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A new Science study shows remote-capable workers experience increased distress and isolation, while others report benefits from flexibility. The debate now centers on balancing performance with well-being as employers address the mental health impact.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has begun the Legacy Survey of Space and Time, a 10-year program that will image the southern sky every few nights. The telescope has started regular operations from its Chilean mountaintop site and is already returning new detections, including thousands of asteroids and transient views such as Comet 3I/ATLAS.
A cluster of recent marine sightings shows orcas and dolphins appearing more frequently off the Northumberland coast, while Norfolk Island’s reefs show stress from runoff, dredging plans and El Niño. Scientists warn warming waters threaten coral ecosystems and coastal wildlife.
Astronomers have detected helium escaping from LHS 1140b, a rocky 'super-Earth' 48 light-years away that orbits in its star's habitable zone. The finding has confirmed an atmosphere around a habitable-zone rocky exoplanet for the first time and has been published in Science; teams used ground-based infrared spectroscopy and modelling.
Novo Nordisk has filed a US lawsuit accusing Eli Lilly of false advertising over weight‑loss and diabetes drugs, arguing Lilly used outdated trial data to claim superiority. Lilly defends its campaigns, citing SURMOUNT‑5 results. The case centers on GLP-1 treatments and the race for market dominance, with potential damages and corrective advertising at stake.
New genetic analysis of Chilean mummies links smallpox to European strains, providing the strongest outside-Americas connection yet and clarifying how the disease spread during colonization. Two ancient infections date to 1492–1631, suggesting European origins for the American strains.
Researchers at Stanford and the Arc Institute have used generative genome models to design and synthesise bacteriophage genomes; 16 of the lab-made viruses proved viable and a cocktail of them rapidly killed E. coli strains resistant to natural phages. Experts have warned the work has raised urgent biosafety and biosecurity questions about AI-designed genomes.
The Supreme Court is considering the fate of Brazil’s soy moratorium, a voluntary pact that has curbed Amazon deforestation but faced state-law challenges. The court is also reviewing a new environmental licensing regime as lawmakers push back against environmental protections while Lula’s government seeks to sustain gains in forest conservation.
Scientists reconstruct ancient forests using fossil leaf cuticles to show canopy loss during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, revealing how forests thin, then recover slowly—an event linked to today’s rapid CO2 rise and warming.
A fossil from 324 million years ago suggests insects had more legs than today and may reshape understanding of early arthropods during the hexapod gap.
Scientists have used tooth enamel chemistry to estimate Tyrannosaurus rex’s body temperature at about 36°C, placing it among warm‑blooded animals. The research, based on clumped isotope thermometry, is published in Science Advances and relies on enamel from three teeth from Hell Creek Formation fossils.