Latest articles by Stephanie Pappas
Deadly swarm of earthquakes in Japan caused by magma moving through extinct volcano
Over 10,000 earthquakes have hit the Noto Peninsula over the last three years. They are believed to be emanating from an long-dead volcano, with fluids pushing through the collapsed system.
What happens when a nuclear bomb explodes?
When a nuclear bomb goes off, the blast is only the beginning.
Earth's plate tectonics traced back to 'tipping point' 3.2 billion years ago
Researchers analyzing ancient deposits in Australia found evidence that Earth's layers started to get mixed up — a fingerprint of plate tectonics — about 1.3 billion years after the planet formed.
The 'man in the moon' may be hundreds of millions of years older than we thought
Much of the moon's surface is 200 million years older than previously estimated, a new analysis suggests.
Scientists discover huge, heat-emitting blob on the far side of the moon
Scientists detected a peculiar blob of heat-emitting material buried on the far side of the moon. The most likely culprit is a rock that is very rare outside of Earth.
Swirls of liquid iron may be trapped inside Earth's 'solid' core
Though Earth's innermost core is solid, new research suggests that it hosts a lot of variation.
This collapsed star is turning into a gigantic diamond before our eyes
Scientists have found a white dwarf that is cooling and crystallizing into a giant diamond.
Flare of light brighter than a trillion suns reveals location of rare double black hole galaxy
Brilliant new signals from a far-off galaxy confirm that the system is anchored by a pair of black holes locked in a daring dance.
Primordial steroids solve long-standing mystery about how the 1st complex life-forms evolved
Compounds from 1.6 billion years ago reveal a microbial transition that set the stage for much of today's life on Earth.
Siberia's 'gateway to the underworld' megaslump is revealing 650,000 year-old secrets from its permafrost
The permafrost inside the Batagay crater is the second-oldest ever found on Earth and scientists are using it to reconstruct the planet's ancient climate.
Repeated signals from the center of the Milky Way could be aliens saying hello, new study claims
A new search for extraterrestrial life has scientists looking inward — toward the center of our galaxy.
'Planet killer' asteroids pose no threat to Earth for at least 1,000 years — but smaller rocks could still be a problem
The risk of a kilometer-scale asteroid hitting Earth in the next millennium is really low. Phew.
A man's rare gene variant may have shielded him from devastating form of early Alzheimer's
The discovery of a gene variant that protects against an early, insidious form of Alzheimer's could lead to new treatments for the disease.
Rock that crashed through New Jersey home may be 4.6 billion-year-old chunk of Halley's Comet
An apparent meteorite crashed into a bedroom in Hopewell Township, New Jersey, on Monday (May 8). A scientific analysis confirmed its extraterrestrial origin.
Alien-like comb jellies have a nervous system like nothing ever seen before
Strange sea creatures called ctenophores have a fused nerve net where scientists expected to see synapses. Did they evolve their nervous system separately from other animals?
1st draft of a human 'pangenome' published, adding millions of 'building blocks' to the human reference genome
A new version of the human reference genome incorporates genetic data from 47 individuals from around the globe, deepening scientists' view into how genes work.
4 of Uranus' biggest moons have secret, underground oceans, new study suggests
A reanalysis of Voyager data suggests that four of Uranus moons may have oceans tucked between their cores and icy crusts.
'Leaking' cell phone towers could lead aliens straight to Earth, new study suggests
Advanced alien civilizations could probably already tell that there's intelligent life on Earth, thanks to our cell phone towers.
Giant phallus-shaped iceberg floating in Conception Bay surprises residents of Dildo, Canada
A phallus-shaped iceberg hovered off the coast of Dildo, Newfoundland in Conception Bay before collapsing.
Surges of activity in the dying human brain could hint at fleeting conscious experiences
An increase in a certain kind of high-frequency wave in dying brains might be associated with last-minute conscious experiences, but scientists don't know for sure.
China finally admits its hibernating Mars rover may never wake up
The Zhurong Mars rover never woke up from a planned hibernation, and the head of the mission team has now revealed why.
Scientists find weird holes on the ocean floor spewing ancient fluids 'like a fire hose'
Understanding the movement of fluids in the Cascadia subduction zone can help researchers pinpoint the risk of earthquakes
