A growing body of research suggests that modern humans did not originate from a single location, but instead emerged through interactions among groups spread across different regions of Africa. Traditionally, scientists have explained where these populations lived based mainly on climate. New findings now point to another powerful influence: disease, particularly malaria. In a study…
Quantum mechanics is famous for its strange and often counterintuitive ideas. At very small scales, particles do not behave like everyday objects. Instead, they can exist in multiple states at once, a concept known as superposition. Physicists describe this behavior using a mathematical object called a wavefunction. Yet this picture clashes with what we observe…
New video footage released Thursday night by the F.B.I. of the apparent assassination attempt on President Trump at the April 25 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner helps clarify how the episode unfolded by more clearly showing the gunman’s actions and the responses of Secret Service officers. A frame-by-frame assessment of the footage — combined with…
US President Donald Trump has said that all state permits for the 2026 recreational red snapper fishing season have been approved, a move he says will expand access for anglers across southeastern coastal states. In a post shared on Truth Social on Friday, Trump described the decision as a “huge win” for fishermen in states…
When the messenger Pheidippides ran from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over the Persians in the 5th century B.C., he did it without shoes. His time was not officially tracked. Millenniums later, at the London Marathon on Sunday, Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha became the first to break the…
As Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sets out to rein in the use of psychiatric medications, a group of prominent psychiatrists are developing guidance for helping patients to stop taking them, noting that providers sometimes “park” patients on medications that are no longer necessary or effective. The experts, whose first recommendations appeared in JAMA…
A large study published in The BMJ suggests that aerobic activities such as walking, cycling, and swimming are the most effective exercises for people with knee osteoarthritis. These activities were found to provide the greatest improvements in pain, physical function, walking ability, and overall quality of life. Researchers note that while other types of exercise…
NASA’s Curiosity rover has identified a wide range of organic molecules on Mars, including compounds that scientists consider key ingredients for the origin of life on Earth. The discovery comes from a chemical experiment carried out on another planet for the first time. Results show that the Martian surface is capable of preserving molecules that…
A simple strip of treated paper that can swiftly signal whether a street drug contains deadly fentanyl or other contaminants is a common overdose prevention tool, distributed widely on college campuses and at music festivals and community clinics. The federal government has championed test strips since 2021 and has paid to supply them to states,…
A strange object known as the “golden orb” puzzled scientists and captured public attention after it was collected during a 2023 NOAA expedition. More than two years later, researchers have finally identified what it is. The unusual golden mass, discovered at a depth of 3,250 meters (over 2 miles) in the Gulf of Alaska, turned…
