Researchers at University of Tsukuba analyzed the source process of a significant earthquake that occurred in Myanmar in March 2025 using a novel approach, the potency density tensor inversion method. Unlike conventional methods, this approach does not assume the rupture propagation direction or fault geometry, allowing for a more flexible and accurate analysis. The results revealed an exceptionally complex source process characterized by asymmetric and rapid rupture growth that repeatedly propagated along the fault in both the north and south directions.

Tsukuba, Japan — On March 28, 2025, a major earthquake with a moment magnitude (Mw) of 7.7 struck Mandalay, central Myanmar (referred to as the 2025 Myanmar earthquake). This event caused severe shaking and substantial damage in Myanmar and neighboring countries. Aftershock distribution extended southward from the epicenter, indicating predominant southward rupture propagation. In such cases, a Doppler-like directivity effect usually results in sharp, high-amplitude pulse waveforms recorded in the rupture propagation direction (south of the epicenter in this instance). However, seismic observations showed large amplitudes and sharp pulses at stations north of the epicenter, while stations to the south recorded smaller amplitudes and prolonged, multi-peaked waveforms. This anomalous pattern suggests that the Myanmar earthquake exhibited an unconventional rupture behavior.

To investigate this, researchers applied the potency density tensor inversion method to flexibly analyze the seismic waveform data without predefining the rupture direction or fault geometry. The analysis revealed that the source process consisted of multiple rupture episodes with complex characteristics. Notably, asymmetric ruptures propagated in both north and south directions, while each episode generally extended southward from the hypocenter. In particular, during the initial rupture episode, the rupture propagated southward before reversing direction and propagating northward in a boomerang-like manner at a shear velocity exceeding the S-wave velocity, indicating supershear rupture.

A new object is entering the Solar System from interstellar space. Provisionally named A11pl3Z, it is about 20 kilometers wide and currently travelling at a blistering 66 km/s. Early measurements of its orbit suggest an eccentricity of 6 which, if confirmed, would be strong evidence that it comes from another star.
A11pl3Z was first photographed by NASA's ATLAS asteroid system on June 14th. Only now, though, are astronomers understanding its significance. A11pl3Z is only the third known interstellar object to pass through the Solar System, following mystery object 'Oumuamua in 2017 and comet Borisov in 2019. This makes A11pl3Z a high-priority target for astronomers.

The new visitor will spend months in range of backyard and professional telescopes. According to a preliminary orbit, A11pl3Z will pass between the orbits of Earth and Mars with a close approach to Mars in October 2025. After that, it will begin its journey back to the stars.

The rocks could offer insight into Earth's primordial crust and the environment that gave birth to life.

An obscure rock formation on the eastern shore of Canada's Hudson Bay may contain the oldest known rocks on Earth, a new study claims.

The analysis dated the site's streaky gray rocks, part of an outcrop called the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt, to 4.16 billion years ago — meaning they're remnants from our 4.57 billion-year-old planet's earliest crust.

The dating, performed by two methods that used the decay of radioactive isotopes (versions of elements) to measure the age of ancient magma trapped inside the rocks, significantly bolsters a controversial past study by the same scientists.

If their findings, published June 26 in the journal Science, stand up, they could offer a unique window into our planet's ancient history and the geochemical stage where life emerged.

"The volcanic rocks have to be at least 4.16 billion years old or older; I would argue that the best age for them is 4.3 billion years old," study co-author Jonathan O'Neil, a professor of environmental science at the University of Ottawa, told Live Science. "No known rocks are older."

After years of study, scientists have discovered a new blood type in a woman from Guadeloupe. They're now searching for more people with the characteristic.

Scientists have discovered a new blood group that has so far only been identified in one woman, from the French overseas region of Guadeloupe.

The 68-year-old is the only known person in the world to have this blood group, which has been named "Gwada negative," after a local name for her home islands. The researchers behind the discovery announced their work in a presentation at the International Society of Blood Transfusion's Congress in Milan, which concluded June 4.

The research team first met the woman in 2011, when she was living in Paris and undergoing routine tests before a surgery. But the tests couldn't reveal her blood type or any matches for it.

Analysis at the time wasn't advanced enough to detect the cause, and the case lay cold for eight years.

A new proof illuminates the hidden patterns that emerge when addition becomes impossible.

The simplest ideas in mathematics can also be the most perplexing.

Take addition. It's a straightforward operation: One of the first mathematical truths we learn is that 1 plus 1 equals 2. But mathematicians still have many unanswered questions about the kinds of patterns that addition can give rise to. "This is one of the most basic things you can do," said Benjamin Bedert, a graduate student at the University of Oxford. "Somehow, it's still very mysterious in a lot of ways."

In probing this mystery, mathematicians also hope to understand the limits of addition's power. Since the early 20th century, they've been studying the nature of "sum-free" sets — sets of numbers in which no two numbers in the set will add to a third. For instance, add any two odd numbers and you'll get an even number. The set of odd numbers is therefore sum-free.

A comparison of more than 2,700 complete genomes from South Asians uncovers a wealth of ancient and recent diversity and genetic links to disease.

With around 5,000 different ethno-linguistic and religious groups, India is one of the most culturally and genetically diverse countries in the world. Yet, it remains underrepresented in genomic surveys, even when compared to other non-European groups, such as East Asians and Africans.

A new analysis of Indian genomes — the largest and most complete to date — helps untangle these groups' complex evolutionary history, uncovering a 50,000-year history of genetic mixing and population bottlenecks that shaped genetic variation, health and disease in South Asia.

The analysis, led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, India, the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of Michigan, was published today (June 26) in the journal Cell.

"These findings fill a critical gap and reshape our understanding of how ancient migrations, archaic admixture and social structures, like endogamy, have shaped the Indian genetic variation and risk of diseases, and will help inform precision health strategies in India," said Priya Moorjani, a senior author of the paper and a UC Berkeley assistant professor of molecular and cell biology.

Because of the complex history of gene flow and endogamy, or within-community marriages, Moorjani said, some groups within India are as genetically different from each other as Europeans are from East Asians. Studying diverse individuals across India thus helps to understand how ancient ancestry, geography, language and social practices interacted.

Picture a dystopian future where computers don't just mimic human thinking - they're powered by actual human brain cells. That future is taking shape in a Cambridge, England, lab, where a groundbreaking device called CL1 is blending biology and technology in ways that could transform how we compute. Developed by Australian startup Cortical Labs and U.K.-based bit.bio, this shoebox-sized machine houses 200,000 lab-grown brain cells wired to silicon circuits, creating a "biological computer" that's already turning heads.

Unlike traditional computers, which guzzle energy, CL1 operates with the efficiency of a human brain. "Our brains process information using a fraction of the power that modern electronics need," Hon Weng Chong, CEO of Cortical Labs, told FT. "This could open doors to smarter robots, stronger cybersecurity, and immersive virtual worlds."

Oh, joy.

A star exploded June 25th in the southern constellation Vela, and it is already visible to the unaided eye (magnitude +4.8). Eliot Herman photographed V572 Velorum using a robotic telescope in the Rio Hurtado Valley of Chile:

"After a long drought, this is the second bright nova discovered this month," says Herman.

This appears to be a "classical nova." First documented by Chinese astronomers some 2000 years ago, these explosions occur in binary star systems. White dwarf stars steal gas from a bloated partner until the stolen fuel ignites in a sudden thermonuclear blast.

Novas that you can see with your unaided eye magnitude are uncommon. Typically, they appear no more than about once a year. However, in June 2025 there have been two such novas in quick succession : First V462 Lupi and now V572 Velorum. Southern sky watchers, submit your photos here.

Nestled inside a planetary ring 110 light-years from Earth, a planet spotted by the James Webb telescope is the lightest exoplanet ever detected.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured its first direct image of a planet in a remote solar system, and it's lighter than any seen before.

The planet, named TWA 7b, is a gas giant with a size comparable to Saturn's. Orbiting a star just over 6 million years old, the planet is still glowing hot from its formation.

The planet is the first observation of hypothesized yet previously unseen "shepherd" planets, which clear gaps of material found inside planetary rings. The researchers behind the discovery published their findings June 25 in the journal Nature.

Lead study author Anne-Marie Lagrange, an astronomer and research director at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris, told Live Science:

"It tells us that indeed, planets can form gaps in disks (which was theorised, but not observed) and trojan-like structures can indeed be present in exoplanetary systems. It is the first time that such a light planet is imaged, ten times lighter than the lightest [previously known] planet. This is thanks to the extreme sensitivity of JWST in the thermal domain."

Fire is an ancient natural phenomenon that has shaped our planet for over 400 million years. It alters habitats, affects the carbon cycle, and is closely linked to changes in climate and vegetation.

With the arrival of humans, fire began to transition from a purely natural force to one that could be harnessed to achieve specific goals. However, it has long been unclear when humans started using fire extensively to regulate their lives and significantly influence fire occurrences.

To address this question, researchers from the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS), alongside collaborators from China, Germany, and France, analyzed the pyrogenic carbon record in a 300,000-year-old sediment core from the East China Sea.

"Our findings challenge the widely held belief that humans only began influencing environment with fire in the recent past, during the Holocene," said Dr. ZHAO Debo, the study's corresponding author.

This study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), highlights the presence of charred plant remains — known as pyrogenic carbon — formed when vegetation burns but is not completely consumed by fire. The research reveals a notable increase in fire activity across East Asia approximately 50,000 years ago. This finding aligns with earlier reports of heightened fire activities in Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Papua New Guinea-Australia region respectively, suggesting a continental-scale intensification of fire use during this period.