Planet Earth

Aerial view of fairy circles in the Namib Naukluft Park, Namibia

Plants self-organize in a 'hidden order,' echoing pattern found across nature

By Olivia Ferrari published

Scientists have discovered a "perfect disordered hyperuniform" pattern in how plants arrange themselves across many dry landscapes that allows them to make the most of water resources.

3 Comments
Plants

Scientists discover first direct evidence that slivers of 'proto-Earth' may survive today

By Sascha Pare published

In a first, researchers have discovered fragments of Earth's precursor that contain distinctive chemical fingerprints in ancient rocks from Greenland, Canada and Hawaii.

Geology
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Space

Side-by-side images of the two dwarf galaxies with and without the gas bridge highlighted

Astronomers spot giant hidden 'bridge' and record-breaking tail between 2 dwarf galaxies

By Harry Baker published

Researchers discovered a hidden 185,000 light-year "bridge" of gas between two distant galaxies, which are also trailed by a 1.6 million light-year galactic tail — the largest of its kind ever seen.

Astronomy

Astronomers discover skyscraper-size asteroid hidden in sun's glare

By Patrick Pester published

The newly discovered "twilight" asteroid, 2025 SC79, was obscured by the sun's glare until an astronomer pointed the Dark Energy Camera at it, highlighting the potential dangers of unseen asteroids.

Asteroids
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archaeology

1,300-year-old poop reveals pathogens plagued prehistoric people in Mexico's 'Cave of the Dead Children'

By Kristina Killgrove published

Scientists studied ancient poop and found loads of intestinal diseases.

17 Comments
Archaeology

'Illegal' metal detectorist found a huge hoard of Roman treasure in Germany — and kept it hidden for 8 years

By Laura Geggel published

A man found a Roman-era hoard in Germany dating to around 2,000 years ago, but he took eight years to tell authorities about it.

9 Comments
Romans
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World of science

Health

A Live Science Deals logo and a picture of our reviewer testing the Garmin Enduro 2

Last chance to buy this premium Garmin watch, now at its lowest-ever price at Walmart

By Anna Gora published

Deals The prices of the excellent Garmin Enduro 2 have been dropping for some time, but we have never seen them this low before — snap this deal up while stocks last.

Deals
Smiling young woman enjoying sunlight against mountain range and sea during vacation.

You don't need to be very happy to avoid an early death from chronic disease, study finds

By Elise Ceyral published

A new study suggests that being happier could help reduce your risk of dying prematurely from chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes and heart disease. But the threshold at which this happiness effect kicks in is fairly low.

Wellbeing

A toddler accidently ate gonorrhea bacteria from a lab dish

By Nicoletta Lanese published

In a bizarre medical case published in 1984, a young boy was inadvertently exposed to an STI-causing bacteria in a lab dish.

Viruses, Infections & Disease
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Animals

Are there any countries with no mosquitoes?

By Clarissa Brincat last updated

One country has long been a mosquito-free zone, but global warming may change that.

Mosquitos

Can you actually get high from licking a toad?

By Marilyn Perkins published

There's some truth to the urban legend that certain toads have psychedelic properties, but licking them isn't a good idea.

Toads

Jane Goodall revolutionized animal research, but her work had some unintended consequences. Here's what we've learned from them.

By Sophie Berdugo published

Following Jane Goodall's death, chimp experts explain how her early observations still influence our understanding of our ape cousins.

2 Comments
Land Mammals
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Human Behavior

A hand holding a pencil over a crossword puzzle

Live Science crossword puzzle #16: Famous female Australopithecus skeleton — 5 down

By Harry Baker last updated

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

Science crossword
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
a 5g cell tower with green waves coming out

'When people gather in groups, bizarre behaviors often emerge': How the rise of online social networks has catapulted dysfunctional thinking

By Carlo Kopp, David Green, Fatima Seeme published

Opinion The pervasive spread of misinformation can be tracked to cognitive limitations, social influence and the global spread of online networks. Combatting it has become an "arms race" between truth and lies.

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Opinion
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Physics & Mathematics

World's biggest X-ray laser discovers never-before-seen type of ice that's solid at room temperature

By Patrick Pester published

Researchers have unveiled ice XXI, a new form of ice that's solid at room temperatures when subjected to immense pressure.

2 Comments
Physics & Mathematics

Physicists capture rare illusion of an object moving at 99.9% the speed of light

By Larissa G. Capella published

For the first time, physicists have simulated what objects moving near the speed of light would look like — an optical illusion called the Terrell-Penrose effect.

Physics & Mathematics

Einstein's relativity could rewrite a major rule about what types of planets are habitable

By Paul Sutter published

Planets that orbit white dwarf stars should be too hot to host alien life, theories suggest. But a new study accounting for Einstein's general relativity may rewrite that rule.

4 Comments
Physics & Mathematics
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Chemistry

Why does slicing onions make you cry?

By Donavyn Coffey last updated

Here's why you may start tearing up while slicing an onion.

Chemistry
An illustration of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry winners.

'Harry Potter' materials land three scientists Nobel Prize in chemistry

By Patrick Pester last updated

Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for the development of metal–organic frameworks."

4 Comments
Chemistry
The monument for Marie Sklodowska Curie, the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two different sciences: the Nobel Prize for physics in 1903 (jointly with her husband), and the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1911.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry: 1901-Present

By Live Science Staff last updated

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry includes famous winners such as Marie Curie and Otto Hahn.

Chemistry
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Technology

Google's breakthrough 'Quantum Echoes' algorithm pushes us closer to useful quantum computing — running 13,000 times faster than on a supercomputer

By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published

The new quantum computing algorithm, called "Quantum Echoes," is the first that can be independently verified by running it on another quantum computer.

Computing
Unitree’s H2 humanoid pirouettes on stage.

Watch new humanoid robot pirouette, pose and pull off deft karate moves with eerily lifelike movement

By Owen Hughes published

Chinese robotics startup Unitree has shown off its latest humanoid robot, the H2 "Destiny Awakening" — and it's eerily lifelike.

Robotics
Quantum computing conceptual illustration.

Quantum computing 'lie detector' finally proves these machines tap into Einstein's spooky action at a distance rather than just faking it

By Tristan Greene published

Researchers developed an experimental method for confirming quantum activity in a quantum computing system.

Computing
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