Top science news headlines for the week 42

Monday, Oct 14
Plants & Animals
18742

Scientists successfully breed corals to improve their heat tolerance

Evolution
503

Giant prehistoric elephant skull from India belongs to mysterious extinct species

Plants & Animals
501

Study suggests that 'Jedi' rodents remotely move matter using sound to enhance their sense of smell

Environment
463

Atmospheric rivers are shifting poleward, reshaping global weather patterns

Evolution
458

Scientists discover one of the Earth's earliest animals in Australian outback

Plants & Animals
288

Ant–plant symbiosis study finds climate change may be destabilizing mutualistic relationships

General Physics
243

LIGO team enhances gravitational wave detection with squeezed light

Tuesday, Oct 15
General Physics
11394

First coherent picture of an atomic nucleus made of quarks and gluons

Evolution
364

Ancient hominins had humanlike hands, indicating earlier tool use, study reveals

Earth Sciences
271

El Niño Southern Oscillation caused spike in 2023 temperatures, study finds

Plants & Animals
223

The monarch butterfly may not be endangered, but research suggests its migration is

Ecology
202

New temperature conditions found in two thirds of key tropical forests

Plants & Animals
184

Seven new frog species discovered in Madagascar

Cell & Microbiology
152

Scientists discover 'selfish DNA' crucial for early human development

Wednesday, Oct 16
Other
1204

Walking in short bursts found to consume 20% to 60% more energy than walking continuously for same distance

Astronomy
451

Dutch students warn space mission of noisy white dwarfs

Quantum Physics
429

New theoretical framework sets limits for the realization of quantum processes in spacetime

General Physics
424

The neutron lifetime problem—and its possible solution

Plants & Animals
273

Global north's growing appetite for farmed salmon imperils communities' access to local fish, study warns

Paleontology & Fossils
206

Fossil unearthed in Brazil is 237-million-year-old sister-group to Dinosauria

Archaeology
192

'Getting high' in Paleolithic hunting: Elevated positions enhance javelin accuracy but reduce atlatl efficiency

Thursday, Oct 17
Plants & Animals
442

Cats associate human words with images, experiment suggests

Evolution
277

City microbes surviving on disinfectants, research reveals

Quantum Physics
187

New benchmark helps solve the hardest quantum problems

Astronomy
180

Astronomers detect ancient lonely quasars with murky origins

Planetary Sciences
161

Second exoplanet detected orbiting an early G-type star

Ecology
148

Soil's secret language: Researchers decode plant-to-fungi communication

Astronomy
140

Rare ultra-luminous nova spotted in the Small Magellanic Cloud

Friday, Oct 18
Earth Sciences
425

Could injecting diamond dust into the atmosphere help cool the planet?

Astronomy
395

Physicists show that neutron stars may be shrouded in clouds of axions

Plants & Animals
356

Bumblebee queens choose to hibernate in pesticide-contaminated soil, scientists discover

Evolution
311

Extremely well-preserved fossil sawfly sheds new light on co-evolution of insects and toxic plants

Plants & Animals
155

Scientists create new overwintering sites for monarch butterflies on a warming planet

Cell & Microbiology
140

Scientists show how sperm and egg come together like a key in a lock

Biochemistry
117

Lignin molecular property discovery could help turn trees into affordable, greener industrial chemicals

Saturday, Oct 19
Planetary Sciences
157

New research shows most space rocks crashing into Earth come from a single source

Optics & Photonics
141

All-optical switch device paves way for faster fiber-optic communication

Environment
131

'The waters become corrupt, the air infected': Here's how Ancient Greeks and Romans grappled with environmental damage

Political science
86

Megastudy tests crowdsourced ideas for reducing political polarization

Plants & Animals
67

Worms and snails handle the pressure 2,500m below the Pacific surface

Other
66

Saturday Citations: Brown dwarf actually brown dwarfs; the adaptability of ice-age humans; archaeologists excited

Environment
15

Ocean eddy currents funnel extreme heat and cold to the life-filled depths

Sunday, Oct 20
General Physics
316

Investigating the impact of ultralight dark matter on gravitational wave signals

Plants & Animals
163

Scientists find southern killer whales of the Pacific have access to enough food, deepening mystery of their struggles

Economics & Business
72

This year's Nobel prize exposes economics' problem with colonialism

Veterinary medicine
36

Researchers to explore light and ultrasound therapy for melanoma treatment in pigs

Ecology
16

UN biodiversity conference: what's at stake?

Ecology
10

Microplastic pollution is everywhere, even in the exhaled breath of dolphins