Science Daily

1. Scientists find hidden brain damage from a common pesticide

   Prenatal exposure to the insecticide chlorpyrifos causes widespread brain abnormalities and poorer motor skills in children. Even after a residential ban, ongoing agricultural use continues to endanger developing brains.

2. After 250 years, an 18th-century mechanical volcano erupts to life

   An 18th-century mechanical artwork depicting Mount Vesuvius’ eruption has finally erupted — 250 years later. University of Melbourne students reconstructed Sir William Hamilton’s imaginative fusion of art and engineering using modern technology. Their re-creation glows with programmable lights and movement, reanimating history’s forgotten passion for science and spectacle.

3. Rare desert berry could transform diabetes treatment

   An extract from a desert berry used in traditional Chinese medicine restored insulin function and stabilized metabolism in diabetic mice. The findings hint at a powerful natural alternative for holistic diabetes treatment.

4. Black hole blast outshines 10 trillion Suns

   A colossal black hole 10 billion light-years away has been caught devouring one of the universe’s biggest stars, unleashing a flare 30 times brighter than any seen before. The flare, detected by Caltech’s ZTF, likely marks a tidal disruption event — when a star is shredded by a black hole’s gravity.

5. CERN creates cosmic “fireballs” that could reveal the Universe’s hidden magnetism

   Using CERN’s Super Proton Synchrotron, researchers generated plasma fireballs to simulate blazar jets. The beams stayed stable, suggesting plasma instabilities aren’t responsible for missing gamma rays. Instead, the data strengthens the idea of ancient intergalactic magnetic fields, possibly from the Universe’s earliest moments.