Science Daily

This 23-foot crocodylian may have ruled South America’s food chain

Miocene South America was packed with giant prey—and the predators hunting them were just as spectacular. Fossil bite marks suggest crocodylians, especially the enormous Purussaurus neivensis, were more important predators than mammals in this ancient tropical ecosystem. At around seven meters long, Purussaurus may even have helped control populations of giant herbivores.

science  Aug 19, 2026

Science Daily

16 mummies and a dog reveal a hidden order inside an ancient Egyptian tomb

A tomb in Egypt’s Theban Necropolis reveals a surprisingly organized story of burial, reuse, and changing beliefs spanning hundreds of years. Researchers found 16 mummified people, the remains of at least four more, and a mummified dog, with burials ranging from wealthy individuals laid in coffins with amulets and imported goods to later bodies carefully stacked in increasingly crowded spaces.

science  Aug 19, 2026

Science Daily

Breast cancer is surging among Asian American women — and scientists don’t know why

Breast cancer is rising rapidly among Asian American women, with some of the most alarming increases occurring in younger women and in aggressive or advanced cancers. Researchers say screening alone can't explain the surge, suggesting important risk factors may still be undiscovered.

science  Aug 19, 2026

Science Daily

Japanese scientists use tiny silver particles to make DNA assembly up to 5x more efficient

Silver nanoparticles can precisely slice DNA and create longer “sticky ends,” helping genetic fragments join up to five times more efficiently than conventional methods. The breakthrough could eventually simplify the construction of large DNA sequences for gene therapies, cancer vaccines, engineered drugs, and advanced crops.

science  Aug 19, 2026

NASA News

Behind the Lens: Meet NASA Johnson’s Photographers

Photographers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston have documented some of the most defining moments in human spaceflight.  From astronaut training and engineering tests to mission control operations and milestone celebrations, their images preserve the history of exploration while capturing the people and teams behind the missions shaping the next era.   Meet the photographers behind the lens and explore the […]

science  Aug 19, 2026

The Guardian Science

Plantwatch: Cities make a surprising refuge for threatened UK wildflowers

Nooks and crannies in urban areas provide a welcome alternative to intensive farming and other rural pressuresWildflowers are having a rough time in the countryside, mostly from the onslaught of intensive farming with fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides and less grazing. On top of that, there are building developments, competition from invasive plant species and the climate crisis to contend with.The UK has lost 97% of its wildflower meadows over the last century and over half of the country’

science  Aug 19, 2026

NASA News

APOD: 2026 August 19 – The Case of the Mysterious Maybe Meteor

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 19 – The… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. To view […]

science  Aug 19, 2026

The Guardian Science

The moment SpaceX Starship spotted off Christmas Island landed in Indian Ocean – video

Footage streamed by SpaceX shows the moment Elon Musk’s 52-metre Starship Flight 13 landed in the Indian Ocean west of Australia. The rocket landed in the ocean on 24 July. Nearly four weeks later, it was recovered off the coast of Christmas Island Continue reading...

science  Aug 19, 2026

The Guardian Science

Shrews may grow bigger snouts in winter to cope with cold air, scientists say

Study of long-clawed shrew skulls from Japan shows that while skulls get smaller in winter, snouts elongateHumans turn to heated blankets and fluffy socks to cope with winter, but long-clawed shrews have a very different adaptation: they increase the size of their snouts.Researchers have previously discovered that certain small mammals, including the common shrew and European mole, reversibly shrink their body mass, skull size and brain mass in winter, with regrowth seen in the spring – a strate

science  Aug 18, 2026

Science Daily

Widely prescribed blood pressure drugs linked to 33% higher kidney risk in type 2 diabetes

A widely prescribed blood pressure drug was associated with a 33% higher risk of serious kidney problems in people with type 2 diabetes, even when they were already taking kidney-protective medications. The surprising finding is prompting researchers to question whether DCCBs are always the safest second-line choice for diabetic kidney disease.

science  Aug 18, 2026

Science Daily

Tiny robots powered by light can hunt down and collect bacteria

Researchers have built microscopic, light-driven robots that can rapidly navigate through liquid, collect bacteria, and deposit them in chosen locations. These tiny “cleaners” could open new possibilities for manipulating cells and microbes with remarkable precision.

science  Aug 18, 2026

NASA News

NASA’s LRO Images Falcon 9 Crater on Moon, Learns New Details

Between Aug. 11 and 12, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured a series of images of a new crater on the Moon. The crater formed on Aug. 5, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage impacted the surface following its January 2025 launch of the Firefly Blue Ghost 1 mission. To capture imagery of the […]

science  Aug 18, 2026

NASA News

NASA Student Aviation Challenge Focuses on Nation’s Infrastructure

NASA’s next Gateways to Blue Skies competition invites collegiate teams to imagine innovative new ways aircraft could inspect land-based infrastructure, such as bridges and tunnels, to improve safety, reliability, and costs by 2035 or sooner. Infrastructure is the foundation of the nation’s strong economy, global competitiveness, and daily quality of life. When that infrastructure is […]

science  Aug 18, 2026

Science Daily

Scientists discover a natural Arctic cloud factory missing from climate models

A newly discovered Arctic process can dramatically boost the number of particles that help form clouds. Near melting sea ice, sunlight reacts with chemicals released by the ocean, algae, and ice, causing cloud-seeding particles to multiply by as much as 50 times in a day. Because the active ice-edge region is growing as sea ice retreats, the effect could become increasingly important. Scientists now want to add the process to climate models to see how much it could reshape Arctic warming.

science  Aug 18, 2026

Science Daily

Mysterious waves sweeping across your brain may help turn sensory chaos into what you see

Traveling electrical waves sweeping across the brain may help determine what we notice, predict what comes next, and construct our internal picture of the world. Researchers now argue that these waves aren't just background activity—they could be a core computational engine behind perception and memory.

science  Aug 18, 2026

NASA News

NASA’s B777 Gets New Coat of Paint

NASA’s Boeing 777 shows off a new paint job in this Aug. 11, 2026, photo. The B777 was acquired to replace and extend the capabilities of the NASA DC-8, which was retired in 2024. The B777, set to begin operations from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia in 2027, will be a unique flying […]

science  Aug 18, 2026

NASA News

NASA Glenn’s Legacy Forged Through Decades of Flight Research

Many of NASA’s most important aerospace breakthroughs that began in the laboratory were ultimately proven in the sky. For decades, experts at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland conducted flight tests — piloting aircraft into targeted environments such as icing clouds and carefully defined atmospheric routes. This approach allowed them to collect measurements directly in flight, providing critical data […]

science  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian Science

The ultra rich are collecting fossils. And that’s bad for science - video

One of the UK’s best fossil collections has been sold overseas in what experts have called a loss to the nation. The collection, which is now on display at the Natural History Museum in Abu Dhabi, was gathered on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. As dinosaur fossils sell to private collectors for increasingly large sums, scientists are worried that domestic museums are being priced out of the market, and in turn scientists are missing out on the opportunity to make new observations. To find out how fossi

science  Aug 18, 2026

Science Daily

Scientists may have finally proved that “empty” space isn’t really empty

A magnetar’s colossal magnetic field may have revealed a quantum effect predicted by Werner Heisenberg nearly 90 years ago, in which seemingly empty space alters the behavior of light. If confirmed, the discovery could offer the first direct evidence of vacuum birefringence and open a new window into the strange physics of the quantum vacuum.

science  Aug 18, 2026

Science Daily

Einstein’s biggest “mistake” came back — and changed cosmology forever

Einstein’s abandoned cosmological constant made a spectacular comeback when astronomers discovered that the universe’s expansion is accelerating. It now sits at the heart of our best cosmological model—a model that works extraordinarily well, yet may still be wrong.

science  Aug 18, 2026