Fossils

Blood tests could pave the way for distinguishing between Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and some dementias, aiding early treatment for brain diseases.

Blood proteins that reveal some organs age faster than others — and that may predict disease and lifespan.

Ambitious projects aim to put dire wolves, woolly mammoths and passenger pigeons back into our ecosystems. But with so many technical and ethical hurdles, what is the real motivation?

In Empire of AI, journalist Karen Hao investigates OpenAI and the social and environmental costs of a multinational tech arms race.

Tracks of dinosaur footprints can hint at how fast the extinct animals moved. Here’s how guinea fowl can help fact-check those assumptions.

Gravitational waves spotted by LIGO reveal two black holes, 140 and 100 times the mass of the sun, merged to become a 225 solar mass behemoth.

For centuries, we’ve imagined Neanderthals as distant cousins — a separate species that vanished long ago. But thanks to AI-powered genetic research, scientists have revealed a far more entangled history. Modern humans and Neanderthals didn’t just cross paths; they repeatedly interbred, shared genes, and even merged populations over nearly 250,000 years. These revelations suggest that Neanderthals never truly disappeared — they were absorbed. Their legacy lives on in our DNA, reshaping our understanding of what it means to be human.

A major breakthrough in Maya archaeology has emerged from Caracol, Belize, where the University of Houston team uncovered the tomb of Te K'ab Chaak—Caracol’s first known ruler. Buried with elaborate jade, ceramics, and symbolic artifacts, the tomb offers unprecedented insight into early Maya royalty and their ties to the powerful Mexican city of Teotihuacan.

A university student on a fossil-hunting field trip in Dorset made a stunning discovery: a 145-million-year-old jawbone belonging to a previously unknown mammal species with razor-like teeth. With the help of CT scanning, 3D printing, and expert analysis, the fossil was revealed to be Novaculadon mirabilis, a multituberculate that lived alongside dinosaurs. This is the first find of its kind from the area in over a century, and the fossil’s preservation and sharp-toothed structure are offering new insights into early mammal evolution — all thanks to a beach walk and a sharp eye.

A university student on a fossil-hunting field trip in Dorset made a stunning discovery: a 145-million-year-old jawbone belonging to a previously unknown mammal species with razor-like teeth. With the help of CT scanning, 3D printing, and expert analysis, the fossil was revealed to be Novaculadon mirabilis, a multituberculate that lived alongside dinosaurs. This is the first find of its kind from the area in over a century, and the fossil’s preservation and sharp-toothed structure are offering new insights into early mammal evolution — all thanks to a beach walk and a sharp eye.

A university student on a fossil-hunting field trip in Dorset made a stunning discovery: a 145-million-year-old jawbone belonging to a previously unknown mammal species with razor-like teeth. With the help of CT scanning, 3D printing, and expert analysis, the fossil was revealed to be Novaculadon mirabilis, a multituberculate that lived alongside dinosaurs. This is the first find of its kind from the area in over a century, and the fossil’s preservation and sharp-toothed structure are offering new insights into early mammal evolution — all thanks to a beach walk and a sharp eye.

3I/ATLAS might be over 7 billion years old, a new study reports, which would make it the oldest comet known. But experts caution we need more data.

Experiments in mice show that some gut bacteria can absorb toxic PFAS chemicals, allowing animals to expel them through feces.

Over the past decade, researchers have been puzzling through Pluto’s mysteries. Meanwhile, the New Horizons probe heads for interstellar space.

Scientists have uncovered DNA from 214 ancient pathogens in prehistoric humans, including the oldest known evidence of plague. The findings show zoonotic diseases began spreading around 6,500 years ago, likely triggered by farming and animal domestication. These ancient infections may still influence us today, and help guide the vaccines of tomorrow.

Scientists have uncovered DNA from 214 ancient pathogens in prehistoric humans, including the oldest known evidence of plague. The findings show zoonotic diseases began spreading around 6,500 years ago, likely triggered by farming and animal domestication. These ancient infections may still influence us today, and help guide the vaccines of tomorrow.

A genomic analysis of Greenland’s Qimmeq dogs suggest they and their human partners arrived on the island centuries earlier than previously thought.

Something strange happens to water as it moves through the stems of horsetail plants – and this unique process provides valuable clues for understanding past and present ecosystems

In fantasy worlds, trees like the Lord of the Rings’ Ents are agile and mobile. In the real world, they’re slow.

Kat Zhou has won the Aquatic Life category in the 2025 BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition, while a shot of a death-defying leap by a lemur took the top prize