Science

Physicists have demonstrated a method for detecting atmospheric gases from a distance using infrared light, without ever detecting the infrared photons themselves. By exploiting quantum correlations, the technique reconstructs a mid-infrared absorption spectrum using only near-infrared detectors, opening a new path for remote sensing of pollutants and greenhouse gases. The study, published as a preprint […]

The UK is heading toward a second consecutive summer drought, with eastern England receiving just 26% of its expected summer rainfall and central England recording its longest dry spell in three decades. But behind the numbers is a pattern that scientists are only beginning to understand: droughts are not just becoming more frequent, they are […]

High-resolution satellite data reveals that China’s methane emissions are still rising, but the rate of increase has slowed, and for the first time, the emissions intensity of the country’s massive coal industry is declining, suggesting that targeted policy interventions can bend the curve on the world’s largest methane emitter. The study, published as a preprint […]

Generative AI systems that impersonate deceased loved ones can provide genuine comfort to mourners, even when the chatbots fabricate biographical details about the people they are meant to represent, a finding that surprised the researchers themselves. The study, presented at the 2026 Designing Interactive Systems (DIS) Conference and published in its proceedings, asked 16 volunteers […]

A new generation of high-resolution satellite maps, powered by machine learning, has revealed the true extent and fragmentation of European wetlands, uncovering overlooked patches of these vital ecosystems and providing a foundation for restoration efforts across the continent. Wetlands are disproportionately important ecosystems. They cover only 5 to 8 percent of Earth’s land surface but […]

The apparent slowdown in Arctic sea ice decline that had puzzled climate scientists has vanished. Two consecutive record-low winters, 2025 and 2026, have erased what looked like a stabilizing trend, restoring the long-term downward trajectory with renewed force. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences documents that the year-to-year […]

For the first time, researchers have identified specific genetic risk factors for borderline personality disorder, a condition that affects up to 2% of the population but has been largely neglected by psychiatric genetics. The study, published July 20 in Nature Genetics, combined data from 27 independent cohorts to conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of […]

Two prominent virologists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases face federal smuggling charges for bringing inactivated monkeypox virus samples into the United States without proper declarations, a case that has become a lightning rod for political tensions over laboratory security and biosafety. Dr. Vincent Munster, head of virus ecology at NIAID’s Rocky […]

The Department of Health and Human Services has quietly issued a new charter for its vaccine advisory committee, the latest move in an ongoing battle over the direction of U.S. immunization policy under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the expert panel that advises the CDC on which vaccines […]

Scientists have uncovered a biological mechanism that could explain the long-observed link between gum disease and heart problems; the same bacteria that cause severe periodontitis can travel through the bloodstream and directly trigger calcium buildup in the aortic valve. The findings, presented at the American Heart Association’s Basic Cardiovascular Sciences meeting in July 2026, offer […]