James Webb telescope saw black holes emerging from 'cocoons' near the dawn of time
The gaseous cocoons surrounding "little red dots" hint at their true nature, a new James Webb telescope study hints.
Space
Some objects we thought were planets may actually be tiny black holes from the dawn of time
Scientists have discovered more than 6,000 planets beyond our solar system. What if some of them aren't planets at all, but tiny black holes in disguise?
Astronomers may have already spotted the 'Great Comet of 2026' — and it could soon be visible to the naked eye
Recently discovered Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) will make its closest approach to the sun and Earth in late April and could potentially be visible to the naked eye. It may end up being the brightest comet of the year.
Giant cosmic 'sandwich' is the largest planet-forming disk ever seen — Space photo of the week
A strange, sandwich-shaped object is giving astronomers a rare view of the chaotic birthplaces of planets.
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Planet Earth
Parkfield, San Andreas, and the quest for a 'crystal ball' for predicting earthquakes before they happen
A small town in California was hit by earthquakes once every 22 years for over a century, setting the stage for a major seismic experiment in the 1980s and 90s. But the quake ended up being 11 years late. In this excerpt from "When Worlds Quake," geophysicist Hrvoje Tkalčić looks at why predicting earthquakes is so difficult.
China's 'artificial sun' reactor shatters major fusion limit — a step closer to near-limitless clean energy
China's EAST nuclear fusion reactor has successfully kept plasma stable at extreme densities, passing a major fusion milestone and potentially bringing humanity closer to wielding near-limitless clean energy.
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Avenue of the Baobabs: Madagascar's natural monument with dozens of 'mother of the forest' trees
The Avenue of the Baobabs preserves the remnant trees of an ancient tropical forest on Madagascar.
Huge ice dome in Greenland vanished 7,000 years ago — melting at temperatures we're racing toward today
Scientists drilled to the bottom of Greenland's 1,600-foot deep Prudhoe Dome and found it disappeared in the early Holocene, when temperatures were close to what we're predicted to reach by the end of the century.
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Submerged sandbanks shine like underwater auroras in astronaut's view of the Bahamas
Earth from space A 2016 astronaut photo of the Bahamas shows a series of luminous, rippling sandbanks partly carved out by a coral reef. The image also reveals subtle differences in the ocean's surface caused by a steep, hidden ocean drop-off.
archaeology
Most complete Homo habilis skeleton ever found dates to more than 2 million years ago and retains 'Lucy'-like features
Scientists have revealed the most complete skeleton yet of our 2 million-year-old ancestor Homo habilis.
Tumba Madžari Great Mother: A boxy goddess figurine from North Macedonia designed to protect Stone Age houses 7,800 years ago
Stone Age people in Macedonia created goddess figurines whose bottom half was a house.
Monumental tomb discovered in Turkey might be of royal from King Midas' kingdom
A burial mound in Turkey may have held the remains of a member of King Midas's family. But not all experts are convinced.
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LATEST ARTICLES
Animals
How to watch 'Pole to Pole with Will Smith' — TV and streaming details as Oscar-winning actor blends adventure and scientific discovery
The actor embarks on a "thrilling adventure" across seven expeditions — here's how to watch "Pole to Pole with Will Smith" online from anywhere.
Never-before-seen footage captures moment scientists find new, giant anaconda species in Amazon
Scientists recently discovered a new species of green anaconda in the Amazon rainforest. A new Nat Geo series shows the moment they encountered this snake in the wild.
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50 mind-blowing science facts about our incredible world
Life's Little Mysteries If you're looking for weird facts about animals, gross human body facts or just something a bit random, get ready to geek out with these fascinating bits of trivia.
Did any cat breeds develop naturally?
Humans have undoubtedly bred cats to create certain breeds, but did any of these feline breeds emerge naturally?
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Health & Human Behavior
A man's sudden seizures were set off by sudoku
In the weeks following a ski accident, a German man experienced seizures when he completed sudoku puzzles.
DNA from ancient viral infections helps embryos develop, mouse study reveals
A stretch of viral DNA in the mouse genome gives cells in early-stage embryos the potential to become almost any cell type in the body.
Metal compounds identified as potential new antibiotics, thanks to robots doing 'click chemistry'
Using robots and click chemistry, scientists built potential active ingredients for future antibiotics that contain metal.
Why doesn't stomach acid burn through our stomachs?
The hydrochloric acid in your stomach can burn through metal — so why doesn't it burn through your stomach?
New US food pyramid recommends very high protein diet, beef tallow as healthy fat option, and full-fat dairy
The federal government has released new dietary guidelines, introducing an emphasis on consuming meat and dairy and avoiding highly processed foods.
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Leonardo da Vinci's DNA may be embedded in his art — and scientists think they've managed to extract some
In a first, scientists have extracted DNA from a Renaissance-era drawing attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, but they can't be sure that the genetic material belongs to the Italian polymath.
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Incredible images of our planet from above
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Technology
Even AI has trouble figuring out if text was written by AI — here's why
There are several methods for detecting whether a piece of text was written by AI. They all have limitations – and probably always will.
Will AI ever be more creative than humans?
A new study argues that AI can never be more creative than humans, but many experts argue that AI's output will only ever be as good as its input — with the goalposts shifting as AI improves in the years to come.
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This new DNA storage system can fit 10 billion songs in a liter of liquid — but challenges remain for the unusual storage format
The new storage system could hold family photos, cultural artifacts and the master versions of digital artworks, movies, manuscripts and music for thousands of years, scientists say.
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Physics, Math & Chemistry
Science history: Sophie Germain, first woman to win France's prestigious 'Grand Mathematics Prize' is snubbed when tickets to award ceremony are 'lost in the mail' — Jan. 9, 1816
Sophie Germain was a brilliant, self-taught mathematician who won one of France's most prestigious prizes, yet she declined to attend the award ceremony because the committee members didn't respect her work.
Science history: Richard Feynman gives a fun little lecture — and dreams up an entirely new field of physics — Dec. 29, 1959
In a short talk at Caltech, physicist Richard Feynman laid out a vision of manipulating and controlling atoms at the tiniest scale. It would precede the field of nanotechnology by decades.
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Quizzes & Games
Live Science crossword puzzle #26: Nothing can travel faster than this — 12 across
Science crossword Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!
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Best telescopes 2026: Explore planets, galaxies and beyond
The best telescopes offer an unparalleled view of the cosmos, and we've gathered our favorites.
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