scientists

New data indicates the current El Niño is the strongest ever recorded, driving a major shift in global weather patterns. The warming of the eastern Pacific is expected to bring droughts, floods and altered rainfall across multiple continents, with scientists warning communities to prepare for extreme conditions. The findings have prompted widespread discussion among climate experts and the public about what the record-strength event means for weather forecasts, agriculture and disaster planning worldwide.

Researchers are developing new methods to control mosquitoes as warming temperatures lengthen mosquito seasons and expand the range of dangerous diseases such as malaria and dengue. The mosquito kills more people than any other animal on Earth, and scientists warn that longer warm periods give the insects more time to spread illness, prompting renewed focus on innovative control strategies.

The Trump administration is retreating from a proposed executive order that would have increased White House control over National Institutes of Health grant decisions. Reporting by Semafor says the plan to tighten oversight of NIH funding appears to be dead after significant pushback from scientists, universities and lawmakers, who warned it would politicise medical research funding decisions.

A new report says global temperatures have reached record highs as the El Niño climate pattern strengthens in the Pacific. El Niño, which warms ocean surface waters and alters weather worldwide, is adding to the underlying warming trend driven by greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists warn the combination could push average temperatures to new extremes in the coming months, with implications for heatwaves, droughts and storms across many regions.

NASA's Perseverance rover has found that Jezero Crater on Mars was more complex than once believed, revealing evidence beyond its known history as an ancient lake. The discovery suggests the crater experienced a richer and more varied geological past, with implications for the search for signs of ancient microbial life on the Red Planet.

Scientists are conducting a large-scale research effort near the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana, working to predict the future of the region's coast and ecosystems. The work is described as 'a massive effort' and focuses on how the river, land loss and environmental change will shape the delta in the decades ahead.

Scientists in Germany are preparing to copy and store vast troves of American climate data, fearing the Trump administration could alter, restrict, or remove federal climate records. The effort has been likened to building an ark, preserving scientific information outside the United States in case it becomes unavailable at home, and has drawn attention as researchers weigh risks to publicly funded datasets.

Researchers report identifying a molecular switch triggered by stress that appears to drive depression, according to a report by Bioengineer.org. The finding could shed light on how chronic stress produces changes in the brain that lead to depressive symptoms, potentially opening new avenues for treatment. Details of the underlying study, including the research team, publication venue and evidence, were not provided in available coverage.

A new report claims the solar system's first planets were worlds of fire rather than ice, challenging the long-held picture of the earliest planetary bodies forming in cold, icy conditions far from the sun. The suggestion points to a hotter, more violent beginning for planet formation than scientists have typically assumed, and it is drawing attention from space enthusiasts and researchers questioning how the planets we know today first came together.

Scientists are examining whether species can adapt genetically quickly enough to keep pace with rapid climate change. The core concern is that rising temperatures and shifting habitats are outpacing evolutionary change for many plants and animals, raising questions about extinction risks and which species may be able to adapt in time.

New research indicates Mercury is contracting more quickly than previously estimated. The smallest planet in the solar system has been cooling and shrinking for billions of years, causing its crust to buckle and form cliffs and ridges. The revised findings suggest this process is still active and accelerating relative to earlier models, prompting scientists to rethink how rocky planets cool over time.

Scientists have observed that the amount of dust in Earth's atmosphere has declined, reversing a previous trend. NBC News reports the shift is described as mysterious, with the cause of the reversal not yet explained. Dust in the atmosphere affects climate, air quality and weather patterns, so researchers are paying close attention to what is driving the change.

Researchers have developed a way to reshape light so it can control magnetic memory and alter a material's magnetic properties. The advance could open new paths for data storage technology, allowing magnetism to be manipulated optically rather than only through magnetic or electrical means. Details of the mechanism and which institutions were involved remain sparse.

NPR published a piece examining the search for life beyond Earth and whether scientists, institutions and the public are genuinely prepared if such a discovery were made. The article weighs current astrobiology efforts against the scientific, philosophical and practical questions that would follow a confirmed detection. Readers in science and space discussions are sharing the piece as interest in the search for extraterrestrial life continues to grow.

Negotiations on the EU's pesticides reduction law have reached a deadlock after European scientists called for a pause. EU officials face pressure to suspend talks on the Food and Feed legislation, with pushback coming both from the scientific community and from countries outside the bloc. The standoff leaves the fate of the bill uncertain.

Germany is reportedly creating an archive to preserve United States climate data, described as a digital Noah's Ark. The project is understood as a safeguard against the potential loss or removal of federal climate datasets, allowing scientists to keep access to long-term environmental records regardless of what happens to US government databases.

Guardian science writer Linda Geddes reports on the growing threat of wildfires in the UK, where hotter, drier summers are turning green landscapes into tinderboxes. Scientists are working to map, model and predict how fires spread so that outbreaks can be prevented or contained earlier, as Britain confronts a type of risk once seen mainly abroad.

Researchers subjected water to light roughly 10 billion times brighter than sunlight, expecting faster evaporation, but the water did not evaporate any quicker. The surprising null result challenges assumptions about how extremely intense light interacts with liquid water, and is drawing attention from physicists curious about what limits evaporation under such extreme conditions.

Scientists report identifying a previously unknown brain circuit that could explain why heart attacks often worsen after the initial event. The finding suggests the brain may trigger processes that compound damage to the heart in the hours and days following an attack. If confirmed, the discovery could open new avenues for treating patients after a heart attack and reducing long-term harm.

PBS NewsHour reports on scientists developing new ways to control mosquito populations as rising global temperatures expand the habitats where the insects and the diseases they carry can spread. The segment examines research approaches to targeting mosquitoes as warming climate conditions push the public health threat into previously unaffected regions.

Scientists report that the Earth's crust beneath Italy is 'unzipping,' a process they say is driving seismic activity along the Apennine mountain range. The finding offers a new explanation for the earthquakes that regularly strike the Italian peninsula and is drawing attention for its striking description of how the crust is gradually pulling apart.

Nasa scientists are travelling to observe a rare solar eclipse, according to BBC News. Eclipses offer researchers a brief window to study the Sun's corona and test instruments that cannot gather this data at any other time. Teams often deploy to remote viewing paths for just minutes of totality, making each event a costly, carefully planned scientific operation drawing public curiosity.

Anthropic says its Claude AI helped identify a previously unknown gene-editing enzyme, a claim that would be notable if verified. The company itself acknowledges the finding has not been independently confirmed or validated through peer review, so scientists are treating the announcement with caution until laboratory evidence backs it up.