Astronomers have detected a giant exoplanet – between three and ten times the size of Jupiter – hiding in the swirling disc of gas and dust surrounding a young star.

Scientists have detected the merger of the most massive black holes ever observed with gravitational waves, using the US National Science Foundation-funded (NSF) LIGO Hanford and Livingston Observatories.

In biology textbooks and beyond, the human genome and DNA therein typically are taught in only one dimension. While it can be helpful for learners to begin with the linear presentation of how stretches of DNA form genes, this oversimplification undersells the significance of the genome’s 3D structure. Problems with this 3D structure are associated with many diseases including developmental disorders and cancer.

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys and colleagues in Hong Kong published findings June 27, 2025, in Genome Biology demonstrating a new approach for better understanding the human genome’s 3D structure and its influence.

A mystery interstellar object discovered last week is likely to be the oldest comet ever seen – possibly predating our solar system by more than three billion years, researchers say. The "water ice-rich" visitor, named 3I/ATLAS, is only the third known object from beyond our solar system ever spotted in our cosmic neighbourhood and the first to reach us from a completely different region of our Milky Way galaxy. It could be more than seven billion years old, according to University of Oxford astronomer Matthew Hopkins – who is discussing his findings at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting 2025 in Durham – and may be the most remarkable interstellar visitor yet.

The Milky Way could have many more satellite galaxies than scientists have previously been able to predict or observe, according to new research.

Rivers are Earth’s arteries. Water, sediment and nutrients self-organize into diverse, dynamic channels as they journey from the mountains to the sea. Some rivers carve out a single pathway, while others divide into multiple interwoven threads. These channel patterns shape flood risks, erosion hazards and ecosystem services for more than 3 billion people who live along river corridors worldwide.

Technicians have installed solar panels onto NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, one of the final steps in assembling the observatory. Collectively called the Solar Array Sun Shield, these panels will power and shade the observatory, enabling all the mission’s observations and helping keep the instruments cool.