May 16th, 2025 - For centuries, alchemists tried to unlock the ability to turn lead into gold. They believed the right mystical process or chemical concoction could transform one base metal into a precious one. While their methods never worked, their dream wasn't as far-fetched as it once seemed. Now, modern physicists have pulled it off—no magic required. The key to success lies in understanding atomic structure . The only difference between a lead atom and a gold atom is three protons. Lead has 82, gold has 79. So, in theory, stripping three protons from a lead nucleus should result in gold. The ... [Read More]

May 16th, 2025 - Orange cats have a unique genetic mutation that gives them their special coats — and this mutation also explains why so many of them are male, two new studies find. Many animals have orange hair, including some humans, but only in domestic cats are males more likely to be orange than females. Researchers have long known there must be something special about ginger cat genetics, and with this newly identified mutation, they've finally solved the mystery. The mutation deletes a section of the cat's DNA, and increases the activity of a gene in X chromosomes — thread-like structures ... [Read More]

May 16th, 2025 - Ancient fossils are challenging what we thought we knew about the evolution of tree frogs in the Southern Hemisphere. The tiny creature, unearthed from southeastern Queensland, is changing the estimated timeline by tens of millions of years. Scientists at UNSW Sydney have identified Litoria tylerantiqua as Australia's earliest known tree frog, pushing the family's history back to around 55 million years ago. This is far earlier than the previously accepted date of 33 million years for when Australian and South American tree frogs were believed to have split on the evolutionary tree. ... [Read More]

May 16th, 2025 - Was Mars a friendly planet for water, even life, in its ancient past? Huge channel networks run across its surface. Rocks show signs of water immersion. Yet pictures sent back from NASA's Curiosity and Perseverance rover missions continue to show their tracks in the endless desert. Where did the water come from, how much of it was there, and why did it leave? While the question of water is massively complex, a recent study in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets adds to the debate about how ancient water flowed – from the Red Planet's still icy poles, or in a water cycle that ... [Read More]

May 15th, 2025 - Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more . Hundreds of obsidian artifacts have revealed where the Aztecs acquired the volcanic glass they used for tools, ornamental pieces or religious objects centuries ago — and their vast trade networks included their rivals. A new study of the 788 pieces is the largest sample of obsidian artifacts ever analyzed for Tenochtitlán, which served as the capital city of the Aztecs — also known as the Mexica people — according to the ... [Read More]

May 15th, 2025 - Cicada season is officially here. For the next few weeks these raucous insects will swarm across several states before disappearing around mid-summer. 2025 is expecting one of the largest cicada broods, which means over the course of this month billions of these flying insects will make their appearance. The Greater Eastern Brood is expected to emerge this summer, and it's the oldest brood in the US. Thirteen states can expect to deal with cicadas, and they've already been spotted in parts of Tennessee and Georgia.  I still remember the first year I saw a major cicada brood emerge. As a ... [Read More]

May 15th, 2025 - A new genomics study has revealed that the longest migration of early humans was from Asia more than 100,000 years ago, covering more than 20,000km on foot. The researchers say understanding this migration and modern genetic diversity can assist in developing better tools to deal with medicine and public health problems in modern populations. The journey took the ancient people from North Asia across the ice bridge that once spanned the Bering Strait to North America, all the way down to the southern tip of South America. The trip would have taken thousands of years. The study, published in ... [Read More]

May 15th, 2025 - The sun has released several powerful M- and X-class solar flares over the past few days, resulting in radio blackouts around the world. The sun has had an active few days, firing several powerful solar flares and (plumes of searing-hot solar material out into space. On Tuesday (May 13), a sunspot on the sun's surface named AR4086 exploded, releasing an X1.2-class solar flare , part of the most powerful category of flare. Then, during the early hours of Wednesday (May 14), another sunspot named AR4087 spat out an M5.3 flare, followed by an even more powerful X2.7 flare , and yet another M7.7 ... [Read More]