Call for pause to 'flawed' Senior Cycle science assessments - RTE.ie

We search for aliens on exoplanets by looking for the chemical signatures of life. But without understanding the host star better, we may be misled.

The Utah State Board of Education release 2025-2026 statewide assessment results in Utah show English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics recovery accelerating, and science results reaching record highs. The 2025–2026 Utah statewide assessment results demonstrate continuous multi-year academic growth following pandemic-related disruptions. Across all core subjects, student performance increased year-over-year, reflecting sustained multi-year gains. Most notably, Science performance has exceeded pre-pandemic baseline levels, while English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics are closing in on full recovery.  Assessment results are available interactively via the Utah Educational Data Gateway Dashboards and in downloadable formats on the Data and Statistics page.

With 302 neurons, 200 of them in their heads, hermaphrodite female roundworms reveal surprising sex-specific differences in the nervous system and how these differences influence behavior, reproduction, and aging. Researchers at Northeastern University compared brain activity in male and hermaphroditic Caenorhabditis elegans, a microscopic worm widely used in biological research to understand how sex wires males and female nervous systems differently.

Artist’s concept of the new dinosaur species Invictibellatrix amberina, along with the fossil from which it was identified. The fossil had been sitting in a drawer for 100 years, until researchers pulled it out and became curious. Image via Sergey Krasovskiy and Pedro Salas/ Natural History Museum London. You deserve a daily dose of good news. For the latest in science and the night sky, subscribe to EarthSky’s free daily newsletter.