Planet Earth

A relativity breaking illusion and scientists drill microbes out of the permafrost.

Revived permafrost microbes spew CO2, scientists image 'relativity-breaking' illusion, and James Webb telescope spots something 'exciting' blasting from black hole M87*

By Ben Turner published

Science news this week Oct. 18, 2025: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend.

Science news this week

CO2 levels reach record new high, locking in more global warming

By Patrick Pester published

Greenhouse gas concentrations increased by a record amount in 2024 as more carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide became locked in Earth's atmosphere, a World Meteorological Organization report finds.

Climate change
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Space

Orionids 2025: Meteor shower caused by Halley's Comet peaks as two new comets cross the sky

By Jamie Carter published

Comets Lemmon and SWAN will be at their brightest just as the annual Orionid meteor shower produced by Halley's Comet reaches its peak.

Meteoroids

Astronomers close in on signal from Epoch of Reionization

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

A faint radio "whisper" from ancient hydrogen reveals the universe was heating up long before it filled with starlight.

Astronomy
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archaeology

Easter Island statues may have 'walked' thanks to 'pendulum dynamics' and with as few as 15 people, study finds

By Sophie Berdugo published

Simple physics may explain how the Easter Island statues could "walk" miles with only a handful of people, but the debate over their transport is far from over.

Archaeology

Ancient Roman tombstone found beneath undergrowth in New Orleans yard

By Tom Metcalfe last updated

A New Orleans couple doing yard work behind their house unexpectedly found a Roman headstone of a solider who died 1,900 years ago.

Romans
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World of science

Health

A Live Science Prime Day logo and a picture of a young woman running in the park while listening to her headphones

Bored of waiting for Black Friday fitness deals? Us too! Here are 7 discounts for those who can't wait

By Anna Gora published

Deals Save up to 40% on smartwatches, running headphones and cardio machines ahead of Black Friday, for those fitness and health geeks who just can't wait.

Deals

How do our brains wake up?

By Sara Hashemi published

How do we go from sound asleep to awake in the blink of an eye?

Neuroscience
an illustration of a drop of blood

Could simple blood tests identify cancer earlier?

By Emily Cooke published

Blood tests that detect early cancer are coming to market. Could they lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment?

Cancer
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Animals

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.

Land Mammals

The viral 'Chicago Rat Hole' wasn't actually made by a rat, scientists claim

By K.R. Callaway published

After researching the rodent indent, scientists are over 98% sure it came from a squirrel.

Land Mammals
A haunting scene of a brown hyena in front of a long-abandoned building.

Haunting image of a rare hyena lurking in a ghost town wins 2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award

By Elise Poore published

South African photographer Wim van den Heever has received this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year award for his image of a brown hyena outside a ruined diamond mining town.

Animals
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Human Behavior

A hand holding a pencil over a crossword puzzle

Live Science crossword puzzle #15: Explosive death of a star — 11 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.

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.

Opinion
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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.

Physics & Mathematics
The 2025 Nobel Prize winners in physics, illustrated left to write, John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis.

Nobel Prize in physics goes to three scientists who discovered bizarre quantum effect on large scales

By Patrick Pester published

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis "for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit."

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."

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

Somebody wearing the prototype picoRing mouse and accompanying wristband.

New smart ring is a novel way to control your computer — it has the humble mouse firmly in its sights

By Owen Hughes published

The picoRing device ditches Bluetooth for a novel magnetic relay system linked to a wristband, slashing its power consumption to mere microwatts.

Computing
Quantum computing concept (artist's impression). A qubit, short for "quantum bit," is the fundamental unit of information in quantum computing. Unlike classical bits, which can be either 0 or 1, a qubit can exist in a superposition of both states simultaneously, enabling powerful computational possibilities - digitally generated image

'This moves the timeline forward significantly': Quantum computing breakthrough could slash pesky errors by up to 100 times

By Owen Hughes published

Researchers used a new technique called algorithmic fault tolerance (AFT) to cut the time and computational cost of quantum error correction by up to 100 times in simulations of neutral-atom architecture.

Computing
Bangkok Thailand 10 June 2024 Pole billboard with logo Toyota.

Toyota to launch world's first EV with a solid-state battery by 2027 — they're expected to last longer and charge faster

By Skyler Ware published

New solid-state batteries will be made from a new "highly durable" cathode material and will power a car for much longer than conventional EV batteries.

Electric Vehicles
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