Science News: Recent scientific discoveries and expert analysis

Live blog Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025: Your daily feed of the biggest discoveries and breakthroughs making headlines.

NASA's treasure trove of new comet 3I/ATLAS images provides hotly anticipated views of the interstellar visitor, including from Mars and the sun.

A species of moss survived for 9 months on the outside of the International Space Station, new research reveals — and 80% of the samples kept reproducing when returned to Earth.

A ninth-century grave discovered in Norway held the remains of a Viking Age woman whose mouth was covered with two large scallop shells.

NASA's highly anticipated comet 3I/ATLAS images have been released, with a space agency official shooting down alien rumors and stressing that the interstellar visitor is a comet.

Female bonobos routinely form coalitions to stamp out threats from males, but the level of violence in this attack was unprecedented.

Heat-loving plants that thrive in California's Death Valley could hold the key to growing crops in a changing climate.

Raccoons that live near humans had shorter snouts than rural raccoons, a trait that tends to arise in the early stages of domestication.

With 45 outbreaks of measles over the past year, the United States is at risk of endemic spread within months, experts told Live Science.

NASA will finally share long-awaited images of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS taken during the comet's close flyby of Mars. A live stream has been set for today (Nov. 19).

Scientists traced kissing back to a primate ancestor that lived around 21 million years ago.

In 2023, scientists detected the gravitational waves from a black hole collision that seemed impossible. New research finally explains how this "forbidden" black hole came to be, and what it can teach us about these extreme objects.

Archaeologists in Kyrgyzstan have discovered the remains of a drowned medieval city that was once a Silk Road hotspot.

New research shows that CTE may stem from DNA damage and inflammation set in motion by blows to the head.

An amateur astronomer has accidentally uncovered a series of puzzling radio signals coming from SpaceX's government-operated "Starshield" network. The signals overlap with protected frequencies and could disrupt other nearby spacecraft, experts warn.

Four medieval spearheads have been found in Lake Lednica in Poland. One may have belonged to a nobleman or prince.

Developed at Caltech, a new robot is a humanoid that can launch an M4 drone, switching between different modes of motion, with wheels that can become rotors.

An incredible new image shows the multi-tailed alien comet 3I/ATLAS shooting past a distant galaxy in the night sky. The stunning scene is a reminder of the object's perfectly natural interstellar origins, photographer Satoru Murata claims.

Archaeologists in Kazakhstan have discovered the "City of Seven Ravines," a vast Bronze Age "proto-city" with metalworking, dwellings and a large building.

An analysis of the only intact Neanderthal inner nose bones known to exist reveals that our ancient cousins' enormous noses did not evolve to withstand harsh climates.