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Phys.org / Missing link in evolution of ancient fish found in 150-year-old museum specimen

A new species of coelacanth has been identified from a 150-year-old fossil housed at London's Natural History Museum. Former University of Portsmouth paleontology student Jack L. Norton located the coelacanth, which provides ...

Apr 21, 2026
Phys.org / Simple ocean-based model forecasts a powerful El Niño, over 2 °C warmer than normal

For decades, scientists have worked to improve predictions of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a climate powerhouse that can cause droughts, flooding, marine heat waves, and more around the world. Researchers from the ...

Apr 21, 2026
Phys.org / First gap-free peanut genomes reveal genes behind bigger seeds and better oils

An international team of researchers has produced complete, gap-free genome sequences for six peanut varieties, providing a comprehensive blueprint for future peanut breeding and improvement strategies.

Apr 24, 2026
Tech Xplore / OpenAI launches GPT-5.5 as rivals race to build more autonomous AI assistants

OpenAI released a new model it touts as its best yet for handling research work like making improved versions of itself, as rapid-fire releases by AI rivals pick up pace.

Apr 24, 2026
Science X / These ants can strip cocoa bare, but one farm tree changes the whole battle

Cocoa cultivation in so-called agroforestry systems is widespread in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. There, cocoa plants grow alongside other trees in the same area. The problem is that leaf cutter ants also like to build ...

Apr 23, 2026
Phys.org / Beneath Arctic ice, a vast fossil fuel footprint is colliding with Indigenous lands and wildlife

Arctic fossil fuel development shows significant overlaps with Indigenous communities and ecologically sensitive areas, which might support calls from some scientists to keep Arctic fossil fuels in the ground, according to ...

Apr 22, 2026
Phys.org / Life's earliest proteins may have folded into complex shapes with far fewer amino acids

How did the earliest life on Earth build complex biological machinery with so few tools? A new study explores how the simplest building blocks of proteins—once limited to just half of today's amino acids—could still form ...

Apr 23, 2026
Phys.org / Riding the quantum wave: Quasiparticles reveal a magneto-optical transport phenomenon

Excitons are being explored in materials science and information technology as a means of storing light. These luminous quasiparticles move through individual layers of quantum materials and can absorb and emit light with ...

Apr 23, 2026
Medical Xpress / Baby teeth and brain imaging reveal how early-life metal exposures shape brain development and behavior

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai report that early-life exposure to common environmental metals may influence brain development and behavioral health more than a decade later. The study, published ...

Apr 24, 2026
Medical Xpress / Vitamin D may help prevent diabetes, depending on genes

More than two in five U.S. adults have prediabetes, a condition marked by higher-than-normal blood sugar levels that often leads to type 2 diabetes. A new study finds that vitamin D may help delay or prevent that progression, ...

Apr 23, 2026
Phys.org / Moon dust could stop being a nuisance and start reshaping how humans may build beyond Earth

As space agencies and private companies look toward a sustained human presence on the moon, a fundamental challenge centers on how to build strong, durable infrastructure without hauling every material from Earth. New research ...

Apr 23, 2026
Medical Xpress / Exploiting a new vulnerability that targets 'zombie' cells as an anticancer therapy

A new set of drugs exploit a recently revealed weakness in "zombie-like"—or senescent—cells that could lead to new treatments for cancer and age-associated diseases. The study from the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) ...

Apr 24, 2026