Apr 16th, 2026 - Scientists who analysed nearly 16,000 ancient remains suggest red hair and fair skin is favoured for vitamin D production People with red hair who have put up with teasing or "fiery" stereotypes may be pleased to learn that they appear to be winners from an evolutionary perspective. A large genetics study has revealed that, in Europe, the gene for red hair has been actively selected for more than 10,000 years. The study did not aim to uncover the reasons for the trend, but focused on the broader question of whether human evolution has plateaued since the advent of agriculture. By analysing ... [Read More]

Apr 15th, 2026 - An asteroid the size of three football fields will pass near Earth in three years, giving scientists a rare chance to study a colossal space rock from close range. Named Apophis — after the ancient Egyptian deity known as the "god of chaos" — the asteroid is expected to zoom past the planet on April 13, 2029, according to NASA . It will come within about 20,000 miles of Earth's surface, which is closer than many orbiting satellites, the agency said. The highest satellites typically orbit around 22,000 miles above the equator. Scientists consider Apophis to be "a potentially ... [Read More]

Apr 15th, 2026 - Detailed imaging of a 250-million-year-old fossil has revealed the first proof that the ancestors of mammals laid eggs. The discovery answers a long-standing question about the reproductive biology of our ancient forerunners and hints at how they managed to flourish in the aftermath of the biggest mass extinction in Earth's history. Scientists have long assumed that the ancestors of mammals—a group known as the therapsids—laid eggs like today's platypuses and echidnas do. But they lacked any direct evidence of synapsid eggs in the fossil record. In the new study , Julien Benoit ... [Read More]

Apr 15th, 2026 - The findings potentially resolve a long-standing issue with methanol conversion, which has tended to be clunky, inefficient, and environmentally detrimental. Reading time 3 minutes The right chemical formula can give mundane materials the most unlikely of makeovers. If you have any doubts, recent transformations, such as using forever chemicals to make lithium or recycling plastic using spent car fuel , will make you a believer. However, the most recent makeover might be the most eye-catching yet—considering it's literally lightning in a bottle. In a study published today in the ... [Read More]

Apr 15th, 2026 - Analysis shows whales' coda vocalizations are 'highly complex' and remarkably similar to our own We may appear to have little in common with sperm whales – enormous, ocean-dwelling animals that last shared a common ancestor with humans more than 90 million years ago. But the whales' vocalized communications are remarkably similar to our own, researchers have discovered. Not only do sperm whale have a form of " alphabet " and form vowels within their vocalizations but the structure of these vowels behaves in the same way as human speech, the new study has found. Sperm whales communicate ... [Read More]

Apr 15th, 2026 - A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com The invasion of the golden oyster mushroom is posing a threat to native species. And with temperatures warming, further expansion could lead to dire ecological consequences. The golden oyster mushroom was brought to the U.S. from Asia during the 2000s mostly because it "can grow quickly, which was a boon, as it's considered one of the most delicious mushrooms a forager can find," said Vice . What was once deemed a benefit turned out to be a threat. The bright yellow mushroom's ability ... [Read More]

Apr 15th, 2026 - Leaders of the Pacific Northwest's computing community gathered in downtown Seattle today to mark World Quantum Day — and Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson gave them one more reason to celebrate. Or rather, 500,000 reasons. Ferguson took the occasion to announce that $500,000 would be directed from the Governor's Economic Development Strategic Reserve Fund to support the expansion of IonQ's quantum computer manufacturing facility in Bothell, Wash. The 100,000-square-foot factory opened in 2024 and is ramping up production. Over the next 18 months, Maryland-based IonQ plans to add about 100 ... [Read More]

Apr 14th, 2026 - The biggest ever study of ancient human DNA shows that human evolution has accelerated over the past 10,000 years. Researchers identified hundreds of gene variants that evolved through natural selection in ancient people from western Eurasia — Europe and the Middle East — after the dawn of agriculture. Changes to these genes had widespread ramifications for the health of present-day populations. "We are seeing dramatic changes," says David Reich, a population geneticist at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, who co-led the 15 April Nature study 1 . However, some ... [Read More]