ScienceDaily
Scientists use DNA from poop to save the world’s rarest marsupial
Fewer than 150 Gilbert's potoroos remain in the wild, making every conservation insight critical. Australian scientists are now extracting DNA from the marsupial's droppings to identify the rare fungi it depends on for survival — a non-invasive method that sidesteps the difficulty of studying such an elusive animal. The findings could guide efforts to establish backup populations in safer habitats before a single bushfire event eliminates the species entirely.
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We asked US researchers how the Trump administration's science policies have affected them
Federal research funding cuts and policy shifts under the second Trump administration are sending shockwaves through U.S. academic institutions, threatening the stability of labs that have long defined American scientific leadership. Researchers are grappling with uncertainty around grants, hiring, and the ability to retain top international talent. The downstream consequences extend beyond academia — the innovation pipeline that drives economic competitiveness is now at risk.
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Lost for 150,000 years: Rainforest discovery upends human history
Early humans were living deep inside West African rainforests roughly 150,000 years ago, according to new evidence uncovered in Côte d'Ivoire. The finding directly challenges the long-held scientific consensus that dense rainforests were essentially uninhabitable barriers for our ancient ancestors. It forces a significant rethink of where and how early *Homo sapiens* spread across the African continent.
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Integrated solar reactor paves way to make 'clean' chemicals, plastics and food using solar energy
A research team at Queen Mary University of London has developed an integrated solar reactor that uses engineered E. coli to convert CO₂ into usable energy within a single system powered by sunlight. The breakthrough eliminates the need to separate biological and chemical processes, streamlining the production of sustainable chemicals, plastics, and food ingredients. Published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the advance marks a significant step toward solar-driven manufacturing that pulls carbon directly from the atmosphere.
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