NASA shuts off another Voyager 1 instrument ahead of risky 'Big Bang' maneuver to save power
After nearly 50 years in space, the two Voyager spacecraft are very low on nuclear power. Voyager 1 just shut off another instrument to save the mission.
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Space
'The chances of you living 50 years are very small': Theoretical physicist explains why humanity likely won't survive to see all the forces unified
Interview Live Science spoke with Nobel prize-winning physicist David Gross, who recently received the $3 million Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, about the quest to unite all the forces and why humanity might not live to see a unified theory.
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Can the US be trusted with the moon? A law scholar raises concerns after Artemis II's success.
The Artemis II moon mission was a great success. But America's longterm ambitions in space may deserve some scrutiny, a law scholar argues, given the nation's recent conduct on Earth.
Physicists witness faster-than-light darkness pinpricks, humans found to still be evolving, and the endangered polar bears that are getting fatter than ever
Science news this week April 18, 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
2 supermassive black holes may collide 100 years from now — and Earth would feel it
In a galaxy 500 million light-years away, two supermassive black holes could merge, spreading gravitational waves across the universe.
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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.
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Planet Earth
Some polar bears are adapting to their melting habitat. Will it be enough to save the iconic species?
Bears in Svalbard, Norway, are fatter than expected, and others in Greenland are showing signs of genetically adapting to climate change — but the signs elsewhere are not good.
Colorado River may have pooled and spilled over to form the Grand Canyon, solving a long-standing mystery — but not everyone agrees
The Colorado River muscled its way through today's Grand Canyon after pooling as a giant lake, according to new research.
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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.
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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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LATEST ARTICLES
Animals
Naked mole rats wage bloody wars of succession to choose a new queen — but one colony did something scientists have never seen before
When their queen dies, naked mole rat females usually wage bloody battles of succession. But peace may be possible, a new study suggests
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.
Health & Human Behavior
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.
$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.
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Experimental drug doubles one-year survival in pancreatic cancer
A new drug that works by making tumors more susceptible to chemotherapy and the immune system has increased survival in those with advanced pancreatic cancer in a trial.
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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.
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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
Live Science crossword puzzle #40: Closest planet to the sun — 11 across
Science crossword Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!
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