First-ever 'superkilonova' double star explosion puzzles astronomers
A double explosion, in which a dying star split, then recombined, may be a long-hypothesized but never-before-seen "superkilonova."
Space
NASA spacecraft takes milestone 100,000th image of Mars (photo)
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft has just taken its milestone 100,000th photo of the Red Planet using its high-definition camera. It reveals a dark region of moving sand dunes.
Best space photos of 2025
An alien comet, a Martian volcano, a man’s fall from the sun and a groundbreaking telescope’s first images: Here are the most jaw-dropping space photos of 2025.
Glittering new James Webb telescope image shows an 'intricate web of chaos' — Space photo of the week
This mash-up of data from the James Webb Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory reveals two galaxies mid-collision, with their spiral arms overlapping and bending toward their neighbors' cores.
Planet Earth
Earth's seasons vary wildly, even at the same latitude, new research finds
Earth's seasons look very different at locations not far from each other, 20 years' worth of satellite data reveals.
Undersea lava rubble acts as a 'sponge' for carbon dioxide, study finds
Lava rubble at the bottom of the sea is acting like a giant "sponge" for carbon dioxide, ancient cores reveal.
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Ancient burrowing bees made their nests in the tooth cavities and vertebrae of dead rodents, scientists discover
Scientists made a unique discovery in a cave on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola: dozens of fossilized bee nests inside rodent bones that were deposited by owls thousands of years ago.
Deep snow blanket transforms Yellowstone Lake into a giant white void
Earth from space A 2022 astronaut photo shows a thick blanket of snow covering Yellowstone Lake, transforming the frozen body of water into a featureless white void. But below the ice lie some of Earth's hottest hydrothermal vents.
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archaeology
18,000 years ago, ice age humans built dwellings out of mammoth bones in Ukraine
Some people in Ukraine weathered the harshest moments of the last ice age by creating shelters made partly of mammoth bones and tusks.
'A huge surprise': 1,500-year-old church found next to Zoroastrianism place of worship in Iraq
A 2,000-year-old palace in the Republic of Georgia and a 1,500-year-old church in Iraq suggest Zoroastrians coexisted with people of other religions.
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2,300-year-old Celtic gold coins found in Swiss bog
Two rare Celtic gold coins were discovered in a Swiss bog, and they may have been left there as an offering to the gods.
LATEST ARTICLES
Animals
Cats meow more at men to get their attention, study suggests
A small study reveals that cats greet male owners more vocally than female ones. But the findings could be a result of cultural norms among the participants, rather than a universal cat behavior, scientists say.
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Pumas in Patagonia started feasting on penguins — but now they're behaving strangely, a new study finds
Pumas in Patagonia, Argentina are eating penguins in a national park — and it's changing how the big cats are interacting with each other.
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Polar bears in southern Greenland are 'using jumping genes to rapidly rewrite their own DNA' to survive melting sea ice
Warming temperatures appear to be driving genetic mutations in some polar bears to help them survive the shifting climatic conditions.
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Scientists finally sequence the vampire squid's huge genome, revealing secrets of the 'living fossil'
The genetic link between squids and octopuses may just be found in the vampire squid genome.
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Can a turtle tuck its head all the way inside its shell?
Turtle shells evolved over the course of 300 million years, but self-defense wasn't the initial driver, researchers think.
Cassius the giant crocodile died from sepsis after 40-year-old dormant infection burst from 'abscess,' necropsy reveals
Cassius was an 18-foot-long saltwater crocodile living in captivity in Marineland Crocodile Park in Australia. He died last year at the age of about 120, and we finally know why.
Health & Human Behavior
A man's bladder looked like a Christmas tree
In an unusual case, a man's bladder swelled dramatically at its base, taking the shape of a Christmas tree.
Tiny implant 'speaks' to the brain with LED light
By directly communicating with the brain, a new wireless device could someday help restore lost senses or manage pain without medications, its developers say.
The self-gifter's Christmas: Treat yourself to gear you'll actually want this Christmas
Buying guides Don't let anyone else choose your next telescope, camera or binoculars — these are important pieces of equipment that you should buy for yourself
What's the fastest a human can grow?
Humans grow tall in spurts, but what's our fastest period of growth?
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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
Celestron Showdown: Battle of the 10x42s
We tested every single pair of Celestron 10x42 binoculars so you don't have to — find out which one comes out on top.
Physics, Math & Chemistry
Glue strong enough to tow a car made from used cooking oil
Chemists used waste cooking oil to create a sustainable, super-sticky adhesive that's strong enough to hold up hundreds of pounds of weight.
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Quizzes & Games
Crack these scientific numbers and constants and top the leaderboard
Guess the number quiz Do you know your mathematical equations from your scientific constants? If you know your numbers then try our daily quiz.
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