Climate

California wildfire season should be over. So why is L.A. burning?

In some parts of California, fire season is now year-round due to rising heat and little rain. High winds and dry conditions are fueling L.A.’s infernos.

Particle Physics

Cosmic rays could help reveal how tornadoes form

Subatomic particles called muons could measure pressure changes in supercell thunderstorms and the twisters they kick up.

Animals

More new geckos have been found hiding in Southeast Asia’s limestone towers 

Nearly 200 new gecko species found in living in karst landscapes reveal the rugged regions as dynamic areas of speciation.

Animals

Poop is on the menu for a surprising number of animals

A new tally finds dozens of species giving food a second go-round, from babies boosting their microbiomes to adults seeking easier-to-access nutrition.

Health & Medicine

Is alcohol linked to cancer? Here’s what the science says

A new U.S. Surgeon General's report describes the link between drinking alcohol and developing cancer. Many Americans aren’t aware of the risk.

Health & Medicine

What to know about the first bird flu–related death in the U.S.

H5N1 has infected 66 people in the United States since early 2024, mostly causing mild illness. A Louisiana man was the first to get severely sick.

Animals

‘Forever chemicals’ are causing health problems in some wildlife

Deformed scales in hatchlings and biomarkers indicative of disease progression are two health impacts on turtles at PFAS-polluted sites in Australia.

Health & Medicine

AI helps doctors detect more breast cancer in the largest real-world study

AI is as good as clinicians at interpreting mammograms, a cancer study with nearly 500,000 participants in Germany suggests.

Planetary Science

Pluto may have captured its moon Charon with a kiss

When Pluto met Charon, there was an instant connection, new simulations suggest.

Animals

Velvet ants have the Swiss Army knife of venoms

A velvet ant bite like “hot oil from the deep fryer” delivers an array of peptides that inflicts pain on insects and mammals alike.

Neuroscience

The unique neural wiring of the human hippocampus may maximize memory

Living tissue from the memory centers of people’s brains reveals sparse nerve cell connections that provide strong, reliable signaling between cells.

Particle Physics

A major new neutrino experiment is nearing completion

The JUNO experiment, which will study the ways of the electrically neutral subatomic particles, will be the largest of its kind.