Medicinal plants yield carbon nanoparticles that glow red and flag toxic metals

The billion-dollar Labubu phenomenon broke a cardinal rule of retail: Consumers need to know what they're buying before they open their wallet. Most new Labubu sales took the form of "blind boxes," where purchasers found out which type of doll they'd purchased only after the fact.

A new study finds that ancient hominins nearly 800,000 years ago deliberately selected specific basalt sources for different stages of tool production rather than simply using whatever stone was available nearby. By tracing the geochemical "fingerprints" of stone tools to both exposed and now-buried basalt flows, the researchers demonstrated that these hominins possessed detailed environmental knowledge, advanced planning abilities, and long-term technological traditions that were maintained and

A new El Niño index that provides a more climate-robust measure of the strength of El Niño signals has been released by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). With the World Meteorological Organization's recent update indicating an 80% likelihood of an El Niño event during June–August 2026 and a 90% probability of this continuing until at least November, it is more important than ever to have accurate, reliable data.

At least 15 people drowned in open water in the UK's recent heat wave, mostly children and teenagers. The public response is understandably urgent: warnings are issued, parents are told to talk to their children, and young people are reminded that rivers, lakes, reservoirs and canals can be dangerous.