Science

Microplastics have spread into nearly every corner of the environment. These tiny plastic particles have been found in ocean water, drinking water, and even inside the human body. Although their presence is well documented, scientists are still working to understand what prolonged exposure could mean for human health. Researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) have now identified a potential health concern involving polyethylene, one of the most widely used plastics in the world. Their findings suggest that polyethylene microplastics may contribute to fatty liver disease, particularly when exposure occurs alongside an unhealthy diet.

This story is an update to the Arctic sea ice feature in our World of Change series, which tracks long-term change on Earth's surface through satellite imagery. A layer of frozen seawater caps the Arctic Ocean. This sea ice grows through the long polar winter, usually peaking in March, then melts through the summer to its annual low in September. It is a natural fluctuation that has persisted for millennia. But satellite records show the ice now covers less of the Arctic Ocean at its annual maximum and minimum than it did a few decades ago.

Parque Botânico Vale and Parque Costeiro host activities combining leisure, science, culture and environmental education throughout the week. Parque Botânico Vale – Credit: Vitor NogueiraVitória (ES), October 2026 – Vale's parks in Espírito Santo have prepared a free program to celebrate Children's Day. Among the highlights, Parque Botânico Vale will stay open late for a night of science and astronomy and, the following day, will host Disquinho Voador, the children's version of the traditional Baile Disco Voador (Flying Saucer Dance). Parque Costeiro will also offer special activities, including an educational experience about marine biodiversity. At Parque Botânico Vale, the program takes place on October 10 and 11. Activities include storytelling, sports games, face painting, circus arts and music. The main highlight will be the park's night opening on Saturday (10), when the amphitheater will host Noites Quânticas – Ciência no Parque (Quantum Nights – Science in the Park), produced by Lumiar Ambiental and led by science communicator Walter Có, who invites the public to explore science and astronomy topics in an interactive outdoor experience.

Archaeologists are currently excavating a large area at one of Norway’s most spectacular burial sites: the Hunn burial ground in eastern Norway. On what is known as the South Field, there are many well-known circles of standing stones. Archaeologist Anne Lene Melheim points out the stone circles that have stood here for more than 2,000 years. Alongside the already known stone circles, archaeologists have now uncovered what they believe to be additional stone circles that had remained hidden beneath the topsoil. The discovery was made in a new area near what is known as the West Field. Anne Lene Melheim on her way out to the South Field at Hunn.

Optogenetics, IceCube and the Soai reaction all waited two to four decades for the call from Stockholm

Image: Shutterstock.comWe all make them, and we all make them at work: mistakes on the job happen regardless of line of work, experience, and gender. How employees feel about them and how they are perceived by others, however, differs. Between men and women, the latter are more likely to perceive mistakes more negatively – but this depends on with whom they are sharing the office, a new Frontiers in Organizational Psychology study has shown. “On paper, a mistake carries the same consequences whoever makes it, and that is exactly what we found. But formal rules aren’t culture,” said lead author Dr Grace Lordan at the London School of Economics. “In teams that are three-quarters or more male, women told us they feel less comfortable admitting a mistake and less confident it will be treated as something to learn from. Where women are in the majority, that gap vanishes.”Women at workFor their study, the team surveyed how comfortable employees would be admitting mistakes, how likely they are to believe they’d be penalized for making them, and whether they’d consider them as a learning opportunity. Over 1,400 employees in the UK financial service sector participated.

A common vitamin D supplement may have an unexpected effect inside the body. Research published in 2025 found that taking vitamin D2 can reduce levels of vitamin D3, the form humans naturally make when skin is exposed to sunlight. That distinction matters because vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 are often treated as interchangeable sources of the same nutrient. Both can increase overall vitamin D status, but a growing body of evidence indicates that D3 is generally more effective at raising and maintaining the main form of vitamin D measured in the blood. Current guidance from the U. S. National Institutes of Health reflects that evidence, noting that D3 tends to raise vitamin D levels more and keep them elevated for longer than D2.

IntroductionGaining a detailed understanding of ultrafast charge and spin currents is vital for the development of next-generation technologies, from highly efficient solar cells and optimized light-driven chemical reactions to terahertz (THz) data-processing devices1,2,3. In this context, the femtosecond (fs) time and nanometer (nm) length scales are of particular importance. These spatiotemporal scales not only match the dimensions of modern electronic and spin-orbitronic devices that are envisioned to operate at ultrafast THz rates but also coincide with the native ranges that govern the relaxation of electronic systems in terms of energy, as well as linear and angular momentum4. Despite this, experimental approaches that combine such resolutions are scarce5, often providing only indirect insights through experimentally demanding setups6,7,8. Consequently, there is an urgent need for probes capable of simultaneously capturing fs charge and spin transport at the nanoscale9. An established tool to measure ultrafast spin and charge photocurrents with fs time resolution is far-field THz-emission spectroscopy (TES)10.

In a mountain village in the heart of Sardinia, Italy, something very special appears to be happening. On the same island, roughly 20 years ago, scientists identified the world's first so-called 'Blue Zone' – a geographical cluster in Sardinia where people demonstrated "extreme longevity". Now, in the small town of Bolotana, approximately 110 kilometers to the west of the original Blue Zone, researchers may have found another such site of exceptional longevity. In a new study published in Frontiers in Aging, scientists found evidence that women in particular in Bolotana tend to live extremely long lives. Sunset over Bolotana. (S. Jay Olshansky/Marisa Montibeller)Based on their analysis, which used demographic data from 2021–2025, an average 70-year-old woman in Bolotana has a remaining life expectancy of 20.85 years, compared with 18.61 years for Nuoro Province (in which Bolotana is located), 18.4 years for Sardinia overall, and 18.06 years across Italy.

image: Digital Science's metaphactory is now available on the SAP® Store. metaphactory integrates with the SAP HANA® Cloud Knowledge Graph Engine, delivering a seamless, AI-ready knowledge graph experience to customers. Digital Science today announced that its metaphactory is now available on SAP® Store, the online marketplace for SAP and partner offerings. metaphactory integrates with SAP HANA® Cloud Knowledge Graph Engine and delivers a faster route from enterprise data to knowledge graphs that SAP customers can model, explore and build AI applications on.

School of Computing Science News & Events News 2026 CS graduand Brandon Lee takes computing science beyond the code into health research As Brandon Jarrett Lee crosses the convocation stage this October, he is preparing to continue his work at The Digital Democracies Institute (DDI) at SFU, where he uses computing science to support research on vaccine hesitancy and health communications in Canada.

Film TourMaggie Voisin, Teal Harle, and Nick McNutt head to Japan for the latest segment from TGR’s "Actually, It Is Rocket Science". Oct 07, 2026Popular StoriesJapan has a way of making a good forecast look even better. Maggie Voisin, Teal Harle, and Nick McNutt, spent part of their season chasing storm cycles across Japan, finding deep snow along the way and plenty of good food in between. Film TourMaggie Voisin Breaks Down the Science of SkiingJapan delivered the kind of conditions that make you forget about everything else for a while. From the first flakes to the last run, this was Japan at its best. Watch the full Japan segment from Actually, It Is Rocket Science now. Sign Up for the TGR Gravity Check Newsletter NowReinvent your morning scroll with the TGR Gravity Check Newsletter — your source for exclusive stories, breaking news, and first looks at the content you actually care about. Everything action sports and outdoor culture, all in one place. Welcome to Gravity Check.100% Free. No Spam. Unsubscribe any time. FeaturingLocationsRelated TopicsChris FureyContent ManagerI’m an extreme sports athlete focused on speedflying, foiling, wakesurfing, skiing, and climbing.