Astronomy

Webb Identifies Supernova Progenitor Star in NGC 1637

The main image at left shows a combined Webb and Hubble view of the spiral galaxy NGC 1637, with the region of interest in the top right; the remaining three panels show a detailed view of a red supergiant star before and after it exploded; the star is not visible in the Hubble image before the SN 2025pht explosion, but appears in the Webb image; the July 2025 view from Hubble shows the glowing aftermath of the explosion. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / C. Kilpatrick, Northwestern / A. Suresh, Northwestern / J. DePasquale, STScI.

Using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have for the first time identified the progenitor of a nearby supernova — a red supergiant star cloaked in thick, dust-rich shrouds that made it invisible to previous observatories. The main image at left shows a combined Webb and Hubble view of the spiral galaxy NGC 1637, with the region of interest in the top right; the remaining...

Archaeology

5,300-Year-Old Drilling Tool Found in Egypt

Original photograph of the Badari drill published in 1927 by Guy Brunton (left) and the actual artifact. Image credit: Martin Odler & Jiří Kmošek, doi: 10.1553/AEundL35s289.

A tiny copper-alloy object long dismissed as a simple awl has been reclassified as the earliest known rotary metal drill from ancient Egypt. Original photograph of the Badari drill published in 1927 by Guy Brunton (left) and the actual artifact. Image credit: Martin Odler & Jiří Kmošek, doi: 10.1553/AEundL35s289. The ancient drill is only 6.3 cm (2.5 inches) long and weighs about 1.5 grams. Dating...

Paleontology

New Sauropod Dinosaur Species Identified in Brazil

An artist’s impression of Dasosaurus tocantinensis. Image credit: TotalDino / CC BY 4.0.

Paleontologists in Brazil have identified a previously unknown species of somphospondylan sauropod dinosaur with European affinities, hinting at ancient migration routes that once linked two continents now separated by the Atlantic Ocean. An artist’s impression of Dasosaurus tocantinensis. Image credit: TotalDino / CC BY 4.0. The new dinosaur species lived about 120 million years ago during the...

Biology

Fungi on International Space Station Show Surprising Metal Extraction Skills

NASA astronaut Michael Scott Hopkins performs a microgravity experiment on the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA.

As human space exploration pushes farther from Earth, the need for sustainable ways to obtain local resources is becoming increasingly urgent, as routine resupply missions grow impractical. Asteroids — some of them rich in valuable metals such as platinum-group elements — have emerged as especially promising targets. In a new experiment aboard the International Space Station (ISS), scientists...

Physics

Ultra-High-Energy Neutrino May Signal First Glimpse of Primordial Black Hole Explosion

The KM3NeT experiment has recently observed a neutrino with an energy around 100 PeV, and IceCube has detected five neutrinos with energies above 1 PeV; while there are no known astrophysical sources, exploding primordial black holes could have produced these high-energy neutrinos. Image credit: Gemini AI.

Physicists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst argue that an ultra-high-energy neutrino detected by the KM3NeT experiment could be the signature of an explosion of a ‘quasi-extremal primordial black hole,’ pointing toward new physics beyond the Standard Model. The KM3NeT experiment has recently observed a neutrino with an energy around 100 PeV, and IceCube has detected five neutrinos with...

Genetics

Japanese Archipelago Was Once a Refuge for Cave Lions

Cave lions painted in the Chauvet Cave, France.

Between 73,000 and 20,000 years ago (Late Pleistocene), the Japanese Archipelago was inhabited by cave lions (Panthera spelaea), according to a new genetic and proteomic analysis of fossilized felid remains previously attributed to tigers (Panthera tigris). Cave lions painted in the Chauvet Cave, France. Lions and tigers were widespread apex predators during the Late Pleistocene and integral components...

Geology

New Research Uncovers Hidden Complexity beneath Martian Surface

This perspective view from ESA’s Mars Express shows three of Mars’ famously colossal volcanoes (from left to right): Arsia, Pavonis and Ascraeus Mons. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin.

New orbital data reveal that the most recently active volcanic systems on Mars weren’t simple one-off blasts into space; instead, long-lived magmatic plumbing beneath Pavonis Mons, one of the Red Planet’s largest volcanoes, reshaped lava flows over time, with distinct eruptive phases and evolving chemical signatures, offering fresh insights into the planet’s inner dynamics and how rocky planets...