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
A person stands on the edge of the Yamal crater. The crater is covered in snow. There are arrows on the picture showing the width of the crater.

We're one step closer to finding out why Siberia is riddled with exploding craters

By Sascha Pare published

A new physical model suggests meltwater from thawing permafrost on Russia's Yamal Peninsula can unlock methane sources at depth, triggering explosions that open enormous craters at the surface.

Geology
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Space

A spacecraft with a white dome dominating its structure against a red and brown background

NASA shuts off Voyager 2 science instrument as power dwindles

By Robert Lea published

NASA has turned off one of Voyager 2's science instruments as power conservation becomes crucial for the interstellar exploring spacecraft located 12.8 billion miles from home.

Space Exploration
An artist's rendering of a black hole

There were more black holes in the early universe than we thought, Hubble research reveals

By Matthew J. Hayes published

New research can help us understand how supermassive black holes formed — and why many of them appear to be more massive than expected.

Black Holes
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archaeology

a coffin in a tomb with hieroglyphics

'Extraordinary' burial of ancient Egyptian governor's daughter discovered in a coffin within another coffin

By Owen Jarus published

Archaeologists have discovered a 4,000-year-old tomb that belonged to an ancient Egyptian governor's daughter.

Ancient Egyptians
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
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Health

A man in athletic apparel squeezes water into his mouth from a water bottle

Why does drinking water feel so good when you're thirsty?

By Margaret Osborne published

Drinking water triggers a variety of complex biochemical reactions that reward rehydration and help satiate our thirst.

Neuroscience
a doctor puts a bandaid on a woman's shoulder after a shot

Flu shot lowers hospitalization risk by 35% in vulnerable groups, data hint

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Data from the Southern Hemisphere hint that this year's flu shot lowers the risk of hospitalization among vulnerable demographics.

Flu
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
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Animals

An Alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula) in water.

Alligator gar: The 'living fossil' that has barely evolved for 100 million years

By Melissa Hobson published

This living fossil can grow as large as an alligator, has two rows of needle-sharp teeth, and such strong armor that it survived predatory dinosaurs.

Fish
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
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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 rendering of a clock with an abstract blue background

Quantum physicists discover 'negative time' in strange experiment

By Manon Bischoff, Jeanna Bryner published

Physicists showed that photons can seem to exit a material before entering it, revealing observational evidence of negative time

Quantum Physics
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
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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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