Latest articles by Stephanie Pappas
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
AI's 'unsettling' rollout is exposing its flaws. How concerned should we be?
AI isn't close to becoming sentient, but it could be disruptive anyway.
The surface of the ocean is now so hot it's broken every record since satellite measurements began
The upper levels of the ocean have never been this hot. Blame the end of La Niña and the ever-present heating effect of climate change.
'Green Monster' supernova is the youngest in the Milky Way, James Webb telescope reveals
New James Webb Space Telescope images reveal the grisly past of Cassiopeia A, the youngest known supernova remnant in the Milky Way.
Are aliens real?
Are aliens real? While there is no current evidence for extraterrestrial life anywhere in the universe, scientists are still optimistic.
Mathematicians make rare breakthrough on notoriously tricky 'Ramsey number' problem
The bounds on Ramsey numbers, which describe relationships between nodes in a network, have been narrowed.
Brightest gamma-ray burst ever detected defies explanation
Scientists are taking a closer look at the afterglow left by the brightest gamma-ray burst ever recorded, and what they see doesn't fit with any theoretical models.
