Planet Earth

Aerial view of Easter Island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. We see three separate islands and the horizon.

'Many more ancient structures waiting to be discovered': Lost chunk of seafloor hidden in Earth's mantle found off Easter Island

By Sascha Pare published

Researchers created a seismic map of Earth's interior beneath the southeastern Pacific Ocean and discovered an ancient slab of oceanic crust that appears to be stuck midway through the mantle.

Geology
View of the Hranice Abyss from the edge of the cave at the surface. We see a pool of green water at the bottom and greenery around the edge.

Hranice Abyss: The deepest freshwater cave on Earth and a conduit to a 'fossil' sinkhole

By Sascha Pare published

Scientists first described the flooded cave in 2016 but determined its extraordinary extent years later.

Geology
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Space

Three of the best star projectors on a colorful background

Best star projectors 2024: Bring the cosmos indoors

By Tantse Walter last updated

BUYING GUIDE The best star projectors bring the wonders of the cosmos into your home — find the best models here so you're ready for Amazon Prime Day.

BUYING GUIDE
Someone using one of the best telescopes

Best telescopes 2024: Beginner and advanced scopes for stars, galaxies and nebulas

By Jase Parnell-Brookes last updated

The best telescopes offer an unparalleled view of the cosmos, and we've gathered our favorites just in time for Amazon Prime Big Deals Day.

Space
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archaeology

A third-century Roman tomb recently unearthed in western Turkey. The tomb is open in the photo.

Grand tomb of Roman gladiator found in Turkey actually contains the remains of 12 other people

By Sascha Pare published

Inside a basilica in Turkey, researchers have unearthed a bone-filled tomb that may have belonged to a Roman gladiator named Euphrates and was later repurposed for a dozen people.

Romans
A photo of a brownish Neanderthal skull on a white background

Neanderthals and modern humans interbred 'at the crossroads of human migrations' in Iran, study finds

By Kristina Killgrove published

A new ecological model suggests Neanderthals and modern humans interbred in the Zagros Mountains in what is now Iran before going their separate ways 80,000 years ago.

Archaeology
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Health

photo of an avalanche hurtling down a snowy mountainside toward the camera

More people are surviving avalanches than decades ago — here's why

By Michael Schubert published

A study of avalanche survival data shows that survival rates have increased and rescues are faster, but time is still critical for buried victims.

Health
Close-up of a person getting a vaccine in their upper right arm.

Flu shots have changed this year — here's why

By Emily Cooke published

Unlike past flu shots, flu vaccines for the 2024-2025 season don't contain the "Yamagata lineage" of influenza viruses because evidence suggests that type of flu no longer exists.

Flu
Woman looks like she is explaining something to another woman. Only part of the shoulders and hair of the other woman can be seen and they are blurred. Shelves with books and folders are shown in the background.

What causes stuttering?

By Emily Cooke published

Very little is known about the origins of stuttering, but there are several possible explanations.

Health
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Animals

an eastern lowland gorilla mother with a baby nursing in the jungle

'The simplicity of life just hits you': Watch rare footage of critically endangered eastern lowland gorilla feeding her baby in the wild

By Hannah Osborne published

Filmmakers captured a mother eastern lowland gorilla nursing her infant for the PBS show "Silverback."

Land Mammals
Frozen carcass of a 4-year-old woolly rhino laid out on a sheet of plastic. The carcass is covered in mud but we see fur and mouthparts.

32,000-year-old mummified woolly rhino half-eaten by predators unearthed in Siberia

By Sascha Pare published

Researchers found the carcass in August 2020 in Russia's Sakha Republic, and the discovery has revealed a never-before-seen characteristic of woolly rhinos: a fatty hump on the animal's back.

Extinct Species
A huge sunfish faces a school of fish in the ocean

Which animal can have the most babies at one time?

By Katherine Irving published

How many offspring an animal can have depends on many factors, such as whether they're aquatic and how they get around.

Animals
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Human Behavior

Collage of around 40 people.

You can change your personality intentionally, research shows

By Shannon Sauer-Zavala published

Can people change their personality? Yes, by "making intentional tweaks to their thinking and behavior," research finds.

Human Behavior
A composite of a lost Biblical tree resurrected from 1,000-year-old mystery seed found in the Judean Desert and the human genome stored inside near-indestructible '5D memory crystal'

A lost Biblical tree and a memory crystal that could 'survive to the end of the universe'

By Alexander McNamara published

Science news this week Sept. 28, 2024: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend.

Science news this week
Girl reading books in front of a cartoon space scene

23 best science books for kids and young adults

By Ben Biggs last updated

Looking to inspire the next generation of curious minds? These are our picks of the best popular science books for children of all ages.

Human Behavior
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Physics & Mathematics

An artist's illustration of the entangled top quark and antiquark.

1st-ever observation of 'spooky action' between quarks is highest-energy quantum entanglement ever detected

By Ben Turner published

The discovery of two entangled quarks at the large Hadron Collider is the highest-energy observation of entanglement ever made.

Particle Physics
Purple circular black hole.

Stephen Hawking's black hole radiation paradox could finally be solved — if black holes aren't what they seem

By Andrey Feldman published

New research suggests that black holes may actually be "frozen stars," bizarre quantum objects that lack a singularity and an event horizon, potentially solving some of the biggest paradoxes in black hole physics.

Quantum Physics
Abstract representation of photons_Dizzo via Getty Images

Physicists unveil 1D gas made of pure light

By Ben Turner published

Physicists have created a one dimensional gas out of light particles for the first time. Studying how the photon gas behaves could help researchers discover some yet-unknown quantum optical effects.

Physics & Mathematics
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Chemistry

A close-up of stainless steel pots and pans hanging from a wall

Why doesn't stainless steel rust?

By Tom Metcalfe published

The special chemistry of this shiny iron alloy creates a protective layer on its surface that prevents it from rusting.

Chemistry
A close-up of a piece of steak being cooked on the grill

What happens to meat as it's cooked?

By Margaret Osborne published

Heat triggers a series of complex chemical reactions that change the color, flavor and texture of meat.

Chemistry
A Large, long white anhydrous ammonia tank with corn grain bins in background at a grain elevator company.

New reactor could more than triple the yield of one of the world's most valuable chemicals

By Victoria Atkinson published

A new reactor creates ammonia from polluted wastewater using electricity, and it's way more efficient than existing methods.

Chemistry
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Tech

Yoshua Bengio at the All In event in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023.

Humanity faces a 'catastrophic' future if we don’t regulate AI, 'Godfather of AI' Yoshua Bengio says

By Ben Turner published

Yoshua Bengio played a crucial role in the development of the machine-learning systems we see today. Now, he says that they could pose an existential risk to humanity.

Artificial Intelligence
A close-up image of a quantum computer

History of quantum computing: 12 key moments that shaped the future of computers

By Edd Gent published

Although quantum computing is a nascent field, there are plenty of key moments that defined it over the last few decades as scientists strive to create machines that can solve impossible problems.

Computing
A colourful processor in a circuitboard

What is a quantum processing unit (QPU)?

By Peter Ray Allison published

At the core of a quantum computer is the quantum processor, but these technologies are vastly different from the CPUs found in conventional computers.

Computing
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