Europe's most active volcano may have a secret origin

Mount Etna has fascinated geologists for decades. The towering volcano on the Italian island of Sicily is the most active in Europe, erupting several times a year, yet scientists have never fully understood how it formed.

Physicists created a tiny universe where time emerged without a clock

A physicist at the University of Birmingham has created a laboratory "mini universe" that brings scientists a step closer to answering one of the biggest questions in physics: What is time?

Mild enzymatic method gently refines algae oil for nutrition products

Algae oil is increasingly used as a sustainable source of important nutrients, including polyunsaturated fatty acids that support human health and development. One important example is arachidonic acid, or ARA, which is used in nutrition products such as infant formula and functional foods.

Newborn stars preserve organic-rich gas within ancient supernova debris

For the first time, astronomers have discovered stellar cocoons rich in complex organic molecules within a supernova remnant. A research team from Niigata University, Gifu University, RIKEN and Kyoto University in Japan used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to observe the remnant of a massive star that exploded about 1,600 years ago.

This Mars rover could finally reveal whether life ever existed on Mars

Mars was not always the cold, dry world we see today. Billions of years ago, scientists believe it may have been warm, wet, and wrapped in a much thicker atmosphere, creating conditions that could have supported simple microbial life. Even so, proving that life ever existed there remains one of the biggest challenges in planetary science.

Seeding clouds with seawater could prevent a super El Niño | New Scientist

Short-term geoengineering to brighten clouds over the eastern Pacific Ocean could limit the damage caused by El Niño and save the global economy trillions of dollars, although there could be winners and losers from the disruption of natural cycles.

Optimizing RNA design with AI and an Ising machine: Encoding matters

RNA has emerged as one of the most promising molecules in modern medicine, enabling advances from mRNA vaccines and gene therapies to genome editing and synthetic biology. However, designing RNA molecules that reliably fold into a desired secondary structure remains a major challenge. Even for relatively short sequences, the number of possible nucleotide combinations grows exponentially, making it difficult to identify optimal candidates. As a result, conventional computational methods often require extensive candidate evaluations, creating a significant bottleneck when experimental validation is both time-consuming and costly.

Moral framing reduces stigma around Fair Chance Hiring—legal compliance language does not, according to study

New Michigan State University-led research suggests the difference between a hiring policy that harms recruiting and one that doesn't may come down to just a few words.

The Mighty Dead: This is essential reading before watching the new Odyssey adaptation | New Scientist

California wolves feed heavily on cattle and their presence causes significant stress among livestock

Two new studies examining gray wolves in California paint a complex picture of life on the state's ranching landscapes: Wolves eat cattle more than anything else, and the presence of the predators causes significant stress among livestock.