Planet Earth

A false-color satellite image of a desert with a patch of parallel lines and a large shadowy patch

Otherworldly stripes and shadowy dunes share center stage in 'hottest place on Earth'

By Harry Baker published

Earth from space This 2012 satellite photo shows a series of giant windblown ridges, known as yardangs, and a group of towering sand dunes at the heart of Iran's Lut Desert.

Earth from space
A scene from somewhere in the Ukraine or northern Poland about 18,000 years ago. Woolly mammoths and woolly rhinos shared the landscape with ancient giant elk. There have been no known giant teratorns found, but I have included one that may be more related to ancient large vultures. In the background is a receding glacier that is calving and creating a large lake that empties into the nearby Baltic Sea.

Ancient 'land bridge' that connected Siberia to US wasn't what it seems, scientists find

By Stephanie Pappas published

The boggy landscape of the Bering land bridge may have allowed some ice age animals to cross easily, while others stayed in Asia.

Planet Earth
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Space

A colorized image of a nebula

'We know so little': Bizarre 'runaway' planets discovered by James Webb telescope may be failed stars in disguise

By Abha Jain published

A new theory explains how dozens of mysterious planet pairs discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope, dubbed "JuMBOs," may have formed.

Astronomy
An illustration of a rippling wave passing through a grid of galaxies

Black hole paradox that stumped Stephen Hawking may have a solution, new paper claims

By Paul Sutter published

As black holes slowly vanish through Hawking radiation, their information may be preserved in subtle space-time ripples, a new theory suggests.

Black Holes
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archaeology

A side-by-side comparison of a Neanderthal and human skull

Are Neanderthals and Homo sapiens the same species?

By Amanda Heidt last updated

Scientists have been vollying the question back and forth for more than a century.

Archaeology
An excavated Stone Age house in Ukraine against a green and blue background

Stone Age 'CSI': Archaeologists identify a family killed in a house fire nearly 6 millennia ago

By Kristina Killgrove published

Human bones discovered in a house that burned down 5,700 years ago are providing archaeologists "CSI"-style clues about the deaths of seven people in prehistoric Ukraine.

Archaeology
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Health

Illustration of bacteriophage.

'Medicine needed an alternative': How the 'phage whisperer' aims to replace antibiotics with viruses

By Lina Zeldovich published

"Both understood phages as medicinal agents, which the rest of the medical field viewed as nonsensical."

Viruses, Infections & Disease
A pregnant woman is shown sat at a chair next to a table. She is wearing a blood pressure monitoring cuff on her left arm, which is outstretched on the table. The image is cropped so that she cannot be seen above her shoulders.

New mRNA injection is step forward in 'quest' to find preeclampsia cure

By Emily Cooke published

A new mRNA therapy tested in mice may target the root cause of the potentially fatal pregnancy disorder preeclampsia.

Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth
a jar of wasabi

Diagnostic dilemma: A woman got 'broken heart syndrome' after eating too much wasabi

By Mindy Weisberger published

The patient was diagnosed with takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as "broken heart syndrome," which had an unusual cause.

Heart & Circulation
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Animals

A photograph of a humpback whale in the ocean

Male humpback whale crossed 3 oceans for sex, inadvertently breaking distance record for species

By Sascha Pare published

A male humpback whale swam 8,106 miles (13,046 km) from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean, mingling with other whale populations and potentially having sex with them along the way.

Humpback Whales
New amphipod species

Large, ghostly white crab-like predator discovered at the bottom of the Atacama Trench

By Jacklin Kwan published

A never-before-seen predatory crustacean that feeds on other smaller creatures in the hadal zone was discovered in the Atacama Trench at a depth of 25,900 feet.

Crustaceans
A small hamster-like mammal.

Turuchan pika: The adorable ball of fluff that just loves to play

By Lydia Smith published

Turuchan pikas play all sorts of games, including swinging from branches, throwing food around and hiding them jumping out at each other.

Animals
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Human Behavior

Two people watch a movie in a theater

24 brain networks kick in when you watch movies, study finds

By Jennifer Zieba published

Researchers created the most detailed map of the brain's functional networks using data from people watching movies, including "Inception," "Home Alone" and "Erin Brokovich."

Human Behavior
Girl reading books in front of a cartoon space scene

33 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
2024 Calendar and pen

How many weeks are there in a year?

By Richard Pallardy published

We take our timekeeping rules for granted, but the history of these rules is long and complex.

Human Behavior
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Physics & Mathematics

A top-down view of a sofa squeezing around an L-shaped hallway

Infamous 'sofa problem' that boggled mathematicians for decades may finally have a solution

By Stephanie Pappas published

A math problem delineating the largest-size sofa that can fit around a corner has finally been solved, though it may not help you move.

Mathematics
The first detailed image of an individual photon

The shape of light: Scientists reveal image of an individual photon for 1st time ever

By Victoria Atkinson published

Using a groundbreaking new technique, researchers have unveiled the first detailed image of a photon — a single particle of light — ever taken.

Quantum Physics
A photo of a flash of light

Is light a particle or a wave?

By Victoria Atkinson published

Does light behave more like a particle, or like a wave? Today we know the surprising answer. Here's why it took so long to get there.

Particle Physics
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Chemistry

The hydrogen fuel tank of a Toyota vehicle on display.

Scientists discover revolutionary method that makes fuel from water and sunlight — but it's not finished yet

By Ben Turner published

The hydrogen fuel tank of a Toyota vehicle on display.

Chemistry
Periodic Table of Elements.

Periodic table of elements: How it works and who created it

By Jeanna Bryner, Tim Sharp last updated

The Periodic Table, first created by Dmitri Mendeleev, organizes all of the known elements in an informative array.

Elements
Hand dipping a paint brush into a large tin of pink paint as it drips back into the tin. Paint is one source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in your home.

What are VOCs? The facts about volatile organic compounds

By Kimberly Hickok last updated

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are gaseous chemicals that are emitted by various household items, as well as natural sources.

Chemistry
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Tech

a black and white photo of a group of people with an old-fashioned car

Who invented the car? The history of the automobile

By Lauren Cox last updated

Reference Discover the complex history of the automobile, from early self-propelled vehicles to Karl Benz's invention of the first modern car, and explore the key innovators who shaped the cars we drive today.

Reference
Four-legged robot in hilly terrain.

Watch Chinese security robot with wheels for feet scramble down hills and perform acrobatics

By Rory Bathgate published

Footage shows the DEEP Robotics 'Lynx' model traversing on two wheels and four across tough terrain.

Robotics
Company logo.

New quantum computing milestone smashes entanglement world record

By Owen Hughes published

Researchers have made significant progress in the quest for scalable and fault-tolerant quantum computers after entangling the most logical qubits on record.

Computing
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