Top science news headlines for the week 30

Monday, Jul 20
Ecology
567

Bee brains reveal how colonies divide work without central planning

Earth Sciences
68

Africa's wildfire season is actually getting shorter, scientists think they know why

Ecology
39

Giving bees a probiotic diet could help protect them from extreme temperatures

Cell & Microbiology
725

Shroud of Turin DNA sheds light on its biological history

Paleontology & Fossils
124

New web tool maps fossil locations across ancient continents in seconds

Evolution
14

Wealthier North Carolina neighborhoods may be hotspots for insecticide-resistant tiger mosquitoes

Plants & Animals
145

Children and monkeys share common understanding of geometry

Tuesday, Jul 21
Ecology
134

Tapeworm hijacks worker ants, giving them queen-like metabolism and longer lives

Space Exploration
254

When a SpaceX rocket crashes into the moon, scientists will be watching

Agriculture
19

Indigenous knowledge key to building healthier and more sustainable food systems

Political science
5

As Supreme Court decisions grow sharper, new study examines justices' calculated concessions

Astronomy
36

Cosmic gymnastics: How the Milky Way once underwent a dramatic flip

Environment
7

The best way to measure fire risk might be underground

Ecology
61

Study shows nutrient loss in vineyards can be attributed to factors beyond fruit harvest

Wednesday, Jul 22
Biotechnology
191

Engineered enzyme erases a stubborn mark of aging by up to 70% in human tissue samples

Environment
181

Removing 'forever chemicals' from farmlands—at a fraction of the cost

Social Sciences
254

Kindness emerges intuitively in young children before reflection catches up, study finds

General Physics
225

Microscale roughness breakthrough defies 80 years of fluid dynamics

Nanomaterials
74

Reusable magnetic invention removes microplastics plus some PFAS from water

Optics & Photonics
563

Quantum internet leaves the lab with first real-world entanglement over busy telecom fiber

Plants & Animals
28

Ordinary moss generates surprisingly complex electrical activity

Thursday, Jul 23
Cell & Microbiology
12

Zebrafish rebuild damaged 'second brain' networks in nine days, offering clues for nerve repair

Archaeology
46

Exploring the lost golden age of language diversity before expanding empires drove a global decline

Planetary Sciences
242

Most powerful Northern Lights in a generation expose weaknesses in UK infrastructure

Archaeology
47

Modern forensics uncovers new clues about Inca sacrifice victims' last days

Optics & Photonics
24

Universal structure of exceptional points revealed in nonlinear light‑based systems

Evolution
79

Portugal's ancient giant bears shrank over thousands of years and humans may be to blame

Ecology
21

Scuba divers underestimate how much damage they do to coral reefs. We've watched hundreds to find out why

Friday, Jul 24
Plants & Animals
106

Why and how birdsong differs across the world—and the eight motifs that tie them together

Social Sciences
24

Can a robot tutor give too much help? Why timing matters

Plants & Animals
49

Plumage reflectance framework offers new insight into how birds evolved heat-controlling feathers

Agriculture
12

Trust among farmers is key to scaling climate-smart innovations

Astronomy
43

Young rift flanks suggest Venus remains tectonically active

Biochemistry
12

Gold-catalyzed chemical reaction advances next-generation anticancer prodrugs

General Physics
358

Oxygen collisions at the LHC show new indications of extreme state of matter

Saturday, Jul 25
Archaeology
72

Syria's ancient sites face widespread looting and systematic bulldozing, satellite images reveal

Biotechnology
89

The hunt for a natural molecule that can release cellular energy

Archaeology
124

Ancient bones from smaller Maya communities reveal heavy reliance on maize and local subsistence patterns

Social Sciences
15

'I get caught up in the numbers game': Why useful social media content gets lost online

Space Exploration
56

SpaceX launches Starship on another test flight, this time with the most advanced Starlinks

Environment
1740

'I can't work in the farce of climate change cruise tourism anymore': Why Antarctic guides quit their dream jobs

Social Sciences
18

New model maps how social media users repeatedly spread misinformation

Sunday, Jul 26
Archaeology
171

Angola's oldest burials, including its only known ancient cremation, uncovered at a 15th-century site doomed by a dam

General Physics
515

A quantum heat engine that simultaneously provides work and refrigeration

Environment
16

As wildfires grip France and Spain, what are the risks from the smoke?

General Physics
246

Near a black hole, gravity changes a quantum circuit's readings, not its rules

Ecology
25

DNA vacuum captures animal traces from air to map Danish wildlife

Ecology
29

Trace molecules emerge as chemical 'keystones' that steer life's communities

Social Sciences
65

When a teenager makes the 'stupid choice,' their brain is working exactly as designed