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Scientists have uncovered evidence of Ireland's largest prehistoric hillfort settlement

In a recent study published in Antiquity, Dr. Dirk Brandherm and his colleagues identified more than 600 suspected house platforms in the Brusselstown Ring hillfort, making it the largest nucleated settlement ever discovered in the entirety of prehistoric Britain and Ireland thus far. Subsequent test excavations revealed evidence of Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age occupation as well as a potential water cistern, which may be the very first of its kind in an Irish hillfort.

New dataset maps global city boundaries in high resolution from 2000 to 2022

A research team led by Prof. Liu Liangyun from the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS) has produced the first comprehensive, high-resolution map of global city and town boundaries, offering a view of how urban boundaries have expanded and transformed over the past two decades. The new dataset—derived from 30-meter-resolution satellite observations—fills a long-standing gap in global urban studies.

Heritage railway volunteers show how deep friendships can be formed without discussing emotions

"Let's face it, we're just not that into emotions," Brian tells me with a smile talking with other volunteers at a heritage steam railway in northern England. They are discussing a popular TV restoration show. Allan grimaces, parodying the presenter: "He's always jumping around, shoving the microphone in their faces, like, "How do you feel?" "Does this make you sad?" You can almost see his glee when people actually cry!"

Clouds are vital to life—but many are becoming wispy ghosts. Here's how to see the changes above us

As a scholar researching clouds, I have spent much of my time trying to understand the economy of the sky. Not the weather reports showing scudding rainclouds, but the deeper logic of cloud movements, their distributions and densities and the way they intervene in light, regulate temperatures and choreograph heat flows across our restless planet.

Image: JWST captures colliding spiral galaxies

Mid-infrared observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, shown in white, gray, and red, are combined here with X-ray data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, highlighted in blue. Together, these different wavelengths reveal a detailed and layered view of a pair of colliding spiral galaxies, captured in an image released on Dec. 1, 2025.

LA fires showed how much neighborliness matters for wildfire safety—schools can do much more to teach it

On Jan. 7, 2025, people across the Los Angeles area watched in horror as powerful winds began spreading wildfires through neighborhood after neighborhood. Over three weeks, the fires destroyed more than 16,000 homes and businesses. At least 31 people died, and studies suggest the smoke and stress likely contributed to hundreds more deaths.

Architecture isn't neutral. It's been shaping political power for millennia

Among his other ongoing projects, US President Donald Trump has spent much of his second term on a renovation. The Oval Office has been converted into a miniature palace festooned with gold bling, the rose garden has been paved over, a triumphal arch is planned and the new ballroom will be larger than the White House.

Eco-friendly palladium recovery technology to safeguard resource security

Palladium is widely used in various industries and everyday products, including smartphones, semiconductor manufacturing processes, and hydrogen fuel cells. It is an essential metal that acts as an excellent catalyst even in minute quantities, reducing pollutants and enhancing energy efficiency. However, palladium production is concentrated in a few countries, leading to an unstable supply. South Korea generates significant amounts of spent catalysts and electronic waste annually, and a lack of eco-friendly and efficient recovery technologies means much is discarded.

Notable advances 2025

Nature Medicine, Published online: 12 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41591-025-04098-4 In a year that has dealt many blows to biomedical research, many breakthroughs nevertheless continued to inspire us. From regenerative medicine to reproductive technologies and everything in between — here is our selection of critical developments that moved medicine forward in 2025. Nature Medicine, Published online: 12 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41591-025-04098-4 In a year that has dealt many blows to biomedical research, many breakthroughs nevertheless continued to inspire us. From regenerative medicine to reproductive technologies and everything in between — here is our selection of critical developments that moved medicine forward in 2025.

[Series] Management of prematurity-associated lung disease from infancy through to adulthood

Preterm birth has lifelong pulmonary consequences, with many individuals developing prematurity-associated lung disease (PLD). This third paper in the prematurity-associated lung disease Series summarises current evidence for treatment and monitoring of PLD and its phenotypes. Preventive strategies, including maternal and infant vaccination to reduce early life viral exposures, are emerging as key interventions. Pharmacological approaches, such as inhaled corticosteroids, alone or combined with long-acting bronchodilators, show potential benefits in childhood, although there is currently little evidence on phenotype-specific responses.

[Series] Trajectories of prematurity-associated lung disease: lifelong lung health

Preterm birth is increasingly recognised as adversely influencing lifelong lung function. This Series paper on prematurity-associated lung disease reviews studies reporting longitudinal lung function measurements in individuals who were born preterm. Evidence suggests that preterm birth alters lung function trajectories from early life onwards, with implications for future respiratory morbidity. We propose that this population needs rigorous follow up that should include systematic monitoring of lung function across the lifespan, starting in childhood.

[Series] Looking beyond bronchopulmonary dysplasia: prematurity-associated lung disease and its phenotypes

Preterm birth is increasingly recognised as a determinant of chronic respiratory disease across the life course. In this Series on prematurity-associated lung disease (PLD), we introduce the concept of PLD as a unifying framework for the diverse pulmonary consequences of preterm birth. Historically, most attention has focused on extremely preterm infants (<28 weeks of gestation) who develop bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), yet not all infants with BPD have long-term morbidity. Conversely, those born very (28–31 weeks), moderate (32–33 weeks), or late (34–36 weeks) preterm also have increased risk for developing lung disease.

[Articles] D-Dimer thresholds for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism based on a single question: is it the most likely diagnosis? A prospective, multicentre, open-label, single-arm interventional study

A global simplified strategy using a D-dimer threshold of 1000 ng/mL in patients for whom pulmonary embolism was not the most likely diagnosis, and an age-adjusted threshold for other patients, safely excluded the diagnosis. These findings indicate that this simplified strategy could safely reduce the use of chest imaging in the emergency department.

[Articles] Effects of intraoperative higher versus lower positive end-expiratory pressure during one-lung ventilation for thoracic surgery on postoperative pulmonary complications (PROTHOR): a multicentre, international, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial

In patients with a BMI of less than 35 kg/m2 undergoing thoracic surgery, one-lung ventilation using higher PEEP with recruitment manoeuvres, compared with lower PEEP without recruitment manoeuvres, did not reduce PPCs. The choice for intraoperative lung expansion or permissive atelectasis should take the individual gas-exchange and haemodynamic conditions into account, which might vary during the intraoperative period.

[Spotlight] Nicotine-free generations: a bold policy for public health

Nicotine use remains the leading preventable cause of death and disability worldwide. While the popularity of non-combustible nicotine products such as e-cigarettes and pouches has surged in recent years, growing evidence highlights their detrimental effects. Although non-combustible products such as electronic cigarettes might aid adults who smoke, their overall benefits and harms remain uncertain, and they do not address the core issue: nicotine use disorder. Across the USA and around the globe, a growing proportion of younger generations acquire a nicotine addiction by vaping, and many of them are unaware of the long-term associated risks.