Why were the ancient Egyptians obsessed with cats? By Benjamin Plackett If cats were loved, why were so many sacrificed?
US drug overdose deaths surged during COVID-19 lockdowns By Yasemin Saplakoglu U.S. overdose deaths surged during the first half of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to preliminary data from the CDC.
How to watch the Lyrid meteor shower By Stephanie Pappas The Lyrid meteor shows will light up the skies from April 16 to April 30. Here's how to watch.
Tiny Jurassic 'Monkeydactyl' has the oldest pair of thumbs on Earth By Brandon Specktor Researchers unearthed the fossil of a pterosaur with opposable thumbs, making it the oldest known animal with thumbs on Earth.
As many as 2.5 billion Tyrannosaurus rexes once stalked Earth By Laura Geggel Digging deep into T.rex's history helped researchers determine how many of these apex predators ever existed.
To become queen, these ants shrink their brains and balloon their ovaries (then, they reverse it) By Ben Turner The researchers say that brain plasticity like this may not just be a trick of the ants. Other animals could do it too, and we may only just be noticing.
Millions of tons of nuclear wastewater from Fukushima will be dumped into the sea By Brandon Specktor The Japanese government announced plans to dump more than 1 million tons of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean, beginning in two years.
A third of Antarctic ice shelves could collapse at current pace of warming By Rafi Letzter A third of Antarctica's vast offshore ice shelves would risk collapse into the ocean if the world warms by 4 degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.
How to watch the Lyrid meteor shower By Stephanie Pappas The Lyrid meteor shows will light up the skies from April 16 to April 30. Here's how to watch.
Telescope lasers could give humanity an edge in war against space junk By Rafi Letzter Space junk is a growing problem. Scientists want to fight it with lasers that can de-twinkle the stars.
Alphabet's 'missing link' possibly discovered By Owen Jarus An alphabetic inscription written on a jar fragment found at the site of Tel Lachish in Israel and dating back around 3,450 years may provide a "missing link" in the history of the alphabet.
Knife-wielding spider god mural unearthed in Peru By Mindy Weisberger Archaeologists in Peru are taking steps to preserve and study a 3,200-year-old temple painted with a mural of a spider deity holding a knife.
US drug overdose deaths surged during COVID-19 lockdowns By Yasemin Saplakoglu U.S. overdose deaths surged during the first half of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to preliminary data from the CDC.
Man's energy drink habit lands him in the hospital with heart failure By Rachael Rettner The findings add to a growing body of evidence linking energy drink consumption with heart problems.
Trained dogs can smell coronavirus in your pee By Yasemin Saplakoglu Dogs can sniff out SARS-CoV-2 in urine samples with 96% accuracy, according to a proof-of-concept study.
Why were the ancient Egyptians obsessed with cats? By Benjamin Plackett If cats were loved, why were so many sacrificed?
Tiny Jurassic 'Monkeydactyl' has the oldest pair of thumbs on Earth By Brandon Specktor Researchers unearthed the fossil of a pterosaur with opposable thumbs, making it the oldest known animal with thumbs on Earth.
As many as 2.5 billion Tyrannosaurus rexes once stalked Earth By Laura Geggel Digging deep into T.rex's history helped researchers determine how many of these apex predators ever existed.
Bizarre 'worm tornado' in New Jersey has scientists baffled By Mindy Weisberger A resident of Hoboken, New Jersey spotted the unusual worm spiral after days of heavy rainfall.
Could humans ever be venomous? By Stephanie Pappas Humans have what it takes to make venom, but it may not be worth the trouble.
What if humans didn't have an appendix? By Charles Q. Choi What might life be like then if everyone lacked an appendix? That organ may not be a useless artifact of evolution after all.
Was the 'forbidden fruit' in the Garden of Eden really an apple? By Ashley P. Taylor It could have been a fig, grapes, citron, a pomegranate or even wheat.
String of code sells for $69 million By Nicoletta Lanese A unique piece of code verifies the authenticity of the digital art piece.
Why does Christianity have so many denominations? By Donavyn Coffey Schisms within the church have led to more and more denominations over the millennia.
Glowing, red-eyed rat fetus is global photo contest's gorgeously creepy winner By Mindy Weisberger Butterfly wing scales, neurons, dividing cells and more showcased the beauty of microscopy in Olympus' second annual Global Image of the Year Award.
Mars Helicopter Ingenuity snaps 1st color photo on Red Planet By Mike Wall The 4-lb. (1.8 kilograms) chopper captured its first color photograph on Saturday (April 3), shortly after being lowered to the Martian dirt by the Perseverance rover.
Lab-made hexagonal diamonds are stronger than the real thing By Ben Turner The scientists used a soundwave and a laser beam to measure the diamonds before they disintegrated.
