Loneliness may contribute to memory issues, but not dementia — they are 'not the same thing'
A researcher explains what we know — and what we don't — about the link between loneliness and memory problems.
Space
Bright-green fireball meteor caught exploding above famous Viking raid site in UK
Photographers caught a spectacular emerald-green fireball meteor streaking above Lindisfarne in northeast England, where Viking raiders famously killed and robbed Christian monks in the eighth century.
Northern lights may be visible from several US states Friday and Saturday as giant hole opens up in sun's atmosphere
A large hole opened up in the sun's atmosphere this week, spewing high-speed solar winds that will paint northern lights displays across several U.S. states this weekend.
The first black hole ever discovered is spewing 'dancing jets' at half the speed of light
Astronomers have accurately measured the "dancing" energy jets of the first confirmed black hole, Cygnus X-1, more than 60 years after it was first spotted.
'Something's missing': Most thorough-ever study of the cosmos proves we still can't explain how the universe is expanding
A comprehensive new study combines decades of research to reveal that we're missing an essential component in our understanding of how the universe works.
73 moon landings? NASA's 'Moon Base User's Guide' reveals the agency's 'most ambitious space project' will be fraught with challenges
NASA has released a 'Moon Base User's Guide' that reveals the major gaps the agency and its partners must fill in to land and live on the moon.
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Planet Earth
Ancient process that created rare earth elements discovered — and it could help us locate desperately needed deposits
A new study suggests rare earth elements form in magma above ancient subduction zones, as that magma reacts with substances that are released when one tectonic plate dives beneath another.
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Mini lake meets snowy rim of Canada's oldest ice mass
Earth from space A 2010 satellite photo shows the point where a small lake bisects the snowy rim of an ancient glacier on Canada's Baffin Island. The rippling, snow-rimmed structure is the last remaining fragment of a colossal ice sheet that once covered large parts of North America.
'I've seen the movies. What a horrible way to die': What it's like to be sucked into a tornado and survive
Interview Perry Samson was helping students conduct field experiments on supercell storms in Kansas in 2008 when one suddenly turned into a tornado and dragged him in.
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Aoshima: Japan's tiny 'Cat Island' where felines hugely outnumber humans
Once a thriving sardine fishing island, today Aoshima is home to roughly 80 cats and just a handful of people who look after the felines with the help of food donations from around Japan.
Western states face above-normal wildfire threats this summer. New maps reveal which areas are most at risk.
Amid drought and heat waves, April's national wildfire forecast shows that nearly the entire Western U.S. will face an above-normal risk of wildfires at some point in the next four months.
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archaeology
700-year-old mummy from Bolivia contains earliest confirmed evidence of strep throat bacteria in the Americas
A DNA analysis of pathogens from a pre-Hispanic mummy revealed that the bacterium that causes scarlet fever and strep throat was present in the Americas prior to European colonization.
Did King Arthur really exist?
The stories about King Arthur are almost certainly false or greatly exaggerated, but did the man himself exist?
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Archaeologists discover perfectly circular ancient Egyptian temple that may have been used for sacred water rituals
The temple included a network of water infrastructure, revealing the importance of the ancient city and the Nile.
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15 old shoes found in archaeological excavations around the world, including at Roman forts
Shoes can give us an interesting insight into what people used to wear. Here are a dozen of the most extraordinary finds from the archaeological record.
'Human evolution didn't slow down; we were just missing the signal': Large DNA study reveals natural selection led to more redheads and less male-pattern baldness
Over the past 10,000 years, evolution in West Eurasia has been selecting for light skin, red hair and resistance to HIV and leprosy in humans, according to a new study.
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LATEST ARTICLES
Animals
Can chickens really run around with their heads cut off?
There's lore about chickens surviving from seconds to months after their heads are chopped off, but what does the science say?
New study confirms lobsters feel pain, driving scientists to call for a ban on boiling them alive
A new study adds to the growing body of evidence that lobsters feel pain, with the crustaceans seemingly responding to electrical shocks with emotional distress.
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Strange mammal ancestor laid huge, leathery eggs — and it was key to surviving the world's worst mass extinction
Using synchrotron X-ray CT scans of a fossilized, intact embryo, researchers found evidence that the plant-eating mammal Lystrosaurus laid eggs, which answers a key question about mammalian evolution.
Triassic croc relative from Ghost Ranch, New Mexico finally identified after nearly 80 years in museum basement
During the Triassic, a newly described species related to modern crocodiles and alligators stalked prey on land, not the water, a new study finds.
'More questions than answers': Experts baffled by Alaskan mammal-eating orcas spotted near Seattle
Three orcas from Alaska surfaced in the waters between Washington state and Canada in March, an area where they've never been documented.
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Chimpanzees in Uganda are locked in a deadly 'civil war' after their group split apart — and scientists don't know why
The first well-observed "civil war" in wild chimpanzees reveals that shifting social ties alone can fracture a group, igniting deadly conflict between former friends.
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Health & Human Behavior
$3 million prize goes to duo whose research led to first sickle cell CRISPR therapy
Dr. Swee Lay Thein and Dr. Stuart Orkin won the $3 million Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for their work toward a functional cure for the deadly blood disorders sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia.
New pain-relief opioid could be much less addictive than morphine, rodent study finds
A new and potentially safer opioid has been tested in lab rats, and the results suggest it relieves pain with a lower risk of addiction than other drugs in its class.
Science history: Doctor autopsies the brain of a man who couldn't speak — and reveals the seat of spoken language — April 18, 1861
Dr. Paul Broca conducted an autopsy on a patient known as "Tan," who had aphasia, or the inability to speak. Broca's work identified a region of the brain that is key to spoken language.
Diagnostic dilemma: A woman heard voices telling her she had a brain tumor — and scans confirmed she did
In a strange medical case, a woman suddenly started hearing voices, and they directed her to seek care for a brain tumor.
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Technology
Hackers used AI to steal hundreds of millions of Mexican government and private citizen records in one of the largest cybersecurity breaches ever
A group of hackers used both Claude Code and ChatGPT in a cybersecurity hack that lasted two and a half months.
Physics, Math & Chemistry
Physicists witness pinpricks of darkness moving faster than the speed of light
For the first time, researchers measured singularities in combined light and sound waves moving faster than the speed of light. The findings have implications in fluid dynamics, optics and many other fields.
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Physicists entangle two moving atoms for the first time, validating 'spooky' quantum theory
For the first time, scientists have observed quantum entanglement in the momentum of massive particles. The result, decades in the making, could help physicists probe the relationship between quantum mechanics and gravity.
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Quizzes & Games
Artemis II quiz: Is your knowledge of NASA's historic moon mission out of this world?
QUIZ The slingshot around the moon has catapulted the Artemis II mission to legendary status. How much do you know about this iconic mission?
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