The vanilla species grown for its flavoring is finicky. Genes from its wild relatives could help make it hardier — but not if those cousins go extinct.

Two studies fill in gaps about the cosmos’s ordinary matter. One maps it all, even the “missing matter.” The other details one of its hiding spots.

For only the third time in history, astronomers have detected a new interstellar visitor — an object from another star — blitzing into our solar system.

Algae grown under Mars-like conditions could make bioplastic building materials for structures to harbor life in space.

A key advisory group vows to base decisions on evidence, boost confidence in vaccines and protect health. Experts fear the opposite is happening.

AI models such as ChatGPT consume serious power. Experts break down where that energy goes, and what you can do to help.

The system contains a sensor, chip and tiny AI model inspired by biological eyes and brains and uses a tenth of the energy of a camera-based system.

For the dwarf planet candidate, one trip around the sun takes over 24,000 years. Its orbit challenges a proposed path for a hypothetical Planet Nine.

In a small cell therapy trial, 10 out of 12 people with type 1 diabetes no longer needed supplemental insulin, even a year after treatment.

Layoffs at the FDA, USDA and CDC could erode the U.S. food safety system. Experts aren’t so worried about milk or chicken today; they’re concerned about the future.

Using millions of tiny needles, the patch samples molecular data from inside cells without damaging them, providing intel on composition in minutes.

Celina Zhao is a Summer 2025 science writing intern at Science News. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in science writing from MIT. Previously, she interned at Science and NOVA.