NASA telescope spots the building blocks for life spewing out of comet 3I/ATLAS
NASA's SPHEREx space telescope detected organic molecules coming off comet 3I/ATLAS as the interstellar visitor made its closest approach to Earth in December.
Space
Something supercharged Uranus with radiation during Voyager flyby 40 years ago. Scientists now know what.
Forty years ago, Voyager 2 flew past Uranus and observed radiation levels that defied explanation. Now, scientists may finally know exactly what happened.
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New 'sungrazing' comet could become visible to the naked eye during the day — if the sun doesn't destroy it
The newly discovered sungrazing comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) will undergo an extremely close slingshot around our star in early April, and could become bright enough to be seen without a telescope during the day.
Impossibly powerful 'ghost particle' that hit Earth may have come from an exploding black hole
A supercharged neutrino that smashed into our planet in 2023 may have been spit out by an exploding primordial black hole with a "dark charge." If true, this theory could lead to a definitive catalog of all subatomic particles and unveil the elusive identity of dark matter.
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Planet Earth
Permafrost thaw and 'shrubification' have tipped Alaska's North Slope into a wildfire regime not seen for 3,000 years
An analysis of peatland soil samples and satellite images has found that wildfires on Alaska's North Slope are more frequent and severe now than they were at any point over the past 3,000 years.
China has planted so many trees around the Taklamakan Desert that it's turned this 'biological void' into a carbon sink
Huge-scale ecological engineering around the edges of one of the world's largest and driest deserts has turned it into a carbon sink that absorbs more CO2 than it emits, research suggests.
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The largest reservoir of hydrogen on Earth may be hiding in its core
Earth's core contains nine to 45 times more hydrogen than the planet's oceans do, according to a new study that could settle a debate about when and how hydrogen was delivered to Earth.
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archaeology
Western Europe's earliest known mule died 2,700 years ago — and it was buried with a partially cremated woman
Scientists have identified the oldest mule remains ever found in the western Mediterranean.
CT scans reveal the last moments of Inca children sacrificed as 'messengers to the gods'
New CT scans reveal the last moments of the Inca children who were sacrificed and mummified about 500 years ago.
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Viking Age mass grave holds mysterious mix of dismembered human remains and complete skeletons, including a 'giant' who'd had brain surgery
Archaeologists and student excavators uncovered a Viking Age pit full of dismembered remains near Cambridge, England.
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LATEST ARTICLES
Animals
Extraordinary photo captures first appearance of Siberian peregrine falcon in Australia's arid center
An ecologist has captured a photo of a peregrine falcon subspecies in an unprecedented location.
Spotted lanternflies are invading the US. They may have gotten their evolutionary superpowers in China's cities.
The alarming spread of spotted lanternflies across the U.S. has been made possible by cities acting as evolutionary incubators, fine-tuning the insects and enabling them to thrive.
Kanzi the bonobo could play pretend — a trait thought unique to humans
Past anecdotal observations have hinted that great apes play pretend. But now, experimental research shows that our closest living relatives can keep track of imaginary objects.
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Saltwater crocodiles crossed the Indian Ocean to reach the Seychelles — before humans arrived and wiped them out
A DNA study reveals crocs that lived in the Seychelles represented the westernmost population of saltwater crocodiles, having swam at least 1,800 miles to reach the island.
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Health & Human Behavior
'DNA origami' could be key for making an effective HIV vaccine, early study hints
A new vaccine design uses folded DNA to steer the immune system toward producing the rare immune cells needed to make protective antibodies against HIV.
Cancer vaccine shows promise against HPV-related throat tumors in early study
If proven effective in humans, the vaccine could complement standard therapies for HPV-driven cancer, as well as inform the design of therapeutic vaccines for other diseases.
Are you a night owl or an early bird?
Research suggests night owls may face different health risks than early birds do. Which category do you fit into, if either?
Only certain types of brain-training exercises reduce dementia risk, large trial reveals
A large, 20-year trial showed that speedy cognitive exercises could reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. The question is, could these tasks be adapted into video games?
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Life's Little Mysteries
Science questions, answered
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Space photo of the week
Extraordinary images of our sublime universe
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Diagnostic dilemma
Unusual case reports from the medical literature
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Incredible places
A window onto extraordinary landscapes on Earth
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Astonishing artifacts
A glimpse into how people lived in the past
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Earth from space
Incredible images of our planet from above
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Technology
We used AI as our photography assistant for a week — what worked and what did not
We let AI take the reins on our photography for a week — the results were surprising, frustrating and sometimes impressive.
Physics, Math & Chemistry
Upgrade to Antarctica 'ghost particle' observatory could pave the way to physics breakthroughs
The National Science Foundation's massive IceCube neutrino detector at the South Pole just got a major new upgrade, which promises to take the search for "ghost particles" to a new level.
Physicists push quantum boundaries by turning a superfluid into a supersolid — and back — for the first time
Physicists saw excitons, a type of quasiparticle, undergo a reversible phase transition from superfluid to supersolid for the first time, opening new doors for studying extreme states of matter.
Quizzes & Games
Live Science crossword puzzle #30: Brightest star in the night sky — 5 down
Science crossword Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!
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