Science

Geology, paleontology, physics, space and the natural world

In Science, ECOnews reports on new discoveries in geology, paleontology, physics, space, health and the natural world. We explain the latest studies from universities and labs worldwide in plain language.

Rendering of the neurons in the central nervous system of a male fruit fly, from the brain to the nerve cord

Janelia scientists spent 18 years mapping every neuron in a male fruit fly, 166,700 cells and 125 million connections, and days after the map came out programmers had it playing Doom

By Javier Niño

—

October 1, 2026 at 3:48 PM

Purple deep-sea octopus on the seafloor off Trinidad and Tobago

Scientists on Trinidad and Tobago’s first locally led deep-sea expedition followed 219 bubble streams to 25 cold seeps and found at least 20 possible new species, including an octopus first seen in 2014

By Adrian Villellas

—

October 1, 2026 at 6:29 AM

Woman sitting in bed in the morning looking at her phone

Two Oregon State studies of 1,512 adults found social media support eased loneliness far less than real-life ties, and checking apps within 30 minutes of waking was tied to twice the odds of depression

By Adrian Villellas

—

September 30, 2026 at 4:57 PM

The new sea spider Callipallene pilosuspedes

Divers off British Columbia found two sea spider species new to science, the first described in the Salish Sea in almost a century, and one has red eyes and legs so spiny its name means hairy feet

By ECONEWS

—

September 30, 2026 at 3:02 PM

Specimens of the new red sponge Polycapus rubrum

NOAA scientists studying sponges collected in Alaska trawl surveys as early as 1997 identified nine deep-sea sponges new to science, including a red one so unusual that it needed a brand-new genus

By Adrian Villellas

—

September 30, 2026 at 12:33 PM

University students sitting and studying in a library

A study that tracked 1,967 people in Singapore with smart rings found university students averaging 20 moved 100 minutes less per day than adults in their 70s and spent over 10.5 hours a day sitting

By ECONEWS

—

September 30, 2026 at 10:13 AM

According to psychology, reading for pleasure may do more for your brain than you think, as a Cambridge review links it to better memory in 10,243 children and less cognitive decline later in life

By ECONEWS

—

September 30, 2026 at 6:34 AM

Squid numbers have climbed for decades and many blamed warming seas, but a Danish model found warmer water actually shrinks squid populations and the real driver is the overfishing of their predators

By ECONEWS

—

September 30, 2026 at 6:18 AM

Illustration of a predatory dinosaur hunting a diving bird

A 66-million-year-old feather found inside fossilized dinosaur poop in Montana belonged to a diving bird eaten by a predator, and its modern design may explain why some birds survived the asteroid

By Adrian Villellas

—

September 30, 2026 at 2:17 AM

Painted underworld figure on a wall of the Etruscan Tomb of the Blue Demons in Tarquinia, Italy

Echoes lasted more than seven seconds inside a 2,400-year-old Etruscan tomb in Tarquinia, and researchers think its builders designed it to unsettle mourners

By ECONEWS

—

September 29, 2026 at 7:09 PM

Prairie rattlesnakes and newborns seen on a livestream camera

Livestream cameras in California, Colorado and Pennsylvania caught rattlesnakes giving birth for the first time, with over 60 newborns in Colorado, and the footage shows mothers staying with their pups

By ECONEWS

—

September 29, 2026 at 4:59 PM

Illustration of an American cheetah chasing a saiga antelope

The Ice Age American cheetah was a close cousin of the puma, and fossils from Canada’s Yukon suggest northern populations ate salmon before the species faded through a slow decline, not a sudden collapse

By Adrian Villellas

—

September 29, 2026 at 3:03 PM

Scientists beside the submersible Alvin aboard a research ship

Scientists took the submersible Alvin 3 miles down to the world’s deepest known hydrothermal vents in the Caribbean to learn how shrimp find them in darkness, and they suspect an odd eye on their backs

By ECONEWS

—

September 29, 2026 at 12:32 PM

Bubblegum coral growing on the deep seafloor

Scientists pulled a pale coral from 2,200 feet deep off South America and found a chitin network never seen in this group, which may help bubblegum corals grow branches without a central skeleton

By Adrian Villellas

—

September 29, 2026 at 10:11 AM

Shipwreck on the seafloor off Queensland surrounded by fish

Scientists mapping a shipwreck off Queensland found 300 holes up to 26 feet wide spread 328 feet around it and suspect fish dug them, a pattern that once helped CSIRO find a ship lost for 74 years

By ECONEWS

—

September 28, 2026 at 6:33 PM

Asian elephant reaching into a transparent box for fruit

Scientists hid fruit in a box and taught 16 Asian elephants in Thailand to reach around it, then moved the opening and found they could drop a habit that no longer worked, though older ones took longer

By ECONEWS

—

September 28, 2026 at 3:04 PM

Tsushima leopard cat standing on the ground

On Japan’s Tsushima Island, researchers found leopard cats with short tails and feared domestic cats had crept into their family tree, but genome tests of 16 animals found no trace of that ancestry

By ECONEWS

—

September 28, 2026 at 10:17 AM

Bottlenose dolphin mother and calf surfacing together in the Gulf of Mexico

Scientists filmed a bottlenose dolphin calf handling a seashell just three minutes after its mother used the same shell while hunting, offering a rare clue that this unusual fishing technique may be passed between generations, although researchers say the brief encounter does not yet prove the calf learned it from its mother

By ECONEWS

—

September 28, 2026 at 6:32 AM

An Australian stick insect people had photographed for years only now received its own scientific name, and researchers also found a rainforest species whose eggs carry rings never seen before

By ECONEWS

—

September 27, 2026 at 5:22 PM

Black and white photo of Marie Curie working in her Paris laboratory in 1912

More than 120 years after Marie Curie’s experiments, some of her laboratory notebooks remain radioactively contaminated, but France’s national library says visitors behind glass receive essentially no additional radiation while the originals require strict handling controls because radium-226 has a half-life of about 1,600 years

By ECONEWS

—

September 27, 2026 at 2:57 PM

Science

Janelia scientists spent 18 years mapping every neuron in a male fruit fly, 166,700 cells and 125 million connections, and days after the map came out programmers had it playing Doom

Scientists on Trinidad and Tobago’s first locally led deep-sea expedition followed 219 bubble streams to 25 cold seeps and found at least 20 possible new species, including an octopus first seen in 2014

Two Oregon State studies of 1,512 adults found social media support eased loneliness far less than real-life ties, and checking apps within 30 minutes of waking was tied to twice the odds of depression

Divers off British Columbia found two sea spider species new to science, the first described in the Salish Sea in almost a century, and one has red eyes and legs so spiny its name means hairy feet

NOAA scientists studying sponges collected in Alaska trawl surveys as early as 1997 identified nine deep-sea sponges new to science, including a red one so unusual that it needed a brand-new genus

A study that tracked 1,967 people in Singapore with smart rings found university students averaging 20 moved 100 minutes less per day than adults in their 70s and spent over 10.5 hours a day sitting

According to psychology, reading for pleasure may do more for your brain than you think, as a Cambridge review links it to better memory in 10,243 children and less cognitive decline later in life

Squid numbers have climbed for decades and many blamed warming seas, but a Danish model found warmer water actually shrinks squid populations and the real driver is the overfishing of their predators

A 66-million-year-old feather found inside fossilized dinosaur poop in Montana belonged to a diving bird eaten by a predator, and its modern design may explain why some birds survived the asteroid

Echoes lasted more than seven seconds inside a 2,400-year-old Etruscan tomb in Tarquinia, and researchers think its builders designed it to unsettle mourners

Livestream cameras in California, Colorado and Pennsylvania caught rattlesnakes giving birth for the first time, with over 60 newborns in Colorado, and the footage shows mothers staying with their pups

The Ice Age American cheetah was a close cousin of the puma, and fossils from Canada’s Yukon suggest northern populations ate salmon before the species faded through a slow decline, not a sudden collapse

Scientists took the submersible Alvin 3 miles down to the world’s deepest known hydrothermal vents in the Caribbean to learn how shrimp find them in darkness, and they suspect an odd eye on their backs

Scientists pulled a pale coral from 2,200 feet deep off South America and found a chitin network never seen in this group, which may help bubblegum corals grow branches without a central skeleton

Scientists mapping a shipwreck off Queensland found 300 holes up to 26 feet wide spread 328 feet around it and suspect fish dug them, a pattern that once helped CSIRO find a ship lost for 74 years

Scientists hid fruit in a box and taught 16 Asian elephants in Thailand to reach around it, then moved the opening and found they could drop a habit that no longer worked, though older ones took longer

On Japan’s Tsushima Island, researchers found leopard cats with short tails and feared domestic cats had crept into their family tree, but genome tests of 16 animals found no trace of that ancestry

An Australian stick insect people had photographed for years only now received its own scientific name, and researchers also found a rainforest species whose eggs carry rings never seen before

A fully electric tractor that recharges from its own solar roof goes on sale in North America, runs about five hours per charge and could save small farms around $15,000 over five years

New Zealand’s kākāpō, a flightless parrot that fell to just 51 birds in 1995, now numbers 325 after 90 chicks joined the count, and conservationists are running out of safe islands for them

Scientists on Trinidad and Tobago’s first locally led deep-sea expedition followed 219 bubble streams to 25 cold seeps and found at least 20 possible new species, including an octopus first seen in 2014

Science

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