Animals
These sick baby ants sacrifice themselves to protect their colony
When infected by a fungal disease, ant pupae actively emit a chemical cue that prompts workers to get rid of them for the good of the colony.
All Topics
Chemistry
Earth
Earth
Some of 2025’s scientific discoveries broke records
Longest lightning, the first AI-generated genomes and biggest black hole smashup were among this year’s top science superlatives.
Humans
Science & Society
These scientific discoveries brought us joy in 2025
Amidst a tough year for science, glimmers of joy burst through in revelations from the silly to the sublime.
Life
Animals
In a Quebec park, a science game brings predator-prey dynamics to life
Results show that players’ choices echo predator-prey patterns seen in wildlife, though scientists stress the limits of the analogy.
Math
Physics
There’s math behind this maddening golf mishap
Math and physics explain the anguish of a golf ball that zings around the rim of the hole instead of falling in.
Physics
Physics
Here’s the science behind nuclear weapons testing
Nuclear weapons haven’t been tested in the United States since 1992. Find out why, and what could happen if the hiatus ends.
Science & Society
Physics
Here’s the science behind nuclear weapons testing
Nuclear weapons haven’t been tested in the United States since 1992. Find out why, and what could happen if the hiatus ends.
Space
Astronomy
Galaxies with ‘hoop skirts’ are more common than we thought
The discovery of thousands more galaxies with stars ringing their main disks could help astronomers study galactic evolution more generally.
Tech
Artificial Intelligence
A quantum trick helps trim bloated AI models
Machine learning techniques that make use of tensor networks could manipulate data more efficiently and help open the black box of AI models.
