The Oceans Just Keep Getting Hotter
For the eighth year in a row, the world’s oceans absorbed a record-breaking amount of heat in 2025. It was equivalent to the energy it would take to boil 2 billion Olympic swimming pools.
Traces of Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA May Have Been Discovered on a Red Chalk Drawing Called ‘Holy Child’
Researchers suggest that they have recovered sequences from ancient works and letters that may belong to the Renaissance genius.
New Records Reveal the Mess RFK Jr. Left When He Dumped a Dead Bear in Central Park
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he left a bear cub’s corpse in Central Park in 2014 to “be fun.” Records newly obtained by WIRED show what he left New York civil servants to clean up.
The Ancient Art of Nasal Rinsing Might Protect You From a Cold
New research has given credence to a 5,000-year-old practice.
Flu Is Relentless. Crispr Might Be Able to Shut It Down
Innovative research into the gene-editing tool targets influenza’s ability to replicate—stopping it in its tracks.
Trump Wants Venezuela’s Oil. Getting It Might Not Be So Simple
The administration has made it clear that Nicolás Maduro's capture was tied to Venezuela's vast oil reserves. Much less certain is how US companies will actually access them—or if they even want to.
A New Bridge Links the Strange Math of Infinity to Computer Science
Descriptive set theorists study the niche mathematics of infinity. Now, they’ve shown that their problems can be rewritten in the concrete language of algorithms.
2025’s extreme weather had the jet stream’s fingerprints all over it, from flash floods to hurricanes
First, instead of moving storms quickly eastward, the sluggish jet stream stalled storm systems in place, causing prolonged downpours and flash flooding.
Here’s How Long You Should Walk Every Day to Prevent Back Pain
Back pain is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world. Recent research reveals how much time you should spend walking on a daily basis to prevent it.
What Is the ‘Super Flu’ That Is Spreading in Europe and the United States?
The “super flu” behind outbreaks in the US and UK is a new variant of influenza A H3N2, subclade K. Existing vaccines appear to be insufficiently effective against the virus.