Science News
What is trypophobia? Why some people's skin crawls when they see tiny holes
Research suggests this aversion is driven by an instinct to avoid disease
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Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.
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Snakes that cartwheel, vultures that groan, a mysterious Martian moon, and more
This week in science we check out gymnastic snakes, chatty vultures and missions to faraway moons
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Archaeologists may have just found the world's oldest shipwreck
A mysterious shipwreck off Turkey’s coast may be the oldest ever discovered, dating back approximately 4,500 years to the age of the Egyptian pyramids. Although the wooden vessel has disappeared, its surviving pottery cargo reveals clues about an ancient trading network that may have connected distant Mediterranean civilizations. Researchers believe the ship may have crashed against rocks during a storm while transporting valuable goods such as oil, wine, or tree resin.
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AI detects “invisible” signs of pancreatic cancer years before diagnosis
A powerful new AI system could help doctors detect pancreatic cancer years before it becomes visible on conventional scans. The technology, called REDMOD, identified hidden warning signs an average of 475 days before diagnosis and was nearly twice as sensitive as experienced radiologists. By spotting cancer-related changes at their earliest stages, it could dramatically improve the chances of successful treatment for one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
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10 minutes is all it takes for AI assistance to erode your motivation, study shows
People who rely on artificial intelligence (AI) to solve simple problems do worse at, and are more likely to give up on, similar tasks when that assistance is removed, compared with people who do not use AI for quick answers, new research finds.The study, which was presented at the 2026 Conference on Language Modeling in San Francisco earlier this month, investigated the impacts of shifting mental work onto an AI chatbot across arithmetic and reading comprehension tasks. A growing body of research suggests this process of "cognitive offloading" harms long-term learning and critical thinking abilities."The concern is about what cognitive scientists call 'desirable difficulties' — the producti...
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Scientists discover Arctic sea ice loss could be far worse than predicted
Arctic winter sea ice could disappear much faster than scientists previously expected, according to new research using climate clues from 6,000 years ago. By comparing ancient ocean sediments with modern climate models, researchers found that future winter ice coverage may be roughly one million square kilometers smaller than earlier predictions suggested.
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A simple liquid can stop cavities without drilling, major study confirms
A simple liquid painted onto teeth in seconds can stop cavities without drilling, injections, or anesthesia, according to a major clinical trial involving young children. The inexpensive treatment could spare thousands of children painful dental procedures and surgery while paving the way for broader FDA-approved use.
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Scientists overcome a hidden obstacle to more powerful quantum computers
Scientists have discovered a way to operate multiple silicon qubits simultaneously with remarkable accuracy, overcoming a major challenge in scaling up quantum computers. Their new technique maintained accuracy of approximately 99.9% even when all five qubits were running at once, opening the door to larger and more powerful quantum processors.
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Experienced teachers are quitting or reducing their hours—they're struggling to cope
Teacher shortages are affecting school systems in countries across the world. Governments have responded with initiatives to attract graduates into teaching. While much attention has focused on increasing supply, far less attention has been paid to why experienced teachers decide to leave, despite the high costs of turnover in recruitment, training and lost continuity.
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Assessment tool helps schools look at students holistically
Researchers in the Neag School of Education are bringing a whole child screening assessment to a company that provides schools with a connected set of solutions that turn every student signal into timely, equitable, coordinated and measurable tools to track and manage supports.
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Australian coral reefs face risk of collapse within 50 years without drastic action, global assessment finds
Every shallow-water coral reef ecosystem in Australia faces an extremely high risk of collapse by 2075, driven largely by projected ocean warming, according to a global assessment.
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Supercurrent enables the reading of quantum information without destroying it
One of the fundamental challenges of quantum computing is obtaining information from a quantum bit, or qubit. Unlike a conventional bit, which can be read repeatedly without altering its content, direct measurement of a quantum system typically causes the state to collapse before it can be determined. In other words, reading the information modifies it.
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Crows make decisions twice as fast as humans and monkeys
University of Tübingen researchers have shown that crows, when confronted with a visual choice, make a decision twice as fast as humans and monkeys. In the experiment, two carrion crows took just 235 milliseconds on average to identify the direction in which a dot pattern was moving and to indicate their choice—while maintaining a high degree of accuracy.
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Storms batter Europe, hitting power supplies, flights and phones
Storms battered northern Europe on Sunday, cutting power to more than 150,000 homes, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights and silencing phone networks.
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Monarchs report their locations via… cellphone?
Who knew a monarch butterfly could borrow a cellphone to check in with friendly people he met on his journey? That is essentially what happens now that new technology has reduced the weight of a radio-pulse tag to less than half a gram (0.02 ounces).
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Milky Way's disk grew 'upside down,' with younger stars forming in ever-thinner layers
The Milky Way is home to hundreds of billions of stars arranged in a glorious spiral pattern. But beyond the obvious spiral, our galaxy has other physical characteristics. It's divided into a galactic bulge, a galactic disk and a galactic halo.
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How screening tools measure disadvantage may leave rural communities overlooked for public support
Whether a community is prioritized for public support can depend on how its needs are measured, according to new research from the University of New Hampshire. The study found significant differences in how government screening tools identify communities, particularly in rural areas where those differences could affect access to funding.
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Patterns of polar vortices discovered in lead-free superlattices on silicon
A team at HZB has, for the first time, reported polar vortices in (BaTiO₃/SrTiO₃)₁₀ superlattices on silicon. These results expand the range of materials and substrates on which polar topological textures can occur and open up new options for incorporating complex ferroelectric states into silicon-based technologies.
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Protecting children from harm isn't enough—welfare systems must support healing through quality mental health care
In Quebec and across Canada, people working in child welfare do remarkable work to protect children and youth from maltreatment and to support families facing complex challenges.
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A few seconds of loading time can push online learners off track
An online lesson takes an extra second to load. The wait may seem trivial, but in a study examining large learning platforms, these brief pauses were linked to unfinished assignments, lower scores and less time spent on the site.