Read the latest science news and recent scientific discoveries on Live Science, where we've been reporting on groundbreaking advances for over 20 years. Our expert editors, writers and contributors are ready to guide you through today's most important breakthroughs in science with expert analysis, in-depth explainers and interesting articles, covering everything from space, technology, health, animals, planet Earth, and much more.
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Why the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse appears to move backwardWhile eclipse paths always move from west to east, this one seems to reverse direction on maps as it crosses the Arctic. Here's the geometry behind the illusion.
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Stunning fossil from Australian outback reveals pliosaur killed a sea monster that had just eaten a pterosaurUsing advanced neutron imaging, researchers scanning fossils from Queensland uncovered clues about the complex food chain of prehistoric Earth.
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'It's incredibly rare to see a moment like this in the ocean': Camera drone captures moment humpback whale gives birth off Australian coastA camera drone captured extraordinarily rare footage of a humpback whale giving birth off the Australian coast.
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'It's real, and it's happening': Antibiotic resistance in kids is rising around the world, massive study findsA global analysis shows how antibiotic resistance has been increasing among childhood infections.
medicine-drugs -
Half of the world's dams could be 'functionally inoperable' by 2060 from being flooded with sediment — and the American West is a major hotspotAnalysis Research shows a fifth of the world's reservoirs are currently at high risk of filling with sediment, creating a "ticking time bomb" that threatens lives and livelihoods.
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Physicists find a way to control heat in a way once thought impossibleResearchers designed a material that can independently control how it absorbs and emits heat, and it even retains those settings once the power is turned off.
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Brains don't always rot: Scientists may finally know how human brains have evaded decay for thousands of yearsThousands of skeletal human remains have been discovered with their brain tissue unexpectedly intact. Now, a team of scientists may have finally figured out why.
chemistry -
'Darwin’s hypothesis provided an important inspiration': Scientists bolster 150-year-old Darwinian theory with a carnivorous plant in ChinaResearchers have confirmed that a plant native to alpine regions in southwest China is carnivorous, supporting a Darwinian theory from 1875.
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A SpaceX rocket will hit the moon at 5,000 mph tonight. Here's what to expect.An upcoming collision of a Falcon 9 rocket part with the moon may be visible from Earth with telescopes, new research suggests. Here's what scientists and skywatchers are hoping to see.
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2 people die of Cyclospora infection in MichiganTwo people in Michigan have died due to Cyclospora infections, the state health department reported.
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Scientists uncover big clue as to how Antarctica's mysterious Blood Falls came to beBrine that feeds the gruesome-looking Blood Falls in East Antarctica may have been emplaced when sea levels were higher than they are now, a new study says.
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'Poop pills' may ease insomnia by reprogramming the gut microbiome, early study hintsReprogramming the gut microbiome with fecal microbiota transplants could reduce the amount of time people with insomnia spend awake.
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Ancient bullets reveal where a Roman camp hid in the Pyrenees of Spain before being ambushedResearchers found the remains of a Roman camp from 39 B.C. that was ambushed by locals in what's now Catalonia, Spain.
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Aspen trees provide a natural buffer against wildfires, even as fire season intensifies, study showsBuffers made of aspen trees could help protect communities from worsening wildfires.
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Could we prevent dementia? A new trial may point the way.Analysis While much funding for dementia research goes toward treatments, some scientists want to reduce people's risk of developing the condition in the first place.
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Why Aug. 12 could be the greatest single day and night for skywatchers for yearsA solar eclipse, the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, Venus at dichotomy and the Milky Way at its annual best will create one of 2026's best days for skywatching.
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Sharks reveal their secret lives, coldest temperature recorded in Antarctica, geoglyphs hint at lost Amazonian civilization and why inflammation causes false memories.Science news this week August 1, 2026: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend
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'We are not giving up yet': Private mission to rescue NASA's Swift telescope is spinning out of controlKatalyst Space's LINK spacecraft is recovering from an unexpected spin in orbit, and will need a little more time to rescue NASA's falling Swift observatory.
space-exploration -
Astronomers accidentally discover 2 supernovas that exploded from a single star systemAstronomers have identified a supernova remnant beside the well-known Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443), and evidence suggests both are the wreckage of two stars that once orbited each other before exploding separately.
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