Planet Earth

Kraftwerk Duisburg-Walsum, a coal plant near Germany's Ruhr river, belches black smoke. Coal use is projected to reach a record high this year.

Breach of key global warming threshold 'inevitable' as carbon emissions hit record high

By Ben Turner published

At the current emissions level, there is a 50% chance that global warming will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius consistently in about seven years, new research suggests.

Climate Change
The pieces of Libyan desert glass that formed the basis of the study.

Strange yellow glass found in Libyan desert may have formed from lost meteor impact

By Elizaveta Kovaleva published

A strange type of glass that was discovered in 1933 in the Libyan desert may come from a meteorite, an analysis shows, but impact crater is still missing.

Geology
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Space

An illustration of a protoplanetary disk of planet-forming gas and dust around an infant star.

James Webb telescope finds water in roiling disk of gas around ultra-hot star for 1st time ever

By Robert Lea published

The James Webb Space Telescope's discovery of water and other molecules in the inner region of a hot protoplanetary disk suggests that rocky, Earth-like planets may be able to form in some very extreme environments.

Astronomy
A halo of light appears around the moon as a rocket streaks through the sky

SpaceX rocket punches a hole in the clouds, birthing an ethereal halo around full moon

By Harry Baker published

Shortly after lifting off from Florida, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket flew through clouds of ice crystals, temporarily creating a bright halo of light that appeared to surround the full moon.

Space Exploration
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archaeology

A gold coin depicting Jesus Christ.

Byzantine gold coin with 'face of Jesus' unearthed by metal detectorist in Norway

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

A metal detectorist stumbled upon a rare gold coin while exploring the mountains in southern Norway.

Archaeology
Photograph of curse tablet in light colored stone, in the shaped of a rough square. Photograph of the front, back and side.

'Curse tablet' with oldest Hebrew name of god is actually a fishing weight, experts argue

By Tom Metcalfe published

Researchers say they see no sign of an inscription on a tablet previously thought to contain the Hebrew name for the god Yahweh.

Archaeology
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Health

illustration showing an electrode implanted in the center of a person's brain with a wire extending out of

Electrical stimulation could treat traumatic brain injuries

By Emily Cooke published

An early trial suggests that deep brain stimulation could treat cognitive impairment associated with traumatic brain injury.

Neuroscience
an illustration of red bacterial cells shaped like rods and spheres

'Extremely high' number of pneumonia cases strike kids in Ohio county

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Common respiratory viruses and bacteria are likely behind the uptick in pediatric pneumonia in Warren County, Ohio.

Viruses, Infections & Disease
Young woman sits on her bedroom floor next to her bed with her head in her hands

Traumatic memories are processed differently in PTSD

By Emily Cooke published

People with PTSD feel like they're reliving past experiences in the present. This may be tied to how the brain processes memories of those experiences.

Neuroscience
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Animals

A grizzly bear walks in the snow in West Yellowstone, Montana.

Half-asleep bears are wandering around Siberia because it's too hot to hibernate

By Sascha Pare published

Bears that are struggling to hibernate due to abnormally warm weather in Russia's Amur region are wandering around in a daze, having suppressed their metabolism in preparation for winter.

Bears
Large tortoise poses with neck extended upwards with its mouth wide open

World's oldest tortoise still randy at 191 years old

By Carys Matthews published

Jonathan, the world's oldest tortoise, has turned 191, living through 40 U.S. presidents and 31 St. Helena governors.

Animals
Chimp sits perched in between tree branches in a forest, eating on what appears to be a motionless young pushback

Alpha chimp steals eagle's dinner in 'surreal and exhilarating' forest encounter

By Patrick Pester published

Chimps usually hunt for their meat, but a rare confrontation between a chimp and an eagle in Tanzania showcased their ability to scavenge.

Animals
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Human Behavior

'Yeti hair' found in Himalayas is actually from a horse, BBC series reveals

By Patrick Pester published

DNA from a supposed Abominable Snowman actually came from a horse, but that doesn't mean stories of the Yeti passed on by local people aren't important.

Conspiracies & Paranormal
The mummified remains of what appears to be a small mermaid

Haunting 'mermaid' mummy from Japan is a gruesome monkey-fish hybrid with 'dragon claws,' new scans reveal

By Harry Baker published

Scientists have scanned the mummified remains of a supposed "mermaid" from Japan. The initial results suggest it is a horrifying mix of fish, monkey and lizard parts.

Conspiracies & Paranormal
Black and white photo of an empty wooden attic with a metal folding chair in the center.

Are ghosts real?

By Benjamin Radford last updated

One difficulty in scientifically evaluating is ghost are real is the surprisingly wide variety of phenomena attributed to ghosts.

Conspiracies & Paranormal
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Physics & Mathematics

An artist's illustration of electric charge.

Electricity flows like water in 'strange metals,' and physicists don't know why

By Ben Turner published

A weird phenomenon in which electricity flows like water was spotted in a nanowire made of "strange metal" — a bizarre metal phase that has stumped physicists for 40 years.

Physics & Mathematics
The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider.

Large Hadron Collider could be generating dark matter in its particle jets

By Keith Cooper published

If dark matter is made from "dark" versions of the basic building blocks of ordinary matter, the world's largest particle accelerator should be able to pin it down, a new study suggests.

Dark Matter
Artist's impression composed of a star with a disc around it (a Be "vampire" star; foreground) and its companion star that has been stripped of its outer parts (background).

'Vampire' stars that bleed their companions dry may have a hidden accomplice, new study reveals

By Anna Demming published

Scientists suspect that type-Be 'vampire' stars grow by preying on their smaller companions. New research suggests there may be an important third player in these systems.

Physics & Mathematics
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Chemistry

Large iceberg floating in the arctic sea

Why does ice float?

By Hannah Loss published

Why does ice float in water, instead of sinking to the bottom? It has to do with water's density and molecular structure.

Chemistry
A wispy blue cloud of molecular gas glows from the light of distant stars in this James Webb Space Telescope image

Building blocks of life may have formed on dust in the cold vacuum of space

By Paul Sutter published

Far from any galaxy, icy grains of dust in deep space may be able to form organic molecules, a new preprint study finds.

Chemistry
Colorful depiction of atoms.

Scientists get rare glimpse of 'nesting doll' isotope nitrogen-9

By Ben Turner published

With five more protons than should be stable, the newly discovered nitrogen-9 isotope sits right on the borderline of physical possibility.

Chemistry
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Tech

Impression of a rover on the surface of Mars.

Chinese scientists build robo-chemist that can extract oxygen from water on Mars

By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published

The robot was tested in a simulated Martian environment, and can one day be used to aid humanity's survival on the Red Planet.

Artificial Intelligence
A woman wearing augmented reality smart glasses at night

Smart glasses could boost privacy by swapping cameras for this 100-year-old technology

By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published

Researchers have built a tool called PoseSonic that can accurately track a glasses wearer's upper body movements.

Tech
An image montage of the soft robotic hand holding a marker pen and a water bottle.

Robot hand exceptionally 'human-like' thanks to new 3D printing technique

By Ben Turner published

The hand was printed using a technique called slow-curing, which gives plastics more time to set and makes them more durable.

Robotics
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