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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Perfectly preserved owl fossil from 47 million years ago could help to solve a major evolutionary mysteryA stunning fossil owl from Germany that has its last meal preserved in its stomach helped researchers to narrow down the time when these birds mostly became active at night.
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Oldest known Martian meteorite holds clues to a watery pastThe oldest known rock from Mars was discovered on Earth in 2022. Scientists are beginning to reveal its mysteries.
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Scientists removed the glare from a James Webb telescope image — and unmasked a hidden planetUsing machine learning, astronomers developed a new way of looking at James Webb telescope data that allows far-off planets to emerge from their star's glare.
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Gigantic chasm on Mars is still tectonically activeNew research shows that a powerful 2021 marsquake emanating from Valles Marineris — the largest canyon in the solar system — was triggered by unexpected movement in a fault line deep below the gigantic structure, revealing that tectonic activity can still occur on geologically "dead" worlds.
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2,800-year-old tomb in Siberia has evidence of the earliest use of cannabis — possibly as a way to calm human sacrifice victimsSeeds found in an ancient grave and chemical compounds discovered in mummy hair have revealed people got high on marijuana 2,800 years ago.
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Cryptic padlock from a 400-year-old shipwreck finally opened — but it leaves a mysteryResearchers used CT scans to crack a 400-year-old code and open a mysterious padlock that washed up in Wales with the Ann Francis treasure hoard.
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1,600-year-old burial holds remains of man infected with a 'very rare' strain of leprosy in GermanyA high-status burial surprised archaeologists when they discovered leprosy in a man's bones from the fifth century.
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One-third of babies diagnosed with peanut allergy don't actually have one, study hintsNew findings suggest that "food challenges" can help prevent children from being saddled with unnecessary allergy diagnoses.
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Physicists sank a telescope 1.5 miles under the sea to put Einstein's relativity to the testA half-built neutrino telescope on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea searched for cracks in one of physics' most basic invariances. It came up empty, but its limits rival those of detectors many times its size.
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A tiny chunk of Australia seeded Southeast Asia's tropical forests 50 million years ago, plant fossils preserved in amber revealAn analysis of plant fossils preserved in amber from Myanmar revealed that the West Burma Block, a chunk of crust that broke off of Australia, seeded Southeast Asia's lush tropical forests.
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Swift has fallen: NASA's 22-year-old space telescope burns up over SumatraThe reentry of NASA's dead Swift space telescope is the end of an era for rapid-response space science.
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Colorful 1,800-year-old belt buckle discovered in a Ukrainian forest may have belonged to a nomadic equestrian warriorA Roman-era belt buckle discovered in a Ukrainian forest hints at the ancient conflict between the Romans and the Dacians.
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Scientists find the best evidence yet of potentially habitable volcanic vents on MarsMagma and a possible environment for ancient life might be present on Mars in the region of a large volcano on the Red Planet.
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This self-powered toothbrush makes electricity to kill cavity-causing bacteriaResearchers have created a self-charging toothbrush that helps fight the bacteria linked to cavities and gum disease while preventing plaque buildup.
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A 3,200-pound NASA spacecraft could fall to Earth any minute now
NASA's Swift Observatory is about to make a fiery reentry through Earth's atmosphere after a private mission to save it failed. Most of the spacecraft will burn up in orbit.
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Southern Taurid meteor shower could bring fireballs this week — when and where to lookThe best time to see meteors during the Southern Taurid meteor shower is coming up soon.
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Would you risk your health to visit Mars?Poll A recent rat study hinted that cosmic radiation could pose health risks for future Mars explorers. Live Science asks its readers whether they'd take the journey anyway.
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Mars-bound astronauts could face years of heart scarring, rat study hintsRats that were exposed to radiation similar to what Mars-bound astronauts might face showed higher levels of scar tissue in their hearts, indicating they were more vulnerable to heart failure.
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5,300-year-old kidney stone the size of a grape found in Bronze Age man's burial near Black SeaResearchers identified a 5,300-year-old kidney stone in the burial of a Bronze Age cattle herder in Russia.
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