Space debris — ranging from defunct satellites and discarded rocket stages to fragments from collisions — poses an ever-increasing threat to active spacecraft and human spaceflight. New research shows that surges in solar activity can accelerate the descent of space debris, reshaping how scientists predict satellite lifetimes and collision risks. Space junk begins to fall down much faster...

Space debris — ranging from defunct satellites and discarded rocket stages to fragments from collisions — poses an ever-increasing threat to active spacecraft and human spaceflight. New research shows that surges in solar activity can accelerate the descent of space debris, reshaping how scientists predict satellite lifetimes and collision risks. Space junk begins to fall down much faster...

Hominins at the Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov in Israel relied on driftwood gathered along a lakeshore to fuel their hearths, according to new research led by archaeologists from the Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social and Bar-Ilan University; 780,000-year-old charcoal fragments from the site show that survival wasn’t about finding the perfect wood — it...

Long-overlooked fossils in the Western Australian Museum collection have been identified as a new species of koala. Named Phascolarctos sulcomaxilliaris, the ancient animal disappeared from Western Australia as drought and cold reshaped its habitat at the end of the Pleistocene. Reconstruction of Phascolarctos sulcomaxilliaris. Image credit: Nellie Pease. The modern koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)...

By mapping millions of smell-sensing neurons in mice, scientists discovered precise striped patterns inside the nose, overturning decades-old assumptions about how olfaction is wired. A cross section of a mouse nose. Image credit: Datta Lab, Harvard Medical School. “For most of us, the sense of smell is an integral part of everyday life,” said Harvard Medical School’s Professor Sandeep (Robert)...

New research by astronomers from the University of California, Riverside, Sam Houston State University and the University of Oklahoma suggests decaying dark matter could have triggered the rapid collapse of early gas clouds, helping supermassive black holes form far sooner than current theories allow. Aggarwal et al. show that the energy released from dark matter decay could alter the chemistry of...

Researchers in Japan say S-1-propenyl-L-cysteine, a molecule found in aged garlic extract, restored strength and reduced frailty in older mice by activating a newly identified signaling pathway. Suzuki et al. report that S1PC, a bioactive compound derived from aged garlic extract, improved muscle function in aging mice and may point toward a low-cost strategy for combating frailty in older adults....

Using environmental DNA (eDNA) collected from waters more than 4 km deep off Western Australia’s Nyinggulu (Ningaloo) coast, researchers identified a total of 226 species across 11 major animal groups, ranging from creatures previously undetected in the area, such as the giant squid, to others thought to be new to science. A giant squid, at least 10-12 feet in length, approaches the Medusa’s...

If you’ve ever wondered how geologists know so much about ancient beaches and shallow oceans — from the paleoenvironment to the animals roaming around, the seasonality of the weather, and even the time of day when the ancient scene was preserved — they owe it all to the sand particles bound together by microbes, forming structures known as microbial mats. A planar microbial mat with...

By mapping millions of smell-sensing neurons in mice, scientists discovered precise striped patterns inside the nose, overturning decades-old assumptions about how olfaction is wired. A cross section of a mouse nose. Image credit: Datta Lab, Harvard Medical School. “For most of us, the sense of smell is an integral part of everyday life,” said Harvard Medical School’s Professor Sandeep (Robert)...