Frontiers | Science news

Health

Published on 24 Mar 2026

Use of controversial weedkiller inadvertently selects for drug-resistant bacteria that can spread to hospitals

Agricultural soils exposed to glyphosate may be unexpected breeding ground for hospital ‘superbugs’

A man lies in bed in a darkened room, staring at his phone

Health

Published on 20 Mar 2026

Sleep apps help some users, but they stress out people with insomnia

Apps designed to improve sleep may increase stress in people with insomnia symptoms, study finds

Health

Published on 17 Mar 2026

Frontiers in Science: Trace levels of food pathogen do not always translate to health risk, says study

Ultra-sensitive food safety tests may drive food waste and unavailability with limited public health benefit, according to a Frontiers in Science study.

Health

Published on 12 Mar 2026

Teens using AI meal plans could be eating too few calories — equivalent to skipping a meal

AI models generate meal plans that get necessary calories and macronutrients wrong, posing potential health risks to teenagers trying to lose weight

Image credit: Public domain via Wikimedia Commons, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Mond-vergleich.svg

Neuroscience

Published on 20 Oct 2025

Do animals fall for optical illusions? What fish and birds can teach us about perception

Dr Maria Santacà describes how not only how fish and birds perceive their worlds, but also how ecological pressures shape the evolution of perception.

Neuroscience

Published on 07 Oct 2025

Instructions help you remember something better than emotions or a good night’s sleep

Scientists find that words you’ve been told to recall are better remembered than words with negative emotional connotations — but surprisingly, sleeping doesn’t help.

Neuroscience

Published on 03 Sep 2025

Happy music could help you recover from motion sickness

Listening to joyful music helped study participants with motion sickness recover better than other participants — while sad music helped less than doing nothing.

Vantage point of the Murin-an garden in Kyoto the researchers used for the experiment in summer. Credit: Ueya Kato Zoen.

Neuroscience

Published on 15 May 2025

Seeing well-designed gardens could relax us almost immediately because we look at them differently

In well-designed gardens, our gaze shifts quicker and more often. Researchers believe this could be key to understanding the relaxing effects gardens can have on viewers.

Environment

Published on 18 Mar 2026

Scientists discover ‘consortium' of bacteria cooperating to eat phthalate plasticizers that single microbes can’t stomach

‘Microbial cross-feeding’ and previously unknown enzymes help community of bacteria to digest toxic phthalate esters

Researchers of the Ca' Foscari University of Venice and the Austrian Academy of Science drill an ice core at Weißseespitze, Ötztal Alps, in 2018. Photograph by Prof Andrea Fischer.

Environment

Published on 13 Mar 2026

Race against time to save Alpine ice cores recording medieval mining, fires, and volcanoes

Glacier ice can reveal air pollution dating back to the Roman Empire — but the climate crisis is destroying this frozen archive

Cle Elum Ridge, Washington: before and after heavy forest thinning. Image credit: John Marshall

Environment

Published on 03 Mar 2026

Modern twist on wildfire management methods found also to have a bonus feature that protects water supplies

Thinning to slow wildfires simultaneously boosts ‘hydrological resilience’ of forests

Case 6, photographed by Dr Jose de la Fuente. Amber now held in the KGJ Colección, Ciudad Real.

Environment

Published on 27 Feb 2026

Fossil amber reveals the secret lives of Cretaceous ants

Scientists use insects trapped in amber to understand ecosystems that died out millions of years ago

Children playing tug of war at the park.

Psychology

Published on 27 Mar 2026

‘Sometimes an adult should shut up and go away’: scientists reveal the qualities that kids need in play

For better play, give children space to choose and accessible games, scientists say

Psychology

Published on 26 Mar 2026

Struggling to identify emotions may increase vulnerability to TikTok addiction

Research shows that problems with focus and identifying emotions may make young people more vulnerable to short video addiction, but mental training can help

Psychology

Published on 08 Dec 2025

Are you more likely to buy a one-star-reviewed item if it’s just for an acquaintance? Here are five articles you won’t want to miss

With less than one month before the holidays, many of us are gearing up for the annual Christmas shopping extravaganza. We’re highlighting five articles you won’t want to miss before hitting the shops.

Psychology

Published on 13 Aug 2025

Now you see me, now you don’t: how subtle ‘sponsored content’ on social media tricks us into viewing ads

Scientists find that people mostly avoid social media ads when they see them, but many ads blend in seamlessly.

Legged robot performing analogue tests in Marslabor at the University of Basel. Credit: Dr Tomaso Bontognali.

Space sciences and astronomy

Published on 31 Mar 2026

Legged robot could accelerate resource prospecting on the Moon and the search for life on Mars

What if future planetary robots did not have to wait for instructions from Earth before examining every rock?

Concept design for a rectangular space telescope, modeled after the Diffractive Interfero Coronagraph Exoplanet Resolver (DICER), a notional infrared space observatory, and the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: Leaf Swordy/Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Space sciences and astronomy

Published on 01 Sep 2025

Circle versus rectangle: finding ‘Earth 2.0’ may be easier using a new telescope shape

Guest editorial by Prof Heidi Newberg, an astrophysicist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and author of a new Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences article

Space sciences and astronomy

Published on 25 Feb 2025

Laser-powered device tested on Earth could help us detect microbial fossils on Mars

Scientists successfully identify microbe fossils in terrestrial rocks like those found on Mars, opening up the possibility of searching for fossils on the Red Planet.

Space sciences and astronomy

Published on 06 Feb 2025

Efforts to find alien life could be boosted by simple test that gets microbes moving

Scientists explored microbial movement as a possible biosignature to detect life on Mars and beyond, cheaper and faster than ever before.

Frontiers | Science news

Science news

Legged robot could accelerate resource prospecting on the Moon and the search for life on Mars

‘Sometimes an adult should shut up and go away’: scientists reveal the qualities that kids need in play

Struggling to identify emotions may increase vulnerability to TikTok addiction

Overheating lizards and vulnerable sharks: Here are Frontiers’ photo highlights of the month

Latest posts

Legged robot could accelerate resource prospecting on the Moon and the search for life on Mars

Frontiers integrates with OA Switchboard to streamline open access workflows

‘Sometimes an adult should shut up and go away’: scientists reveal the qualities that kids need in play

Struggling to identify emotions may increase vulnerability to TikTok addiction

Frontiers’ Head of Editorial Ethics and Quality Assurance elected as a Trustee of COPE

Use of controversial weedkiller inadvertently selects for drug-resistant bacteria that can spread to hospitals

Categories

Health

Use of controversial weedkiller inadvertently selects for drug-resistant bacteria that can spread to hospitals

Sleep apps help some users, but they stress out people with insomnia

Frontiers in Science: Trace levels of food pathogen do not always translate to health risk, says study

Teens using AI meal plans could be eating too few calories — equivalent to skipping a meal

Neuroscience

Do animals fall for optical illusions? What fish and birds can teach us about perception

Instructions help you remember something better than emotions or a good night’s sleep

Happy music could help you recover from motion sickness

Seeing well-designed gardens could relax us almost immediately because we look at them differently

Environment

Scientists discover ‘consortium' of bacteria cooperating to eat phthalate plasticizers that single microbes can’t stomach

Race against time to save Alpine ice cores recording medieval mining, fires, and volcanoes

Modern twist on wildfire management methods found also to have a bonus feature that protects water supplies

Fossil amber reveals the secret lives of Cretaceous ants

Psychology

‘Sometimes an adult should shut up and go away’: scientists reveal the qualities that kids need in play

Struggling to identify emotions may increase vulnerability to TikTok addiction

Are you more likely to buy a one-star-reviewed item if it’s just for an acquaintance? Here are five articles you won’t want to miss

Now you see me, now you don’t: how subtle ‘sponsored content’ on social media tricks us into viewing ads

Space sciences and astronomy

Legged robot could accelerate resource prospecting on the Moon and the search for life on Mars

Circle versus rectangle: finding ‘Earth 2.0’ may be easier using a new telescope shape

Laser-powered device tested on Earth could help us detect microbial fossils on Mars

Efforts to find alien life could be boosted by simple test that gets microbes moving

Frontiers | Science news

Legged robot could accelerate resource prospecting on the Moon and the search for life on Mars

‘Sometimes an adult should shut up and go away’: scientists reveal the qualities that kids need in play

Struggling to identify emotions may increase vulnerability to TikTok addiction

Overheating lizards and vulnerable sharks: Here are Frontiers’ photo highlights of the month

Latest posts

Legged robot could accelerate resource prospecting on the Moon and the search for life on Mars

Frontiers integrates with OA Switchboard to streamline open access workflows

‘Sometimes an adult should shut up and go away’: scientists reveal the qualities that kids need in play

Struggling to identify emotions may increase vulnerability to TikTok addiction

Frontiers’ Head of Editorial Ethics and Quality Assurance elected as a Trustee of COPE

Use of controversial weedkiller inadvertently selects for drug-resistant bacteria that can spread to hospitals

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Health

Use of controversial weedkiller inadvertently selects for drug-resistant bacteria that can spread to hospitals

Sleep apps help some users, but they stress out people with insomnia

Frontiers in Science: Trace levels of food pathogen do not always translate to health risk, says study

Teens using AI meal plans could be eating too few calories — equivalent to skipping a meal

Neuroscience

Do animals fall for optical illusions? What fish and birds can teach us about perception

Instructions help you remember something better than emotions or a good night’s sleep

Happy music could help you recover from motion sickness

Seeing well-designed gardens could relax us almost immediately because we look at them differently

Environment

Scientists discover ‘consortium' of bacteria cooperating to eat phthalate plasticizers that single microbes can’t stomach

Race against time to save Alpine ice cores recording medieval mining, fires, and volcanoes

Modern twist on wildfire management methods found also to have a bonus feature that protects water supplies

Fossil amber reveals the secret lives of Cretaceous ants

Psychology

‘Sometimes an adult should shut up and go away’: scientists reveal the qualities that kids need in play

Struggling to identify emotions may increase vulnerability to TikTok addiction

Are you more likely to buy a one-star-reviewed item if it’s just for an acquaintance? Here are five articles you won’t want to miss

Now you see me, now you don’t: how subtle ‘sponsored content’ on social media tricks us into viewing ads

Space sciences and astronomy

Legged robot could accelerate resource prospecting on the Moon and the search for life on Mars

Circle versus rectangle: finding ‘Earth 2.0’ may be easier using a new telescope shape

Laser-powered device tested on Earth could help us detect microbial fossils on Mars

Efforts to find alien life could be boosted by simple test that gets microbes moving