'Doomsday Clock' ticks 4 seconds closer to midnight
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists now says humanity is a metaphorical 85 seconds to global disaster.
Space
How to photograph the moon: Tips on camera gear, settings and composition
We're sharing our best tips on how to photograph the moon ahead of the blood moon eclipse on March 3 — discover the right gear, settings and composition techniques to get the best shots.
James Webb telescope peers into 'Eye of God' and finds clues to life's origins — Space photo of the week
A spectacular new image from the James Webb Space Telescope reveals intricate structures inside the Helix Nebula, where a dying sunlike star is enriching the galaxy with the elements needed for life.
Why does the moon look larger when it's on the horizon?
The moon looks enormous when it's near the horizon — why is that?
Planet Earth
A drying climate is making East Africa pull apart faster
A switch from a humid to a dry climate has led the Eastern African Rift Zone to pull apart more freely, new research finds.
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Chocolate Hills: The color-changing mounds in the Philippines that inspired legends of mud-slinging giants
The Chocolate Hills are 1,776 mounds on Bohol Island in the Philippines where grassy cover turns brown during the dry season.
Arctic blast probably won't cause trees to explode in the cold — but here's what happens if and when they do go boom
An exploding tree claim has gone viral as the U.S. brace for an Arctic blast that will send temperatures plunging, triggering a massive and long-lasting winter storm.
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Californians have been using far less water than suppliers estimated — what does this mean for the state?
Flawed assumptions about water demand mean suppliers in California overestimated future demand by an average of 74% over 20 years — positive news for the drought-embattled state.
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Enormous freshwater reservoir discovered off the East Coast may be 20,000 years old and big enough to supply NYC for 800 years
An expedition off the coast of Massachusetts has confirmed the existence of a freshwater reservoir beneath the seafloor. Now, scientists are starting to understand when and how it formed.
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archaeology
2,500 years ago, people in Bulgaria ate dog meat at feasts and as a delicacy, archaeological study finds
A study of dog bones across several Iron Age sites in Bulgaria has shown that people ate dog meat.
480,000-year-old ax sharpener is the oldest known elephant bone tool ever discovered in Europe
The "very rare" find provides an extraordinary glimpse into the ingenuity of early human relatives who lived around half a million years ago.
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World's oldest rock art, giant reservoir found beneath the East Coast seafloor, black hole revelations, and a record solar radiation storm
Science news this week Jan. 24, 2026: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend.
LATEST ARTICLES
Animals
'They are life, but not as we now know it': 26-foot organism that lived 420 million years ago is completely unknown branch of animal kingdom
An ancient and enormous organism called Prototaxites, initially found to be a type of fungus, may actually be an unknown branch of life, researchers say.
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Coyote scrambles onto Alcatraz Island after perilous, never-before-seen swim
Experts have reacted to a viral video of a coyote swimming to Alcatraz Island in what is a surprising first for the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Ever watched a pet cow pick up a broom and scratch herself with it? You have now
A pet cow in Austria started using a broom to scratch herself — the first ever documented case of bovine tool use.
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Ancient mummified cheetahs discovered in Saudi Arabia contain preserved DNA from the long-lost population
Cheetahs vanished from Saudi Arabia half a century ago. Now long-dead mummified big cats may help herald their return.
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Health & Human Behavior
The UK has lost its measles elimination status — again
Measles has been spreading continuously in the U.K. for over a year, meaning the country has lost its elimination status.
Antibiotic resistance is the 'silent pandemic' — here are four steps to stop it
Four major trends that will shape how we as a society will confront antibiotic resistance in the coming decade.
Why don't you usually see your nose?
Our nose is right in front of us. So why don't we normally notice it?
'Pain sponge' derived from stem cells could soak up pain signals before they reach the brain
Scientists are developing a "sponge" that can soak up pain signals in the body before they reach the brain, potentially offering an alternative to painkillers.
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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
AI may accelerate scientific progress — but here's why it can't replace human scientists
The achievements of AI-augmented science are mixed, but that doesn't mean the technology can't play a role in future endeavors.
Microsoft says its newest AI chip Maia 200 is 3 times more powerful than Google's TPU and Amazon's Trainium processor
The Maia 200 AI chip is described as an inference powerhouse — meaning it could lead AI models to apply their knowledge to real-world situations much faster and more efficiently.
Physics, Math & Chemistry
Dark matter and neutrinos may interact, hinting at 'fundamental breakthrough' in particle physics
Astronomers found evidence that dark matter and neutrinos may interact, hinting at a "fundamental breakthrough" that challenges our understanding of how the universe evolved.
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Our model of the universe is deeply flawed — unless space is actually a 'sticky' fluid
Our best models of the cosmos don't add up — but that could change if the universe is actually made of a viscous 'fluid,' a new paper suggests.
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Science history: Sophie Germain, first woman to win France's prestigious 'Grand Mathematics Prize' is snubbed when tickets to award ceremony are 'lost in the mail' — Jan. 9, 1816
Sophie Germain was a brilliant, self-taught mathematician who won one of France's most prestigious prizes, yet she declined to attend the award ceremony because the committee members didn't respect her work.
Quizzes & Games
Live Science crossword puzzle #28: Largest desert in Asia — 6 across
Science crossword Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!
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Best bone conduction headphones 2026: Our top picks for every budget
Buying guides These are the best bone conduction headphones you can buy in every category, from Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 and Nank Runner Diver 2 Pro to Suunto Wing 2.
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