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Top Society & Education News

May 20, 2026

Top Headlines

 

Scientists in Canada have discovered that ancient underground rocks are naturally producing hydrogen gas — and lots of it. Measurements from mine boreholes in Ontario show the gas can flow continuously for years, offering a potential new source of ...
Scientists analyzing the genomes of thousands of people across Japan discovered evidence for a previously overlooked third ancestral group, challenging the long-accepted “dual origins” theory. The newly identified ancestry appears linked to the ...
The Toba supereruption 74,000 years ago was so massive it may have plunged Earth into years of darkness and cold, leading some scientists to believe humanity nearly went extinct. Yet archaeological ...
A new study suggests AI chatbots may do more than spread misinformation — they can actively strengthen a user’s false beliefs. Because conversational AI often validates and builds on what users say, it can make distorted memories, conspiracy ...
Long-forgotten ancient tablets have been decoded, uncovering a mix of magic, politics, and daily life from early civilizations. Among the discoveries are rare anti-witchcraft rituals meant to protect ...
Long before humans spread across the globe, a deadly disease may have quietly shaped where our ancestors lived—and even how we evolved. New research reveals that malaria didn’t just threaten early human survival; it actively pushed populations ...
The mysterious collapse of the Maya civilization may not have been driven solely by drought after all. New evidence from lake sediments in Guatemala reveals that one key city, Itzan, enjoyed a stable climate even as its population abruptly vanished. ...
Beneath East Africa’s Turkana Rift, scientists have found the crust is thinning to a critical point, suggesting the continent is gradually breaking apart. This “necking” process marks an ...
A newly confirmed mass grave in ancient Jordan offers chilling insight into one of history’s first pandemics. Hundreds of plague victims were buried within days, revealing how the Plague of Justinian devastated entire communities. The findings ...
Human societies didn’t just adapt to the planet—they learned to reshape it. From early fire use to today’s global supply chains, our cultural and social innovations have unlocked extraordinary power to transform Earth and improve human life. ...
The ozone layer has been on track to recover thanks to the Montreal Protocol—but a loophole may be holding it back. Chemicals still permitted for industrial use are leaking into the atmosphere at higher rates than expected. Scientists now estimate ...
Earth’s nights are steadily getting brighter overall, but the changes vary dramatically by region. Rapid urban growth is lighting up countries like China and India, while parts of Europe are dimming due to energy-saving efforts and new lighting ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:06am EDT

Earlier Headlines

 

A new study suggests Neanderthals didn’t go extinct simply because of climate change or competition with Homo sapiens. Instead, the key difference may have been social connectivity—Homo sapiens ...

Artemis II proved NASA’s deep space systems are ready for the next leap. Orion survived its high-speed return with improved heat shield performance and pinpoint landing accuracy, while the SLS ...

Ancient DNA from a tomb near Paris reveals a shocking prehistoric reset: one population vanished and was replaced by newcomers from the south. The two groups show no genetic connection, signaling a ...

A light-sensitive crystal is opening the door to a new era of “light-written” technology. Arsenic trisulfide can be reshaped and permanently altered using simple light, creating ultra-fine ...

More than 12,000 years ago, Native American hunter-gatherers were already making and using dice—thousands of years before similar tools appeared elsewhere. These bone “binary lots” acted like ...

Scientists may have been unknowingly inflating microplastics pollution estimates, and the surprising source could be their own lab gloves. A University of Michigan study found that common nitrile and ...

A new study reveals that farming in Argentina’s Uspallata Valley was adopted by local hunter-gatherers rather than introduced by outside populations. Centuries later, a stressed group of ...

A tiny piece of moss helped expose a cemetery scandal in Illinois, where workers allegedly dug up graves and resold burial plots. By identifying the moss and analyzing its chlorophyll to estimate its ...

Fusion energy may be one of the most promising clean power sources of the future—but only if scientists can precisely measure the extreme, fast-moving plasmas that make it possible. A new U.S. ...

Teenagers naturally fall asleep later, which makes early school start times a recipe for chronic sleep deprivation. Researchers studying a Swiss high school that introduced flexible start times found ...

As AI systems began acing traditional tests, researchers realized those benchmarks were no longer tough enough. In response, nearly 1,000 experts created Humanity’s Last Exam, a massive ...

Early wheat didn’t just grow—it fought. When humans began cultivating fields, plants that could outcompete their neighbors for sunlight and space quickly took over, evolving upright leaves and ...

A prehistoric mass grave in Serbia reveals that more than 77 people—mostly women and children—were deliberately killed in a brutal act of violence about 2,800 years ago. Genetic evidence suggests ...

More than 40,000 years ago, Ice Age humans were carving repeated patterns of dots, lines, and crosses into tools and small ivory figurines. A new computational study of more than 3,000 of these ...

A mysterious Greek inscription found beneath the Great Mosque of Homs could pinpoint the long-debated location of an ancient sun temple. Scholars now think the mosque sits atop a sacred site that ...

Ancient DNA from a Stone Age burial site in Sweden shows that families 5,500 years ago were more complex than expected. Many individuals buried together were not immediate family, but second- or ...

A new international study is shaking up how we think about elite sprinting, arguing there’s no single “perfect” running style behind the world’s fastest athletes. Instead, speed emerges from ...

Couples who intentionally slow down and soak in their happy moments together may be building a powerful shield for their relationship. Researchers at the University of Illinois found that partners ...

In medieval Denmark, people could pay for more prestigious graves closer to the church — a sign of wealth and status. But when researchers examined hundreds of skeletons, they discovered something ...

New research suggests seabird guano helped transform the Chincha Kingdom into one of the most prosperous societies in ancient Peru. Chemical clues in centuries-old maize show farmers fertilized their ...

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