- February 12, 2026
Hunter-gatherers took refuge in European ‘water world’ for millennia
The Bell Beaker culture, named after a type of ceramic vessel, arose in Europe from around 2800 BC.Credit: Lanmas/Alamy A western European ‘water world’ was
US grant applicants surge at prestigious European research agency
Money could become harder to come by for European scientists if the overall European Research Council pot does not dramatically increase.Credit: Ulrich Baumgarten via Getty
NASA’s latest telescope is a feat of early-career leadership
Pandora’s launch marks a first for many of the scientists and engineers involved in the mission.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center On the morning of
China’s relationship with foreign scientific powers is changing rapidly
A new study shows most elite researchers in China remained in the country over the course of their careers.Credit: An Yuan/China News Service/VCG/Getty Deng Xiaoping’s
This robot hand detaches and walks by itself
Human hands are incredibly dexterous tools — but they have their limits. They are asymmetric, they have only a single thumb and, fundamentally, they’re connected
What were the first animals? The fierce sponge–jelly battle that just won’t end
Which animals came first? For more than a century, most evidence suggested that sponges, immobile filter-feeders that lack muscles, neurons and other specialized tissues, were
Guinea-Bissau suspends US-funded vaccine trial as African scientists question its motives
Guinea-Bissau will implement a universal birth-dose policy for the Hepatitis B vaccine in 2027.Credit: Enrique Lopez-Tapia/Nature Picture Library/Alamy Public-health authorities in Guinea-Bissau say that they
Baby-to-baby strain transmission shapes the developing gut microbiome
Cohort description and recruitment A total of 134 volunteers comprising babies (4–15 months old at nursery start, median 10 months, 18 male, 25 female) about to attend
How do vaccine cutbacks affect public health? Ask Japan
Despite having a strong healthcare system, vaccine hesitancy and mixed messages from government have curtailed some immunization efforts.Credit: Carl Court/Getty When US officials announced earlier
A ‘time capsule for cells’ stores the secret experiences of their past
Ribosomes, pictured here, synthesize proteins by translating messenger RNA (mRNA) into amino acid chains. Credit: Christoph Burgstedt/Science Photo Library Researchers have engineered a time capsule
