From a revolutionary CRISPR technique that activates genes without the scary DNA-cutting part, to a legendary fossil forcing scientists to completely rethink human origins, yesterday delivered breakthroughs that will reshape medicine, climate policy, and our understanding of who we are. Plus: China just broke a fusion rule physicists thought was unbreakable, and we finally know how Earth has been secretly feeding the Moon for billions of years.

Scientists have developed a breakthrough CRISPR technique that can turn genes on without cutting DNA—solving one of gene therapy's biggest safety concerns. Traditional CRISPR works like molecular scissors, slicing DNA to make changes, but those cuts can cause unintended mutations. This new approach activates dormant genes without making a single cut.

The technique could revolutionize treatment for diseases caused by genes that aren't working properly rather than genes with mutations. Instead of risking permanent changes to DNA, doctors could simply flip the 'on' switch for beneficial genes that have been turned off. This opens possibilities for treating conditions where boosting existing genetic functions—rather than editing faulty code—could restore health.

The implications extend beyond medicine. This gentler form of gene activation could accelerate research into how genes regulate everything from metabolism to aging, providing scientists with a safer tool to probe the genome's mysteries without permanently altering it.

Researchers have uncovered the fundamental process of how the brain constructs itself during development—a discovery that could explain why neurodevelopmental disorders occur and how to prevent them. The breakthrough reveals the step-by-step mechanisms that transform a simple neural tube into the complex organ that defines human consciousness.

The findings show how brain cells organize themselves into precisely arranged layers and structures, following molecular signals that act like architectural blueprints. When these signals misfire or timing goes wrong, developmental disorders can result. Understanding this process gives scientists potential intervention points—moments when medical treatments could correct development gone awry.

This research matters because neurodevelopmental conditions affect millions globally, yet treatments remain limited because we haven't fully understood how typical brain development works. With this roadmap in hand, researchers can now identify what goes wrong in conditions like autism and intellectual disabilities, potentially leading to early interventions during critical developmental windows.

Plants can't absorb as much CO2 as climate models predicted, according to new research that could force scientists to revise their projections for how quickly the planet will warm. The discovery reveals that we've been overestimating nature's ability to buffer humanity's carbon emissions—meaning climate change may accelerate faster than current models suggest.

The research found limitations in how plants respond to elevated CO2 levels that weren't properly accounted for in previous models. While plants do grow more vigorously with extra carbon dioxide, other factors—including nutrient availability, water stress, and temperature extremes—constrain how much additional carbon they can actually pull from the atmosphere. These real-world limitations significantly reduce the 'fertilization effect' that climate models have relied on.

The implications are stark: if Earth's vegetation can't absorb as much carbon as predicted, atmospheric CO2 will accumulate faster, accelerating warming and potentially triggering climate tipping points sooner than expected. This finding underscores the urgency of emissions reductions—we can't count on nature to bail us out as much as we'd hoped.

China's experimental fusion reactor has broken a limit scientists thought was fundamental to plasma physics, potentially accelerating the path to unlimited clean energy. The breakthrough at China's 'artificial sun'—a tokamak fusion device—achieved plasma conditions that surpassed theoretical boundaries established decades ago.

The achievement involves maintaining ultra-hot plasma at temperatures and densities beyond what physicists believed possible without losing stability. Fusion reactors must contain plasma hotter than the sun's core, and keeping it stable long enough for fusion reactions has been the technology's greatest challenge. This breakthrough suggests the theoretical limits were too conservative and that fusion energy may be more achievable than previously thought.

If fusion energy succeeds, it would provide virtually limitless clean power with no carbon emissions and minimal radioactive waste—a true game-changer for combating climate change. China's success also intensifies the global race toward fusion, with implications for energy independence and geopolitical power. The question is no longer whether fusion is possible, but who will achieve it first.

A famous fossil is forcing scientists to completely rethink human evolutionary history, challenging long-held assumptions about when and where key human traits emerged. The reanalysis of this legendary specimen reveals features that don't fit neatly into established timelines, suggesting our family tree is far more complex than the linear progression often depicted in textbooks.

The fossil displays a mosaic of primitive and advanced characteristics that challenge the idea of human evolution as a steady march toward modernity. Instead, different traits appear to have evolved at different times in different populations, with some lineages developing 'modern' features millions of years before others. This pattern suggests human evolution involved more experimentation, dead ends, and parallel development than previously understood.

The discovery matters because understanding where we came from shapes how we think about what makes us human. Each revision to our origin story reveals that the path to humanity wasn't inevitable or straightforward—it was messy, contingent, and far stranger than we imagined. This fossil is another reminder that the story of human evolution is still being written.

Scientists have discovered that Earth has been continuously transferring material to the Moon for billions of years through a process nobody fully appreciated until now. This ongoing exchange reveals that the Moon isn't the static, dead rock it appears to be, but rather a dynamic body still receiving material from its parent planet.

The mechanism involves Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere interacting in ways that propel atoms and molecules toward the Moon. Over geological timescales, this subtle but constant flow has deposited significant amounts of Earth material on the lunar surface. This process continues today, meaning the Moon preserves a geological record of Earth's atmospheric evolution spanning billions of years.

The finding could revolutionize lunar science by revealing that Moon rocks contain a hidden archive of Earth's history—including information about ancient atmospheres, climate changes, and possibly even the emergence of life. Future Moon missions might recover samples that tell us more about early Earth than anything we can find on our heavily recycled planet. The Moon, it turns out, has been keeping Earth's secrets all along.

From revolutionary medical tools to cosmic discoveries that rewrite textbooks, yesterday reminded us that science isn't about having all the answers—it's about constantly discovering better questions. Each breakthrough opens doors we didn't know existed, revealing a universe far stranger and more wonderful than we dared imagine.