Top science news headlines for the week 05

Monday, Jan 26
General Physics
399

AI makes quantum field theories computable

Environment
547

Aging populations could cut global water use by up to 31%, study finds

Paleontology & Fossils
604

Exceptionally well-preserved ant in Goethe's amber examined

Cell & Microbiology
777

How gut bacteria control immune responses

Bio & Medicine
211

Toothbrush-activated powder whitens, repairs and protects teeth

Earth Sciences
115

Sea levels are rising—but in Greenland, they will fall

Astronomy
349

High-resolution map shows dark matter's gravity pulled normal matter into galaxies

Tuesday, Jan 27
Astronomy
1429

Milky Way is embedded in a 'large-scale sheet' of dark matter, which explains motions of nearby galaxies

Astronomy
167

From stellar engines to Dyson bubbles, alien megastructures could hold themselves together under the right conditions

Social Sciences
160

People are swayed by AI-generated videos even when they know they're fake, study shows

Astrobiology
239

Ancient Martian beach discovered, providing new clues to red planet's habitability

Archaeology
141

Ochre used in ancient graves in Finland reflects identity of deceased

Plants & Animals
865

Cuttlefish use polarized light to create a dramatic mating display invisible to humans

Archaeology
104

Hafted stone tools in China suggest early hominins were more inventive than thought

Wednesday, Jan 28
Plants & Animals
345

Just the smell of lynx can reduce deer browsing damage in recovering forests

Plants & Animals
3994

Fast-growing trees are taking over the forests of the future and putting biodiversity, climate resilience under pressure

General Physics
263

The infant universe's 'primordial soup' was actually soupy, study finds

Paleontology & Fossils
344

Jurassic amphibian with a projectile tongue named as a new species

Ecology
221

Pesticides significantly affect soil life and biodiversity, study finds

Astronomy
438

Webb pushes boundaries of observable universe closer to Big Bang

Plants & Animals
523

Scientists just mapped the family tree of all 11,000 bird species—and you can explore it

Thursday, Jan 29
Archaeology
869

Ancient DNA reveals 12,000-year-old case of rare genetic disease

General Physics
408

Gravitational wave signal tests Einstein's theory of general relativity

Earth Sciences
227

Wetlands do not need to be flooded to provide the greatest climate benefit, shows study

Cell & Microbiology
194

From metabolism to disease: Mitochondria's hidden signaling networks unveiled

Quantum Physics
373

Is time a fundamental part of reality? A quiet revolution in physics suggests not

Astronomy
93

NASA researchers probe tangled magnetospheres of merging neutron stars

Astronomy
79

New map of the Milky Way's magnetism offers insights into cosmic evolution

Friday, Jan 30
Astronomy
184

Puzzling slow radio pulses are coming from space. A new study could finally explain them

Ecology
243

Baby dinosaurs were common prey for Late Jurassic predators, reconstructed food web suggests

Plants & Animals
3094

Snakes on trains: King cobras are 'hopping railways' to unsuitable habitats in India

Astronomy
148

Webb reveals five-galaxy merger just 800 million years after the Big Bang

Optics & Photonics
182

Quantum mechanical effects help overcome a fundamental limitation of optical microscopy

Astronomy
560

Why are Tatooine planets rare? General relativity explains why binary star systems rarely host planets

Astrobiology
105

How brick-building bacteria react to toxic chemical in Martian soil

Saturday, Jan 31
Plants & Animals
198

New species of ladybird beetle discovered on university campus in Japan

Biotechnology
267

A world-first mouse that makes gene activity visible

Cell & Microbiology
664

Sprint or marathon? Aging muscle stem cells shift from rapid repair to long-term survival

Paleontology & Fossils
224

Fossil hunters uncover 132-million-year-old dinosaur footprints on South Africa's coast

General Physics
146

Optical atomic clocks poised to redefine how the world measures seconds

Astronomy
92

New 3D map of the sun's magnetic interior could improve predictions of disruptive solar flares

Other
87

Signs of Sir Terry Pratchett's dementia may have been hidden in his books

Sunday, Feb 01
Environment
446

Strategic tree planting could help Canada become carbon neutral by mid-century

Space Exploration
155

NASA begins a practice countdown for its first moonshot with astronauts in more than 50 years

Environment
404

Plastic pollution promotes hazardous water conditions, new study finds

Archaeology
136

Two rare 5th millennium BC fetal burials in Iran reveal variable prehistoric practices

Condensed Matter
132

Imaging the Wigner crystal state in a new type of quantum material

Earth Sciences
955

Satellite study reveals 24.2 billion ton annual groundwater loss in High Mountain Asia

Earth Sciences
78

Tropical weather cycles linked to faster Arctic ice loss in autumn