Rare animals spotted, California due a major quake, photon split into infinite others, and China 'tames nature.' Science news this week - June 20, 2026: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend. Science news this week

3 hours ago

Watch bison herd defend a newborn calf from wolf attack in a primeval Polish forest -- Researchers have captured first-of-its-kind footage of a wolf attack on European bison in the Bialowieza Primeval Forest. The recording shifts our understanding of predator-prey interactions in this region. -- Sascha Pare -- Published

3 hours ago

Estrogen levels in both the male and female brain may shape memory's resilience in face of stress -- Traumatic experiences can cause memory problems, and estrogen may be a key factor that shapes the brain's resilience against such stressors, a mouse study finds. -- Nicoletta Lanese -- Published

22 hours ago

'A completely different story': 300 million-year-old fossils reveal the first vertebrate land dwellers weren't what we thought, researchers claim -- Our ancient four-legged ancestors didn't have an amphibian-like life cycle when they began walking on land, according to a new study of rare fossils found near Chicago. -- Patrick Pester -- Published

1 day ago

Denisovan DNA influences the immune systems of modern Oceanians - but researchers aren't sure why -- Genes inherited from the now-extinct Denisovans are actively playing a role in the immune system of some people from Oceania. -- Sophie Berdugo -- Published

1 day ago

Wildlife inside Chernobyl exclusion zone acted differently during Russia's invasion, camera traps reveal -- Camera footage in Ukraine's Chernobyl exclusion zone revealed that mammals became less active - especially at night - during the Russian occupation, highlighting the war's immediate impact on wildlife. -- Kenna Hughes-Castleberry -- Published

1 day ago

5,000-year-old 'prototype' Stonehenge aligning with solstices discovered near the famous Stone Age monument -- The discovery of two ancient holes at Stonehenge suggests people placed posts there to help observe the summer and winter solstices around 5,000 years ago. -- Tom Metcalfe -- Published

1 day ago

'It's a huge deal': Archaeologists discover second cannonball from the Battle of the Alamo, and it was likely fired by Texans -- Archaeologists have discovered a second cannonball from the 1836 Battle of the Alamo, and now they have one from each side. -- Kristina Killgrove -- Published

2 days ago

'A mixture from zero to infinity': Physicists tried splitting a photon - and unleashed an improbable swarm of particles -- Physicists have found that splitting a photon would lead to a complex state that may change the way we think of particles. -- Rory Harris -- Published

2 days ago

Oldest known plague victims found in a 5,500-year-old burial ground in Siberia - and many of them were children -- The oldest known evidence of the plague killing people has been found in Siberia, and it carried a gene that may have made it particularly deadly for children. -- Sophie Berdugo -- Published

2 days ago

China's secretive Tianwen-2 mission arrives at Earth's 'quasi-moon' ahead of historic landing - Analysis - China's Tianwen-2 mission has arrived at the quasi-moon Kamo'oalewa, which orbits the sun alongside Earth. The secretive probe will scoop up samples from our temporary companion to help uncover its mysterious origin, experts say. By - Harry Baker - Published - 17 June 26

3 hours ago

Atlantic 'cold blob' is responsible for shifts in the Indian summer monsoon that threaten over 1 billion people -- An abnormally cold patch of water in the North Atlantic Ocean has triggered changes in the Indian summer monsoon via the jet stream winds, new research suggests. -- Sascha Pare -- Published

2 days ago

How to watch Venus vanish behind the moon in broad daylight today -- Today (June 17), the moon will pass between Earth and Venus, causing the hellish planet to temporarily disappear from the daytime sky. Here's what it will look like, exactly when it is happening and how you can safely view this skywatching spectacle. -- Harry Baker -- Last updated

2 days ago

5,000-year-old burial of man with battered skull found in kiln in Germany - and he may have been a human sacrifice -- An injured man from the Corded Ware culture was buried in a pit previously used as a kiln, and he may have been sacrificed. -- Kristina Killgrove -- Published

2 days ago

A Texas-size chunk of winter sea ice is missing from Antarctica - and it's probably not coming back -- An area of ice nearly the size of Texas has failed to form over the Bellingshausen Sea, off western Antarctica, as researchers investigate the links between sea ice loss and global warming. -- Patrick Pester -- Published

3 days ago

Wreck of World War II Japanese 'hellship' that sank with more than 1,000 Allied POWs on board discovered off the Philippines -- The remains of a Japanese "hellship" that was torpedoed in 1944 and sank with more than 1,000 POWs on board has been found off the coast of the Philippines island of Luzon. -- Tom Metcalfe -- Published

3 days ago

The world's first nuclear clock just ticked on - and it could help detect a fifth fundamental force of physics -- By using a rare thorium nucleus as a timekeeper, physicists have demonstrated the first working nuclear clock, a device that could lead to even more precise clocks and new ways to search for dark matter. -- Kenna Hughes-Castleberry -- Published

3 days ago

'The system is critically stressed': San Andreas and San Jacinto faults scarily close to major earthquake, study finds -- The San Andreas fault and a neighboring fault in Southern California have reached their highest levels of tectonic stress in 1,000 years, and a rupture at one fault could propagate to the other, researchers found. -- Sascha Pare -- Published

3 days ago

Elusive dwarf fox, feared extinct, photographed for the first time on island off Yucatan -- The first-ever photos of a Cozumel fox prove that the mysterious island predator is still alive in Mexico but in dire need of conservation, according to researchers. -- Patrick Pester -- Published

3 days ago

Earth-based telescope shares image of Artemis II capsule near the moon - one of the farthest photos of humans ever taken -- A blurry photo captured by the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia shows Artemis II's Orion capsule circling the moon more than 200,000 miles away, making it a candidate for the longest-distance image of humans ever taken from Earth. -- Harry Baker -- Published

2 days ago