Planet Earth

T. oblongifolia growing in Death Valley, California.

Death Valley shrub rearranges its insides to thrive in one of the hottest places on Earth

By Sarah Wild published

Heat-loving plants that thrive in California's Death Valley could hold the key to growing crops in a changing climate.

Plants

Science history: Experiment shows mutations arise spontaneously, supporting pillar of Darwinian evolution — Nov. 20, 1943

By Tia Ghose published

Two bacteriologists showed that mutations arise spontaneously in bacterial cultures, thereby disproving Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's theory of evolution.

Evolution
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Space

Gemini meteor shower 2018 over lake in Erenhot, Inner Mongolia, China.

How to photograph a meteor shower — Next up: The Geminids

By Jacob Little last updated

A guide to photographing meteor showers all year round, with timely advice for making the most of the upcoming Geminids in December.

Astronomy
A male using the Canon 12x36 IS III binoculars with the sea and coast behind him.

Canon 12x36 IS III binocular review

By Jase Parnell-Brookes published

Review The ideal binocular for birdwatching — the Canon 12x36 IS III binoculars are a dream.

Review
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archaeology

Viking Age woman found buried with scallop shells on her mouth, and archaeologists are mystified

By Kristina Killgrove published

A ninth-century grave discovered in Norway held the remains of a Viking Age woman whose mouth was covered with two large scallop shells.

Archaeology

Kissing goes back 21 million years, to the common ancestor of humans and other large apes, study finds

By Clarissa Brincat published

Scientists traced kissing back to a primate ancestor that lived around 21 million years ago.

Human Evolution
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World of science

Health

An orange cat sitting on a sofa next to an air purifier

Best air purifiers for allergies 2025: Breathe easy this winter

By Molly Cleary, Anna Gora last updated

BUYING GUIDE These are the best air purifiers for allergies you can buy in every category, from Levoit Core 600S and Molekule Air Pro to RabbitAir A3.

BUYING GUIDE
An orange cat standing on top of an air purifier

Best air purifiers for pet owners 2025: Remove pet dander, hair and odors

By Tantse Walter last updated

Buying guides These are the best air purifiers for pets, from Levoit Vital 200S and AirDoctor AD3500 to SwitchBot Table Air Purifier.

Buying guides
A close-up picture of our reviewer wearing the Coros Pace Pro watch

We went hiking with the Coros Pace Pro sports watch — It's surprisingly good

By Anna Gora published

Reviews We liked having the Coros Pace Pro as our hiking companion, but we do not think this sports watch will be our go-to option for extreme outdoor explorations.

Reviews
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Animals

Scientists discover new type of lion roar

By Sascha Pare published

Researchers used artificial intelligence to analyze more than 3,000 recordings of African lions and found that the animals have an "intermediate" roar as well as a "full-throated" roar.

Lions

Human trash is 'kick-starting' the domestication of city-dwelling raccoons, study suggests

By Skyler Ware published

Raccoons that live near humans had shorter snouts than rural raccoons, a trait that tends to arise in the early stages of domestication.

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
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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.

20 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.

10 Comments
Chemistry
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Technology

Watch the best nature documentaries and science shows with these streaming deals

By Tantse Walter published

Deals Get all the science, nature and history shows you love cheaper with our round-up of the best streaming deals for science lovers in 2025.

Deals
Kimberley Lane, author of this article, can be seen using a camera and telephoto lens in a remote location

Best lenses for wildlife photography 2025 — crisp, detailed wildlife shots

By Kimberley Lane last updated

These are the best wildlife lenses you can buy in 2025

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
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