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Ancient Smallpox Genomes Show European Colonizers Brought the Virus to Americas
A Trinity College Dublin study recovered the first ancient smallpox genomes from the Western Hemisphere, providing molecular-level proof that European colonizers carried an actively evolving variola virus to the Americas after 1492.
Early Cambrian Fossil Pushes Cephalopod Buoyancy Chamber Back 30 Million Years
A millimeter-scale early Cambrian fossil from South China has revealed the oldest known cephalopod siphuncle — the buoyancy-regulating chamber that launched squid and nautilus ancestors as the ocean's first active predators — pushing that evolutionary milestone back by roughly 30 million years.
California Solar Permitting Gaps: Why Land Use Decides Years of Delay
A new Nature Conservancy and ECOnorthwest study reveals that what land looked like before a permit application is filed is the single strongest predictor of whether a California solar farm clears approval in months or stalls for years. Researchers analyzed over 15 years of county permitting data to close a gap policymakers have long acknowledged but never formally measured.
241 Days in Space Left Chris Williams’ Body Unprepared for Gravity
When Soyuz MS-28 landed on July 26, 2026, NASA astronaut Chris Williams had to be lifted from the capsule — because 241 days in microgravity had reorganized nearly every system in his body. The science of what space does to bones, the heart, and balance is as striking as the mission itself.
Ancient DNA Shows Ice Age Hunters Killed Female Woolly Mammoths 70% of the Time
Researchers sequenced ancient DNA from 521 woolly mammoth bones and found that roughly 70 percent of specimens at human-associated sites belonged to females, revealing a deliberate and repeated prehistoric hunting preference that may have accelerated the species' extinction.
Ancient Smallpox Genomes Suggest the Virus Grew Deadlier Over Time
Researchers sequencing variola virus DNA from medieval remains found ancient smallpox strains genetically distinct from the modern virus — and possibly less deadly. The findings suggest smallpox evolved its catastrophic lethality relatively late in history.Load More
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