New Scientist

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.

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.

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.

Scientists have captured a subduction zone off Vancouver Island in the process of tearing itself apart, suggesting these massive tectonic systems may die piece by piece rather than all at once. The finding offers new insight into how subduction zones end over geological time, with implications for understanding seismic hazards in the Pacific Northwest, where the Cascadia zone poses earthquake and tsunami risks.

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.

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.

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 are working near the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana on what is described as a massive effort to predict the region's future. The research focuses on forecasting environmental changes along the river's delta, an area central to concerns about land loss and coastal resilience. Local coverage highlights the scale and ambition of the scientific undertaking.

A new report suggests scientists may have misinterpreted evidence dating back some two billion years, with potential implications for how Earth's early history is understood. The finding is drawing attention in science media, as re-evaluating such ancient clues could reshape assumptions about the planet's past conditions and evolution.

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.

The New York Times reports on a scientific discovery connected to an $80 motel room that researchers say could shed light on the origins of life. Details of the finding and the scientists involved remain limited, but the story highlights how an ordinary roadside room became tied to research into how life first emerged on Earth.

New research indicates that Earth microbes can survive under simulated conditions of the ocean beneath the ice of Saturn's moon Enceladus, suggesting life there is not out of the question. Scientists see the finding as encouraging for the search for life beyond Earth, since Enceladus's subsurface ocean is considered one of the most promising places to look.

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.

Australian scientists have developed technology that can measure how flammable eucalypt vegetation is from space, according to ABC News. The research could give authorities a new tool for assessing bushfire risk across vast and remote forested areas, allowing more targeted preparation ahead of dangerous fire seasons in Australia.

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.

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.

Harvard scientists report detecting a radio signal apparently coming directly from a planet outside the solar system. If confirmed, it would be a rare example of a radio emission traced to an exoplanet, possibly generated by the planet's magnetic field interacting with its star. Astronomers say such detections could open a new way to study distant planets, though further observations are needed to verify the signal's origin.

Scientists at a Colorado cold laboratory are working to better understand hail as the damage it causes continues to grow. Hail already causes billions of dollars in losses each year in the United States, and researchers warn that a warming climate could make severe hailstorms more frequent or more destructive. The reporting by Hannah Covington in High Country News highlights how little is still known about how hailstones form and grow inside storms, and why improved forecasting matters for insurers, farmers and homeowners across hail-prone regions.

Researchers at the New York Botanical Garden have published a series of papers in the journal Plants, People, Planet arguing that growing threats to plant diversity are narrowing the options for building healthier, more resilient food systems. The papers explain why food plant diversity matters and set out a vision for collaboration between scientists, growers and communities to protect it. The warning highlights how the loss of crop varieties and wild relatives could undermine global food security.

Bulgarian National Radio reports that night-time temperatures in Bulgaria have risen sharply over the past two decades. The finding points to warming that is most visible after dark, a pattern scientists link to climate change because it reduces nighttime cooling and puts additional strain on health, agriculture and energy use. The report is drawing attention as heat records continue to fall across the region.

A new interactive map charting glacier extinction has been launched, tracking which of the world's glaciers are projected to disappear and when. The tool comes as scientists warn that glacier loss is accelerating worldwide, threatening water supplies for millions and raising concern among skiers, mountain communities and climate researchers.

Scientists suggest fungi could be the answer to producing food on Mars, according to new research reported by ScienceDaily. Fungal species may help future Martian missions grow crops in harsh extraterrestrial conditions, potentially supporting long-term human settlement on the red planet.

New research suggests the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon, which drives tides in the Earth's crust, may help trigger earthquakes. Scientists believe they have identified the mechanism by which these small tidal stresses can nudge faults already close to slipping, potentially explaining why some quakes occur at particular tidal phases.

New research highlights a paradox in REM sleep: the brain's fuel supply appears to rise during dreaming, yet energy is still being drained. Scientists suggest that the intense neural activity behind vivid dreams may consume more energy than the increased supply can offset. The findings could reshape understanding of why sleep is restorative and how dreaming supports brain function.