Planet Earth

A picture taken from orbit of the Gulf of Suez.

A gulf separating Africa and Asia is still pulling apart — 5 million years after scientists thought it had stopped

By Stephanie Pappas published

The Arabian and African tectonic plates failed to pull apart 28 million years ago at the Gulf of Suez, but the area hasn't stopped rifting.

Geology
Waves crashing into a cliff from top down.

Eruptions of ocean volcanoes may be the echoes of ancient continental breakups

By Stephanie Pappas published

Waves in Earth's mantle created by the rifting of continents may peel the planet's crust from below, feeding volcanoes in the middle of the ocean.

Volcanos
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Space

Never-before-seen NASA images of comet 3I/ATLAS are coming on Wednesday (Nov. 19)

By Brandon Specktor published

NASA will finally share long-awaited images of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS taken during the comet's close flyby of Mars. A live stream has been set for Wednesday (Nov. 19).

Comets
A diagram showing the trajectory of 3I/ATLAS moving through the solar system

Mars orbiter narrows down exact path of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

By Harry Baker published

Scientists from the European Space Agency have significantly narrowed down the trajectory of the interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS thanks to data from the alien comet's recent flyby of Mars, allowing for more accurate future observations.

Comets
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archaeology

'Perfectly preserved' Neanderthal skull bones suggest their noses didn't evolve to warm air

By Kristina Killgrove published

An analysis of the only intact Neanderthal inner nose bones known to exist reveals that our ancient cousins' enormous noses did not evolve to withstand harsh climates.

2 Comments
Human Evolution

12,000-year-old figurine of goose mating with naked woman discovered in Israel

By Kristina Killgrove published

A tiny figurine depicting a goose mounting a woman reveals early evidence of animistic belief in southwest Asia.

2 Comments
Archaeology
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World of science

Health

A Live Science Black Friday Deals logo and a picture of a woman exercising in the park, looking at her smartwatch

Top 10 Black Friday smartwatch deals: From budget Amazfit trackers to premium Garmin watches

By Anna Gora last updated

Deals Top-rated smartwatches without breaking the bank.

Deals
Lymphocytes attacking cancer cell, illustration.

High-fiber diet may 'rejuvenate' immune cells that fight cancer, study finds

By RJ Mackenzie published

A laboratory study reveals an interaction between dietary fiber and the gut microbiome that may be helpful for fighting cancer.

2 Comments
Cancer
Best Black Friday deals on air purifiers

Top 10 Black Friday air purifier deals for cleaner, fresher air in your home

By Anna Gora last updated

Deals Remove bad odors and airborne pollutants without breaking the bank.

Deals
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Animals

In this photo, the parasitic ant queen Lasius orientalis (left) infiltrates the nest of Lasius flavus and apporaches their queen (right).

'Nothing but a nightmare': Worker ants are tricked into murdering their mom by an imposter queen — who quickly takes the throne for herself

By Chris Simms published

A sneaky spray of chemicals makes ant workers turn on their own mother — the queen — so a parasitic invader can take over the colony herself.

Insects

How did metamorphosis evolve?

By Marilyn Perkins published

While it might seem like an all-or-nothing process, insect metamorphosis likely emerged through gradual evolutionary changes.

Insects

Mammoth RNA sequenced for the first time, marking a giant leap toward understanding prehistoric life

By Jeanne Timmons published

Scientists successfully sequence the RNA from woolly mammoths found in Siberia that lived up between 10,000 thousand and 50,000 years ago.

Mammoths
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Human Behavior

A hand holding a pencil over a crossword puzzle

Live Science crossword puzzle #20: Largest contiguous land empire in history — 3 down

By Harry Baker last updated

Science crossword Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!

Science crossword

There is such a thing as 'settled science' — anyone who says otherwise is trying to manipulate you

By Kit Yates published

Opinion How bad-faith arguments sow doubt by weaponizing scientific humility.

19 Comments
Opinion
scientist holding test tubes with illustration of money symbols and a sand timer on a blue background

Citation cartels, ghost writing and fake peer-review: Fraud is causing a crisis in science — here's what we need to do to stop it

By Kit Yates published

Opinion Thousands of scientific papers are retracted every year because of fraudulent activity, with both authors and journals gaming a system to gain academic acclaim through deceit, dishonesty and false representation.

7 Comments
Opinion
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Physics & Mathematics

For the first time, physicists peer inside the nucleus of a molecule using electrons as a probe

By Larissa G. Capella published

A novel experiment has revealed a phenomenon called the Bohr–Weisskopf effect in a pear-shaped nucleus in a molecule for the first time.

Particle Physics

Science history: Russian mathematician quietly publishes paper — and solves one of the most famous unsolved conjectures in mathematics — Nov. 11, 2002

By Tia Ghose published

Mathematician Grigori Perelman solved the Poincaré conjecture, and then rejected the $1 million prize that came with it.

39 Comments
Mathematics
Clocks stand in a row in front of autumn trees

Daylight saving time 2025: When does the time change, and why?

By Jeanna Bryner last updated

When does daylight saving time end in 2025? Here's a look at when the time changes this year, and why we change our clocks in the first place.

Physics & Mathematics
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Chemistry

Scientists invent way to use E. coli to create and dye rainbow-colored fabric in the lab

By Mason Wakley published

Scientists have used a novel method to create sustainable, rainbow-colored fibers using bacteria in the lab.

Chemistry
an animation of a spinning buckyball molecule

Science history: Chemists discover buckyballs — the most perfect molecules in existence — Nov. 14, 1985

By Tia Ghose published

Over a feverish 10-day period, scientists synthesized and described a new class of carbon molecules, called buckminster fullerenes, after the iconic 20th-century inventor.

Chemistry

Why does boiling water have bubbles, except in a microwave?

By Victoria Atkinson published

Bubbles are usually the first sign that water’s coming to the boil, but heating it in a microwave seems to skip this important step. Here’s what’s going on.

9 Comments
Chemistry
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Technology

A Live Science Black Friday logo and a picture of Apple AirPods Pro 2 on a blue background

Our favorite AirPods are now a huge 42% off and at their lowest-ever price

By Anna Gora published

Deals Save $100 on the Apple AirPods Pro 2 wireless earbuds at Walmart — but hurry, this early Black Friday deal will not last long.

Deals
Conceptual cartoon illustration. Person beside a laptop wears a t-shirt saying 'I'm with stupid' pointing to the laptop with what looks like a chatbot conversation open on the screen.

The more that people use AI, the more likely they are to overestimate their own abilities

By Drew Turney published

Researchers found that AI flattens the bell curve of a common principle in human psychology, known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, giving us all the illusion of competence.

3 Comments
Artificial Intelligence
A pixel art-style illustration of a castle representing the protection of data

Quantum computing will make cryptography obsolete. But computer scientists are working to make them unhackable.

By Joanna Thompson published

When quantum computers become commonplace, current cryptographic systems will become obsolete. Scientists are racing to get ahead of the problem and keep our data secure.

4 Comments
Computing
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