Science

Research conducted by a group led by scientists from Cambridge University and the Max Planck Institute has found the oldest evidence for the possible use of a magnetic compass by an organism.1 The evidence exists in so-called magnetofossils found in marine sediments that have been dated to 97 million years old. The material in the fossils is magnetite, which is one of the theorized mechanisms for animal magnetoreception. Magnetite (Fe3O4) is an iron oxide usually found as single domain crystals approximately 20-50 nanometers in diameter, making it challenging to detect in organisms. The crystals are permanent magnets that align with Earth’s magnetic field. Several animal species have been found to form biogenic magnetite, including magnetotactic bacteria and some species of fish, including salmon and trout.2 There is also some evidence that a number of genes associated with the formation of magnetite in organisms (biomineralization) are shared by bacteria and eukaryotic (multicellular) animals.3 Bacteria use the compass to guide their movement in finding favorable conditions.

Quantum technologies are poised to transform computing, communications, and national security. At George Mason University, faculty are working to ensure students do not have to wait until college to begin imagining themselves as part of that future. Through a growing series of professional development opportunities, George Mason’s Quantum Science and Engineering Center (QSEC) is partnering with K-12 educators to make quantum science approachable, relevant, and practical for students.

A facial mass detected before birth prompted the early delivery of identical twin sisters. A fetal MRI at 33 weeks showed the mass on one baby's face. When the sisters were born a week later, tumors were found in both. Two children had the same cancer, raising a question that their shared beginnings alone could not answer. Had the disease started separately in each sister, or had cancer cells crossed from one to the other before birth? Researchers turned to a record hidden within their cells. DNA changes, accumulated as their bodies developed, allowed the team to reconstruct events that had happened months before anyone saw a tumor. The study in Nature Communications shows that the cancer began in one sister and passed to the other in the womb, most likely through a single transfer late in the second trimester. The same investigation uncovered clues to how the sisters themselves had formed. The two girls, Amelia and Amaya, died soon after birth. Their family consented to post-mortem examinations for research. The authors dedicate the study to the sisters, whose mother wanted them acknowledged by name.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a mysterious flash of energy was released into the universe. Astronomers have now detected that flash – a burst of radio waves which travelled for more than 10bn years before reaching Earth – what they believe to be the most distant fast radio burst (FRB) ever recorded. FRBs are intense bursts of radio waves that can emit as much energy in milliseconds as the sun does in months or years. These mysterious pulses were first discovered in 2007 and have puzzled scientists ever since, with speculation from some that they could have an alien origin. In a new study published in Science, researchers have detected an FRB that originated when the universe was only about 3bn years old, meaning it has travelled through “approximately 80% of cosmic history”. The burst, dubbed FRB 20240304B, is believed to be the farthest yet detected, more than double the previous distance record. The scientists detected the burst using the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa and subsequently identified its host galaxy using Nasa’s James Webb space telescope (JWST).

image: The Project Numina Fellowship received by ISTA Professor Tamás Hausel supports scientists in accelerating their research with AI tools designed for mathematical reasoning. Artificial intelligence is reshaping mathematical research. Recent advances in AI for mathematics have drawn widespread attention from researchers and the public, prompting the renowned mathematician and Fields medalist Terence Tao to call for a “rapid rethink” of the entire research field.

A two-day, hands-on workshop for scientists and researchers ready to turn their expertise into actionNovember 2–3, 2026 | University of Calgary | Calgary, Alberta 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. each day | Doors open at 8:30 a.m. Room details to be announcedDo you want to get involved in science policy or advocacy but don’t know where to start? Then this workshop is for you! You care about an issue. You have knowledge and expertise that could contribute to better decisions. But figuring out where you fit, who to talk to, what to ask for, and how to actually make an impact can be much harder. Over two interactive days, Evidence for Democracy (E4D) will help you develop a concrete, realistic plan for engaging in science policy and advocacy. By the end of the workshop, you’ll have a practical guide to take your next step into advocacy. Finding Your Role in AdvocacyScientists and researchers can contribute to public policy in many different ways: as experts, advisers, communicators, knowledge brokers, advocates, or engaged members of their communities.

Psychopathy is not listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and it's not an official diagnosis any psychiatrist or psychologist will give. But the term is still widely used, especially in criminology, to describe a problematic cluster of personality traits. The triarchic model says psychopathic personalities have three key features: boldness, disinhibition, and meanness. A new study from clinical psychology researchers Ky Bray and Laura Drislane, both of the University of Mississippi, shows these traits can show up in people's writing, in ways that don't always fit with our stereotype of a 'psychopath'. Their results are published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences. "People tend to think of psychopathy as one thing, but it's actually multidimensional," Bray says. Everyone exhibits these traits to some degree. It's when they appear together, at high levels across the board, that things can get dark. "That's in part why there's a movement away from calling people 'psychopaths,' because we don't view psychopathy as a category," says Drislane.

A new study that tracked dogs' aging by reading tiny chemical tags on their DNA found that larger dogs aged more quickly.

Cyberattack on French supermarkets tells us more about food security than AI safety Experts know little about the motives of the hackers who remotely turned up the temperature on French supermarket refrigerators. Their methods, however, are far from science fiction.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump joined some of America’s most powerful tech leaders Thursday at a summit the White House billed as the start of a “golden age” of American science. Elon Musk, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, AMD CEO Lisa Su, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Dell founder Michael Dell gathered with Trump and a host of administration officials and scientific luminaries for the Science: A New Golden Age Summit at the U. S. Institute of Peace. “We live in an age of American wonders and technological marvels, and with the help of the brilliant men and women here today, we will always be on top,” Trump said. Trump awarded the National Medal of Science to Musk, Brin, Huang and Su. He awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to Nadella and Dell. Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, addresses the audience Thursday afternoon at the U. S. Institute of Peace. Jared Perlo / NBC NewsTrump presented each of the recipients with medals and certificates of honor, later asking some of their families to join him onstage to take photos.

A 9 million-year-old capybara tooth was found in the Atacama Desert, a surprising find given that these rodents love water.

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Skip to mainThu, October 8, 2026 at 9:16 p.m. UTCPresident Donald Trump honored billionaire tech leaders including SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella for their contributions to America, hours after Microsoft was targeted by the administration over foreign workers. Five of the six honorees are immigrants.

United States President Donald Trump has awarded the country’s most prestigious honours in science and engineering to executives from top technology firms including SpaceX, Alphabet, Microsoft and Nvidia. On Thursday, Trump presented the National Medal of Science to billionaire SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Lisa Su of the semiconductor firm AMD. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump, tech bosses sign voluntary pact pledging ‘robust’ AI safeguardslist 2 of 3What are the world’s biggest AI companies and how much are they worth?list 3 of 3US suspends Microsoft and Adobe from visa programme amid fraud claimsend of listTwo more recipients received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation: Michael Dell of Dell Technologies and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. At the award ceremony, Trump credited the honourees with “helping pioneer an incredible future for America”. “Because of these people here, we will always be on top. No one else can compete with us,” Trump said. Five of the six people receiving medals on Thursday were born outside the US.

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Each year, the Celebrate! Teaching. Learning. Research event recognizes and honours some of the University of Alberta's most outstanding individuals. On Oct. 6, 2026, faculty, staff and students came together to celebrate their achievements. Teaching, learning and walking alongside one another in INT D222: Indigenous Health

Here, Brice Ménard, an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University and a researcher at Anthropic, explains how he worked with Claude Science to produce the first complete map of the sky in UV light. The map will be a valuable educational tool, allowing students to see in detail the rich structure of the Milky Way visible at this wavelength. The entire sky, with the galactic center in the middle, in the ultraviolet (combining far-UV 154 nm and near-UV 232 nm). About a third of this map, including much of the galactic plane, was predicted with Claude Science using the method outlined in this post. Additional layers of the map label each pixel as “measured” or “predicted” and provide uncertainty estimates; you can see it here. When I teach astrophysics, I often begin by showing my students that the sky looks completely different depending on the wavelength you observe it in. Each brings out different features. In visible light, one mainly sees stars. Switching to infrared reveals the glow of tiny grains of dust concentrated in a band along the Milky Way. In radio waves, the stars and dust fade and hydrogen gas—the raw material from which new stars form—becomes visible.