James Webb telescope reveals sharpest-ever look at the edge of a supermassive black hole
The James Webb Space Telescope snapped its sharpest image of the area around a black hole, solving a long-standing galactic mystery.
Space
Strange discovery offers 'missing link' in planet formation
A decade of observations of four planets around the young planetary system V1298 Tau revealed a rare, long-sought missing link in planet formation.
James Webb telescope spots 'failed stars' in a breathtaking cluster near Earth — Space photo of the week
The James Webb Space Telescope captured a colorful portrait of a nearby stellar cradle, revealing a wealth of insights about countless stars.
Is there anything 'below' Earth in space?
Earth and its neighbors orbit the sun on a relatively flat plane. But what's below this plane, and is anythign below the Earth?
Watch NASA roll its historic Artemis II moon rocket to the launch pad this weekend
NASA's Artemis 2 rocket will roll out Saturday (Jan. 17) ahead of a possible Feb. 6 launch. Here's how to watch.
NASA's Mars Sample Return is dead, leaving China to retrieve signs of life from the Red Planet
NASA's plans for Mars sample return are effectively cancelled as part of a bill approved by the U.S. Congress, ending efforts to collect Perseverance rover samples that could contain evidence of alien life.
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Planet Earth
'The scientific cost would be severe': A Trump Greenland takeover would put climate research at risk
Trump's calls for a takeover of Greenland puts open scientific collaboration that is helping our understanding of the threat of global sea-level rise at risk.
New map of Antarctica reveals hidden world of lakes, valleys and mountains buried beneath miles of ice
The map shows diverse geological features shaping Antarctic glaciers from below, which can improve climate models of ice melt.
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Scientists watch microscopic plant 'mouths' breathing in real time with palm-sized tool
Scientists say their Stomata In-Sight tool can observe plants "breathe," which could be used to bioengineer crops that require less water, making them potentially more resilient to climate change.
18 of Earth's biggest river deltas — including the Nile and Amazon — are sinking faster than global sea levels are rising
Worldwide, millions of people live in river deltas that are sinking faster than sea levels are rising, research suggests. This exacerbates the risk of catastrophic coastal flooding and land loss.
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Mega-iceberg A23a, formerly the world's largest, turns into bright 'blue mush' as it finally dies after 40 years at sea
New satellite photos reveal that one of the world's largest and longest-lived icebergs, A23a, has developed vibrant blue striations on its surface. The striking snaps hint that the "megaberg" will soon disappear forever, ending a surprisingly eventful four-decade-long saga.
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archaeology
Romans regularly soaked in filthy, lead-contaminated bath water, Pompeii study finds
A study of limescale buildup in an early bathing facility at Pompeii has revealed that the water was replaced only once per day.
Gender ambiguity was a tool of power 4,500 years ago in Mesopotamia
Gender-ambiguous people in ancient Mesopotamia were powerful and important members of society more than four millennia ago.
Famed archaeologist Zahi Hawass says he's close to finding Nefertiti's tomb in new documentary
Zahi Hawass says he hopes to discover the tomb of Nefertiti before he retires, and he believes he's getting close.
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Animals
Rare nocturnal parrots in New Zealand are breeding for the first time in 4 years — here's why
The 2026 breeding season for endangered kākāpō could produce the most chicks in decades.
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Woolly rhino flesh pulled from ancient wolf stomach gives clues to ice age giant's extinction
More than 14,000 years ago, a wolf pup ate a piece of woolly rhino. Scientists have analyzed the rhino's DNA to figure out why it went extinct.
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How to watch 'Pole to Pole with Will Smith' — TV and streaming details as Oscar-winning actor blends adventure and scientific discovery
The actor embarks on a "thrilling adventure" across seven expeditions — here's how to watch "Pole to Pole with Will Smith" online from anywhere.
Never-before-seen footage captures moment scientists find new, giant anaconda species in Amazon
Scientists recently discovered a new species of green anaconda in the Amazon rainforest. A new Nat Geo series shows the moment they encountered this snake in the wild.
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Health & Human Behavior
This is SPARDA: A self-destruct, self-defense system in bacteria that could be a new biotech tool
A bacterial defense system called SPARDA employs kamikaze-like tactics to protect cells and could be useful in future biotechnologies.
How much of your body could you lose — and still survive?
Five vital organs are essential for life, but survival is more medically complex.
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'Zombie' cells may drive common form of epilepsy
Scientists are unraveling the role of senescent cells in a common form of epilepsy, and it could point to new treatments.
These genes were thought to lead to blindness 100% of the time. They don't.
New research finds that retinal diseases thought to map one-to-one to genetic mutations are more complicated than that.
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Life's Little Mysteries
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Space photo of the week
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Diagnostic dilemma
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Incredible places
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Earth from space
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Technology
Could there ever be a worldwide internet outage?
We've all dealt with bad internet connections. But could the entire internet ever collapse?
Physics, Math & Chemistry
Our model of the universe is deeply flawed — unless space is actually a 'sticky' fluid
Our best models of the cosmos don't add up — but that could change if the universe is actually made of a viscous 'fluid,' a new paper suggests.
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Science history: Sophie Germain, first woman to win France's prestigious 'Grand Mathematics Prize' is snubbed when tickets to award ceremony are 'lost in the mail' — Jan. 9, 1816
Sophie Germain was a brilliant, self-taught mathematician who won one of France's most prestigious prizes, yet she declined to attend the award ceremony because the committee members didn't respect her work.
Science history: Richard Feynman gives a fun little lecture — and dreams up an entirely new field of physics — Dec. 29, 1959
In a short talk at Caltech, physicist Richard Feynman laid out a vision of manipulating and controlling atoms at the tiniest scale. It would precede the field of nanotechnology by decades.
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Quizzes & Games
Live Science crossword puzzle #26: Nothing can travel faster than this — 12 across
Science crossword Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!
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