Mar 11th, 2026 - Researchers found a magnetic star core acting as a high speed engine to power a record breaking luminous supernova. In December 2024, the ATLAS astronomical survey detected a distant flash of light. It was a supernova, the explosive death of a massive star, located far, far away, roughly a billion light-years away. But when Joseph Farah, a graduate student at Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) and UC Santa Barbara, looked at the continuous data streaming in, he noticed something highly unusual. The massive stellar explosion wasn't just fading smoothly into the dark. It was undulating, flashing ... [Read More]

Mar 11th, 2026 - When you think about magic mushrooms, you are likely thinking of Psilocybe cubensis, perhaps the most popular species. Where these fungi came from and how they evolved their psychoactive properties is somewhat of a mystery. But a newly discovered sister species could provide a clue. In a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B , researchers describe , a magic mushroom found in Africa that is similar to P. cubensis but a unique species. The new species has been misidentified as P. cubensis or other mushrooms for years, but the new study suggests that the two ... [Read More]

Mar 10th, 2026 - A species of gut bacteria that proliferates as mice get older plays a part in cognitive decline, a study finds 1 . Researchers determined that the bacterium interferes with signalling along sensory nerves that connect to the brain. Although the experiments were conducted in mice, the gut–brain circuit that the team identified "is likely conserved in humans", says David Vauzour, a biochemist at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK. That would need to be confirmed, but if the circuit is present in humans, then this research could reveal a mechanism that explains why people's ... [Read More]

Mar 10th, 2026 - These tiny teeth prove that our earliest relatives moved across North America much faster than we thought. Sixty-six million years ago, a massive asteroid smashed into Earth. Life has undergone at least five mass extinctions in the last 500 million years, but this one particularly stands out. It wiped out all the non-avian dinosaurs and plunged the planet into a devastating ecological crisis. But out of the ashes of the Cretaceous period, a new cast of characters quickly emerged. Among these apocalypse survivors was Purgatorius . This tiny, shrew-sized mammal scampered through the recovering ... [Read More]

Mar 10th, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google Our Sun may seem like the center of the universe to us, but it's actually on the move, orbiting the Milky Way galaxy at a speed of nearly half a million miles per hour. That's fast, but it's nothing compared to a recently discovered star runaway that's blazing a trail across the cosmos. This stellar speedster, known as CWISE J124909+362116.0 (J1249+36 for short), is a low-mass star, or L subdwarf, that's not only hypervelocity but potentially on a trajectory to escape the Milky Way altogether. Runaway stars A runaway star is a star moving through space at an unusually ... [Read More]

Mar 10th, 2026 - Wandelt studies the connection between data and theory to unlock the secrets of the universe Benjamin Wandelt, a pioneer at the intersection of cosmology, statistics, and artificial intelligence, is transforming how we extract fundamental physics from astronomical data. Driven by a deep curiosity about the origins and structure of the universe and a passion for developing the computational tools needed to unlock its secrets, Wandelt studies the fundamental physics of the universe using a combination of astronomical observations, large-scale data analysis, and novel computational techniques. ... [Read More]

Mar 10th, 2026 - It's quick and easy to access Live Science Plus, simply enter your email below. We'll send you a confirmation and sign you up for our daily newsletter, keeping you up to date with the latest science news. Centuries before the Inca emerged, Amazonian parrots were carried alive across the Andes and raised in captivity on Peru's coast for their vibrant feathers. Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Get the Live Science Newsletter Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox. By submitting ... [Read More]

Mar 10th, 2026 - Hardy bacteria could survive the trip from one planet to another, hidden among the debris from an asteroid impact, a new study suggests, providing possible evidence for a theory that the seeds of life arrived on Earth from outer space. In a paper published March 3 in PNAS Nexus , a team of researchers tested whether the bacteria Deinococcus radiodurans , which thrives in the high deserts of Chile, is capable of surviving the crushing pressures generated when an asteroid strikes Mars and hurls debris into space. D. radiodurans is an extremophile — an organism adapted to extreme ... [Read More]