain.

Scientists have built a groundbreaking molecular motor that spins in either direction using electricity, inspired by a machine invented more than 2,000 years ago. Even more remarkably, its rotation can boost electrical conductivity by up to 100 times, potentially transforming the future of molecular electronics.

Scientists at the University of Virginia have developed a promising new strategy to fight glioblastoma, one of the deadliest and most difficult-to-treat forms of brain cancer. Their experimental approach combines focused ultrasound, tiny nanoparticles, and genetic molecules called microRNAs to attack multiple cancer-driving genes simultaneously.

Marta Shahbazi was an "inspiring, talented and passionate scientist", says the laboratory where she worked.

While nitrogen gas is harmless, the production of fertilizers used to feed the world converts it into reactive nitrogen, and that comes with a cost.

A mysterious particle overlooked for decades may hold the key to why matter survived the Big Bang, allowing stars, planets, and life to exist. Scientists believe this forgotten neutrino reshaped the early universe and may have left detectable gravitational wave signals that could help unlock the cosmos’s deepest mysteries.

Scientists have discovered that trees can sense their own shape and straighten their trunks using specialized wood that acts like opposing muscles. This remarkable ability helps trees maintain their posture and could lead to stronger forests, better timber, and more resilient crops.

Scientists have uncovered a hidden mechanism that allows high-cholesterol diets to undermine the body's natural cholesterol defenses, and blocking it dramatically lowered harmful LDL cholesterol in mice. Even more promising, an experimental drug targeting this pathway has already passed an early human safety trial, potentially speeding the development of a n

As the Great Desert Skink teeters on the brink of extinction, Indigenous rangers and scientists are working to save the culturally significant lizard.

"Players want to feel like they're powerful and can do something cool."

Authorities investigating the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie said Friday that members of a task force dedicated to solving the case have traveled to Florida to push forward on DNA analysis.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have uncovered a crucial missing link between a common gut bacterium and colorectal cancer, solving a mystery that has puzzled researchers for nearly two decades. The bacterium, Bacteroides fragilis, produces a toxin that damages the colon’s protective lining, triggers chronic inflammation, and promotes tumor formation.

Scientists have discovered a surprising mechanism that allows certain metals to resist cracking at temperatures as low as -253°C (-424°F), when similar materials typically become dangerously brittle. Instead of breaking, two experimental alloys reorganize their internal structures, creating new ways to absorb stress and remain flexible.

A group of Canadian scientists is now working to bring the frosted elfin butterfly back to the northern shores of Lake Erie in Norfolk County it once inhabited.

Scientists have discovered a bizarre bacterial defense system that works almost completely backward from anything seen before. Unlike typical bacterial immune systems that keep a deadly toxin under control until a virus attacks, this unusual mechanism waits until an infection begins before producing the DNA that switches on its lethal weapon. The infected ba

In the 1960’s, an odd experiment showed planarian worms could transfer memories by consuming each other. It was a sensational finding—that is until the worms stopped learning.