The biggest dinosaurfossil trackway ever found in the UK is reported at a quarry in Oxfordshire, consisting of 200 huge footprints made during the mid-Jurassic.[2]
Bioengineers at Rice University report having developed a novel "construction kit" for building custom sense-and-respond circuits in human cells.[3][4]
3 January – Researchers report discovering a new class of anti-malaria antibodies.[5][6]
8 January – Scientists publish a comprehensive map of protein locations within human cells, offering potential new insights into how cells respond to infections and other changing circumstances.[7]
13 January – Researchers discover what could be the world's oldest three-dimensional map in a cave in the Paris Basin of France, dating back 13,000 years.[11]
15 January
The European Space Agency's Gaia spacecraft ends its operation after 11 years of mapping the Milky Way galaxy, during which time it made three trillion observations of two billion stars.[12]
The first two-dimensional (2D) mechanically interlocked material is demonstrated by Northwestern University, consisting of 100 trillion bonds per square centimetre, which its creators describe as having exceptional flexibility and strength.[15] Adding just 2.5% of the new material to Ultem boosted the latter's tensile modulus by 45%.[16]
The air monitoring station at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii reports that CO2 jumped by 3.58 parts per million (ppm) in 2024, exceeding the previous record of 3.36 ppm set in 2023. The global atmospheric concentration of CO2 is now at 427 ppm, more than 50% higher than the pre-industrial level.[17][18]
29 January: ESA begins monitoring the asteroid 2024 YR4, which is rated 3 on the Torino scale.
21 January
Coral bleaching on the southern Great Barrier Reef in early 2024 is reported to have struck 80% of colonies, with some coral genera, such as Acropora, experiencing a 95% mortality rate.[19]
More than a third (34%) of the Arctic-boreal zone is now reported to be a source of carbon emissions, rather than a carbon sink, a figure that rises to 40% when including emissions from fires.[20]
The exoplanet WASP-127b is discovered to have wind speeds of up to 33,000 km/h, the fastest jetstream of its kind ever measured.[21]
29 January – The European Space Agency (ESA) announces that it has begun monitoring the asteroid 2024 YR4, which at the time had a 1 in 77 (1.3%) chance of impacting Earth on 22 December 2032.[27]
7 February – Researchers develop an AI chip, smaller than a grain of salt, that mounts on the tip of an optical fibre and uses a "diffractive neural network" to decode images at light speed with very low energy. This breakthrough promises advances in efficient medical imaging and quantum communication technologies.[30][31]
10 February
The microlensing event MOA-2011-BLG-262L is confirmed to be associated with the highest-velocity exoplanet system detected to date, moving at 541 km/s (1.2 million mph), which is close to the escape velocity for the Milky Way galaxy.[32][33]
Following an increase in the impact probability of 2024 YR4 – from 1.3% to 2.1% – the European Space Agency announces that it will use the advanced capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope to observe the asteroid, in order to better determine its size and trajectory.[34]
12 February
The WESTtokamak in France is reported to have maintained plasma for 1,337 seconds, a new world record duration for nuclear fusion and 25% longer than a similar effort by China the previous month.[35][36]
15 February – A new record-low global sea ice extent is reported, dipping below the previous lowest that occurred in early 2023.[39]
18 February
The impact probability of 2024 YR4 is raised by NASA, from 2.1% to 2.6%[40] and then 3.1% in the same day.[41]
The first 3D mapping of an exoplanet atmosphere is achieved by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope. WASP-121b (also known as Tylos) is found to have powerful winds carrying elements like iron and titanium, creating intricate weather patterns across its atmosphere.[42]
19 February – Microsoft unveils Majorana 1, a quantum chip powered by its new topological core architecture that it hopes will enable quantum computers capable of solving meaningful industrial-scale problems. Microsoft claims that the Majorana 1 represents progress in its long-running project to create a quantum computer based on topological qubits.[43][44]
24 February – NASA formally announces that asteroid 2024 YR4 now poses "no significant threat" to Earth in 2032 and beyond, as the chances of an impact drops to 1-in-59,000 (0.0017%). This means a planetary defense mission to intercept and deflect the object in 2028 during a close flyby of Earth will not be necessary.[45]
27 February
OpenAI announces a research preview of GPT-4.5, its largest and most advanced AI model to date.[46]
Researchers at AWS and Caltech develop the Ocelot chip, using "cat qubits" to reduce quantum computing errors by up to 90%, making error correction more efficient and scalable.[47][48]
4 March – De-extinction company Colossal Biosciences announces the creation of a "woolly mouse" with eight modified genes, expressing mammoth-like traits relevant to cold adaptation and providing a platform for validation of genome engineering targets.[52][53]
5 March – Italian researchers report turning light into a supersolid for the first time.[54][55]
6 March – A study in Science finds that butterfly populations in the U.S. declined by 22% between 2000 and 2020, with 13 times as many species decreasing as increasing, raising concerns about future biodiversity loss.[56][57]
10 March – A study in the journal PNAS finds that microplastic pollution reduces photosynthesis in plants and algae by up to 12%, leading to estimated annual food losses of 110–361 million tonnes of crops and up to 24 million tonnes of seafood. Without action to reduce plastic waste, this could lead to another 400 million people at risk of starvation within two decades.[58][59]
Three new rocky exoplanets, all smaller than Earth in size, are detected around Barnard's Star, the closest solitary star to our own Sun at just 5.96 light-years away. Barnard b, a candidate world that observations had hinted at previously, is also confirmed, bringing the total number of known planets around the star to four.[62][63]
A study in The Lancet finds that cuts to foreign aid proposed by major donor countries, such as the US and UK, could undo decades of progress made to end HIV/AIDS as a public health threat, with potentially 10.8m additional new infections by 2030.[68][69]
31 March: OpenAI's latest model GPT-4.5 is reported to be indistinguishable from a human in text conversations.
2 April – The world's smallest pacemaker – able to fit inside the tip of a syringe and be non-invasively injected into the body – is demonstrated by scientists at Northwestern University. The device, measuring just 3.5 millimeters in length, is designed for temporary use and can be made to biodegrade within a set number of days, depending on a patient's needs.[74]
8 April – Maxwell Labs, in collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories and the University of New Mexico, announces a laser-based photonic cooling system for computer chips, aiming to reduce data centre cooling energy use by up to 40% while improving processor performance.[76][77]
Scientists report a new method of generating electricity from falling rainwater using plug flow in vertical tubes, converting over 10% of the water's energy into electricity and producing enough power to light 12 LEDs.[79]
17 April: An artist's impression of K2-18b, which has a possible biosignature.
17 April – The atmosphere of K2-18b, a candidate water world located 124 light-years away, is found to contain large quantities of dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide – two compounds that, on Earth, are only known to be produced by life. This discovery, while requiring further proof, is described as "the strongest evidence to date for a biological activity beyond the Solar System".[81][82]
18 April – Scientists at UC Berkeley use lasers to stimulate human retinas to see an extremely saturated blue-green imaginary color dubbed "olo".[83][84]
22 April – Astronomers at MIT report the discovery of BD+05 4868Ab, a small rocky exoplanet located 142 light-years from Earth, which is rapidly disintegrating due to extreme heat from its nearby host star. The planet, orbiting every 30.5 hours, exhibits a comet-like tail of vaporised minerals extending up to 9 million kilometres. It is estimated to be losing mass equivalent to Mount Everest each orbit and may completely evaporate within 1–2 million years.[86]
27 April – Astronomers report the discovery of the Eos cloud, a vast molecular hydrogen cloud located about 300 light-years from Earth, revealed through far-ultraviolet emission techniques. Expected to evaporate within 6 million years, Eos is among the largest and closest molecular clouds ever found.[87]
30 April
Engineers at ITER complete the construction of the world's largest and most powerful pulsed superconducting electromagnet system, marking a major milestone on the path to sustained nuclear fusion. The Central Solenoid and surrounding magnets will confine plasma at 150 million °C, enabling ITER to produce 500 megawatts of fusion power from just 50 megawatts of input.[88]
A study by Uppsala University in Sweden finds that lack of sleep can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Researchers found that just three nights of restricted sleep – around four hours a night – triggered changes in the blood linked to a higher risk of heart disease.[91]
13 May – Genes linked to obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) are discovered for the first time. A study involving more than 2 million people identifies 250 genes linked to the condition.[93]
Google DeepMind announces Veo 3, a new state-of-the-art video generation model.[96] The company also boosts the performance of Gemini 2.5 Pro, its flagship AI model.[97]
MIT releases a detailed report on the energy footprint of generative AI. Some models are shown to require the equivalent of running a microwave oven for an hour to produce five seconds of video.[98][99]
21 May
The world's first gonorrhoea vaccine is launched by NHS England, with an efficacy of 30–40%.[100]
Infraredcontact lenses allowing people to see in the dark, even with their eyes closed, are created by a team in China.[105][106]
27 May – Engineers at MIT develop a new fuel cell based on a reaction between sodium metal and air, with potentially three times as much energy per pound as the current best lithium-ion batteries used in EVs.[107]
In tests on mice, a combination of Rapamycin and Trametinib is found to extend lifespan by around 30% and works better than either of the drugs alone.[109][110]
29 May – The first delivery of mRNA into white blood cells hiding HIV is demonstrated, using specially formulated nanoparticles known as LNP X. The mRNA instructs the cells to reveal the hidden virus.[111]
17 June – Scientists in China demonstrate a parallel optical computing chip capable of 100 simultaneous wavelength-based operations, using a soliton microcomb and Mach–Zehnder interferometer mesh, marking a major step toward scalable, light-based AI hardware.[113][114]
3 July – A study in Frontiers in Plant Science finds that climate change could disrupt the habitat overlap between wild vanilla species and their pollinators by 2050, threatening the survival of both. This mismatch may endanger global vanilla supply and limit the genetic diversity needed for future crop resilience.[122]
6 July – The Eclipsing Binary Patrol project, collaborating with TESS, confirms the detection of 10,001 eclipsing binary star systems, including almost 8,000 previously unknown ones.[123]
8 July
De-extinction company Colossal Biosciences announces a plan to resurrect the moa, a giant flightless bird that once stood up to 3.6 metres (12 ft) in height.[124][125]
13 July – The LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration announces the detection of the most massive black hole merger ever observed via gravitational waves, producing a final object of more than 225 solar masses. Professor Mark Hannam of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration says this discovery challenges existing models of black hole formation.[127]
14 July – Astronomers publish details of 2023 KQ14, informally nicknamed Ammonite, a sednoid announced in April 2025.[128][129]
17 July – OpenAI announces ChatGPT Agent, "a toolbox of agentic skills to complete tasks for you using its own computer".[130]
18 July – The British Antarctic Survey reports the extraction of 1.5 million-year-old ice cores from depths of 2,800 metres in East Antarctica. The samples, containing bubbles of trapped CO2, could significantly improve the understanding of Earth's climate history by nearly doubling the current ice core record of 800,000 years.[131][132]
22 July – A new bioplastic, LAHB, is shown to biodegrade under deep-sea conditions, losing over 80% of its mass after 13 months at a depth of 855 m, while conventional polylactide-based plastic (PLA) remains intact.[134]
24 July – Scientists at the Technical University of Denmark and Scripps Research develop an AI platform that designs custom protein minibinders in weeks, enabling T cells to selectively target and destroy cancer cells in lab experiments.[135]
25 July – A new study models the potential consequences of asteroid 2024 YR4 striking the Moon in 2032, finding that such an impact – if it occurs – would be the largest in 5,000 years, ejecting debris that could threaten satellites and produce a visible meteor shower on Earth.[136]
30 July – Chinese researchers report the first wafer-scale fabrication of two-dimensional indium selenide (InSe) semiconductors. These ultra-high-performance transistors demonstrate the potential to surpass silicon, offering a pathway toward faster, smaller, and more efficient electronics.[137]
Astronomers report that free-floating planets, similar in mass to Jupiter, may form their own miniature planetary systems. Observations with the James Webb Space Telescope revealed dusty disks and silicate grains around six such objects, suggesting early signs of rocky planet formation even in the absence of a host star.[140]
August
7 August: Strong evidence of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri system is reported by NASA.
8 August – Researchers at the University of Adelaide report a way of using sunlight to dissolve PFAS, causing the so-called "forever chemicals" to break down into a range of harmless substances including fluoride.[145]
14 August – A new allotrope of carbon known as cyclo[48]carbon, consisting of 48 carbon atoms in an alternating single/triple bond pattern, is demonstrated by Oxford University's Department of Chemistry.[147]
15 August
The primary radar for the NISAR satellite is deployed, becoming the largest antenna reflector ever deployed for a NASA mission, with a diameter of 12 metres (39 feet). It will image Earth's surface down to a resolution of 10 metres (30 feet).[148]
Researchers report Weaver ants display remarkable teamwork, increasing individual effort as group size grows—unlike human teams. They build complex leaf nests using a “force ratchet” system, where some ants pull while others anchor, boosting efficiency. This coordinated labor offers insights for robotics, suggesting that mimicking ant strategies could enhance multi-agent cooperation and improve autonomous systems. Their behavior challenges long-held assumptions about group dynamics and productivity.[149]
17 August – Engineers at Columbia University create CAPPSID: tumour-homing Salmonella smuggle an oncolytic virus into cancers, evading antibodies and releasing it inside tumour cells. A built-in safety switch – viral maturation requiring a bacterial protease – limits spread to tumours.[150]
Scientists at Michigan State University discover that microbes begin shaping the brain before a baby is born. These microbes affect cells in a part of the brain that controls stress and how we act with other people.[152]
29 August – Recent research suggests that the common cold may reduce COVID-19 risk and severity by activating airway defense proteins. Children, who develop colds more often, show stronger protective responses than adults.[155]
30 August – Researchers identify "cathartocytosis," a rapid "vomiting" purge that injured cells use to jettison machinery and revert to stem-like states, accelerating repair. The messy external waste may drive inflammation, foster cancer risk, and serve as a detectable biomarker, suggesting therapeutic targets to encourage healing while limiting malignant progression.[156]
September
2 September: Brown anoles are found to resist lead toxicity, sparking adaptation research intrigue.
2 September
NASA scientist Nicholas Heinz finds an unusual basalt rock in Sedona, Arizona, resembling Martian samples, possibly hinting at ancient volcanic origins.[157]
A study led by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, published in Nature, finds that safe and practical underground carbon storage could reduce global warming by only 0.7 °C, nearly ten times less than previous estimates. The research establishes a prudent global storage limit of about 1,460 gigatonnes of CO2, highlighting the resource's scarcity and the need for careful management.[161][162]
5 September
Chemists at the University of Copenhagen make a new material called BAETA from old plastic bottles. It can catch CO2 from the air. Making BAETA does not need much energy and can be done in big amounts. This helps the planet and can also help companies make money.[163]
University of Leicester have identified that around 150 million years ago, two young pterosaurs, dubbed Lucky and Lucky II, were fatally caught in fierce tropical storms. Their fractured wings and exceptional preservation in Germany’s Solnhofen limestones highlight how such storms buried delicate juveniles quickly, while larger adults decayed over time, leaving fewer fossil traces and distorting the fossil record.[164]
6 September
Scientists from the Medical Research Council (MRC) state that visceral fat accelerates heart aging by hardening tissue, a discovery made via AI and scans. Hip and thigh fat may protect women’s hearts, offering contrasting effects.[165]
Astronomers discover 2017 OF201, a distant object beyond Neptune that may be a dwarf planet. It orbits the Sun every 25,000 years and has an unusual path, challenging past views of the outer solar system and possibly the theory of Planet Nine.[166]
7 September
Paleontologists at Freie Universität Berlin discover Sauropoda teeth and find clues about their diets and migration. Scratches reveal seasonal movement and diverse plant consumption. Climate influenced their eating habits, and rough, sandy plants in Tanzania caused more tooth damage. These findings shed light on dinosaur lifestyles and ancient environments.[167]
Researchers of Charles Darwin University report that AI is changing laws and rules very fast, and this can hurt human dignity. They state today’s rules are too weak to protect people’s privacy, freedom, and fairness. The “black box problem” means people can’t understand or question AI decisions that may hurt them.[168]
Cambridge scientists find that weak parts of Earth’s plates helped hot rock from Iceland spread across the North Atlantic, causing volcanoes long ago. These old cracks still affect earthquakes and may help in the discovery of geothermal energy.[169]
Scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute report that the seasonal winds which normally bring nutrient-rich waters to Panama’s coast have stalled, likely as a result of climate change, with negative impacts on marine life.[170]
8 September
Experts at Leipzig University identify a receptor, GPR133, which helps bones stay strong. Stimulating this receptor with a new compound called AP503 boosted bone strength in mice, even reversing osteoporosis-like conditions.[171]
Researchers at UC Berkeley map the brain circuits that control growth hormone release during sleep, uncovering a feedback system where sleep fuels hormone release, and the hormone regulates wakefulness. This discovery may explain links between poor sleep, obesity, diabetes, and cognitive decline, while opening new paths for treating sleep and metabolic disorders.[172]
9 September
University of Florida researchers develop a chip that replaces electricity with light for key AI tasks. Using microscopic lenses etched onto silicon, it performs laser-powered computations with drastically lower energy and near-perfect accuracy.[173]
An international team of 42 scientists publishes a critical assessment in Frontiers in Science, finding five prominent geoengineering proposals – such as pumping seawater onto Arctic ice, deploying reflective glass beads, building underwater curtains, injecting aerosols, and fertilizing oceans – to be technologically unfeasible, unscalable, and environmentally harmful, and cautioning that they distract from vital emission-reduction efforts.[174][175]
US: Various details about planned science-related spending for 2025 have been described with some information on the planned research subjects or areas.[179][180]
^Naidu, Rohan P.; et al. (16 May 2025). "A Cosmic Miracle: A Remarkably Luminous Galaxy at z=14.44 Confirmed with JWST". arXiv:2505.11263 [astro-ph.GA].
^Cheng, Sihao; Li, Jiaxuan; Yang, Eritas (21 May 2025). "Discovery of a dwarf planet candidate in an extremely wide orbit: 2017 OF201". arXiv:2505.15806v1 [astro-ph.EP].
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