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749 articles · page 12 of 16 · The Science front page

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Science

Hall and Woodford win Nobel economics prize for shaping how central banks steer economies

US economists Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford have been awarded the 2026 Nobel prize in economics for work underpinning the models central banks and governments use to smooth economic booms and busts. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the award on Monday, honouring the pair for their contribution to the microeconomic foundations needed to create macroeconomic stability.

· 8 sources
Science

International timekeepers vote to abolish leap second, change to take effect in 2027

The international authority on timekeeping has voted to abolish the leap second, ending a half-century practice of periodically adding a second to clocks to keep them aligned with Earth's rotation. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) voted on Thursday to scrap the adjustment, with the change taking effect in 2027. A 'leap hour' will be used instead, added only when Earth's rotation drifts far enough from atomic time to require a full hour correction.

· 4 sources
Space

NASA Releases Over 800GB of Artemis II Data, Including Lunar Impact Flash Imagery

NASA this week posted over 800 gigabytes of science data, images and videos from its Artemis II lunar mission on a new public website, Sights & Sounds of Science. The archive includes more than 11,000 photos and videos, over 8.5 hours of audio, and crew-annotated images marking where the astronauts observed impact flashes on the Moon's far side. The release provides an unprecedented inside look at a historic space mission.

Earth & Nature

Victoria’s aging coastal levees vulnerable to ‘potholes’ as sea levels rise, report warns

A levee built in the 1970s to protect a popular caravan park and nearby homes on Victoria’s Barwon River Estuary is showing signs of strain from repeated water exposure, with a new report warning it will be fully inundated by 2100 under current sea level rise scenarios. The state government has received $250,000 in federal funding to study the defence and design upgrades.

· 3 sources
Science

Expedition halfway to remote Pacific atoll in search of Amelia Earhart's lost plane

A US-based research team is now roughly halfway through an 830-mile voyage to Nikumaroro Island in the Pacific, where they hope to inspect a submerged object in the lagoon that could be the wreckage of Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Electra 10-E. The team, from the Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) and Purdue University, departed the capital of Kiribati on Wednesday and expects to arrive by Monday.

· 6 sources
Archaeology & Origins

Neanderthal wooden tools preserved in stone reveal sophistication beyond hunting

A remarkable collection of Neanderthal wooden tools has been discovered preserved as hollow molds in limestone at the Abric Romaní rock shelter in Spain, offering an unprecedented window into the everyday lives of our ancient cousins. The find, described in Science Advances, includes 597 wooden remains spanning from 62,000 to 40,000 years ago, featuring not only spears and digging sticks but also bark trays, parts of shelters, and a club of a type previously unknown, challenging long-held views of Neanderthal sophistication.

Space

NASA’s SSPICY Mission Launches to Test Orbital Inspection and Debris Reduction Technologies

NASA’s Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability (SSPICY) mission launched Oct. 1 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The technology demonstration will see an Otter spacecraft – built by Starfish Space – approach up to four defunct U.S.-origin satellites and rocket bodies in low Earth orbit, showcasing autonomous navigation, inspection and propulsion technologies that could reduce orbital debris and support future in-space repairs.

Space

NASA and DOE Sign Pact to Accelerate Nuclear Power for Space Exploration

NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding to accelerate development of safe, reliable nuclear technologies for deep-space exploration, with a goal of fielding a launch-ready lunar surface reactor by 2030. The agreement, titled “Accelerating American Leadership in Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion,” was signed Thursday during the Golden Age Summit in Washington and takes effect November 1.

Space

Margaret Hamilton, software pioneer who helped land Apollo 11 on the Moon, dies at 90

Margaret Hamilton, the computer scientist who led the team that developed the onboard flight software for NASA's Apollo 11 mission, has died at the age of 90. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), her former employer, confirmed her death on Wednesday, stating she died on 30 September. Hamilton is widely credited with popularising the term "software engineering" and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 for her contributions to space exploration.

· 2 sources
Space

NASA and SpaceX Target October 13 for 35th ISS Resupply Mission

NASA and SpaceX are preparing for the 35th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station, with liftoff scheduled for 6:33 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, October 13 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. A Falcon 9 rocket will carry a Dragon spacecraft packed with more than 6,300 pounds of supplies and equipment, including the final set of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSA) and a suite of microgravity research payloads.

Health & Medicine

Dementia researchers declare ‘breakthrough’ as drugs and blood test transform outlook

After two decades of failed trials and dashed hopes, dementia research has entered what scientists describe as a breakthrough era, with the first drugs that modify Alzheimer’s disease approved in Australia and a blood test able to detect biomarkers up to 20 years before symptoms appear. The World Alzheimer Report 2026, released late last month, declares the condition “no longer universally described as untreatable” and points to “remarkable scientific momentum” in the field.

· 4 sources