Live Science: The Most Interesting Articles, Mysteries & Discoveries

Planet Earth

The General Sherman Tree in California's Sequoia National Park is the world's largest tree by volume.

Firefighters race to save the world’s largest tree as wildfires rage

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

California firefighters have wrapped the bases of the world's largest trees in fire-resistant aluminum blankets to protect them from a wildfire that is raging nearby.

A park ranger talks with Mammoth Cave visitors in Broadway, one of the cave's canyon passages.

Explorers add 8 miles to world's longest known cave system

By Laura Geggel

Hours of survey work have added an additional 8 miles to the passageways at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky

Space and Physics

The remnants of the oldest documented supernova, which Chinese astronomers documented in A.D. 185 (not the supernova of A.D. 1181)

Nearly 900 years ago, astronomers spotted a strange, bright light in the sky. We finally know what caused it.

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

In the 12th century, Chinese and Japanese astronomers spotted a supernova in the sky shining as brightly as Saturn.

Gravitational waves are giant ripples in the fabric of space-time.

New gravitational wave detector picks up possible signal from the beginning of time

By Adam Mann

Physicists turned on a new type of gravitational-wave sensor and saw two intriguing results, but they aren't yet ready to claim a discovery.

History

The two mass graves contain the remains of at least 25 men.

Mass grave of slaughtered Crusaders discovered in Lebanon

By Ben Turner

While there are many historical records of the Crusades, physical evidence like this is rare.

Ian Panter, head of conservation at York Archaeological Trust, examines the Bronze Age coffin.

Rare Bronze Age coffin uncovered on UK golf course

By Laura Geggel

A Bronze Age burial was accidentally discovered in an English golf club.

Health

Yoga for back pain: Image shows woman doing yoga pose

Yoga for back pain: What you need to know

By Mark Brownless

REFERENCE Find out everything you need to know about yoga for back pain, including if experts really think it's a good idea.

REFERENCE

How to breathe while running

By Sarah Finley

REFERENCE Do you know how to breathe while running? We talk to the experts for all the key advice.

REFERENCE

How to get fit

By Joanna Ebsworth

REFERENCE How to get fit, keep up your workout routine and get the results you’re after when exercising at home.

REFERENCE

Animals

Reconstitution of mother-newborn interaction in the Matalascañas Trampled Surface.

Baby elephants frolicked in an ancient 'nursery,' fossil footprints show

By Mindy Weisberger

Over 100,000 years ago, extinct relatives of modern elephants lived in matriarchal groups, according to preserved trackways in southwestern Spain.

A similar fossil to the one discovered in the desert. Rhamphorhynchoids were small pterosaurs with long tails and fully-toothed beaks.

'Flying dragon' fossil found preserved inside a rock in the Chilean desert

By Ben Turner

Further analysis could point to the animal being a completely new species.

The original fossil of Yuanchuavis, which was found in the Jehol Biota in northeastern China.

Bizarre tail on little dinosaur-age bird was literally a drag

By Laura Geggel

An extraordinary 120-million-year-old fossil bird from China reveals that the animal had a sexy but vaguely impractical tail.

Strange News

A hammerhead shark that is preserved in alcohol in the East Wing of the Natural History Museum in Berlin, Germany.

Why is alcohol used to preserve things?

By Donavyn Coffey

Here's how alcohol can help preserve DNA, tissue samples and even entire organisms.

Pi is an irrational number, meaning it has an infinite number of decimal points.

Pi calculated to a record-breaking 62.8 trillion digits

By Harry Baker

Researchers are set to break the world record for the most precise value of pi, after using an advanced computer to calculate the famous constant to 62.8 trillion decimal places.

Two aircraft pilots reported seeing a bright green UFO over Canada in July 2021.

Two planes report 'bright green UFO' swooping through the clouds over Canada

By Brandon Specktor

Two aircrafts flying over Canada reported a "bright green UFO" that disappeared into the clouds on July 30.

Culture

What is ESP?

By Isobel Whitcomb

Also known as "the sixth sense" or "psi," extrasensory perception, or ESP, encompasses a wide range of paranormal abilities, including mind reading and predicting the future.

Concept of a narcissistic and egoistic man.

There are 2 types of narcissists. Here's what makes each tick.

By Nikhila Mahadevan

Chances are you've met a narcissist. Here's what's behind the gigantic ego.

German mathematician Emmy Noether (shown here in this portrait) was born on March 23, 1882, in Erlangen, Germany, and died April 14, 1935, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

Math genius Emmy Noether endured sexism and Nazism. 100 years later, her ideas still ring true.

By Tamar Lichter Blanks

Albert Einstein described Emmy Noether as a "creative mathematical genius" who, despite "unselfish, significant work over a period of many years," did not get the recognition she deserved.

Tech

An artist's illustration of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites in orbit. The company has won a U.S. military contract for missile-warning satellites.

SpaceX Starlink satellites responsible for over half of close encounters in orbit, scientist says

By Tereza Pultarova

SpaceX's Starlink satellites are involved in about 1,600 close encounters between two spacecraft in low Earth orbit every week, according to available data. That’s about 50% of all such incidents.

Damien Jemison, photographer at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), captured this image of the NIF laser beam lines entering a part of the target chamber. Jemison needed five exposures to capture the range of light in the dimly lit spot. He also converted the resulting image to monotone, saying "The end result is my artistic view of how I feel when standing face-to-face with the highest-energy laser in the world."

Fusion experiment breaks record, blasts out 10 quadrillion watts of power

By Tom Metcalfe

Crowds converge at Kabul's international airport Monday (Aug. 16) after the Taliban took over the Afghan city.

Crowds of desperate people at Afghanistan airport visible in satellite photos

By Elizabeth Howell

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