Science

Diamond is celebrated as one of the hardest materials known, but new research shows that even its famously rigid structure can be dramatically altered by an impact travelling at hypersonic speed. Scientists have found that diamond particles embedded in a specially engineered ceramic composite can undergo a near-complete transformation into graphite during a collision lasting…

Palaeoecological reconstruction of the Carboniferous stem-insect Chosha praecursor. (Image by NIGPAS) An international research team has identified a remarkable insect fossil from western Texas that could represent a crucial missing link in the story of insect evolution. The fossil, from the Late Mississippian period approximately 324 million years ago, belongs to a stem group of…

For decades, Pickerel Lake in Minnesota struggled with poor water quality, heavy algal growth and extremely low aquatic plant cover. The shallow lake had become dominated by common carp, a bottom-feeding fish that can disturb lake sediments and alter the movement of nutrients through an aquatic ecosystem.But after the invasive fish were removed in 2009,…

Representative Image (AI-generated) For more than 2,700 years, the story of Assyria’s kings has survived through fragments of clay tablets, royal inscriptions, monuments and carefully preserved lists of rulers. Together, these records have allowed historians to reconstruct the succession of one of the ancient Near East’s most powerful kingdoms. Yet ancient history is rarely as…

McDonald’s has approximately 13,500 restaurants in US, and while the brand serves a variety of menu options across the country, it also supports other causes. On August 27, 2026, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced nearly $2.4 million in grants, supported by funding from McDonald’s USA and several of its suppliers. The initiative…

Representative Image (AI-generated) For much of the past century, scientists have steadily expanded the catalogue of life on Earth, adding species that were previously unknown to science and refining the ranges of those already documented. But what happens when those discoveries are added back into the maps scientists use to understand global biodiversity? A new…

For years, the Dead Sea presented scientists with a genuine puzzle. Its upper waters, warmed by relentless sun and thickened by evaporation, seemed to shed salt each summer rather than accumulate it, while the lakebed far below kept gaining a fresh crust of crystals regardless of season. According to a 2016 study published in Limnology…

Representative Image (AI-generated) As rising temperatures, flooding and erosion put sea turtle nests at greater risk, conservationists often step in to move vulnerable eggs to safer parts of the beach. The practice can prevent an entire clutch from being destroyed by high tides, extreme heat or other immediate threats. But a new two-year study suggests…

In Canada, wood waste from logging and areas affected by wildfires is finding an unexpected fate. A new pilot in the country has begun converting this material into a lightweight, biodegradable wood foam designed to replace products made with plastic foam, according to information released by the University of British Columbia (UBC). While discarded plastic…

On a hot roof in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a small experimental device sat in the sun without a fan, compressor or electrical connection. Its job was simply to get colder than the air around it. Water moved through one part of the device, heat escaped through another, and layers of insulating material helped keep the cooling…