This week's science news reminds us how the past still speaks if we listen closely, with news of the discovery of 18 ancient Egyptian tombs filled with dozens of gold tongues topping the bill.

The ancient Egyptians believed that gold was the flesh of the gods, meaning that bestowing gold tongues upon the deceased could help them speak in the afterlife. But it's not entirely certain whether all of the newly found gold objects were tongues (one may actually depict a wheat ear, a symbol of fertility), and the mystery of a possible false door inside the tomb is also stirring up debate.

It's not the only ancient Egyptian discovery causing disagreement among archaeologists this week; an analysis of the nearly 4,000-year-old skeletal remains of ancient Egyptian princesses reveals they may have hunted or trained with the military — though not all experts agree.

Elsewhere, archaeologists discovered a curious ancient chariot among the remains of a mysterious society that burned down its own buildings before disappearing. We also learned that an ancient Bronze Age shaman thought to be a man was actually a woman, and researchers revealed the origins of more than 150 liberated Africans who had been left to die by the British Navy on the island of St. Helena.

We anticipate further ancient discoveries after a new study revealed that DNA can last for up to 50,000 years in Africa. Meanwhile, we published an excerpt describing how experimental archaeologists used ancient techniques to mummify a modern-day person — part of our coverage of author Sam Kean's book "Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Re-creating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations."

Sugar found in space

Sweet! Sugar found in raspberries was discovered near the Milky Way's center, hinting that life's ingredients are common in space

Astrochemists delivered a sweet surprise this week, with news that they had detected a type of sugar called erythrulose in interstellar space, near the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

Erythrulose, consisting of four carbon atoms, is found in raspberries back on Earth. But its presence in space is a mouthwatering sign that the essential ingredients for life are highly abundant across our galaxy. That could make life much more prevalent than we thought, and could mean that aliens may also have a sweet tooth.

Discover more space news

—'Smaller than the tiniest scale in nature': Physicists made a black hole out of light and used it to test Stephen Hawking's elusive radiation theory

—'The moon looked wrong': Artemis II mission controller Chris White on taking historic lunar flyby photos from 250,000 miles away

—James Webb telescope captures never-before-seen glimpse of 'Centaur' galaxy's battle wounds — Space photo of the week

Life's Little Mysteries

What is the roundest animal?

Animals come in all shapes and sizes, but are any a satisfyingly perfect sphere? It turns out that this deceptively simple question holds some evolutionarily profound implications.

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Amateur astronomer 'geoguesses' an ancient crater

'This was one of the most arduous expeditions I've ever done': Scientists confirm that 15-mile-wide pit found on Google Maps is ancient meteor crater

Geoguessing emerged in the last decade as a geography game (and later a popular esport) in which players deduce locations from Google Maps imagery. But what about geoguessing something completely undocumented, and one that only trained scientists should be able to recognize?

In that circumstance, amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe should be crowned this year's champion. Using Google Maps to plan a hiking trip in Quebec's Côte-Nord region, Lapointe stumbled upon an indentation that has now been confirmed by scientists to be a 390 million-year-old scar from a gigantic asteroid collision.

"I get lots of messages from the public thinking they have found a crater and 99/100 turn out not to be the case," Gordon Osinski, a professor of planetary geology at Western University in Canada who confirmed the find, told Live Science in an email. "This is one of those rare examples that shows this is possible."

Discover more planet Earth news

—Tropical forests stop absorbing carbon dioxide during El Niño events. This year could be the worst.

—Venezuela's devastating 'earthquake doublet' holds a warning for California's San Andreas Fault

—'These are striking forecasts': Super El Niño keeps getting even more likely, and it could bring a humanitarian crisis

Also in science news this week

—5 'extremely rare' iron shackles discovered in France highlight Celtic slave trade 2,300 years ago

—Nobel Prize-winning physicist and team use Claude AI to solve decades-old math puzzle

—New 3D silicon chip stacks circuits on top of each other to boost computing power

—Robot dog can climb stairs, navigate a forest and bound over logs thanks to new, rapid AI training technique

—Scientists are deep-freezing koala eggs and sperm to protect the species from extinction

—Heaven Lake: China's deepest lake sits atop a colossal volcano and belongs mostly to North Korea

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for things to keep you busy over the weekend, here's a selection from our best opinion pieces, interviews, diagnostic dilemmas and crosswords that we published this week.

—Tobacco companies are pushing nicotine pouches on teens — and we need to act now to stop them [Opinion]

—'It affects your daily life suddenly': Sea level researcher explains why once-in-a-century floods could become the new normal [Interview]

—Diagnostic dilemma: Junk-food diet caused a teen's permanent blindness [Diagnostic Dilemma]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #52: The moon's other name — 2 down [Crossword]

Science photo of the week

Orange-lipped monkey that roars and snorts deep in Congo rainforest is new species to science

Hello! A new monkey just dropped!

Named Colobus congoensis after the remote region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo where it was found, this striking newfound species has orange lips and makes unique roars and snorts.

The monkey's discovery is remarkable, most of all because finding new primates is extremely rare — with only five new ones being identified in Africa over the past 75 years — and also because of its relatively large size. Pinning down the species took years of careful tracking and documentation, alongside work with people from eight local villages who had knowledge of it.

Besides being a cool find in its own right, the discovery points to there being potentially many more undiscovered mammals, fish, reptiles and plants hidden inside the Congolian rainforest.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news was filled with big discoveries from the world of the small, led by a physicist's creation of a mini-universe, which was designed so we can watch time emerge from within an isolated quantum system.

The experiment was performed using a Bose-Einstein condensate — a strange state of matter that consists of thousands of atoms blended into a single quantum object at near absolute zero (minus 273.15 degrees Celsius, or minus 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit). The system showed time speeding up, slowing down and even stopping, depending on what the system was doing.

Those weren't the only highbrow high jinks using a Bose-Einstein condensate we reported on this week. We also covered NASA's upgrade to its mini-fridge-sized laboratory on the International Space Station that will use the bizarre state of matter to probe the quantum world. Back on Earth, physicists also found that complex numbers aren't necessary for quantum mechanics to work and used quantum computers to create a rare material critical to nuclear fusion. And to stick with news from the small (and weird) things of the world, we also reported that scientists have created little diving suits to transform cockroaches into search-and-rescue cyborgs.

Arctic ice thickening shows promise

First experiment to thicken Arctic ice with seawater shows promise — but there's a big catch

The Arctic is the world's fastest-warming region, where sea ice is rapidly disappearing at a rate of 12.2% per decade.

The ice is crucial for maintaining stable sea levels and marine nutrient flows, and for reflecting solar radiation away from our planet, so its precipitous decline is deeply concerning. That's why one team of researchers turned to a surprisingly simple method to stem the ice loss: flooding ice sheets with seawater to thicken them.

The results, despite some major caveats, showed a lot of promise.

Discover more planet Earth news

—Extreme heat waves are making our cities buckle. Investing in urban nature is no longer optional.

—Colorful 'painting-like' ripples cover an ancient seafloor structure in the Bahamas — Earth from space

—'Uncharted territory': Record-high ocean temperatures confirmed for June as El Niño strengthens its grip

Life's Little Mysteries

Does fast charging damage your battery more than regular charging?

If you're as shamefully attached to your devices as I am, you may have wondered about the wildly differing times it can take for them to charge. So what's the science behind fast charging, and does it damage a device's battery more than regular charging does?

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One of the oldest gravestones of a free Black person in the U.S. found

'One of the oldest gravestones of a free Black person in America' discovered in Boston

It was found amid photos of headstones during a restoration project at Boston's Granary Burying Ground — a gravestone with only one name, "Boston."

That's how a team of conservationists chanced upon the tombstone of Sebastian, a formerly enslaved man who died free in 1729 and chose the city's name as his own.

A search through the historical archives has produced a wealth of information about Boston's past, including his reputation as a hardworking handyman throughout the city, and his emancipation following the death of the man who held him in slavery.

"It's been there all along. We just had to go look and share the story," Michelle Wu, the mayor of Boston, said in a July 4 speech.

Discover more archaeology news

—100,000 years ago, one of the earliest Homo sapiens outside Africa was stabbed in the face, analysis finds

—6,000-year-old broken ribs discovered in Syria may be one of the oldest known cases of child abuse in the world

—Neanderthals and modern humans may have shared culture 59,000 years ago in Turkey, study finds

Also in science news this week

—New sodium metal battery design charges in just 4 minutes and retains its capacity for years

—Dirty 'button' unearthed by metal detectorist turns out to be a rare 900-year-old coin from Norway's last Viking king, Magnus Barefoot

—'Astronomers have to revise estimates': The Milky Way may be larger, heavier and more lopsided than we realized

—2,500-year-old tomb of a 'warrior prince' with chariot and helmet discovered on Italy's Adriatic coast

—Malaria had nearly been eliminated around a giant dam in the Amazon — but then it came roaring back. Experts just discovered why.

Science interview

'800 seconds for a sick visit': Some factors driving antibiotic resistance have nothing to do with biology, says medical sociologist Julia Szymczak

Antibiotic resistance continues to pose a growing danger across the U.S., with more than 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occurring in the country each year. Last week, we brought you a report from Live Science health editor Nicoletta Lanese, who visited Japan to investigate how that country is curbing its overuse of antibiotics.

Now, in the second part of a feature series into the fight against this "silent pandemic," Nicoletta interviewed medical sociologist Julia Szymczak to dig into the social and emotional drivers of antibiotic overprescription.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for things to keep you busy over the weekend, here's a selection from our best opinion pieces, interviews, diagnostic dilemmas and crosswords that we published this week.

—Superintelligent AI in space could explain the Fermi paradox [Opinion]

—'It's more than a hope; it's a guarantee': The Vera C. Rubin Observatory's 10-year movie of the universe is about to 'blow our minds,' chief scientist Tony Tyson says [Interview]

—Diagnostic dilemma: A woman heard voices for years — but not because of psychosis [Diagnostic Dilemma]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #51: Largest rodent on Earth — 4 down [Crossword]

Science photo of the week

Secretive Chinese probe snaps first photo of Earth's mysterious 'quasi-moon' — and it may pose a big problem

It doesn't look like much, but this blurry, gray image is the first-ever close-up photo of one of Earth's temporary "quasi-moons" — a fast-spinning asteroid temporarily orbiting the sun in sync with our planet.

Of equal intrigue is the spacecraft that took the image: a secretive Chinese probe that is likely gearing up to land on the space rock and snag a sample ‪—‬ although an unexpected hiccup will make that more difficult.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news was all about goings on in space, with reports that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) picked up a signal from a mysterious, never-before-seen substance on Pluto and Titan.

The space telescope detected a specific absorption line in the spectra of these worlds' atmospheres, revealing the characteristic trace of a unique and unknown molecule. It's unclear exactly what the molecule could be, and the mystery is made even more compelling by the fact that the environments of Pluto and Titan are very distinct.

Farther afield, the JWST's predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope, spotted "impossible" light from a galaxy we shouldn't even be able to see. And in the busy skies surrounding our own planet, scientists are dreaming up a scheme to drop a giant "airbag" that could protect us from solar storms, sending spacecraft into orbit to save doomed telescopes, and also giving answers to why metal sticks together in space.

And just in time for Independence Day weekend, the sun has launched a string of eruptions to Earth that will likely paint the night skies with colorful auroras.

China's 'Great Green Wall' grows faster than natural forests

66 billion trees have been planted in China's Great Green Wall — and they appear to be growing faster than natural forests

China is no stranger to engineering projects designed to bring its environment to heel; we've recently covered the Asian powerhouse's attempts to tame nature through the creation of atmospheric rivers, the world's biggest dam and water transfers. But these are hardly China's only forays into sculpting its natural environment, with the country having planted more than 66 billion trees along its northern borders to halt the advance of the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts.

Now, new research has revealed a startling detail about the trees in this "Great Green Wall": they're growing significantly faster than natural forests. Exactly why remains a mystery, but, as Live Science contributor Brian Owens reveals, it could be due to a stronger response from the trees to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Discover more planet Earth news

—'It sounds so impossible': Student studying fungus that makes users hallucinate tiny people may be on the verge of a scientific breakthrough

—'Uncharted territory': Record high ocean temperatures confirmed for June as El Niño strengthens its grip

—Study suggests life on Earth has around 1.8 billion years left — but the biosphere might evolve to survive even longer

Life's Little Mysteries

Are CAPTCHAs obsolete in the age of AI?

Are you a robot? It used to be a question that only humans could answer — by clicking on traffic lights or strings of warped and grainy characters, or Completely Automated Public Turing tests to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHAs). But what happens now that autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) agents can ace some of these trials without detection? Have they made CAPTCHAs obsolete?

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Medici murder mystery solved

Ancient-DNA analysis solves 500-year-old mystery of what killed 2 Medici brothers

The Medici family ruled Renaissance Tuscany with an iron fist, fulfilling their ruthless ambitions with methods so underhand that the name of their most famous advisor, Niccolò Machiavelli, became a synonym for skulduggery.

So, when two brothers from the infamous family died under mysterious circumstances, it was believed for 500 years that they were murdered, possibly by arsenic poisoning. Now, science has revealed the true culprit behind the medieval cold case, and it's not what we expected.

Discover more archaeology news

—Ancient ring discovered underground in Scotland could be a Stonehenge-like monument

—500-year-old freeze-dried potato snacks discovered in Inca storage room in Peru

—2,000-year-old scrolls buried by Mount Vesuvius eruption finally deciphered with help from AI

Also in science news this week

—Chinese supercomputer leapfrogs best US machines to be ranked world's fastest

—The hantavirus outbreak is over, WHO declares

—Rise in cancer in younger adults may be explained by faster 'biological aging,' early study hints

—Dead-end bitcoin mining wastes as much energy as Switzerland's entire hydropower generation capacity

—CERN shuts down Large Hadron Collider until 2030, upgrading the atom smasher to its most powerful form yet

—Scientists figured out how to shrink huge ultrafast lasers so they fit on a tiny chip ‪‪—‬ the 'holy grail' of the field

Science Spotlight

Japan's bold experiment to curb antibiotic misuse has been a huge success. Could it work in the US?

Antibiotic resistance is a growing threat in the U.S., with more than 2.8 million Americans developing antimicrobial-resistant infections each year. The solutions to this worrying trend can be very complex— such as moving agricultural systems away from their overreliance on antibiotics, or preventing the rapid spread of superbugs through international travel.

But stopping doctors from overprescribing antibiotics is one of the easiest strategies in the battle against this "silent pandemic." And it turns out that Japan has already fought it with some success, driving down antibiotic overuse with an innovative new policy. To investigate further and ask what notes the U.S. should be taking, Live Science's health editor Nicoletta Lanese visited Japan and reported back on their investigation.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for things to keep you busy over the weekend, here are a smattering of our best expert opinion pieces, alongside a crossword, an interview and a quiz, that we published this week.

— Computer scientists are rushing to tame AI's voracious appetite for energy [Opinion]

—'It's more than a hope, it's a guarantee': The Vera C. Rubin Observatory's 10-year movie of the universe is about to 'blow our minds,' chief scientist Tony Tyson says [Interview]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #50: Longest-serving president in US history — 1 across [Crossword]

—Ancient empires quiz: Can you match these lands to the historical powers that ruled them? [Quiz]

Science photo of the week

Bull's-eye! Enormous 'bow and arrow' galaxy is unlike anything radio astronomers have ever seen

If you ask me, it looks more like a rusty anchor, or a blurry deep-sea fish. But whichever way you see it, the newly discovered "bow and arrow" galaxy — or, more formally, the RAD-Bow-And-Arrow Radio Galaxy (RAD-BAARG) — is an oddball unlike any other recorded.

The galaxy's unique structure is likely the result of gravity, which is warping RAD-BAARG into a funhouse mirror version of its former self as it falls into a nearby galaxy cluster. A shock front from this plunge surrounds the galaxy as it moves through hot gas.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week, we've taken one tantalizing step closer to finding out if there really was life on Mars, after NASA's Perseverance rover uncovered the highest concentration of organic molecules on the Red Planet to date.

The data comes from mudstones in Jezero crater, which once hosted a deep lake. Last year, researchers described a piece of rock with patterns resembling those left by microorganisms on Earth as one of the clearest signs yet of past Martian microbes.

Now, scientists have confirmed the widespread presence of complex carbon-based molecules in this area of the crater, which they suggest indicate the presence of fossilized microbes.

Going even further back in history, new observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed how early galaxies lived fast and died young, offering a possible preview of our own galaxy's death.

Elsewhere in space, JWST captured the formation of a distant star, 1,280 light-years away in the constellation Orion, while the Euclid space telescope snapped the most detailed photo of the Milky Way ever taken.

Weird human cousin gets even weirder

'A weird result from an already weird hominin': Archaeologists discover all Homo naledi skeletons found in South African cave are female

Homo naledi surprised scientists once again this week. Found in a South African cave in 2013, the small-brained, two-legged relative to modern humans is thought to have lived around 300,000 years ago. Since its initial discovery, the enigmatic hominin has shocked scientists with a string of baffling revelations. In 2023, researchers found evidence that H. naledi may have used fire in the cave. This early hominin may also have buried its dead. Now, archaeologists have analyzed genetic material in the enamel of nearly two dozen skeletons at the site and found that they are all female.

"The bottom line is this is a weird result from an already weird hominin," Elizabeth Sawchuk, curator of human evolution at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, who was not involved in the study, told Live Science in an email.

Discover more archaeology news

—Hanging lamp in the form of a sandaled right foot: A 1,600-year-old bronze lamp with multilayered Christian symbolism

—Early Homo sapiens may have lived in rainforests, new clues suggest — and it could overturn our understanding of human evolution

—Some of the last surviving Neanderthals were remarkably diverse ‪—‬ suggesting inbreeding didn't doom them

Life's Little Mysteries

How did the Romans build such straight roads?

The Romans are known for their transport systems that enabled travel and trade across their enormous empire. Many of these centuries-old streets had a reputation for being extremely straight. Nowadays, building straight roads requires advanced surveying using GPS networks and lasers, as well as careful engineering to flatten the terrain. So how did the Romans do it about 2,000 years before these things were invented?

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Water might be 2 liquids

Water might secretly be a mix of 2 different liquids, scientists say

Most of us discount water as the most basic of beverages, but if you look at it at a molecular level, water is actually rather exciting. Think about it: While most liquids are denser in their solid form, water ice floats. That's weird. Water also resists temperature changes better than similar liquids do, and its viscosity decreases under certain pressures.

Some scientists have hypothesized that these weird behaviors come about because water consists of not one, but two liquids ‪—‬ a dense one and a less-dense one that constantly switch places. Now, with the help of AI, we have proof of this weirdness.

Discover more weird news

—We've spent decades looking for the wrong type of alien radio signals, new paper claims — and there's an easy way to fix it

—'Weirdos of the sperm whale world' appear to be evolving 2 different dialects, audio recordings suggest

—China's Einstein Probe detected a mysterious cosmic explosion — and scientists have no idea what caused it

Also in science news this week

—The US just approved bemotrizinol, a sunscreen ingredient long used in Asia and Europe. Here's how it works.

—'You can't patch your way out of it': Cheap AI worm can spread between devices without human guidance — but how did scientists create it?

—Water shortages could prevent the US from mining more lithium, deepening reliance on foreign imports

—Diagnostic dilemma: After taking a medicine for years, a man suddenly had weird changes in his taste that made food disgusting

Science Spotlight

'If there's any country that will do it, it's China': Why is China diverting some of the world's mightiest rivers thousands of miles?

People in China's northern megacities have 74 times less fresh water availability than the average American. But China boasts some of the largest rivers in Asia that flow farther south, along with massive water reserves in glaciers in the west. To address this imbalance, the Chinese government has built the world's largest water diversion project, ferrying water from the Yangtze River in the country's center and south over thousands of miles through a complex system of canals, pipes, dams, reservoirs and pumps.

And yet, this is still not enough to satisfy the water needs of the country's thirsty North. Now, China is expanding these routes and planning a third, western route for the project, which will be the most dangerous and ambitious route yet.

Beyond diverting the country's rivers, China is also building the world's largest dam in an earthquake-prone region in Tibet and has invested heavily in creating a permanent "sky river" to help solve the country's water crisis.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for things to keep you busy over the weekend, here are some of the best news analyses, crosswords, interviews, opinion pieces and quizzes published this week.

—9 of the best technology conspiracy theories [Countdown]

— AI companies don't want to be legally responsible for their chatbots. US courts should make them. [Opinion]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #49: 'Short' tempered French emperor — 13 across [Crossword]

— Ancient empires quiz: Can you match these lands to the historical powers that ruled them? [Quiz]

—60 million stars: Euclid space telescope snaps the most detailed photo of the Milky Way ever taken [Skywatching]

Science in pictures

NASA satellite captures wave of warm water hundreds of miles long that signals a devastatingly strong El Niño

New satellite imagery shows a wave of warm water stretching across the Pacific Ocean in a dramatic illustration of the newly declared El Niño. The image shows a red wave as it streaks across the equator and piles up around the west coast of South America.

Ocean patterns like this are known as Kelvin waves. They occur when winds in the Pacific Ocean near the equator temporarily reverse and blow from west to east. This enables warm water to gradually build up in the east,preventing cold waters from rising below.

The wave was spotted by NASA's Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite, which measures ocean temperatures through radar scans of changes in sea surface height, caused by heat's expansionary effects upon water. The satellite has already observed several other Kelvin waves this year in anticipation of El Niño.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news was filled with things missing and found, with the revelation of the first-ever deep-sea footage of the elusive goblin shark making waves in the press.

Goblin sharks (Mitsukurina owstoni) are mysterious, deepwater creatures that have not changed much since they first appeared on Earth 125 million years ago — making them "living fossils." But capturing a recording of the sharks in their deep habitats is exceptionally difficult, and they have previously been seen alive only after being hooked to the surface on fishing lines. Scientists recently filmed not one, but two goblin sharks: The first near Jarvis Island in the South Central Pacific, and the second 6,550 feet (1,997 meters) deep in the Tonga Trench.

If you like your elusive animals on the wilier (and certainly much cuter) side, we also reported on the first ever photographs of the dwarf fox, a species that was believed to be extinct but has been found near a highway in Cozumel, Mexico.

Elsewhere, archaeologists found a second cannonball from the 1836 Battle of the Alamo, meaning they now have one from each side of the conflict. And separate teams of archaeologists discovered the remains of a prehistoric man in Germany who may have been a human sacrifice and signs of a "prototype" Stonehenge close near the famous Stone Age monument.

If you got this far wondering if the "missing" news items were, well, missing, we also covered how a "cold blob" of absent heat in the Atlantic Ocean is shifting Indian summer monsoons, threatening over one billion people; the Texas-size chunk of ice missing from Antarctica; how an ancient chunk of the moon found in Africa hints at a calamitous lunar collision; and a bizarre viral infection that left a woman unable to recognize her own father.

California is scarily close to a major quake

'The system is critically stressed': San Andreas and San Jacinto faults scarily close to major earthquake, study finds

The next major Californian earthquake could be closer than we thought, according to an alarming new study.

The research, based on historical modeling of earthquake activity, found that Southern California's San Andreas and San Jacinto fault systems are at their highest levels of tectonic stress in more than 1,000 years; while also being connected by a "gate" system that could make them rupture together.

The exact odds of each event happening and the timing of a possible future rupture are unknown. But the scientists stress that understanding how much strain is building up inside the system could help to prepare for whatever comes next.

Life's Little Mysteries

Why does it take our eyes so long to adjust to the dark?

Our eyes are remarkably adaptable, switching from navigating under bright lights to the near pitch-black of a moonless night. But anyone who's stubbed a toe during this acclimation window — and that definitely includes me — may have once or twice asked themselves why it takes our eyes so long to adjust to the dark. Live Science shed a bit of light on the question.

—If you enjoyed this, sign up for our Life's Little Mysteries newsletter

Physicists split a photon

'A mixture from zero to infinity': Physicists split apart a photon — and ended up with an improbable swarm of particles

What do you get if you split a photon? Anywhere from zero to an infinite number of more photons, physicists say.

That's the finding made by a new experiment that simulated a photon being sliced by a shutter under various circumstances, revealing the result was anywhere from zero to one to upwards of an infinite swarm of the tiny light particles. The probability of each of these states corresponded to how quickly the shutter cut the photon.

And the unexpected behavior has some truly profound implications for how we view fundamental particles.

Discover more physics news

—The world's first nuclear clock just ticked on — and it could help detect a fifth fundamental force of physics

—NASA's experimental X-59 jet breaks sound barrier twice, reaching Mach 1.4 in step toward 'quiet supersonic' technology

—Earth-based telescope shares image of Artemis II capsule near the moon — one of the farthest photos of humans ever taken

Also in science news this week

—'A completely different story': 300 million-year-old fossils reveal the first vertebrate land dwellers weren't what we thought, researchers claim

—Oldest known plague victims found in a 5,500-year-old burial ground in Siberia — and many of them were children

—Indonesia's near-identical, 'Twin Peaks' volcanoes form striking mirror image — Earth from space

—Lavish Roman villa discovered outside Rome's walls may have been frequented by Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius

—Neuroscientists are searching for the 'cellular substrate of loneliness'

Science Spotlight

'River in the Sky': China's doomed plan to create a 'cloud seeding corridor' tells us how far the country will go to solve its climate crisis

China's response to the climate crisis continues to astonish. Over the past two decades, the world's industrial powerhouse has presided over the largest and fastest clean energy buildout in modern history, while also working to bring its carbon emissions to a peak before 2030.

But an underdiscussed aspect of China's climate plans are its bold attempts to geoengineer the environment to be more resilient and better suit human needs. That's why, in his three-part "Taming Nature" series, Live Science's production editor James Price investigated the country's efforts to create a permanent atmospheric river and build the world's biggest dam in earthquake-prone Tibet.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for things to keep you busy over the weekend, here are some of the best news analyses, crosswords, interviews, opinion pieces and quizzes published this week.

—A secretive Chinese probe has just arrived at one of Earth's 'quasi-moons' and will soon attempt a first-of-its-kind landing [News analysis]

—Dangerously hot and humid: Rising temperatures in the US make outdoor exercise hazardous [News analysis]

—'Is having two legs useful' in space?: Astronaut John McFall explains what life in orbit might be like for the first physically disabled person in space [Interview]

—'They reliably chose the statistically more favorable option': A crow researcher explains how these winged geniuses process numbers, and what it could reveal about human math smarts [Interview]

—Bow-Wow, Ding-Dong, Pooh-Pooh: Expert explains early theories of how human language evolved — and their silly names [Opinion]

—Rainforest quiz: Can you sort Earth's largest rainforests from biggest to smallest? [Quiz]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #48: Largest fish on Earth — 6 across [Crossword]

Science video of the week

Watch bison herd defend a newborn calf from wolf attack in a primeval Polish forest

European bison (Bison bonasus) are typically considered to be a non-prey species — only being hunted by humans.

But rare and unexpected camera trap footage from Poland's Bialowieza Primeval Forest (the oldest and best-preserved temperate lowland forest in Europe) has called that into question.

In the video, a herd of bison is recorded rallying around a newborn calf to fend off an attack from five wolves (Canis lupus), successfully driving the predators away. It's a nerve wracking watch, and one that could become more common as wolf packs grow in size thanks to a late 1980s hunting ban across the region.

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This week's science news was awash with alarming updates from the world's oceans, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declaring the official onset of El Niño.

El Niño is the warm phase of a multiyear natural climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean that supercharges temperatures across the globe, and this one is looking to be particularly strong, earning it the unofficial moniker of a "super" El Niño. Just how intense is it? It will likely become the strongest in history, most climate models predict, and it may have profound effects on rainfall, wildfires and agricultural yields across the planet.

Jumping from the Pacific to the Atlantic, we also reported on a growing "cold blob" south of Greenland that could signal the slowing of ocean currents that are vital to the Northern Hemisphere, just as the Trump administration decided to remove the deep-sea instruments that monitor it. And farther into the Arctic, we also covered news that the region had crossed a critical biological tipping point.

If all that seems a little grim, one story also reminded us that a marine death isn't always the end; sometimes, it's the beginning of a sea change, as evidenced by the discovery of a 5 million-year-old whale graveyard that stretches for hundreds of miles, making it a "megasite" for other life-forms in the Indian Ocean.

Artemis III crew revealed

Artemis III crew revealed: NASA announces astronauts for 'one of history's most complex missions'

Less than two months after the triumphant splashdown of the Artemis II astronauts, NASA announced the crew for its next step toward the moon, which the agency is touting as one of its most complex yet.

NASA's Randy Bresnik will serve as commander, the European Space Agency's Luca Parmitano will be the pilot, and NASA's Andre Douglas and Dr. Frank Rubio will be the crew's mission specialists. They will launch into low Earth orbit in 2027 as part of a mission to test commercial lunar landers before 2028's scheduled return to the moon.

Yet most of the drama of this mission is taking place before it has even launched, with the two private companies commissioned by NASA to develop a lander — SpaceX and Blue Origin — suffering some explosive setbacks in recent weeks. What that means for the mission remains up in the air.

Discover more space news

—2 long-vanished 'super Earths' once orbited near Neptune in our outer solar system, new study hints

—'Crystals' of space-time could be the origins of certain rare black holes, theoretical study hints

—This 'crawling' robot rolled around the moon and took a historic photo

Life's Little Mysteries

Has all the water on Earth been peed before?

How much pee have you drunk in your lifetime? Your answer is almost certainly little to none, at least on purpose. But what if all the water you drink is the product of urination? It turns out this disturbing question is controversial even among scientists, Live Science's deep dive reveals.

—If you enjoyed this, sign up for our Life's Little Mysteries newsletter

Ancient corpse's arms turned into tools

2,000 years ago in Scotland, people removed a corpse's brain and fashioned the arm bones into tools

A new analysis this week revealed that a woman buried in the far North of Scotland had her brain scooped out and her arms whittled into tools.

Exactly what explains the unusual burial ritual remains unclear, according to the archaeologists who studied the remains. "However, the care with which she was reassembled and deposited in the cairn possibly suggests she commanded a level of reverence and respect by her community," said Laura Castells Navarro, an archaeologist at the University of York in the U.K. and part of the team.

Beyond the baffling and grisly finding, the team conducted a DNA analysis that found connections with individuals buried at sites across ancient Scotland, suggesting the people maintained complex social relationships across vast distances.

Discover more archaeology news

—Complete skin of an adult horse found with 10th-century woman and newborn in rare Siberian burial

—Ditch full of 7,000-year-old headless human skeletons discovered in Slovakia, baffling archaeologists

—Thanks to natural selection, Indigenous Andeans may digest potatoes better than anyone else in the world, study finds

Also in science news this week

—Scientists discover giant, fan-shaped structure deep beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet

—In a first, scientists translated an entire viral genome so a quantum computer could read and analyze it

—Genetically modified worms can now produce and deliver drugs inside a living body, scientists say

—Diagnostic dilemma: Man who donated his body after death had rare 'triple penis'

—China unveils first-of-its-kind 'dual-core' quantum computer — its makers say it improves stability and efficiency

—Physicist Richard Feynman's forgotten notes on 'the restaurant problem' finally deciphered after 50 years

—World's rarest great ape decimated by 4 days of extreme rain, with 7% of population lost to cyclone

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for things to keep you busy over the weekend, here are some of the best news analyses, crosswords, interviews, opinion pieces and skywatching guides published this week.

—Scientists were excited about a blood test for many cancers — but it failed a big trial. Here's what to know. [News analysis]

—Artificial turf contains 400 chemicals tied to cancer and hormone disruption. But is it unsafe? [News analysis]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #47: The 'unicorn of the sea' — 9 across [Crossword]

—'A disease anywhere can be a disease everywhere tomorrow morning': Public health expert on Ebola and the threat of future outbreaks [Interview]

—Doctors need to understand patients' lived experiences to treat them well — but medical schools may stop requiring that training [Opinion]

—The Milky Way returns: How to take breathtaking photos of our galaxy this summer [Skywatching]

Science news in pictures

'Geminid Symphony' and 'Galactic Gandalf': See the breathtaking views of our home galaxy from the 2026 Milky Way Photographer of the Year contest

This stunning shot is one of the winners of the 2026 Milky Way Photographer of the Year contest, whose honorees captured the mixtures of gases and stars forming our home galaxy from vantages around the world.

This particular image is a long exposure captured by photographer Daniel Viñé Garcia over a salt flat in Argentina's arid Catamarca province. The brightest stars can be seen reflected in the turquoise, briny pools at the bottom.

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Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

Surprise discoveries that were thousands of years in the making dominated this week's science news, with scientists discovering that Ötzi the Iceman's body was teeming with ancient yeasts, which scientists promptly used to make a sourdough.

First discovered in Italy's Ötztal Alps in September 1991, Ötzi was a prehistoric man who died, likely by murder, some 5,300 years ago before being mummified naturally inside glacier ice. But bad news for Ötzi was good news for four strains of cold-adapted glacier yeasts, which infiltrated his body shortly after his death and may still be active today. In fact, some of these yeasts are just right for baking bread — the scientists used it to make a sourdough they described as "very very good."

Some 1,000 years later in what is today Uzbekistan, a child underwent Asia's oldest recorded form of surgery in the form of a grisly cranial trepanation. Across the globe, another team of scientists rediscovered 17,000-year-old rock art that's the oldest recorded in the U.K., and another group reported finding the origins of the Euphrates river, which fed the "cradle of civilization." Elsewhere this week, reports emerged of the discovery of the first shipwrecks linked to the real pirates of the Caribbean, and Italian teenagers discovering a 1,800-year-old Roman house underneath their high school gym.

If none of that is archaic enough for you, take a look at how many generations of humans there have been, or check out the results from the first whole-genome sequence of the Greenland shark, the longest lived vertebrate on Earth, for clues into their long lifespans and cancer resistance. Or maybe take a trip through some outdated Medieval jurisprudence that saw many animals trialed in courtrooms and put in prison — except for cats, which emerged largely unscathed.

Google plans a multi-million mosquito release

Google wants to release 64 million bacteria-riddled mosquitoes across California and Florida. Here's why scientists are enthusiastic.

When is a tech company conspiring to release 64 million bacteria-riddled mosquitoes across the U.S. good news? This week, it turns out, with an application made by Google to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for an experimental mosquito release permit.

The mosquitoes in question are non-biting male southern house mosquitoes (Culex quinquefasciatus) — a species whose females transmit diseases like West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis in humans. Infected with a bacterium called Wolbachia pipientis, the released males will prevent any females they mate with from having offspring, thereby slashing mosquito populations and disease rates over time.

The EPA has deemed Google's request to be of potential regional and national significance. The agency will make a final decision whether to grant the permit following a public comment period that ended on June 5.

Discover more health stories

—Flesh-eating screwworm found in Texas cow. Are humans at risk?

—Heading a soccer ball just once is enough to raise levels of proteins associated with brain damage

—Scientists got mouse eyes to perform photosynthesis ‪—‬ and no, they didn't turn green

Life's Little Mysteries

Why can't we figure out how strong gravity is?

Of the four fundamental forces, gravity is the one we experience most immediately throughout our lives. Yet it also remains the most mysterious — being a major confounding factor for any successful theory of everything. In fact, we can't even figure out exactly how strong Earth's gravity is. But why is it so hard to measure?

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RIP to NASA's MAVEN spacecraft

'In an unrecoverable state': NASA confirms MAVEN spacecraft is officially dead after loss of signal behind Mars

NASA announced a final farewell for its Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft this week — the probe is officially dead after 11 years of studying the Red Planet from orbit.

NASA lost contact with the probe in December of last year when it swung behind Mars on a regular orbit, only to go dark at the time of its reemergence. After convening a review board in February, the agency has now shared its findings that the craft appears to be dead for good. The culprit remains, thus far, a mystery; but a fragment of telemetry data hints that the spacecraft's unusually rapid rotation depleted its battery power.

Discover more space news

—'Totally counterintuitive': Scientists accidentally discover magnetic fields around 7 distant planets, opening new window in the search for life

—Mysterious repeating radio signal traced to 'vampire' star that's slowly eating its companion

—James Webb telescope detects most distant dormant black hole, invisible in all wavelengths and weighing as much as 6 billion suns

Also in science news this week

—Coming El Niño could be the strongest ever recorded, new forecast predicts

—New Velociraptor cousin was a '4-winged' dragon that hunted prey from the trees of ancient China, fossil find hints

—Satellite images reveals mangroves rebounding worldwide — but here's why they could still 'drown'

—Daddy longlegs may be capturing and devouring frogs in the tropical forests of South America

—Physicists achieve 'perfect randomness' for the first time ever

—'The best solution is to murder him in his sleep': AI can learn violent tendencies from each other despite zero references to violence in training data

—NASA astronauts briefly shelter in 'safe haven' procedure following worsening leaks on International Space Station

Science long read

Some 'extinct' volcanoes may just be going through a growth spurt, before they 'wake up in this catastrophic stage,' emerging research suggests

When is a dead volcano just taking a nap? The disquieting answer may be more often than we thought, following the discovery by volcanologists that the extinct volcanoes surrounding us might actually just be going through a growth period before they roar back to life.

That's according to a new analysis of the formerly-extinct volcano Methana, near Athens, Greece, which has been found to have slept for 110,000 years before returning to activity. To figure out what this means for the other sleeping giants that surround us, Live Science contributor Chris Simms investigated.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for things to keep you busy over the weekend, here are some of the best news analyses, crosswords, interviews and opinion pieces published this week.

—Microsoft's latest quantum chip is 1,000 times more reliable than its predecessor — but why is this new processor so controversial? [News analysis]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #46: Largest desert on Earth — 9 down [Crossword]

—'We were being bullied in our own home': How 'authoritarian' HOAs are contributing to the insect apocalypse [Interview]

—Are some people wired to see ghosts? A psychologist explains what makes paranormal experiences more likely [Opinion]

Science news in pictures

China launches new Long March 12B rocket, reportedly without any safety warning

An almighty roar and a vapor trail was about as much advance warning as the world got ahead of the maiden launch of China's Long March 12B rocket, which reportedly took off without any advance airspace notices on Monday (June 1).

The rocket is China's rival to SpaceX's Falcon 9 — a reusable, commercially-ran rocket that will be used to cost-effectively launch China's megaconstellation satellites into low Earth orbit.

The surprise launch came as China ramps up its rocket launches as part of a new space race with the U.S. But if you're able to tune out all the geopolitical posturing, the flight sure made for some cool photos.

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Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

Space dominated this week's science news, with NASA announcing its imminent next steps in plans to develop a permanent moon base being slightly overshadowed by the spectacular explosion of a rocket intended to carry its payloads.

Three uncrewed missions targeted for later this year will involve private companies carrying payloads to the lunar surface ahead of astronauts' return by 2028. Nonetheless, some experts have voiced skepticism about NASA's highly ambitious timeline, with the gigantic detonation of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket during a static "hotfire" test likely prompting significant delays.

In other space news, the solar system's largest moon, Jupiter's Ganymede, may be heating up due to a unique and mysterious process linked to the planet's inexplicable magnetic field, an unexpected effect is squeezing Mars' atmosphere like toothpaste, and bizarre, scratch-like patterns on Venus' surface have scientists scratching their heads.

If that's not exotic enough for you, we reported on the far-out mystery of the controversial "JuMBO" planets discovered by the James Webb telescope, alongside the telescope's discovery of a "naked" black hole that's heavier than its host galaxy.

But you don't need to go to space to find new ways of looking at the universe, as you can see in this fascinating interview on the uses of radio astronomy in space exploration and the search for aliens. Indeed, you can gain that sense of awe by watching this new footage of a brilliant-green fireball meteor exploding over an erupting volcano in the Philippines.

Hybrid quantum computer AI can solve questions base models can't

Scientists trained an AI model using an IBM quantum computer — and it answered questions correctly that the base model couldn't

Today's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots are notoriously prone to getting things wrong.

To get more accurate, large language models historically (LLM) had to get bigger, using ever more parameters and thus gobbling up more compute time. Now, however, scientists have found a way around this seemingly inevitable tradeoff — and they did it by inserting a quantum computing component into the AI.

The result led to a small reduction in the perplexity score — used to quantify the inaccuracies LLMs make in predicting their next tokens — and an improvement in the questions the hybrid AI could answer compared with a base model.

Discover more technology stories

—Can AI really simulate human thinking? Research casts doubt on an influential study, suggesting an advanced model was just really good at memorizing patterns.

—Scientists found the optimal robot body, and it has 20 legs ‪—‬ watch it scale walls and move through trees

—OpenAI's internal AI model just solved an 80-year-old math problem ‪—‬ and mathematicians verified it

Life's Little Mysteries

What is jetlag, and how can you avoid it?

If you've taken a long-haul flight before, you're likely well aware of what jet lag feels like — the enervating feeling of temporal discombobulation that lingers for days after hopping into a new timezone. But what's going on in our bodies to cause it? And can it be prevented?

—If you enjoyed this, sign up for our Life's Little Mysteries newsletter

"Doomsday Glacier" will lose ice shelf

'Poised to disintegrate': Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier' is set to lose its ice shelf this year

Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier is nicknamed the "Doomsday Glacier" because its collapse would raise global sea levels by 2.1 feet (65 centimeters) and flood coastal communities worldwide.

This week, we reported that a key shelf buttressing the glacier is set to fall apart this year.

It sounds depressing, but that doesn't necessarily spell immediate doom. While scientists can't put an exact timeline on Thwaites Glacier's collapse, they don't think it will be anytime soon. That at least gives people living in cities such as New York, Boston, and Miami a little time to consider moving inland.

Discover more planet Earth news

—A single day of attacks on Iranian oil refineries released as much sulfur dioxide as a volcanic eruption

—The 'Doomsday Glacier' is poised to lose its ice shelf this year. An Antarctic researcher explains what that means for global sea levels.

—Gold glitters around Ghana's 'lake of souls' thanks to catastrophic meteor strike — Earth from space

Also in science news this week

—Chemists create 'water armor' that prevents stains and germs from sticking to clothing ‪

—1,200-year-old gold hoard discovered in Saudi Arabia may have been buried by a medieval pilgrim

—The Romans and Vikings left few genetic traces of their occupations of Britain, research suggests

—Diagnostic dilemma: Whiplike rashes appeared on a woman's back after she ate shiitake mushrooms

—A new test could flag people at risk for anemia by filming their eyeballs — no needles required

—It's illegal to repair most of our devices. There's a surprising reason for that.

Science Spotlight

War has brought Iran's water crisis to a breaking point: 'Things will collapse unless there is meaningful structural change'

The U.S.-Israeli war has come at a price measured not just in military expenditures but in human lives, key infrastructure and rising energy prices.

But some costs of the war aren't immediately apparent. One of the less-publicized tolls, for example, is the effect on Iran's water system, which was already collapsing before the current war. In this Science Spotlight, Live Science staff writer Sascha Pare walks us through how the water crisis originated, how the war made things worse, and whether the situation can be turned around.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for things to keep you busy over the weekend, here are some of the best news analyses, crosswords, interviews and opinion pieces published this week.

—'It's being promoted like there's absolutely no risk': Why some experts say melatonin should be considered a drug rather than a supplement [News analysis]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #45: The tallest waterfall on Earth — 10 across [Crossword]

—'We can identify these really early, before the clinical diagnosis': Epigenetic markers may help explain why Native Hawaiians are aging faster [Interview]

—AI-generated images are making it impossible to distinguish truth from fiction. We need laws and AI watermarks to protect our shared reality. [Opinion]

Science news in pictures

Mars looks blue and bruised in surreal new images from Psyche spacecraft — Space photo of the week

This snapshot of the bruised-blue Martian surface was taken by NASA's Psyche spacecraft as it passed within 2,864 miles (4,609 kilometers) of the Martian surface on May 15.

The image — a close-up of the double-ringed Huygens crater and the cratered southern highlands that surround it — was captured by the probe to test its multispectral cameras before it arrives at the metal-rich asteroid 16 Psyche in 2029. The enhanced-color processing in the photos revealed veins of hidden mineral deposits, hence the blue.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news was filled with unearthed mysteries from ancient tombs, including the discovery of the possible true purpose of hundreds of stone jars scattered across Laos' highlands.

The Plain of Jars, which consists of 2,000 hollowed-out stone urns dotted across the Xieng Khouang Plateau, has puzzled archaeologists for almost a century. Now, researchers have found the remains of at least 37 people inside one of these jars, suggesting that the site was a vast burial complex where ancestors were worshipped for generations.

We also reported on burial mysteries in other areas of the world this week. Satellite remote sensing uncovered circular mass graves that predate the ancient Egyptians, while analyses revealed that ancestors of Aboriginal people in Australia "fed" the grave of a pet dingo for 500 years and that Poland's 'hugging skeletons' were a same-sex double burial. And in further tomb news, excavations of a High Arctic graveyard unveiled the perils that plagued 17th-century whalers.

This week, we also got an answer to a long-standing mystery of why the Giza pyramids have survived for more than 4,600 years.

Global warming moves 5,000 times faster than rice can evolve

Global warming is accelerating 5,000 times faster than rice can evolve

The rapid warming of Earth could be pushing rice-growing regions to their "thermal limit," according to a troubling new study we covered this week.

That means the staple crop could be facing serious disruption that affects a billion people who depend on rice cultivation for their livelihoods. It also puts farmers and rice itself "closer to the limits of what we can reasonably adapt to in that time frame," study first author Nicolas Gauthier, an anthropologist and geographer at the Florida Museum of Natural History, told Live Science.

By analyzing 9,000 years' worth of data, Gauthier and his colleagues found a hard upper temperature limit that could soon be breached.

Discover more planet Earth news:

—A transition may be looming for a massive Italian volcano

—The Appalachian Mountains hold enough lithium to make 500 billion cellphones, researchers discover

—Complex animals evolved up to 10 million years earlier than previously thought, fossil discovery shows

Life's Little Mysteries

How hot is Earth's core?

Earth started out as a ball of molten rock floating in space, with the heavier elements slowly sinking to form its planetary core. That core is still scorching. But how hot is it? And how did scientists even figure out its temperature?

—If you enjoyed this, sign up for our Life's Little Mysteries newsletter

Common asthma drug fights hard-to-treat cancers

Common asthma drug helps fight hard-to-treat cancers, including aggressive breast cancers, early study finds

Montelukast, a common drug used to treat asthma and allergies, could soon be repurposed to tackle hard-to-treat cancers, such as triple-negative breast cancer.

Early lab studies found that the drug could reverse the hijacking of key immune cells by tumors, thereby reversing the cancers' resistance to common immunotherapies. With this finding in hand, scientists now hope to launch a clinical trial with cancer patients.

Discover more health news

—Loneliness may contribute to memory issues, but not dementia — they are 'not the same thing'

—Why aren't brain transplants possible?

—Deadly Ebola outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern, WHO declares

Also in science news this week

—Physicists confirm 'negative time' is real by asking the atoms themselves

—China installs world's largest floating wind turbine in deep water test — it generates enough energy to power 4,200 homes annually

—Deadly, highly venomous box jellyfish discovered in Singapore is a newfound species

—'Last titan' of Thailand discovered, and it's the longest-necked dinosaur on record from Southeast Asia

—China's real-life 'transformer' mech is a giant humanoid robot that can switch from bounding on 4 legs to walking on 2

—How can we prevent AI models from cannibalizing themselves when human-generated data runs out? Scientists say they've found the answer.

Science long read

Scientists claimed the world's oldest rock art is 67,800 years old. But is the science behind that estimate flawed?

A controversy is rocking the prehistoric art world, as a technique that once rewrote the timeline of prehistoric paintings has been called into serious doubt.

The method, called uranium-thorium dating, used the radioactive decay of uranium into thorium to generate all sorts of eye-popping headlines showcasing the artistic talents of our ancient ancestors.

However, a new paper casts doubt on the validity of this method and, therefore, the dates it finds. But are the new study's findings rock solid? Live Science contributor Sandee Oster investigated.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for things to keep you busy over the weekend, here are some of the best news analyses, crosswords, book excerpts and polls published this week.

—More young people are getting colorectal cancer — here's what scientists think might be happening [News analysis]

—Ebola outbreak in Central Africa will be a nightmare to contain, experts warn [News analysis]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #44: Founder and first ruler of the Mongol Empire — 8 across [Crossword]

—'I have no doubt that life is out there': Why radio astronomers are convinced alien contact is only a matter of time [Book excerpt]

—Poll: What do you think of PMOS, the new name for PCOS? [Poll]

Science news in pictures

Webb and Hubble sink deep into the dazzling Whirlpool Galaxy — Space photo of the week

This image, showing the spiral arms in the Whirlpool Galaxy (Messier 51), could help astronomers to solve a big cosmic mystery: how stars are birthed from their gaseous cocoons.

The image combines observations from the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope, and shows gaps in colorful gas that was blasted away by the formation of bright-white stars.

The image reveals a pattern showing that larger groups of stars clear their swaddling gas more quickly than smaller ones do, suggesting that our universe's current shape has been heavily influenced by early eruptions of gigantic stellar furnaces.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news featured some big headlines for health, including the landmark decision to officially rename polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) to polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS).

The name change — the culmination of a 14-year process that took input from over 14,000 patients and health professionals — was made to better reflect the nature of the disease from one that implied (incorrectly) that people with the disease have a higher number of pathological noncancerous ovarian cysts than those without the condition. Instead, those with PMOS have a large number of "arrested follicles," or ovarian eggs that have failed to fully mature.

The name change isn't just a question of semantics; it could have a positive impact on the diagnosis and treatment of the disease, as well as help to identify related conditions in patients.

Elsewhere, we covered emerging research on how pollution may fuel depression, anxiety and other mental health problems, along with the first-ever COVID-19 antiviral pill passing a key trial. We also brought you the latest updates on the hantavirus cruise ship and how outbreaks of the virus could become more likely.

Neanderthals were the world's oldest dentists

'Exceptional' drilled tooth reveals Neanderthals practiced dentistry in Siberia 60,000 years ago

Neanderthals may have been the world's oldest dentists, according to a new study of a 60,000-year-old Neanderthal lower molar with a deep hole in its surface bored out by a small stone drill.

The procedure shows that our closest human relatives had the smarts to recognize that a painful tooth cavity could be treated and that they had the precise motor skills to successfully drill out the rotten enamel. The evidence is also 45,000 years older than the first recorded instance of Homo sapiens performing intentional dentistry.

Discover more archaeology news

—High-status Roman woman was buried in a lead coffin with jet hairpins and exotic resins, archaeologists find

—'Speculation' and 'egregious failure': 30 researchers publish scathing critiques of study that questioned date of early human occupation of Monte Verde in Chile

—Homo erectus genetic material sequenced for the first time, and it shows 'deep genetic links' with modern humans

Life's Little Mysteries

Can people catch infections from plants?

Plants infecting humans is a trope of science fiction, but can it actually happen in real life? Live Science investigated and found a rather disturbing answer.

—If you enjoyed this, sign up for our Life's Little Mysteries newsletter

First nuclear bomb test spawns "alien" crystal

'Extreme' crystal that formed in 1945 nuclear bomb test is unlike anything scientists have seen

The world's first nuclear bomb test reduced the surrounding desert sand to pale-green-and-red glass. Now, more than 80 years later, an analysis of the red parts of this substance — dubbed "trinitite," after the Trinity test site — has revealed that it contains crystals found nowhere else on Earth.

Red trinitite is composed of a unique clathrate, a type of crystalline structure in which one element (in this case, silicon) encloses others (copper and calcium). The discovery marks the first time clathrate crystals have been found as a byproduct of a nuclear blast and will help expand scientists' understanding of how matter organizes itself under extreme conditions.

Discover more physics and space news

—Physicists find evidence that the universe isn't perfectly uniform — potentially unraveling a 100-year-old model of cosmology

—SpaceX prepares to launch next-generation Starship, the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built

—'I heard gasps' and 'oh my God': Artemis II astronauts reveal inside story of their mind-bending solar eclipse

Also in science news this week

—'Insect apocalypse' is already fueling malnutrition in some regions, first-of-its-kind study reveals

—Microplastics absorb heat in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming — as if they weren't bad enough

—Once-in-a-century 'super' El Niño in the cards as ocean temperatures reach near record highs in April

—The Milky Way ate a galaxy called Loki, and scientists think they found its bones

—'A combination of amazement and horror': Hitchhiker fish hide in manta ray buttholes

—New 'trick' fixes major flaw with lasers in neutral-atom quantum computers — inching us closer to more powerful systems

Beyond the headlines

Pollution may fuel depression, anxiety and other mental health problems, emerging research suggests

Numerous studies have found that pollution harms our lungs and hearts, but emerging research is revealing that it inflicts our minds, too.

Studies conducted in Asia, the United States and Europe link long-term exposure to air pollution with higher risks of depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and suicide. Live Science dug into the research on this global threat to human well-being.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for things to keep you busy over the weekend, here are some of the best interviews, opinions, news analyses and quizzes published this week.

—'We're less prepared for contagious pathogens': The US has degraded its ability to track and squash outbreaks, Emory epidemiologist says [Interview]

—More polar bears are approaching human sites as the climate warms, and it's not just the skinny ones [Opinion]

—AI self-replication hacks 'no longer purely theoretical,' study finds —‬ ‪but experts say it's too soon to panic [News analysis]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #43: Founder and first ruler of the Mongol Empire — 8 across [Crossword]

Science news in pictures

'There are 4 people in those pixels': Earth-based telescope snapped Artemis II crew orbiting the moon

It may not look like much, but crammed into the handful of pixels in this image are four human beings circling the moon more than 200,000 miles (320,000 kilometers) away.

The blurry image is of the Artemis II astronauts as they swung around the moon inside their Orion capsule. Captured by a radio telescope here on Earth, it's a compelling candidate for the longest-distance image of humans ever taken.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news was dominated by coverage of a cluster of hantavirus infections aboard the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius.

The cases first received public attention at the end of last week, but the identification of the hantavirus type as the Andes virus — the only hantavirus type known to pass between people — has led to a flurry of reporting as global health organizations race to trace the contacts of those who disembarked. Cruise passengers in at least five U.S. states are being closely monitored by health authorities as the ship heads toward the Spanish island of Tenerife. We covered the latest developments in our live blog of the incident.

And that wasn't the only health news that captured our attention this week. We also reported on how estrogen in both male and female brains shapes trauma responses and how the brain's memory center doesn't start out as a blank slate. Elsewhere, we covered the bizarre case of a woman who turned black and blue weeks after starting a new medication.

Shortcut to Mars

'I was not looking for this': Scientist accidentally finds shortcut to Mars

Hot off the heels of the first round trip to the moon in over half a century, one researcher looking at journey times to Mars has made a surprising discovery that could cut mission times in half. Using early, imprecise orbital estimates of near-Earth asteroids, they found a route to the Red Planet and back in just 153 days.

But there's a catch: To get there, any intrepid astronauts would have to arrive at Mars traveling around 64,800 mph (108,000 km/h) ‪—‬ way too fast for existing landing systems to handle safely. The more optimistic finding is that the study also identified a more realistic option that could still slash a Mars mission timeline to about 7.5 months ‪—‬ about half of what was previously thought possible.

Discover more space news

—Watch NASA's Curiosity rover 'struggle' to remove a rock that got stuck on its robotic arm for nearly a week

—NASA just released 12,000 more Artemis II photos ‪—‬ here are a dozen of our favorites

—Icy object beyond Pluto has an atmosphere that shouldn't exist, study suggests

Life's Little Mysteries

If humans are getting smarter, why are our brains shrinking?

Over the past two decades, some studies have suggested that human brains are shrinking. But there is also evidence that IQ scores have risen over the past century. So how is it possible for us to get smarter as our brains get smaller? Live Science contacted experts to find out.

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Fast-charging quantum battery

Quantum battery charges in a quadrillionth of a second with a laser — larger prototypes could last for years after charging for just a minute

Most of us have experienced the fear of our phone battery dropping below 5% at a critical moment, but if a proof-of-concept quantum battery is anything to go by, such worries could be a thing of the past.

Researchers recently outlined their design for a battery that, thanks to the weird laws of quantum mechanics, allows the molecules within it to charge at a constant speed, no matter its size. And in this situation, the bigger the battery, the better; the more molecules involved, the more efficiently energy is absorbed throughout the system. That means charging times actually decrease in real terms, and in theory, the battery is capable of holding a charge for 1 million times longer than the time it takes to charge it.

Discover more technology news

—'Feuding tech bros' go head to head in legal showdown. But what does it mean for the future of AI?

—Live quantum network test in New York overcomes 2 key hurdles in creating an 'unhackable' internet

—New water battery could last until the 24th century — and it can be safely discarded in the environment

—Humanoid robots have outpaced human runners in the half-marathon, beating the world record ‪—‬ here are the secrets to this astonishing feat

Also in science news this week

—More doomed Franklin expedition sailors identified, revealing clues about how they tried to find safety

—Gold sword scabbard discovered under toppled tree in Norway was likely 'sacrificed' by an elite warrior 1,500 years ago

—Mysterious green rocks in Pyrenees cave hint that prehistoric people were working copper there for 4,000 years

—The night sky could get three times brighter as new satellites launch — all but ruining the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's survey of the universe

—Clean hydrogen created from plastic waste using battery acid from old cars and solar power

News analysis

Some gene therapies no longer require clinical trials, thanks to new FDA rule. Is this safe, and who will it help?

The Food and Drug Administration is implementing a new strategy: It will provide experimental gene therapies that haven't been tested in humans and haven't gone through clinical trials to patients with rare disorders. This framework, called the plausible mechanism pathway, could grant these patients access to individualized therapies, but experts are divided over whether the regulatory change is safe enough for patients. Live Science investigates.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for things to keep you busy over the weekend, here is our crossword, along with some of the best countdowns and interviews published this week.

Happy 100th birthday, David Attenborough! 13 surprising facts about the famous naturalist [Countdown]

48 jaw-dropping James Webb Space Telescope photos [Image gallery]

'Food insecurity is no longer just about low-income countries': Environmental economist explains how climate change is pushing agricultural systems to the brink [Interview]

Live Science crossword puzzle #42: First American to orbit Earth — 9 across [Crossword]

Science news in pictures

Centuries-old Christian Nubian murals inspire gorgeous fashion reconstructions

Move over, Met Gala ‪—‬ the real fashion show this week came courtesy of these stunning re-creations of clothing from medieval Nubia (now parts of Egypt and Sudan). These lavish examples of clothes worn by royalty and clergy were based on murals of elite people painted in a cathedral up to 1,200 years ago and were re-created using fabrics and dyes available in medieval northeastern Africa.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news was filled with awe-inspiring medical breakthroughs, including the story of a risky surgery that saved an unborn baby from a rare lung disorder at just 25 weeks gestation.

Baby Cassian was diagnosed with congenital high airway obstruction syndrome during a second-trimester ultrasound, which required a first-of-its-kind surgery to save him while he was still in the womb. After the surgery, the doctors sealed up the womb, where he remained for another six weeks. Cassian was born in August 2025 and is now being weaned off respiratory support. Doctors say they could perform similar surgeries on other babies in the future.

Elsewhere, a comprehensive map of mouse smell receptors revealed some surprising details about the fundamental sense, including the clustering of receptors into tight bands based on type. Plus, researchers found that heartbeats are crucial to stopping cardiac cancer from growing; a new "blood filtering" therapy has shown early promise for treating preeclampsia; early data linked the weight loss drug Wegovy to "eye stroke", and a "living" knee replacement could soon be used in human patients.

And if all of that serious health news didn't pique your interest, what about this case report of a man whose irregular heartbeat suddenly stabilized after a rectal exam?

Anthropic agent deletes company's database

'I violated every principle I was given': AI agent deletes company's entire database in 9 seconds, then confesses

The cost of putting hallucination-prone AI agents to work was displayed all too clearly this week, with reports that the coding agent Cursor, which is powered by Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.6, deleted an entire production database and its backups in just nine seconds.

The stricken company was PocketOS, which makes software for rental car companies. After the swift deletion, the company traced the culprit back to the coding agent, and the AI bot reportedly confessed that it had guessed, acted without permission, and failed to understand the command before running it.

As AI agents are integrated into more and more key digital infrastructure, this is just the beginning, PocketOS founder Jer Crane said.

"We are not the first," he wrote. "We will not be the last unless this gets airtime."

Discover more technology news

—New data center will be partially powered by human brain cells for the first time

—Google AI breakthrough means chatbots use six times less memory during conversations, without compromising performance

—How everything you do is being monitored in an AI-fueled 'surveillance capitalism system' that's ramping up aggressively

Life's Little Mysteries

What's the difference between a lion and a tiger?

The answer is obviously stripes and manes, you may say ‪—‬ but beyond the superficial, there's a menagerie of fascinating distinctions between the two iconic big cats. Live Science sunk its claws into the answers here.

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The universe is much closer to the end

The universe may end trillions of years sooner than we thought

Scientists used to think our universe would live on for trillions of years.

But a new model of the cosmos has brought an even older idea that favors a more dramatic ending to our cosmos: an inward collapse known as the Big Crunch. That's if its assumptions about dark energy (the force responsible for the universe's accelerating expansion) weakening over time hold out.

Nonetheless, if a Big Crunch does occur, it won't play out for another 33 billion years — so no need to cancel any plans.

Discover more space news

—NASA rover uncovers rock with 7 new organic molecules on Mars — the 'most diverse collection' ever seen

—Can NASA and SpaceX really build a moon base in the next 10 years?

—Used SpaceX rocket could crash into the moon's Einstein crater this summer, report predicts

Also in science news this week

—Some fungi can influence the weather ‪—‬ and now we know how they do it

—Neanderthals' brains weren't to blame for their demise, new study suggests

—'Lifelong monogamy' and 'half orphans': DNA analysis reveals clues about life on the Roman frontier after the fall of Rome

—'The detectors never stopped beeping!' Nearly 3,000 coins discovered in field are Norway's largest Viking hoard on record

—Mount Etna is like no other volcano on Earth, representing 'a new type of volcanism,' new research reveals

—'If astrological compatibility exists, its effects should be observable': How one study of 20 million people shows star signs have no influence on romantic compatibility

—City birds appear to like men more than women, but experts have no idea why

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for things to keep you busy over the weekend, here are some of the best interviews, opinion pieces and quizzes published this week.

—'One of the most rapid transitions that I've seen': NOAA forecaster on how this year's El Niño could shatter records [Interview]

—'I'm more hopeful that birds can endure than maybe even our own species': Paleontologist Steve Brusatte on why birds are the ultimate survivors [Interview]

—'It cuts both ways': Positive tipping points can restore wrecked ecosystems — we just need to trigger them, Earth system scientist Tim Lenton says [Interview]

—Drilling has begun at our sacred site Pe' Sla, setting a dangerous precedent for Indigenous lands across the country. It must be stopped. [Opinion]

—Weapons of the world quiz: Can you identify these historical objects of war? [Quiz]

Science news in pictures

Hubble revisits stunning Trifid Nebula after 30 years, and spots a growing jet of energy — Space photo of the week

This stunning image shows the cosmic nursery Messier 20, which is nicknamed the "Cosmic Sea Lemon."

The new image, released April 20, was snapped by the Hubble Space Telescope, which captured the same region of space nearly 30 years ago. Not much has changed over that time; ‪it's a blink of an eye on a cosmic scale. Yet a growing jet of energy is being unleashed by a newborn star, which makes the nebula resemble a unicorn.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

We celebrated Earth Day this week, and the science news was filled with troubling implications for the pale blue dot we call home.

Topping the list was a new study that suggests the collapse of a vital Atlantic Ocean current is much closer than we thought. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation recycles vast quantities of carbon and keeps Western Europe and the U.S. East Coast warm. Yet many studies suggest the current's collapse is imminent, and the new research used fresh data and a novel analysis to find that we could be underestimating just how close the threat is. One team of scientists has even suggested the extreme measure of building a giant dam across the Bering strait to fend off the current's collapse.

In other concerning developments, new satellite images show that oil spills are wreaking untold ecological havoc in the Persian Gulf and El Niño could be here by May.

Even closer to home, we reported on how and why Florida is facing its worst drought in 15 years, how New York City is at major risk of flooding, and how extreme water shortages could hit Phoenix and Las Vegas. Meanwhile, in New Zealand, a glowing ring of plankton has been linked to a deadly underwater plateau.

Scientists invent artificial neurons

Scientists invent artificial neurons that 'talk' to real brain cells, paving way to better brain implants

Tiny, artificial neurons that can communicate with real brain cells could lay the groundwork for more advanced computers and computer-brain interfaces. A new study we reported on this week used inks laced with flakes of semiconductors and conductors printed onto a polymer substrate to create neurons.

These artificial neurons produced electrical spiking patterns that closely resembled those in human brains, while the flexibility of the polymer enabled a complex and evolving artificial neural architecture to take shape.

When placed next to mouse neurons in the lab, the artificial neurons caused the real neurons to fire at the same pace — strongly suggesting that the two could communicate the same signals. Although a lot of work remains, the finding could be the first step toward creating computers with human-like neural structures.

Discover more health news

—Gene therapy improves hearing in 90% of patients with inherited deafness in largest trial of its kind

—Diagnostic dilemma: A teen's classic diabetes symptoms didn't improve with treatment — revealing she also had a much rarer syndrome

—'A landmark moment for the field': FDA approves first-ever gene therapy for inherited deafness

Life's Little Mysteries

Why are some constellations visible for only part of the year?

Why are some stars constant fixtures in the night sky and others shift in and out of view with the passing of the seasons? It has to do with Earth's own characteristic wobble.

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Mummy found with the "Iliad"

Egyptian mummy has part of the 'Iliad' in its abdomen, archaeologists discover

Ever had a book you just couldn't put down? A Roman-era mummy in Egypt may have you beat, having been found with part of Homer's epic poem the "Iliad" inside its abdomen.

The mummy dates to between 30 B.C. and A.D. 641, when the Romans controlled Egypt, and was found within a cemetery in the modern-day town of Al-Bahnasa, which was known as Oxyrhynchus in ancient times.

Little is known about the ancient bookworm, aside from him being an adult man, but he was discovered at the same cemetery as dozens of other mummies with golden tongues, which ancient Egyptians believed granted them the power to speak with the gods in the afterlife.

Discover more archaeology news

—Neanderthal toddlers grew faster than modern humans, probably because of the harsh environment they evolved in

—DNA study of nearly 200 Indigenous genomes reveals unknown Asian 'ghost' population contributed to American ancestry

—700-year-old mummy from Bolivia contains earliest confirmed evidence of strep throat bacteria in the Americas

Also in science news this week

—NASA shuts off another Voyager 1 instrument as humanity's most distant spacecraft prepares for risky 'Big Bang' maneuver to save power

—Bruce the parrot is missing his upper beak —‬ but that hasn't stopped him from becoming an undefeated jousting champion

—'Kraken' octopus that lived at the time of the dinosaurs was a 62-foot-long apex predator of the ocean

—Artemis II heat shield aced its blistering reentry, ghostly underwater photo reveals

—Artemis moon landing could face long delay while NASA waits for next-generation spacesuits

—Advanced AI-powered table-tennis-playing robot can match up to the professionals — watch it in action

Science long read

'Brain-eating' amoebas are nearly always fatal. New treatments may change that.

Brain-eating amoebas are comparatively rare infections, yet they are almost always fatal. Thriving in warm fresh water, they charge into the body like "a bull in a china shop," destroying brain tissue on a massive scale. As climate change heats waters, possibly expanding these microorganisms' range, Live Science reported on the race to create groundbreaking treatments to kill them.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for things to keep you busy over the weekend, here are some of the best interviews and quizzes published this week.

—'The chances of you living 50 years are very small': Theoretical physicist explains why humanity likely won't survive to see all the forces unified [Interview]

—'Strong, undeniable public examples of something positive': Astronaut Chris Hadfield on why Artemis II hit him hard, and why we need to send a guitar to the moon [Interview]

—Earth quiz: What do you know about our planet's most amazing features? [Quiz]

Science news in pictures

'What are the odds': Superbright comet and exploding fireball meteor form near-perfect X over European castle

Photographers Petr Horálek and Josef Kujal captured this extraordinary cosmic coincidence on April 18 in the skies over the ruins of the 15th-century Kunětická Hora Castle in the Czech Republic, with the "Great Comet of 2026" contender crossing paths with a fireball meteor in the sky to form a giant X. Don't tell Elon Musk.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news followed last week's climactic splashdown of the Artemis II mission with a flurry of space and physics news that only further melted our minds.

Topping the list was the first-ever observation by scientists of singularities in combined light and sound waves that moved faster than the speed of light, and the microscope technique that found it has the potential to reveal hidden processes in physics, chemistry and biology. And in another first for microscopic measurements, scientists observed quantum entanglement between two moving atoms, opening up an avenue to search for a theory of everything.

If the inhumanly small fails to impress you, consider that we also reported on both cosmic significance and scale. The growing crisis over the universe's strange expansion rate (which is different depending on which method astronomers use to calculate it) was confirmed once more by the most-thorough-ever study of the cosmos. And as the first confirmed black hole was shown to be shooting dancing jets, a new theory found that Stephen Hawking's information paradox concerning the space-time ruptures could be solved if the universe has seven dimensions.

Humans evolved a lot in the past 10,000 year

'Human evolution didn't slow down; we were just missing the signal': Large DNA study reveals natural selection led to more redheads and less male-pattern baldness

Despite arguments that human evolution has slowed down, a new study of West Eurasians (a genetic cluster encompassing populations with ancestry from Europe, the Middle East and parts of Asia) has found that natural selection in this group led to an increase in the frequency of light skin, red hair, and resistance to HIV and leprosy over the past 10,000 years.

"Human evolution didn't slow down; we were just missing the signal," study first author Ali Akbari, a staff scientist at Harvard University, told Live Science.

Discover more archaeology news

—Stone Age tombs in Scotland reveal 'webs of descent' among male relatives

—Homo erectus' tools include stunning geodes and fossils, possibly as a way to connect with the cosmos, study finds

—Anglo-Saxon burial holds an older sister cradling her little brother after they both died 1,400 years ago, possibly of an infectious disease

Life's Little Mysteries

Did King Arthur really exist?

Camelot? Merlin? Round tables? The Holy Grail? Strange women lying in ponds, distributing swords? We're all familiar with the trappings of Arthurian legend, but did the man who spawned the myths ever exist? It turns out, it's a very controversial question, Live Science discovered.

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Reconsider the lobster

New study confirms lobsters feel pain, driving scientists to call for a ban on boiling them alive

Can lobsters feel pain? David Foster Wallace certainly thought so when he penned a famous 2004 essay on the moral indefensibility of boiling an animal alive for gustatory pleasure.

This week, a new study appeared to bolster Wallace's argument when it found evidence to suggest that lobsters respond with pain reflex to electrical shocks and that this response can be dulled by painkillers.

The finding joins a growing body of evidence that crabs, octopuses and other invertebrates can feel pain, with the improved estimates for this form of sentience spurring laws worldwide to improve these animals' welfare.

Discover more animals news

—Strange mammal ancestor laid huge, leathery eggs —‬ and it was key to surviving the world's worst mass extinction

—Triassic croc relative from Ghost Ranch, New Mexico finally identified after nearly 80 years in museum basement

—'More questions than answers': Experts baffled by Alaskan mammal-eating orcas spotted near Seattle

Also in science news this week

—Hackers used AI to steal hundreds of millions of Mexican government and private citizen records in one of the largest cybersecurity breaches ever

—This humanoid robot does all your housework for you ‪—‬ and its makers say it's ready for your home

—Diagnostic dilemma: A woman heard voices telling her she had a brain tumor ‪—‬ and scans confirmed she did

—'Oslo patient' likely cured of HIV after getting stem cell transplant from his brother, who is genetically resistant to the virus

—Colorado River may have pooled and spilled over to form the Grand Canyon, solving a long-standing mystery ‪—‬ but not everyone agrees

Science Spotlight

Some polar bears are adapting to their melting habitat. Will it be enough to save the iconic species?

Will polar bears survive climate change? A look at much of the conventional research suggests no, but we shouldn't count out the apex predator yet, especially when it's known for ingenuity and resilience. Live Science contributor Chris Simms investigated this question and found some intriguing signs that some polar bears are getting fatter than ever.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for things to keep you busy over the weekend, here are some of the best quizzes, skywatching updates and news analyses published this week.

—Artemis II quiz: Is your knowledge of NASA's historic moon mission out of this world? [Quiz]

—Northern lights may be visible from several US states Friday and Saturday as giant hole opens up in sun's atmosphere [Skywatching]

—There were 'audible screams of delight': Why Artemis II sightings of meteor flashes on the moon have scientists giddy [Analysis]

Science news in pictures

'We all screamed when it happened': Bright-green fireball meteor caught exploding over famous Viking raid site in UK

It's an iconic castle, a Viking raid site, and the setting for one of England's last outposts in Danny Boyle's post-apocalyptic zombie movie "28 Years Later," but now Lindisfarne (or Holy Island) has also become the backdrop for an extraterrestrial visitation in this stunning snapshot.

The photo, captured by the fortunate astrophotographer Ian Sproat, shows a meteor flashing across the frame before exploding in a green fireball soon after entering Earth's atmosphere.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news was moonstruck by updates from the Artemis II mission, which saw four astronauts swing around the moon's far side before splashing down safely in the Pacific Ocean.

This nail-biting final stage of the mission, which Live Science covered with minute-by-minute live updates, was a key test of the Orion capsule's heat shield. Despite some concerns, the protective layer held up under scorching heat, and the crewmembers' just under 25,000 mph (40,000 km/h) return made them contenders for the fastest humans in history.

That's just one record set by the NASA and Canadian Space Agency astronauts aboard the mission this week. They also flew farther from Earth than any humans in history, capturing first-of-their-kind views of the far side of the moon and a total eclipse in space.

The mission's spectacular launch is a big milestone in the new space race between China and the U.S. that will reframe humanity's relationship with the moon and our scientific understanding of it. And with Artemis III set to launch next year in preparation for humanity's return to the lunar surface not once, but twice in 2028, it's just a taste of what's to come.

World's fattest parrot bounces back

World's fattest parrot — on the verge of extinction 30 years ago — has record-breaking breeding season

While people soared around the moon and back, Live Science also spared some time for flightless, portly parrots of New Zealand that are swinging back from the brink of extinction with a record-breaking breeding season.

The kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) almost went extinct in the 1990s due to hunting, habitat destruction and the introduction of new predators. But thanks to a major recovery program, the species just celebrated its 105th egg hatching this season ‪—‬ the most in 30 years.

Not all of these chicks will survive to be reintroduced, and their time in the wild will prove challenging — but it's still news that should help the world's heaviest parrot keep its beak up.

Discover more animals and planet Earth news

—Fossil site in China reveals bevy of complex creatures lived prior to the Cambrian explosion, including a 'Dune'-like sandworm

—'In every continent where humans are present, water bankruptcy is manifesting itself': Exiled Iranian scientist Kaveh Madani on our desperate need to preserve our most precious resource

—California declared war on smog in the 1970s. The knock-on effects were huge.

Life's Little Mysteries

Do the microbes in your gut influence what foods you like?

Our gut bacteria affect more than just digestion; they are also linked to our mood, weight, sleep, immune system and even how we smell. But can gut microbes also play a role in which foods we crave?

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The Iran war is a climate catastrophe

Shroud of Turin, claimed to be Jesus' burial cloth, contaminated with carrot and red coral DNA

The Shroud of Turin, which some people claim is the burial cloth of Jesus, received a DNA analysis with intriguing findings, we recently learned.

First, the shroud contains the DNA of multiple people and many other species, including carrots, melons and red coral. Some of this DNA suggests the shroud could have come from India, but other experts disagree.

Overall, the scientific evidence still supports arguments that the Shroud of Turin is a medieval fake, scholars told us.

Discover more archaeology news

—DNA reveals ancestry of man buried in Stone Age monument in Spain, but his religion remains a mystery

—'They could spend 4 or 5 hours per day underwater': How humans adapted to the most challenging environments

—16th-century silver coin discovered near Strait of Magellan marks the spot of a doomed Spanish colony

Also in science news this week

—'RIP, Comet MAPS': Watch the superbright sungrazer become a 'headless wonder' after being ripped apart by the sun

—We went to Finland to hear about the new 'sand battery' that will turn stored renewable energy back into power for the electrical grid

—Western states face above-normal wildfire threats this summer. New maps reveal which areas are most at risk.

—'No one knows what they are': Researchers discover new type of cell that's seen only during pregnancy

—AI 'mirages' mean tools used to analyze medical scans could fabricate their findings

Science Spotlight

'A cure on the horizon': Are we finally close to ending type 1 diabetes?

Scientists have proclaimed that a cure for type 1 diabetes is imminent for a while now, but with functional cures now appearing on the horizon, they could finally be right.

Someone who is closely familiar with type 1 diabetes is Live Science's editor-in-chief of premium reporting Tia Ghose, whose sixth grader has the disease. In this Science Spotlight, she wrote a moving deep dive into cutting-edge therapies set to make the daily management of the disease a thing of the past.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best interviews, crosswords and opinion pieces published this week.

—'They are literally everywhere': The shocking story of how forever chemicals polluted the world [Interview]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #38: Largest non-polar desert in the world — 10 across [Crossword]

—I've witnessed nearly 100 rocket launches. Artemis II was like nothing I've ever experienced. [Opinion]

Science news in pictures

'So much magic': Artemis II shares first images from the far side of the moon, including new 'Earthset' and total eclipse in space

NASA released its first batch of photos taken by the Artemis II astronauts during their historic lunar flyby this week, and they are absolutely stunning.

There are so many amazing images from the mission to choose from, but the standout remains the zoomed-out shot of "Earthset," which shows our planet disappearing behind the moon's pockmarked face, an advancing shadow delineating the night side where billions of humans slept.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

The long-awaited launch of NASA's Artemis II mission dominated science news this week, with the excitement peaking Wednesday (April 1) as the space agency's first crewed mission to the moon in over 50 years blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Millions tuned in around the world as the towering Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule rose off the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center at 6:35 p.m. EDT. Live Science covered the launch live, with reporters following the action both remotely and directly from Florida's Space Coast.

The liftoff mostly went off without a hitch, though the launch team had to resolve one unusual range issue before takeoff. The four Artemis II crewmembers are now well into their 10-day journey around the moon, during which they'll run tests aimed at building NASA's capacity to execute its planned lunar surface missions. Live Science will be covering highlights from the mission, including its expected reentry on April 10, so stay tuned for updates.

Back in the realm of Earthbound science, chemists have discovered a method to turn breadcrumbs into hydrogen for use in chemical manufacturing. Archaeologists found the world's oldest evidence of gambling in the form of dice invented by Indigenous people in the western U.S. more than 12,000 years ago. Another archaeological discovery out of Vietnam may challenge the presumed history of syphilis. And a new study suggests that quantum computers don't need to be nearly as powerful as we thought to break the world's most secure encryption algorithms.

Scientists cured type 1 diabetes in mice

Scientists cured type 1 diabetes in mice by creating a blended immune system

In type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks cells that make insulin, leaving the body with too little of the blood-sugar-controlling hormone. Those insulin-making cells can be replaced, but the procedure typically requires patients to undergo lifelong immune suppression, which comes with its own serious health complications.

Now, in a new study, scientists explored a way to transplant insulin-making cells without the need for immunosuppression. So far, the approach has shown promise in lab mice, though much more work is needed to show it works in humans. But in theory, it could pave the way to a cure, experts told Live Science.

Discover more health news

—Scientists have discovered an 'Achilles' heel' in deadly superbugs

—Pig semen component could deliver chemotherapy to hard-to-reach eye cancer, mouse study suggests

—Teenager's hives turned out to be caused by rare water allergy

Life's Little Mysteries

What would happen to Earth if the sun suddenly vanished?

Life on Earth literally revolves around the sun's light and energy — but what would happen if our companion star suddenly winked out of existence? Live Science contributor Jesse Steinmetz tackles the question of what a suddenly sunless Earth might be like and which organisms might survive in such a cold, dark place.

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China's push to reduce air pollution had unexpected results

China's huge push to reduce air pollution had an unexpected consequence in the Arctic

China launched an effort to clean up its air in 2013, and in the decade or so since, the country has lowered its sulfate aerosol emissions by about 75%. A new study took a look at the global impact of that impressive feat, showing that the loss of smog over China likely spared the Arctic from sea-ice-damaging cyclones. The smog previously detoured storms across the North Pacific, funneling them into the Arctic, where they would destroy ice in the Bering Sea.

However, it's not all good news: Aerosols cool the planet, so their disappearance can ultimately unmask greenhouse-gas-driven warming that was once offset by pollution's cooling effect. In short, it's a complicated picture that will take more research to fully understand.

Discover more planet Earth news

—Extreme wildfires, droughts and storms could happen even under moderate global warming, study finds

—Scientists discover potentially huge freshwater reservoir hidden beneath Great Salt Lake

—Earth's energy imbalance is much more extreme than climate models show ‪—‬ but scientists aren't sure why

Also in science news this week

—'It blew my mind': Long-lost ice-age ecosystem, including fossils of lion-size armadillo and giant ground sloth, discovered in Texas 'water cave'

—Farting comet seen reversing its spin for the first time ever —‬ and it may soon 'self-destruct'

—Tasmanian tigers discovered in Indigenous rock art in Australia, suggesting these marsupials lived there much longer than thought

—Rare 'sungrazer' comet MAPS will shine superbright on Saturday ‪—‬ if it survives a dangerous encounter with our star

—A new tweak to Einstein's relativity could transform our understanding of the Big Bang

Science long read

Astronauts can face 'nearly lethal doses' of solar radiation — so why launch Artemis II during the sun's peak of activity? Space scientist Patricia Reiff explains.

NASA's Artemis II mission will not only help the space agency prepare for its future trips to the lunar surface but also offer a unique opportunity to study the impacts of deep space on human health. With the sun having recently passed its peak in activity, called solar maximum, could the four-person crew face even more risk from radiation than they would otherwise?

To unpack the effects of space weather on the human body, Live Science trending news writer Patrick Pester spoke with Patricia Reiff, a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University in Houston. Counterintuitively, she explained that solar maximum may be a better time for the Artemis II mission than you might assume.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best analyses, crosswords and opinion pieces published this week.

—'Not how you build a digital mind': How reasoning failures are preventing AI models from achieving human-level intelligence [Analysis]

—Homo habilis is the earliest named human. But is it even human? [Analysis]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #37: The seventh planet from the sun — 2 down [Crossword]

Science news in pictures

Scientists mapped all the nerves of the clitoris for the first time

Scientists recently unveiled the first 3D map of the clitoral nerves, which renders the tissues at micron-scale resolution. The effort involved CT scans stitched together from X-rays that used an extremely bright light source, called a synchrotron. Prior to this research, other scientists had studied the general structure of the clitoris using MRI and tallied up the 10,000 or so nerves in the organ. But the 3D map provides new insights into the nerves' structures that could be incredibly useful for surgeons to reference.

Concentric rocky rings adorned with ancient artwork wear a magma 'hat' in the Sahara — Earth from space

A photo snapped in 2025 by an astronaut shows concentric mountain ridges in the Libyan desert. Known as Mount Arkanu (sometimes spelled Arkenu), the colossal structure was once thought to be an ancient impact crater. But recent research suggests it actually formed from magma repeatedly rising toward the surface and intruding into the surrounding rock. Mount Arkanu bears ancient artworks depicting human figures, along with cattle and other tethered animals, such as giraffes.

Science in motion

NASA's Artemis II crew launches to the moon

If you couldn't watch the Artemis II launch live Wednesday, don't fret! NASA's coverage of the event can be found on the agency's YouTube channel. (And for detailed explanations of the science you're seeing, check out Live Science's live coverage.)

Besides witnessing the epic moment of liftoff, you can learn about NASA astronaut's wide array of prelaunch rituals, the menus the crew will tuck into on their venture, and the mission's official mascot, Rise, designed by 8-year-old Lucas Ye of California. The coverage also digs into all the details of how the Artemis II mission will proceed now that the astronauts have exited Earth's atmosphere.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news was crammed with fascinating revelations about the workings of the human body, leading with the finding that zero gravity means zero game for humans looking to reproduce in space.

A new study revealed that sperm navigation, fertilization and embryo development were severely hampered in simulated microgravity. The findings could pose a serious problem for future space colonization.

But that doesn't mean you should bet against human adaptability, as Live Science's interview with evolutionary anthropologist Herman Pontzer revealed. In fact, readily adjusting to new circumstances is one of our species' strong suits. Take human fingernails: They may have evolved tens of millions of years before touch screens, but that didn't stop one chemistry student from developing a clear polish to turn them into styluses.

Other weird and wonderful biological revelations abounded this week, with the discovery that viruses in the gut play a possible role in the prevention of blood sugar spikes. Researchers also found that the eyes of people with synesthesia physically react as if the colors they saw were real.

NASA announces nuclear rocket

NASA announces 'near‑impossible' space plans, including $20B moon base and humanity's first nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft

This week, NASA laid out some ambitious plans for its return to the moon. The space agency's administrator, Jared Isaacman, announced he was canceling a planned space station in lunar orbit to use its parts for a $20 billion permanent base on the moon's surface, while also sending a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars.

The new lunar-base plans, which will use a fleet of drones and robotic landers to establish a nuclear power station on the moon's surface by 2036, may be partially motivated by a desire to stay ahead of China in the new space race.

Whether the plans are realistic, or simple lunacy will likely come into clearer focus next week, as the space agency's Artemis II moon rocket makes its final bid to launch before its April 30 deadline.

Discover more space news

—Chinese lander reveals giant 'cavity' of radiation between Earth and the moon — and it could change how lunar exploration is done

—An anomaly in Mars' mantle could trigger volcanoes to erupt — and may be causing the whole planet to spin faster

—Cannonball-size meteorite crashes through roof of Texas home as multiple 'fireballs' rain down on the US

Life's Little Mysteries

Why does cannabis give people 'the munchies'?

A common side effect of smoking cannabis is being incredibly ravenous. So what explains this effect? Live Science's Kenna Hughes-Castleberry investigated why cannabis gives people "the munchies."

—If you enjoyed this, sign up for our Life's Little Mysteries newsletter

The Iran war is a climate catastrophe

Iran war has already released a staggering amount of CO2 — and the destruction of schools, homes and buildings is the biggest source

As the war in Iran enters its fifth week with scant signs of a letup, we reported on an alarming finding: The first two weeks of the war had already released a staggering amount of carbon dioxide, and the biggest source of the emissions was in the destruction of buildings that will need to be cleared and rebuilt.

The war has drained the global carbon budget faster than 84 countries — the lowest carbon emitters — combined. The aftershocks of the war are expected to have an even bigger climate impact than the fighting itself, as countries seek to buffer against fuel and fertilizer shocks caused by Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Discover more planet Earth news

—Scientists are racing to save Australia's 'zombie tree' from a fast-spreading fungal disease

—Drought could fuel the rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs as climate change worsens, new research suggests

—Antarctica could warm 1.4 times faster than the rest of the Southern Hemisphere in the coming decades, study finds

Also in science news this week

—Brain aging results from a loss of control over how genes are regulated, mouse study suggests

—Roman mosaic shows topless woman battling leopard in arena, study finds

—1,000-year-old altar and human sacrifices from Toltec Empire discovered in Mexico

—AI compressed billions of years of evolution into seconds to create 'Lego-like robots' that can recover even when they lose limbs

—A new twist on matter? Strange 'Half-Mӧbius' molecule has rare properties chemists have never seen before

Science long read

DNA shed by every living thing is lurking in the environment — and it could tell us how Earth is changing in real time

Genetical material is everywhere around us — in the soil, water and air — and it leaves behind invisible fingerprints for entire ecosystems. Tracing it could enable scientists to detect species, map food webs and chart biodiversity without tracking a single organism.

But analyzing the ingredients of this ambient DNA soup is an overwhelming task. In this long read, Live Science investigated the scientific breakthroughs that could soon bring about real-time monitoring of Earth's biosphere.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best analyses, crosswords and opinion pieces published this week.

—Is the metaverse finally dead and buried? What's really going on with the embattled idea of living in virtual worlds [Analysis]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #36: America's national bird — 11 across [Crossword]

—Our fossil fuel economy is a house of cards and Trump's war in Iran is about to topple it. The need for a clean energy transition has never been clearer. [Opinion]

Science news in pictures

Extreme blast of Arctic air from polar vortex paints a picturesque plume off Florida coast — Earth from space

This photo, snapped by NASA's Terra satellite in February, shows a bright plume of swirling marine mud that was whipped up off the coast of Florida following an Arctic blast that brought severe winter weather to large parts of the U.S. earlier this year.

Artemis II stands ready for launch

NASA's Artemis II rocket stands poised at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 322-foot-tall (98 meters) Space Launch System and Orion crew capsule stack is ready to launch the mission's four-astronaut crew on a 10-day flight around the moon and back as soon as April 1.

Science in motion

Sperm whale birth recorded up close for the first time

Researchers have filmed a sperm whale giving birth while being assisted by 10 other females in her social unit. It's the first time an event of this kind has ever been seen in non-primates.

The birth, captured by airborne drones in July 2023, took place over the course of an hour, during which time females surrounded the mother and newborn in a protective circle, taking turns to raise the calf to the surface — giving it time for its flukes to unfurl and acquire its own natural buoyancy control.

Sperm whale social groups are matriarchies, with life-long bonds formed between mothers, daughters, grandmothers and unrelated females. The males, meanwhile, primarily roam the oceans alone, creating one of the most extreme geographical separations between the sexes in nature.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news was packed with stories that highlighted humanity's complex, often-fraught relationship with nature, with forecasters predicting the possible onset of a "super El Niño" this summer.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center announced that there's currently a 62% chance that El Niño will emerge between June and August, with a 1-in-3 likelihood it will be especially strong. If that happens, the climate pattern could easily boost already-warming ocean temperatures to make 2027 the hottest year on record.

Elsewhere, we covered the discovery that Brazil's underprotected Cerrado savanna stores carbon at a density about six times greater than the Amazon rainforest's vegetation and that thirsty, heat-stressed plants are sucking up more groundwater that would otherwise end up in the Colorado River. On top of that, we reported on how climate change is slowing Earth's rotation at a rate not seen in 3.6 million years. And in agricultural news, we covered how a planting season "fertilizer shock" caused by the Iran war could push global food insecurity to record levels.

Not all the news was so gloomy, though. We took a trip back in time to Doggerland, the now-submerged forest realm that once connected Britain to mainland Europe during the last ice age. We also spoke with an ecologist about how different species team up for mutual benefits, and heard how cats came to enjoy their pampered position as ostensible "parasites of human societies."

Divers find Acropolis marble treasure in British shipwreck

Divers find marble treasure from Athens' Acropolis in Lord Elgin's shipwrecked brig at the bottom of the Aegean Sea

In the early 19th century, Thomas Bruce, the seventh Earl of Elgin and British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, arrived at the ruins of Athens' Acropolis to remove roughly half of the marble sculptures that once adorned the Parthenon temple's top exterior — ripping many from the ancient Greek holy site's walls.

Many of these seized sculptures (which later became known as the Elgin Marbles) were shipped back to the United Kingdom, where they remain controversially on display to the present day. Yet not all of Bruce's ships made it. The Mentor, a brig that sank in the Aegean while transporting some of the sculptures, scattered its cargo around its wreck.

Now, divers have discovered an overlooked piece of marble that had remained unsalvaged — a triangular, marble block with what looks like a peg at the bottom. Archaeologists will now conduct further analyses of the block, which will hopefully enable them to establish whether it came from the Parthenon itself or somewhere else in the Acropolis.

Discover more archaeology news

—Monte Verde, one of the earliest Indigenous sites in South America, is much younger than thought, study claims. But others call it 'egregiously poor geological work.'

—Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius: The only surviving larger-than-life-size statue of a pagan Roman emperor — a rarity that Michelangelo refurbished

—Will the Indus Valley script ever be deciphered?

Life's Little Mysteries

Why are humans the only species with a chin?

Yes, you read that right. While other animals may have jawbones, no other animal — not even gorillas, chimpanzees or extinct human relatives like Neanderthals — sports the bony, mental protuberance we commonly call the chin. So how and why did the chin evolve?

—If you enjoyed this, sign up for our Life's Little Mysteries newsletter

Scientists create the world's first "hexagonal diamond"

In physics first, Chinese scientists create rare 'hexagonal diamond' that's harder than natural diamond

Researchers in China claim they have synthesized the very first samples of "hexagonal diamond" — a mysterious and coveted material believed to be harder, stiffer and chemically tougher than natural diamond.

Scientists have been arguing about hexagonal diamonds, whose carbon atoms arrange themselves in hexagons instead of the cubic lattices seen in natural diamonds, for decades. First theorized in 1962, the diamonds were later discovered in meteorites that arrived to Earth from the mantles of shattered dwarf planets, although the evidence for this is disputed.

Now, three separate research groups appear to have made pure to nearly pure hexagonal diamond samples. If their findings are replicated consistently and can be scaled up, they could open up all kinds of new applications, such as drilling and quantum sensing.

Discover more physics and space news

—Scientists witness birth of one of the universe's strongest magnets for the first time, thanks to a general relativity 'magic trick'

—All 5 'letters' of DNA found on an asteroid speeding through our solar system. What do they tell us about the origins of life?

—Rare 'daytime fireball' meteor creates powerful sonic boom as 7-ton space rock explodes above eastern US

Also in science news this week

—'Dark oxygen' discovery on the seafloor is 'fundamentally at odds with thermodynamics' and should be retracted, experts say

—An experimental AI agent broke out of its testing environment and mined crypto without permission

—Diagnostic dilemma: A man went to the doctor for a bad UTI and learned he had an extra kidney

—'We got evidence of boars, deer, bears, aurochs': Ancient DNA reveals sunken realm

—'1,800-year-old nails discovered in 3 burials in Roman necropolis, possibly to 'protect' both the living and the dead

—A single injection of mRNA-like treatment healed heart muscle after a heart attack in mice and pigs. Could it work in humans too?

—How plants moved from sea to land and changed Earth forever

Science Spotlight

A gene carried by 99% of humanity raises Alzheimer's risk dramatically. Could gene therapy correct it?

Alzheimer's disease, which accounts for 60% to 80% of all dementia cases, affects tens of millions of people worldwide. It is a complicated, multifactorial and tenacious disease that has resisted all inroads to treatment, even a leading one centered around the elimination of amyloid plaques found in the brain.

However, a study published in January has potentially tied the risk of developing the condition primarily to one gene, called apolipoprotein E (APOE). Does this mean a gene therapy for the disease is in hand? Live Science contributor RJ Mackenzie investigated in this long read.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best analyses, crosswords and opinion pieces published this week.

—Artemis II: NASA is preparing for a return to the moon, but why is it going back? [Analysis]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #34: Famous space telescope launched in 1990 — 5 across [Crossword]

—Measles' resurgence in the US is a grim sign of what's coming [Opinion]

Science news in pictures

Rainbow-colored phantom lakes emerge around Namibia's 'Great White Place' — Earth from space

This rainbow-flecked white expanse is a 2011 aerial photo of the Etosha Pan, a roughly 1,800-square-mile (4,700 square kilometers) salt flat north of Namibia's capital, Windhoek.

The satellite photo shows a serpentine pair of ephemeral rivers that drain into the pan. Surrounding the winding waterways are around a dozen bowl-like depressions that occasionally fill with water when the rivers sporadically flood their banks.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news was bursting with discoveries of archaeological treasures, starting with the revelation that a foundation stone for a Czech garden barn was actually a Bronze Age spearhead mold.

The mold, carved into ancient volcanic rock and dating to roughly 1350 B.C., is a relic of the ancient Urnfield culture, a late Bronze Age culture from Central Europe that's known for burying their cremated dead in urns across the Carpathian Basin and beyond. Making uniform weapons with molds such as these made armed conflict easier to sustain, while also enhancing the political and trading clout of the peoples in the region.

Yet nearly 3,000 years later, Europeans were starting to bring guns to the spearfights. That's according to the startling new discovery of Europe's oldest known portable gunpowder weapon, a handgun found in Brandenburg, Germany that dates to 1390 and could be linked to the famed siege of Kletzke Castle in the same year.

Meanwhile, in Leeds, England, a bus driver was paid a fare with a 2,000-year-old Phoenician coin that was likely minted in what is now southern Spain. Another coin discovery also popped up in Russia, amounting to roughly half a million U.S. dollars today. The hoard was found beneath a historic house and was likely buried there before the Russian Revolution in 1917.

But why hoard gold when there are feathers? Another story we covered this week described the extreme lengths a pre-Inca culture went to acquire vibrant feathers as status symbols — capturing wild parrots from the Amazon rainforest and transporting them across hundreds of miles to what is now coastal Peru.

The Gulf Stream runs AMOC

Early warning signal hidden within the Gulf Stream could signal the collapse of key Atlantic currents, study finds

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) brings warm weather to Europe and is a conveyer belt of carbon and nutrients across the globe. Yet while fresh water running off from Greenland's melting ice sheet is expected to sap this vital ocean current of its strength, and potentially even push it to collapse, scientists have yet to find a direct signal of this happening.

That may have all changed this week, however, with news from a new modeling study that points to a clear smoking gun for AMOC weakening — the deflection of the Gulf Stream's path farther north along the U.S. seaboard. Troublingly, satellite data shows that this shift may have already begun.

Discover more planet Earth news

—California's wildfire season is shifting, with more blazes after the traditional high-risk window, study finds

—'Blackwater' lakes and rivers in the Congo Basin are now emitting ancient carbon into the atmosphere

—Gemstone-filled river and striped mountain ridge form massive 'Y' in China's revitalized desert — Earth from space

Life's Little Mysteries

Can you see Earth's shadow?

Everything that blocks light casts a shadow, and that includes Earth itself. But where can we spot our planet's umbra? We asked some astronomers, and it turns out that, under the right conditions, you can spot Earth's shadow every day.

—If you enjoyed this, sign up for our Life's Little Mysteries newsletter

The sun's migration across the Milky Way saved life on Earth

A 'mass migration' of stars from the Milky Way's center could explain why there's life in our solar system

Our sun was born 4.6 billion years ago near the busy center of our Milky Way galaxy, but new research suggests that the existence of life on our planet is linked to a 10,000 light-year migration by our star to its current galactic suburbs.

The new study used the Gaia space telescope to analyze the ages, temperatures and composition of our sun and chart more than 6,000 stellar "twins." The results showed that our solar system's move to more sedate surroundings — away from energetic events such as supernovas — could be what gave life a chance to flourish on Earth.

Discover more space news

—'Interstellar messenger' 3I/ATLAS could be nearly as old as the universe itself, James Webb telescope observations reveal

—Universe-shaking collision of black hole and neutron star could upend our understanding of monster cosmic mergers

—Exceptionally rare sighting of planets colliding may shed light on the crash that formed the moon

Also in science news this week

—Scientists use 'negative light' to send secret messages hidden inside heat

—Generative AI can amplify and reinforce our delusions, findings show

—Scientists squished microbes into a steel 'sandwich' — and made a profound discovery about life in space

—'Rectal garlic insertion for immune support': Medical chatbots confidently give disastrously misguided advice, experts say

—Falling meteorite smashes hole in roof of German house after spectacular 'fireball' explosion over Europe

—Giant 10-person 'flying taxi' passes first flight test in China

Science Spotlight

The world is being held hostage by its reliance on oil. How can we break free from the fossil fuel?

Oil is firmly back in the news this week. Iran's blocking of the Strait of Hormuz — the world's most vital oil transit choke point — in response to the U.S.-Israel war with the Middle Eastern country has sent oil prices rocketing to over $100 a barrel.

As the global economy reels from what the International Energy Agency warned is set to be "the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market," Live Science investigated just how the world can free itself from the politically and environmentally disastrous fossil fuel, and found out that it could one day go the way of whale blubber.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best features, crosswords and opinion pieces published this week.

—Diagnostic dilemma: Woman born without a vagina or cervix went on to conceive a son naturally [Feature]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #33: The 'E' in E =mc^2 — 2 down [Crossword]

—AI just verified a proof that earned one of math's most prestigious prizes. Math will never be the same [Opinion]

Science news in pictures

World's smallest QR code can store data for thousands of years ‪—‬ but you need an electron microscope to see it

It may not look like much, but that's because, at least physically, it isn't.

Measuring just 3.07 × 10⁻⁹ square inches (1.98 square micrometers) and created by etching a grid onto a ceramic film using an ion beam, this is the world's smallest QR code. It is captured here by an electron microscope (the wavelengths of visible light are too thick to resolve it).

And if you're asking what the point is, rest assured that the scientists who created it aren't trying to engineer the most annoying restaurant menu in the world. Instead they think their tiny codes could be an attractive alternative to using easily overwritten magnetic tapes for long-term data storage.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

Science news this week was full of bizarre and baffling animal behavior, with news of chewed-up orca fins washing up on a Russian beach pointing to cannibalism among the apex predators.

There are several orca subspecies, and scientists initially thought these groups kept mainly to themselves. But genetic evidence alongside distinct tooth marks heavily suggests that one group may occasionally snack upon the other, which could explain why the preyed-upon orcas live in large, tight-knit groups.

However, another species this week showed that even close groups can be infiltrated. A Japanese ant was identified as the only species that consists entirely of parasitic queens. These ants create cloned offspring that invade the nests of other ants. And if you're looking for an animal story that's just visually weird, check out this face. It belongs to a prehistoric creature whose twisted jaw and sideways teeth likely helped it grind down plant material or small invertebrates.

And while we're discussing extinction, we also covered more serious news about birds declining faster and faster across key hotspots in North America, likely due to agriculture.

Oracle bones reveal climate disaster in ancient China

Climate disasters caused societal upheaval 3,000 years ago in China, study of 'oracle bones' hints

"Oracle bones," made up of 3,250-year-old engraved bones and tortoise shells are the earliest significant evidence of writing in China, and they were once used in attempts to divine the future. But this week, we reported that these bones can also tell us about the past, as they revealed that China's Shang dynasty may have collapsed with the help of mega-typhoons.

Scientists counted the instances of weather-related writing on more than 55,000 pieces of oracle-bone scripts written between 1250 and 1046 B.C. (the dynasty's final two centuries), and found an uptick in divinations related to rainfall and water-related disasters. The findings imply that there was a growing concern toward extreme weather events among people in Bronze Age China.

Discover more archaeology news

—Ancient Greek mystery cult priestesses may have chemically tweaked fungus to induce psychedelic hallucinations

—Stone Age woman was buried like a man, revealing flexible gender roles 7,000 years ago in Hungary

—9 ways people have modified their bodies since the dawn of time, from foot binding to castration

Life's Little Mysteries

Why is mercury a liquid?

Metals are often associated with hardness, strength and durability — especially under heating. But one notable exception, mercury, melts at a mere minus 37.9 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 38.8 degrees Celsius). But what makes it so unique? Find out here.

—If you enjoyed this, sign up for our Life's Little Mysteries newsletter

Humming black holes could fix the universe

'Collective hum' of black holes could mend our broken understanding of the universe, physicists say

The Hubble tension, or the finding that the universe seems to be expanding at different rates depending on how you measure it, has become a nagging headache for astronomers ‪—‬ one that threatens to upend our best understanding of the universe.

But cosmic migraine relief could be on its way in the form of colliding and merging black holes. A new study detailed how the space-time ripples produced by crashing black holes create a hum with a strength that changes depending on how fast the universe is expanding.

However, current detectors will need some upgrades before they can pick up this gravitational wave background with the sensitivity needed. The good news is that cosmologists expect those to come within a few years.

Discover more space news

—'City killer' asteroid will narrowly miss the moon, James Webb Telescope reveals

—'Truly extraordinary': Mega-laser shooting at us from halfway across the universe is the brightest 'cosmic beacon' we've ever seen

—NASA fixes Artemis II rocket for April launch to take astronauts around moon

Also in science news this week

—Scientists taught robots to swim through mazes using Einstein's relativity

—Groundbreaking new drug shows promise for treating children with a devastating form of epilepsy

—Chinese EV maker claims it's engineered the world's first semi-solid-state EV battery with huge 620-mile range

—'Humans can't be considered to be separate from the environment': Award-winning scientist Meha Jain on using satellites and real world experiences to help farmers in India facing a precarious future

—'Blood moon' total lunar eclipse dazzles millions around the world (photos)

—Can you tie a knot in four dimensions? A mathematician explains.

Science Spotlight

Ancient 'alien-like' skulls have been found on every continent but Antarctica. Anthropologists are starting to figure out why.

People around the world and throughout time have practiced head shaping (also called cranial vault modification) on their children. Yet exactly why and how this body-modifying trend took off has remained unclear. That's why staff writer Kristina Killgrove embarked on her own journey to answer the head-scratching mystery in this Science Spotlight.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best features, crosswords and opinion pieces published this week.

—Diagnostic dilemma: A doctor discovered the gene mutation behind his family's mysterious missing-teeth condition [Diagnostic dilemma]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #32: Largest ocean on Earth — 8 across [Crossword]

—Pain lasts longer in women, and immune cells may be the culprit [Opinion]

Science news in pictures

Vanuatu's 'barefoot volcanologist' stands at ash- and sulfur-spewing Mount Yasur in award-winning photograph

This stunning photo, captured by photographer Elle Leontiev, shows self-taught volcanologist Philip standing by the slopes of Mount Yasur, a 1,184-foot (361 meters) active volcano in Vanuatu.

Philip, who was born and lives at the volcano's base, has spent years studying its moods and cycles with French volcanologist Thomas Boyer. He also has a pair of custom-made boots gifted to him by actor Will Smith, but he prefers walking barefoot on the volcanic terrain.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

Science news this week was filled with stunning space discoveries, with the largest map of the chaotic gas clouds at the center of the Milky Way leading the pack.

New images, captured in stunning detail by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope, show 650 light-years of gas structures that shroud our galaxy's central black hole. The stunning images could help scientists better understand how the Milky Way evolved.

Elsewhere, astronomers may have caught a star collapsing directly into a black hole for the first time, and they could soon spot a few more using the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which issued 800,000 alerts in just one day even while semi-operational this week.

A bit closer to home, a new look at Apollo's moon rocks has cracked a persisting mystery about the moon's magnetic field; the James Webb Space Telescope spotted giant auroras rolling through Uranus' atmosphere; and the Curiosity rover got a good look at Martian "spiderwebs" that contain tiny, egg-like structures.

All of that is a healthy distraction from disappointing space news here on Earth, as NASA began rolling back its Artemis II rocket for fixes following a helium leak in its upper stage. On the flip side, the agency also announced a major overhaul to its Artemis program, which now includes an extra in-orbital docking mission in 2027 before it lands on the moon in 2028.

Tigers returning to Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan plants tens of thousands of trees in giant effort to reintroduce tigers

Tigers are set to roam their historic Central Asian lands after more than 70 years of local extinction, with an initiative that plans to bring them back by the end of the year.

The ambitious program by the government of Kazakhstan has transformed the country's Lake Balkhash by planting just under 100,000 tree seedlings to recreate the tigers' lost habitat.

The tigers themselves will likely be imported from Russia, as Siberian tigers were part of the same population as Kazakhstan's Amur tigers until they were separated in the 19th century. As for the big cats' food, the burgeoning ecosystem offered by the seedlings is already shaping up to be a home for boar and Bactrian deer. Though they're pretty cute, if they go unchecked by a predator, these herbivores could multiply until they destabilize their newly restored ecosystem. So, go get 'em, tiger.

Discover more animals and planet earth news

—Scientists find genetic 'switch' in mice that turns caring dads into violent brutes

—How can deserts form next to oceans?

—Incomplete remains of world's 'youngest' impact crater spotted lurking in Chinese forest — Earth from space

Life's Little Mysteries

Did the Vikings reach Maine?

Lobster rolls, Moxie, rocky coasts, Stephen King and … Scandinavian invaders? Maine is known for many things, but an 11th-century silver Norse coin discovered there in the 1950s raises the question of whether it was a landing point for Viking seafarers. But did the Vikings actually make it to the Pine Tree State? Or did the coin take another route?

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Black teeth were a fashion statement in ancient Vietnam

2,000-year-old skulls reveal people in ancient Vietnam permanently blackened their teeth — a stylish practice that persists today

In parts of Vietnam, permanently blackened teeth have been fashionable for centuries. The traditional practice involves using an iron-tannin mixture or chewing betel nuts to stain the teeth with a jet-black sheen.

Now, archaeologists have traced this practice all the way back to the Iron Age, 2,000 years ago. The excavation of skeletons from a site in northern Vietnam's Red River delta revealed that numerous individuals from that era also had Stygian-hued gnashers. Yet it remains unclear exactly why the practice arose — whether as a rite of passage or a way of hiding betel nut stains.

Discover more archaeology news

—Babies weren't supposed to be mourned in the Roman Empire. These rare liquid-gypsum burials prove otherwise.

—Humans and Neanderthals interbred — but it was mostly male Neanderthals and female humans who coupled up, study finds

—Far fewer people are related to Genghis Khan than previously assumed, new genomic study suggests

Also in science news this week

—Diagnostic dilemma: A parasite never before seen in humans was behind a woman's lung infection, organ damage and forgetfulness

—COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy may cut risk of preeclampsia

—Scientists find genetic 'switch' in mice that turns caring dads into violent brutes

—'Thermodynamic computer' can mimic AI neural networks — using orders of magnitude less energy to generate images

—Ultrafast quantum chemistry engine could speed up the development of new medicines and materials

Science long read

Inherited diseases don't work like we thought they did

The genetic cause of "monogenic" diseases seemed fairly clear to scientists: A mutation in a single gene led to predictable, hereditary disease patterns that would be diagnosed as genetic disorders. But it turns out, that's not right at all.

According to a growing body of research, monogenic diseases aren't caused by single gene mutations, as many healthy people have them without showing any sign of illness. So what's the deal? Live Science contributor Stephanie Pappas investigated in this long read.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best skywatching guides, opinion pieces and word puzzles published this week.

Rare 'planetary parade' will return to the evening sky this week — but you'll have to look at exactly the right time [Skywatching]

How menopause affects the brain — and what we still don't know [Opinion]

Chain Word: Can you crack our science word of the day puzzle? [Word puzzle]

Science news in pictures

Closest baby nebula to Earth 'hatches' in strange new Hubble image — Space photo of the week

This stunning Hubble Space Telescope image, which looks like a cosmic lighthouse swinging its beams through wide arcs of space, shows the Egg Nebula — the first, youngest and closest pre-planetary nebula ever discovered.

The light in the dust cloud comes from its star, which spewed its dense disk of dust a few hundred years ago. This light now escapes through polar openings around this dust shield, creating twin beams.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news was filled with some astonishing — and creepy — displays of technology's accelerating progress.

Top of the bill was a stunning demonstration of Chinese company Unitree Robotics' humanoid robots, which somersaulted, flipped and kicked in a kung fu performance at this year's Lunar New Year festival. The robots' eerily fluid movements were a sight to behold on their own. But compare them with the stiff and cumbersome moves by similar robots just a year earlier, and it's clear how much the tech — has advanced, thanks to better algorithms and cluster control platforms.

Also in China, the world's first megawatt-class flying wind turbine produced enough power to electrify a house for two weeks. And elsewhere, Microsoft made waves with a laser breakthrough that could see terabytes of data stored on ordinary glassware for up to 10,000 years.

Physicists make a Big Bang soup

Physicists recreated the first millisecond after the Big Bang — and found it was surprisingly soupy

In the most ambitious instance of experimental home cooking we covered this week, physicists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) recreated the primordial state of the early universe and found it was more like soup than first thought.

The discovery comes from the LHC's Compact Muon Solenoid, which smashed together two heavy atomic nuclei at near light speed to create an extremely short-lived quark-gluon plasma, believed to be the stuff of our universe in the first microseconds following the Big Bang.

The findings could have enormous implications for how our cosmos, and the stuff it's made of, first formed.

Discover more space and physics news

—Solar flares may be triggering earthquakes, controversial study claims

—Saturn's largest moon may actually be 2 moons in 1 — and helped birth the planet's iconic rings

—Bungled Boeing Starliner mission was the highest order of mishap that put stranded astronauts at risk, report says

Life's Little Mysteries

What is rigor mortis, and why does it happen?

Not long after death, a sea change takes hold within the human body — a sequence of natural, cellular-level steps that result in a process called rigor mortis. But what are these steps? And why does rigor mortis happen to nearly all human bodies?

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Teenager buried with her father's bones

5,500 years ago, a teenage girl was buried with her father's bones on her chest, new DNA study reveals

Archaeologists who performed a DNA analysis of skeletons excavated from a Neolithic cemetery in Sweden have uncovered some surprising family burial practices this week, showing that some of Europe's last hunter-gatherers had detailed knowledge of their family lineages.

The society, called the Pitted Ware culture, was a hunter-gatherer community that lived on the western Swedish island of Gotland 5,500 years ago. Evidence of burials and reburials, with graves shared by up to third-degree relatives, suggests people of this culture paid scrupulous attention to their social connections and honored them long after death.

Discover more archaeology news

—2,500-year-old 'primitive prosthetic' found on jaw of mummified Scythian woman who survived complex jaw surgery

—'Absolute surprise': Homo erectus skulls found in China are almost 1.8 million years old — the oldest evidence of the ancient human relatives in East Asia

—Research group claims preeclampsia doomed the Neanderthals, but experts say it's just a 'thought experiment'

Also in science news this week

—The biggest trees in the Peruvian Amazon store the most carbon — and they also face the greatest threat from humans

—Diagnostic dilemma: 83-year-old man's unusual form of syphilis had an 'uncertain' source

—Our adorable, noodle-like ancestor had 4 eyes, half-a-billion-year-old fossils reveal

—Vanishing lakes in Tibet may have triggered earthquakes by awakening faults in Earth's crust

—In a 'race against time,' archaeologists uncovered Roman-era footprints from a Scottish beach before the tide washed them away

Science long read

'Proof by intimidation': AI is confidently solving 'impossible' math problems. But can it convince the world's top mathematicians?

At a secret meeting in Berkeley, California, last year, some of the world's leading mathematicians gathered to discuss the fate of their profession. The agenda was clear: Was artificial intelligence (AI) on the precipice of taking their jobs? And would the best math no longer be produced by humans?

Yet during the discussion, an even more troubling question appeared. In the past, confidence and a good argument were signs a proof was right, as only the best would be convincing to the rest of the field. Now, however, AI is spewing out hundreds of proofs that could be flawed but are too complex to verify. In this long read, Live Science investigated mathematicians' fight to figure out if the machines are right.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best analyses, opinions and crosswords published this week.

Missing megaflood: How did the Mediterranean transform from a salt-filled bowl to a deep sea if it wasn't a cataclysmic deluge? [Analysis]

New tech allows parents to 'score' IVF embryos for desirable traits — and it's in desperate need of regulation [Opinion]

Live Science crossword puzzle #30: Brightest star in the night sky — 5 down [Crossword]

Science news in pictures

City-size, cold-volcano comet transforms into a glowing 'snail shell' after major explosive outburst

This photo shows Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann, an ice ball three times the length of Manhattan, erupting into a cosmic snail shell as it circles the inner solar system.

29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann is an example of a cryovolcanic comet, which explodes after its icy shell soaks up too much solar radiation. This causes the icy gas and dust on its surface to sublimate outward, forming a fuzzy cloud.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news was filled with astonishing stories about ecological transformations. Topping the list was the finding that China has planted so many trees around the Taklamakan Desert that it has turned one of the world's largest and driest places into a carbon sink that sucks up more carbon dioxide than it emits.

The effort is part of China's "Great Green Wall" aimed at holding back the expansion of the Gobi Desert. So far, China has planted roughly 88 million acres (36 million hectares) of forest and 66 billion trees, showing that human-led interventions can transform natural landscapes for the better. That was also evident in China's ban of fishing in the Yangtze River, which has caused fish populations to rebound.

Some even more consequential climate news came from China this week, with an early analysis indicating that carbon dioxide emissions from the country have flatlined or fallen for 21 months. This could mean the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter may have reached a turning point sooner than expected.

And Canada may soon follow in China's footsteps, after one study found that trees planted on the edge of the boreal forest could remove more than five times Canada's annual carbon emissions.

Elsewhere, scientists found that permafrost thaw could have tipped Alaska's North Slope into a millennia-old wildfire regime, tiny microbes in Iceland are causing giant shifts by hoarding nitrogen, there's a troubling explanation behind a methane spike during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the presence of hidden life slumbering deep beneath Earth's oceans. In grimmer climate-related news, the Trump administration took a key step in rolling back the clock on greenhouse gas pollution this week by revoking the 2009 endangerment finding.

Viking Age mass grave contains "giant" who'd had brain surgery

Viking Age mass grave holds mysterious mix of dismembered human remains and complete skeletons, including a 'giant' who'd had brain surgery

A Viking Age mass grave filled with the dismembered remains of 10 people in England also contained the skeleton of an extremely tall man who'd had brain surgery, we reported this week.

Archaeologists unearthed four complete skeletons, along with a scattering of heads and limbs, during an excavation of Wandlebury Country Park, south of Cambridge, in summer 2025. Evidence strongly suggests that the pit's occupants had met violent ends. This most likely ties these buried bones to ninth-century conflicts between the Saxons and the Vikings, during which Cambridge was a frontier zone.

As for the giant, scientists speculated that he may have experienced pituitary gigantism, a condition that causes the body to overproduce growth hormones. This also may have caused swelling in his skull that may have necessitated a form of brain surgery called trepanation, which involves drilling a hole into the cranium.

Discover more archaeology news

—World's oldest known sewn clothing may be stitched pieces of ice age hide unearthed in Oregon cave

—Paleo-Inuit people braved icy seas to reach remote Greenland islands 4,500 years ago, archaeologists discover

—Subterranean tunnel, possibly used for medieval cult rituals, discovered in Stone Age tomb in Germany

Life's Little Mysteries

What are ghost lineages, remnants of the past that still exist in our DNA today?

Ghost lineages sound very spooky, but you won't need Tyler Henry to contact them, just a good geneticist. These extinct populations left behind no fossils, but their traces are being unearthed in humans and other animals.

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Scientists perform dream inception

Scientists infiltrated volunteers' dreams to boost their creative thinking

The role of dreams and the unconscious in our waking cognition has long been a pervading mystery. Take the 19th-century German chemist August Kekulé, who famously claimed to have discovered the ring-like structure of the benzene molecule after dreaming of a snake swallowing its own tail.

This week, we reported on an intriguing study that seemed to demonstrate that dreams can help people solve a conundrum. But this time, the solution was one deliberately inserted into participants' sleeping minds using a musical cue — not far off the dream manipulation performed in the Christopher Nolan blockbuster "Inception."

And yes, it actually improved the volunteers' ability to solve previously encountered puzzles.

Discover more health news

—'DNA origami' could be key for making an effective HIV vaccine, early study hints

—Risk of death from pregnancy in the US is 44 times higher than that from abortion, new analysis reveals

—Diagnostic dilemma: Teenager contracts rare 'welder's anthrax,' marking the ninth known case ever reported

Also in science news this week

—NASA telescope spots the building blocks for life spewing out of comet 3I/ATLAS

—Radio signal discovered at the center of our galaxy could put Einstein's relativity to the test

—Are you a night owl or an early bird?

—Something supercharged Uranus with radiation during Voyager flyby 40 years ago. Scientists now know what.

—Antarctica 'ghost particle' observatory gets major upgrade that could 'pave the way' to physics breakthroughs

Science long read

Did modern humans wipe out the Neanderthals? New evidence may finally provide answers.

By 37,000 years ago, the gruesome deed was already done. Across El Salt, in southeastern Spain, the final vestiges of the Neanderthals lived their days never knowing they would be their species' last members. But what drove our evolutionary cousins to extinction? In this long read, Live Science searched for the answers to human prehistory's most enigmatic whodunit: Who killed the Neanderthals? Reader, was it us?

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best analyses, science histories and crosswords published this week.

'There's no reason to ban us from playing': Analysis debunks notion that transgender women have inherent physical advantages in sports [Analysis]

Science history: 'Father of modern genetics' describes his experiments with pea plants — and proves that heredity is transmitted in discrete units — Feb. 8, 1865 [Science history]

Live Science crossword puzzle #29: The 'middle' period of the dinosaurs — 13 across [Crossword]

Science news in pictures

Astronaut snaps salty, pink Valentine's Day 'heart' shining in Argentina — Earth from space

Forgot to get that special someone a romantic gift this Valentine's Day? We've got you covered: Give them some table salt, and say it came from this lake.

Taken by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station as it drifted overhead, Salinas Las Barrancas is an Argentine lake that gets its pink hue from microorganisms that thrive on the salt deposited within. Humans use the salt too; 330,000 tons (300,000 metric tons) of it are mined from the flats each year. The salt is then replenished by the next major rainfall, with mining expected to remain possible for the next 5,000 years.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news was filled with incredible discoveries hidden deep inside our planet, including a potential answer to the long-standing mystery of how a tributary of the Colorado River appears to defy gravity.

When it formed millions of years ago, the Green River — which starts in Wyoming and joins the Colorado River in Utah — carved a path through the Uinta Mountains instead of flowing around them. Exactly how the river was able to flow "uphill" was unknown. But now, geologists say they may have found an explanation: A phenomenon called lithospheric drip dragged the mountains down, helping the river carve its path, before they rebounded upward into the topography we see today.

Elsewhere in the Pacific, a "mega-blob" of solid rock and iron found beneath Hawaii could be a relic from Earth's earliest evolution that acts to enhance the islands' volcanic activity. And a strange dent discovered in the magnetic field of Australia's Northern Territory may open up new opportunities for resource extraction. Findings from deeper within the planet likely also await, with one research team suggesting that Earth's missing lighter elements could have been sucked inside our planet's solid inner core.

Artemis II springs a leak

Hydrogen leak derails Artemis II wet rehearsal, pushing launch date back by weeks

The wet dress rehearsal for NASA's Artemis II mission ended in a scrub this week, leading the space agency to delay its first attempt to send astronauts back to the moon from this weekend to early March.

If you've been following Artemis launches as long as we have, you can probably guess the cause of this week's scrub: hydrogen. The supercold liquid fuel, while clean-burning and highly efficient, is an amazing escape artist, leaking out of NASA's gigantic Space Launch System three times during the fueling rehearsal.

Once Artemis II clears the wet dress rehearsal and simulated launch stage, NASA will conduct a flight-readiness review before committing to a launch date. The next launch window includes March 6 to 9 and March 11. If Artemis II doesn't fly on one of those days, it will be delayed until April. The mission is meant to launch no later than April 30.

Discover more space news

—'Textbooks will need to be updated': Jupiter is smaller and flatter than we thought, Juno spacecraft reveals

—Asteroid 2024 YR4's collision with the moon could create a flash visible from Earth, study finds

—Martian meteorite that fell to Earth is full of ancient water, new scans reveal

Life's Little Mysteries

Why do kids eat their boogers?

Boogers are the caviar and oysters of children's worlds, their lack of visual appeal, salty flavor and squishy consistency enhancing their sense of delicacy — no matter what disgusted adults may say. But why do children, some adults and even other primates eat their own snot? It turns out, there may be some possible health benefits, although kids are likely better off eating their more traditional greens.

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Apes have imaginary tea parties

Kanzi the bonobo could play pretend — a trait thought unique to humans

A bonobo who successfully played along with a pretend tea party staged by scientists may have revealed that apes have imaginations.

The ability to visualize the presence of objects that aren't there was believed to be a uniquely human trait. But now, an experiment conducted with the assistance of Kanzi — a bonobo who lived in a research center in Des Moines, Iowa, and died last year — may have shown that apes can play pretend, too.

In Kanzi's case, the imaginary object was juice that researchers pretended to pour into cups, which he picked out with 68% accuracy across the trials. If the study can be replicated in bonobos and other apes, it could reveal a broader capacity for imagination that has been anecdotally claimed yet never confirmed.

Discover more animal news

—Saltwater crocodiles crossed the Indian Ocean to reach the Seychelles — before humans arrived and wiped them out

—'System in flux': Scientists reveal what happened when wolves and cougars returned to Yellowstone

—In the search for bees, Mozambique honey hunters and birds share a language with distinct, regional dialects

Also in science news this week

—Black hole outburst 'Jetty McJetface' is one of the most energetic objects in the universe — and only growing brighter

—7,500-year-old deer skull headdress discovered in Germany indicates hunter-gatherers shared sacred items and ideas with region's first farmers

—Men develop cardiovascular disease 7 years before women, study suggests. But why?

—'Landmark' elephant bone finding in Spain may be from time of Hannibal's war against Rome

—What is Moltbook? A social network for AI threatens a 'total purge' of humanity — but some experts say it's a hoax

Science Spotlight

Psychedelics may rewire the brain to treat PTSD. Scientists are finally beginning to understand how.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can rewire human brains so profoundly that traditional therapies, such as antidepressants and trauma-focused psychotherapies, often aren't enough. That's why researchers are exploring a new avenue: psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, using MDMA or psilocybin, to act on the brain systems disrupted in PTSD, instead of treating the symptoms.

So far, the results are positive. But uncertainty still surrounds the long-term impacts of these drugs, as well as exactly how they act upon the brain. In this Science Spotlight, Live Science contributor Jane Palmer investigated the science behind psychedelics and their promise as a therapy for PTSD. Accompanying it is a long read into how former Navy pilot Kegan Gill used ayahuasca to lay the groundwork for mental recovery after a devastating jet crash left him with a brain injury.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best opinion pieces, crosswords and skywatching guides published this week.

—Live Science crossword puzzle #28: Largest desert in Asia — 6 across [Crossword]

—'It's similar to how Google can map your home without your consent': Why using aerial lasers to map an archaeology site should have Indigenous partnership [Opinion]

—The US will see a rare 'blood moon' eclipse before sunrise this March: Where and when to look [Skywatching]

Science news in pictures

A deer carrying the rotting head of its vanquished foe and a playful lynx short-listed for Wildlife Photographer of the Year Nuveen People's Choice Award

This week, London's Natural History Museum announced the short list for The Wildlife Photographer of the Year Nuveen People's Choice Award 2026, and the results were predictably beautiful, moving and grisly — showcasing a deer carrying a rival's rotting head, a lynx playing with its food, and a polar bear mom and cubs resting in Hudson Bay mud in the summer heat.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news was all about the good, the bad and the ugly of technological progress, with a study warning of next-generation AI 'swarms' that could soon invade social media.

Signs of bots on social media are already evident, with over half of the written text online being churned out by large language models as of 2025. What scientists warn about with this next generation of bots is different — trained to impersonate real humans and flock en masse as if they belonged to an organic movement, they will adaptively target human users, spread false narratives and influence opinion.

But it wasn't all doom and gloom in our AI coverage. We also reported on a tool that can pick up on signs of cognitive decline from doctor's notes, AI's detection of hundreds of strange and inexplicable cosmic objects in the Hubble telescope's archives, and its potential to accelerate scientific progress. Elsewhere in tech, there was a major battery breakthrough, Microsoft unveiled its new, state-of-the-art AI chip, a laser-based power system opened up a path for 'infinite' drone flight and a creepy robot learned to move its lips.

Mysterious 'Cloud People' tomb is Mexico's 'most significant archaeological discovery' in a decade

1,400-year-old Zapotec tomb discovered in Mexico features enormous owl sculpture symbolizing death

The discovery of a 1,400-year-old Zapotec tomb in Oaxaca, southern Mexico, was hailed this week by Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, as the country's most important archaeological find in a decade.

Built by the Zapotec culture, who believed that their ancestors descended from the clouds and their spirits returned to the heavens after death, the ancient tomb is adorned with complex carvings that include a sculpture of an owl with a man's head in its beak — owls being symbols of death and the afterlife in Zapotec culture.

Authorities first learned of the tomb's presence in response to an anonymous report of looting at the site. And while some information about this centuries-old civilization has been lost to robbers, the tomb now joins a dozen other Zapotec tombs discovered in Oaxaca in the past decade.

Discover more archaeology news

—160,000-year-old sophisticated stone tools discovered in China may not have been made by Homo sapiens

—430,000-year-old wooden handheld tools from Greece are the oldest on record — and they predate modern humans

—5,000-year-old rock art from ancient Egypt depicts 'terrifying' conquest of the Sinai Peninsula

Life's Little Mysteries

How long does it take the sun to rotate?

The fact of the Earth's axial rotation is as sure as day following night, but what about the sun's? It turns out that yes, our star rotates, although measurements of its spin are complicated by several factors, including its different layers and its rotation in the same direction as our planet's orbit.

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Pancreatic cancer breakthrough in mice

New triple-drug treatment stops pancreatic cancer in its tracks, a mouse study finds

In a major breakthrough study announced this week, scientists at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center in Madrid announced a triple combination therapy that proved remarkably effective at eliminating pancreatic cancer in mice.

The announcement is a big deal for many reasons: Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest common forms of the disease, its aggressive and stealthily-growing tumors quickly becoming resistant to chemotherapy.

To investigate a more effective form of treatment, the researchers behind the new study inhibited a mutated gene responsible for 90% of diagnosed pancreatic cancers in humans using three drugs, two of which already have regulatory approval in the U.S. The results were long-lasting tumor regression without significant side effects in all of the mice in the study, opening a path forward for the therapy's development for humans.

Discover more health news

—South Carolina's measles outbreak nears 790 cases — making it the biggest in decades

—IVF hormones could be delivered with painless 'microneedle' patch someday, early study hints

—The UK has lost its measles elimination status — again

Also in science news this week

—Shark attacks in Hawaii spike in October, and scientists think they know why

—50-year-old NASA jet crashes in flames on Texas runway — taking it out of the Artemis II mission

—'Doomsday Clock' ticks 4 seconds closer to midnight as unregulated AI and 'mirror life' threaten humanity

—More than 43,000 years ago, Neanderthals spent centuries collecting animal skulls in a cave; but archaeologists aren't sure why

—'Previously unimaginable': James Webb telescope breaks own record again, discovering farthest known galaxy in the universe

Science long read

Thousands of dams in the US are old, damaged and unable to cope with extreme weather. How bad is it?

Thousands of dams in the United States may be at risk of failure, and they could have major public health and economic impacts.

That's according to new satellite images revealing dozens of faults emerging from shifting ground beneath the structures — including the biggest dam in Texas. But how does climate change play into this phenomenon? What are the potential consequences? And can anything be done to stop it? Live Science investigated in this news analysis.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best opinion pieces, crosswords and skywatching guides published this week.

—Giving AI the ability to monitor its own thought process could help it think like humans [Opinion]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #27: The explosion that created the universe — 5 down [Crossword]

—The Snow Moon will 'swallow' one of the brightest stars in the sky this weekend: Where and when to look [Skywatching]

Science in motion

James Webb telescope discovers closest galaxy to the Big Bang ever seen

It may not look like much, but this blurry smudge could be a harbinger of an impending revolution in cosmology.

Picked up by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the light seen here comes from the ancient galaxy MoM-z14 just 280 million years after the Big Bang, making it the most distant galaxy confirmed to date.

And the detection isn't just exciting because it's broken the JWST's own record, but because MoM-z14 appears to be far brighter and more developed than its extremely young age should permit it to be. That means that studying it, and others like it, promises to spark a fundamental rewrite of how the universe evolved.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news was filled with discoveries once thought lost to time — notably, the world's oldest known rock art was discovered in Indonesia.

The roughly 70,000-year-old stencil of a human hand, found in a cave in Sulawesi, promises to fill a major gap in scientists' understanding of humanity's migration across the islands of Southeast Asia to Australia, and was likely left by an ancestor of Indigenous Australians.

And it wasn't just ancient Homo sapiens who were found to have made intrepid and unexpected journeys this week, as a 2.6 million-year-old fossil jaw of the extinct human relative Paranthropus (or "Nutcracker Man") was found hundreds of miles farther north than previously thought possible.

Jumping forward to slightly more recent history, researchers this week revealed tombs, shrines, burial grounds and shipwrecks. These finds included a 2,400-year-old Hercules shrine discovered outside ancient Rome's walls; 1,400 year-old Anglo-Saxon "sand burials" unearthed during the construction of a power plant in the U.K.; a medieval "super ship" wreck found off Denmark; and the oldest evidence of the bacterium that causes syphilis, suggesting that the disease originated in the Americas.

Giant freshwater reservoir beneath East Coast seafloor

Enormous freshwater reservoir discovered off the East Coast may be 20,000 years old and big enough to supply NYC for 800 years

An expedition off the coast of Massachusetts confirmed this week the existence of a giant sub-seafloor reservoir that could supply a city the size of New York City with fresh water for around 800 years.

The freshwater reservoir stretches from offshore New Jersey as far north as Maine and possibly formed 20,000 years ago during the last ice age, when rainwater became trapped underground before sea levels rose.

More definitive results about how and when the reservoir took shape, alongside its bacterial and mineral contents, are expected soon. The scientists who found it say the information could prove vital to those who may want to tap into it in the future.

Discover more planet Earth stories

—Arctic blast probably won't cause trees to explode in the cold — but here's what happens if and when they do go boom

—Californians have been using far less water than suppliers estimated — what does this mean for the state?

—'The scientific cost would be severe': A Trump Greenland takeover would put climate research at risk

Life's Little Mysteries

Why don't you usually see your nose?

It's a truism that we often miss what's right under our noses, but what about our noses themselves? How is it that we go through life ignoring the fleshy prows perched right on our faces, only seeing them with a conscious effort? The answer isn't because they're out of our sight but instead because of an ingenious neurovisual sleight of hand that may be key to our survival.

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The biggest solar radiation storm in decades

Earth hit by biggest 'solar radiation storm' in 23 years, triggering Northern Lights as far as Southern California

Earth's most powerful solar radiation storm in more than two decades hit Monday (Jan. 19), sending curtains of auroras across night skies as far south as Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico.

While some publications reported that the storm was the largest geomagnetic storm since 2003, that was a slight exaggeration; 2024's "Mother's Day storm" was more powerful. However, the latest storm was one of the most powerful solar radiation storms on record — meaning the sheer quantity of radiation hurled at Earth was extraordinary.

Discover more space stories

—'Like watching a cosmic volcano erupt': Scientists see monster black hole 'reborn' after 100 million years

—An ocean the size of the Arctic once covered half of Mars, new images hint

—'Goddess of dawn': James Webb telescope spies one of the oldest supernovas in the early universe

Also in science news this week

—Scientists may be approaching a 'fundamental breakthrough in cosmology and particle physics' — if dark matter and 'ghost particles' can interact

—Coyote scrambles onto Alcatraz Island after perilous, never-before-seen swim

—Diagnostic dilemma: A woman experienced delusions of communicating with her dead brother after late-night chatbot sessions

—People, not glaciers, transported rocks to Stonehenge, study confirms

Science Spotlight

'A real revolution': The James Webb telescope is upending our understanding of the biggest, oldest black holes in the universe

Not long ago, astronomers thought they knew the story of how gigantic supermassive black holes formed. They believed it happened the same way regular black holes are born: by collapsing from large stars and slowly merging until they grow to billions of times the sun's mass.

But the James Webb Space Telescope appears to have upended that story by finding enormous black holes in the earliest epochs of our universe that shouldn't have had the time to grow by merging or devouring matter.

So how did these behemoths get so enormous? Live Science investigated the explanations — and all of their revolutionary potential — in this fascinating Science Spotlight.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the analyses, crosswords and opinion stories published this week.

—Lab mice that 'touch grass' are less anxious — and that highlights a big problem in rodent research [Analysis]

—Live Science crossword puzzle #26: Nothing can travel faster than this — 12 across [Crossword]

—Indigenous TikTok star 'Bush Legend' is actually AI-generated, leading to accusations of 'digital blackface' [Opinion]

Science in motion

Stunning time-lapse video captured using 'artificial eclipse' shows 3 massive eruptions on the sun

This week saw the release of a stunning time lapse of the sun that could help unravel one of the most enduring mysteries concerning our home star.

The footage, taken by the European Space Agency's Proba-3 mission, captures three major plumes of plasma jetting out of the sun's surface. By studying it further, astronomers want to learn why the sun's faint atmosphere, or corona, is hundreds of times hotter than its surface.

A better understanding of the warp and weft of the sun's magnetic-field lines could help researchers make better predictions of when these lines will snap to unleash solar flares, some of which can have devastating consequences for Earth.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news was way over our heads, as astronauts and space agencies rocketed to the front pages. Topping the list is the early return of the International Space Station's (ISS) Crew-11 on Thursday (Jan. 15) due to a medical event.

News of the crew's early return, the first in the station's 25-year history, was announced less than a week before. It was prompted when one of its astronauts experienced an undisclosed medical issue. The evacuation leaves the ISS occupied by only four astronauts until the arrival of the replacement Crew-12 next month.

That wasn't the only news from NASA this week. The agency also announced it was making the final preparations to roll out its Artemis 2 mega moon rocket ahead of a targeted early February launch. The Artemis program, which plans to return American astronauts to the moon's surface, survived potential cuts from the Trump administration's FY2026 budget. Also rescued from the chopping block is NASA's now-complete Roman Space Telescope, which will work alongside the Hubble and James Webb telescopes to survey alien worlds.

However, not all NASA missions were as fortunate: The Mars sample return mission, slated to retrieve rocks collected by the Perseverance rover, saw its funding officially dropped this week.

The cancellation of the mission means that The China National Space Administration (CNSA) will likely be the first to return Martian samples — which may hold evidence for life on the Red Planet — to Earth, with the agency this week announcing separate plans to build a reliable relativistic clock for the moon.

Earth's biggest river deltas are rapidly sinking

18 of Earth's biggest river deltas — including the Nile and Amazon — are sinking faster than global sea levels are rising

Our world is rapidly warming, so it's no surprise that rising sea levels are the biggest cause of land loss in coastal regions.

Yet a startling study revealed that this isn't the case everywhere. The research published this week found that the world's biggest river deltas — including the Nile, Amazon and Ganges — are now sinking faster than the seas are rising.

The biggest culprit is groundwater pumping, with rapid urban growth and shrinking sediment flows worsening the problem. The combination of rising oceans and sinking land means the world's largest cities will face even greater challenges from catastrophic floods in the future.

Discover more planet Earth news

—Fragment of lost tectonic plate discovered where San Andreas and Cascadia faults meet

—New map of Antarctica reveals hidden world of lakes, valleys and mountains buried beneath miles of ice

—Scientists watch microscopic plant 'mouths' breathing in real time with palm-sized tool

Life's Little Mysteries

How much of your body could you lose — and still survive?

Monty Python's Black Knight may insist that losing all four of his limbs in quick succession is "only a flesh wound," but just how much of the human body can be removed without a person dying? As it turns out, it's much more than you might think.

—If you enjoyed this, sign up for our Life's Little Mysteries newsletter

Woolly rhino flesh in wolf reveals extinction mystery clue

Woolly rhino flesh pulled from ancient wolf stomach gives clues to ice age giant's extinction

The last meal of a wolf pup that was naturally mummied 14,400 years ago in Siberian permafrost is helping scientists unravel the fate of the woolly rhino (Coelodonta antiquitatis) and the reasons behind the ice age giant's extinction.

By extracting a piece of woolly rhino flesh from the wolf's stomach and sequencing the genome of the partially digested chunk, scientists discovered that the horned beast existed in a genetically uniform population that may have struggled to adapt to ancient climate change.

But the new genome is just one strand of evidence in the mystery of the rhino's extinction. In a win for science, this is the first time scientists have recovered the DNA of an ice age animal from the stomach of another one.

Discover more animals news

—Rare nocturnal parrots in New Zealand are breeding for the first time in 4 years — here's why

—Never-before-seen footage captures moment scientists find new, giant anaconda species in Amazon

—How to watch 'Pole to Pole with Will Smith' — TV and streaming details as Oscar-winning actor blends adventure and scientific discovery

Also in science news this week

—Most complete Homo habilis skeleton ever found dates to more than 2 million years ago and retains 'Lucy'-like features

—MIT's chip stacking breakthrough could cut energy use in power-hungry AI processes

—Diagnostic dilemma: A man's sudden seizures were set off by sudoku

—Ötzi the Iceman mummy carried a high-risk strain of HPV, research finds

Science long read

Forced closure of premier US weather-modeling institute could endanger millions of Americans

In December, The Trump administration announced plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), describing it as "one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country."

Yet whether it is forecasting high winds, wildfires, floods or hazards in the air and space, the research center is at the forefront of world weather and climate research and vital for reducing risk. In this long read, Live Science investigated the work done by the center and the likely consequences of shutting it down.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the crosswords, book excerpts and quizzes published this week.

Live Science crossword puzzle #25: Ancient hominin species famous for their 'upright' posture — 11 across [Crossword]

—Parkfield, San Andreas, and the quest for a 'crystal ball' for predicting earthquakes before they happen [Book Excerpt]

—Human origins quiz: How well do you know the story of humanity? [Quiz]

Science in pictures

Giant cosmic 'sandwich' is the largest planet-forming disk ever seen — Space photo of the week

The Hubble Space Telescope's shot of "Dracula's Chivito" — a protoplanetary disk that earned its nickname due to its gothic-tinged likeness to a Uruguayan sandwich — has captured a stunning insight into how planets form.

Spanning nearly 400 billion miles (640 billion kilometers) and containing a hot star at its center, the system is the largest planet-forming disk ever observed around a young star.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news was all about discoveries made by the world's best telescopes, as the James Webb Space Telescope verified the existence of a runaway supermassive black hole escaping its host galaxy at 2.2 million miles per hour (3.6 million km/h).

The black hole, which is leaving behind a stunning contrail of stars in its wake, confirms more than five decades of research. And it's not the only celestial object offering evidence for long-standing astronomical theories this week — there was also Cloud-9, a failed galaxy discovered by the Hubble telescope, that appears to be held together by dark matter.

Meanwhile, NASA's SPHEREx (short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) unveiled its first complete, all-sky mosaic of the universe; Chile's ALMA telescope discovered a set of galaxies so hot they shouldn't exist; and the first images from the fledgling Vera C. Rubin Observatory revealed an enormous asteroid spinning at a record-breaking speed.

Human and Neanderthal ancestor found in Casablanca

Last common ancestor of modern humans and Neanderthals possibly found in Casablanca, Morocco

A collection of 773,000-year-old bones found inside a Moroccan cave shifted the potential origins of modern humans from East to West Africa this week.

There are a lot of fossil hominins in Africa — at least until about a million years ago and again after 500,000 years ago — but a gap exists between these two time points that makes tracking the evolutionary history of humanity difficult.

That's what makes the discovery of the new fossils, found inside Casablanca's Grotte à Hominidés, a very exciting development for paleoanthropologists, with the remains believed to come from the last common ancestor to modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans.

Discover more archaeology news:

—One of the last Siberian shamans was an 18th-century woman whose parents were related, DNA study reveals

—60,000-year-old poison arrows from South Africa are the oldest poison weapons ever discovered

—Tiny bump on 7 million-year-old fossil suggests ancient ape walked upright — and might even be a human ancestor

Life's Little Mysteries

Did any cat breeds develop naturally?

There are more than 600 million cats around the world, but did any of the roughly 10% that are purebred evolve naturally? Or are they all the result of human selection? The answer is more complicated than it first seems.

—If you enjoyed this, sign up for our Life's Little Mysteries newsletter

US government slashes childhood vaccine schedule

US government overhauls the childhood vaccine schedule in unprecedented move

Federal health officials announced an unprecedented shift in the childhood vaccine schedule this week, reducing the number of shots universally recommended to kids 18 and under from around 17 to 11.

The unilateral decision is a step toward the longtime goal of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other vaccine skeptics to reduce the number of vaccines given to children. While officials claim the move will more closely align the U.S. with other developed countries, experts say the decision lacks scientific backing and will lead to more sick children.

Discover more health news:

—New US food pyramid recommends very high protein diet, beef tallow as healthy fat option, and full-fat dairy

—Leonardo da Vinci's DNA may be embedded in his art — and scientists think they've managed to extract some

—'Mitochondrial transfer' into nerves could relieve chronic pain, early study hints

Also in science news this week

—Huge ice dome in Greenland vanished 7,000 years ago — melting at temperatures we're racing toward today

—Rare 2,000-year-old war trumpet, possibly linked to Celtic queen Boudica, discovered in England

—Orbiting satellites could start crashing into one another in less than 3 days, theoretical new 'CRASH Clock' reveals

—Hundreds of iceberg earthquakes are shaking the crumbling end of Antarctica's Doomsday Glacier

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best science histories, skywatching guides and quizzes published this week.

—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 [Science history]

—Jupiter will outshine every star in the sky this weekend — how to see the 'king of planets' at opposition [Skywatching]

—How much do you really know about T. rex, the king of the dinosaurs? [Quiz]

Science in pictures

'Wolf Supermoon' gallery: See the first full moon of 2026 in pictures from across the world

The first full moon of 2026, called the Wolf Moon, shone brightly in the Northern Hemisphere's skies at the start of this week. It will be the biggest and brightest full moon of the year until November, but if you missed the spectacle we compiled this handy gallery of lunar shots from around the world.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

This week's science news has featured some mind-blowing technological innovations, with the development of a new kind of quantum processor that lasts 15 times longer than those used by Google and IBM.

Fabricated from the rare earth element tantalum, the processor is an important step on the road to stable quantum computing. However, scientists still need to overcome key challenges, such as the processors' millisecond decoherence time and the extreme scarcity of tantalum.

Elsewhere, scientists revealed they took inspiration from the heat vision of snakes to build an imaging system that could one day end up in smartphones, and Japan's military tested a 100-kilowatt laser weapon that can cut through metal and slice drones out of the air.

Comet 3I/ATLAS bids farewell

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS makes closest pass of Earth. Where's it heading next?

3I/ATLAS passed its closest point to Earth this week and is now set to leave our cosmic neighborhood for good.

Since its discovery in July, comet 3I/ATLAS, has dazzled astronomers and skywatchers alike as it zoomed behind our sun, rapidly brightened, erupted in ice volcanoes and changed colors multiple times while shedding its highly irradiated coma.

The comet, which is up to several miles wide and 7 billion years old, is now traveling at 130,000 mph (210,000 km/h) on a path out of our solar system.

But that doesn't mean it's the last we'll be hearing of the interstellar object, which has generated a frenzy of speculation surrounding its (incredibly doubtful) alien origins. 3I/ATLAS will leave our solar system after passing Pluto in 2029, giving scientists and spacecraft plenty of time to observe it.

Discover more space news

—NASA's Parker Solar Probe mapped an unseen part of the sun at its most active moment

—'We were amazed': Scientists using James Webb telescope may have discovered the earliest supernova in the known universe

—30 models of the universe proved wrong by final data from groundbreaking cosmology telescope

...Or is it just goodbye for now?

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is rapidly moving away from us. Can we 'intercept' it before it leaves us forever?

Or could we chase down 3I/ATLAS before it leaves our solar system? As farfetched as it may sound, some scientists are eager to send a spacecraft after the comet before it leaves.

Doing so would not only reveal further clues as to how the comet formed, but also help to answer whether we're alone in our universe, Live Science reveals in this fascinating Science Spotlight.

Life's Little Mysteries

Can a turtle tuck its head all the way inside its shell?

Turtles' bodies are protected by hard shells that are surprisingly varied between species. But how did these natural suits of armor evolve in the first place? And can turtles really hide their heads inside their shells?

—If you enjoyed this, sign up for our Life's Little Mysteries newsletter

Penguin-feasting pumas show strange behavioral changes

Pumas in Patagonia started feasting on penguins — but now they're behaving strangely, a new study finds

The strange behavior of pumas (Puma concolor) in Monte León National Park in Patagonia, Argentina shone a light on the surprising knock-on effects of conservation efforts this week. Pumas were forced out of the region by sheep farmers in the 20th century, but the apex predators returned when the national park was established in 2004.

So far, so typical, but scientists were surprised after the pumas set their sights on a colony of roughly 40,000 Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) that had settled in their absence. The pumas that ate the penguins began tolerating each other more than usual.

The new behavior suggests that restoring wildlife in changed habitats does more than just reset the clock — it creates entirely new behaviors and ecosystems.

Discover more animals news

—Polar bears in southern Greenland are 'using jumping genes to rapidly rewrite their own DNA' to survive melting sea ice

—Scientists finally sequence the vampire squid's huge genome, revealing secrets of the 'living fossil'

—Cassius the giant crocodile died from sepsis after 40-year-old dormant infection burst from 'abscess,' necropsy reveals

Also in science news this week

—Ancient Egyptian valley temple excavated — and it's connected to a massive upper temple dedicated to the sun god, Ra

—Undersea lava rubble acts as a 'sponge' for carbon dioxide, study finds

—Brain scans reveal 'dial' that helps keep us from getting lost

—Oldest known evidence of father-daughter incest found in 3,700-year-old bones in Italy

—It matters what time of day you get cancer treatment, study suggests

Science Spotlight

AI is solving 'impossible' math problems. Can it best the world's top mathematicians?

Artificial intelligence models are making steady progress in cracking increasingly difficult math problems, but will they soon eclipse humans in cracking the hardest unsolved conjectures? Or is it all just hype? Live Science spoke with some of the world's best mathematicians to find out.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best crosswords, skywatching guides and opinion pieces published this week.

—Live Science crossword puzzle #23: Distance around the edge of a circle — 6 down [Crossword]

—Ursid meteor shower 2025: When and where to see 'shooting stars' on the longest night of the year [Skywatching]

—'This has re-written our understanding of Roman concrete manufacture': Abandoned Pompeii worksite reveal how self-healing concrete was made [Opinion]

Science in pictures

Strange, 7-hour explosion from deep space is unlike anything scientists have seen — Space photo of the week

This week’s science photo displays one of the most powerful, and longest lasting, cosmic explosions ever detected — a seven-hour blast that ripped from a dying star at 99% the speed of light.

The event, dubbed GRB 250702B, is the longest-duration gamma-ray burst ever recorded and may have been caused by a supernova, a star being torn to shreds by a black hole, or a black hole and helium star merging.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

Here's the biggest science news you need to know.

• Comet 3I/ATLAS is zooming away from Earth after making its closest approach last night.
• A starlink satellite is tumbling from space after shattering in orbit.
• AI systems had a carbon footprint equal to New York City, and consumed similar quantities of water to the annual global consumption of bottled water, in 2025, new study claims.

Latest science news

Little Foot

Good morning, science fans! Thank you for your patience last week while we worked through some technical issues. I'm pleased to report that the science news blog is back!

We're kicking off this week's blog coverage with a story about human evolution. A team of researchers believes that the hominin fossil "Little Foot" is an unknown human ancestor, the Guardian reports.

Little Foot is a near-complete Australopithecus skeleton — the most complete ever discovered — from South Africa. Researchers first unveiled the small ancient human in 2017, but precisely where it sits on our family tree has been the subject of scientific debate.

Some have proposed that Little Foot is a previously unknown species and should be given the name Australopithecus prometheus. However, A. prometheus is a recycled name that was initially meant for another South African fossil discovered in 1948, but fell out of favour after researchers decided that the fossil was likely from the known species Australopithecus africanus. Another possibility was that Little Foot was also A. africanus.

The new claims derive from a study published last month in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology. Here, the research team argues that neither A. prometheus nor A. africanus is an appropriate classification for Little Foot.

The classification of human fossils is often contested, so I'm keen to see how other anthropologists react to the new study and will follow up with more information as it emerges.

Live Science weekend news roundup

Here are some of the best Live Science stories from the weekend:

• Scientists finally sequence the vampire squid's huge genome, revealing secrets of the 'living fossil'
• 2,000-year-old shipwreck may be Egyptian 'pleasure barge' from last dynasty of pharaohs
• Brutal lion attack 6,200 years ago severely injured teenager — but somehow he survived, skeleton found in Bulgaria reveals

Geminids peak

Did you catch any meteors this weekend? The Geminid meteor shower peaked on Saturday night and Sunday morning in a near-moonless sky, making it perfect conditions for capturing the spectacle on camera.

The Geminids represent the most prolific meteor shower of the year. While the shower has been ongoing since Dec. 4, the best time to see its meteors was supposed to be overnight on Saturday through Sunday.

I didn't see any because I was busy and unwilling to brave the cold. If like me you missed them too, we've still got a few more days to brave the elements — the Geminids will remain active until Dec. 20. I'll also pull together a little gallery of some of the best images from the Geminids' peak to mark the event.

If you want to learn more about the Geminids, check out our 2025 Geminids meteor shower guide by skywatching expert Jamie Carter.

Geminid meteor shower gallery

Here are some pretty pictures from the Geminids' weekend peak:

The Geminids above Yosemite National Park in California.

A meteor zooms across the night sky above Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, in China.

Back to Yosemite National Park for another striking meteor snap.

The Geminids above Yamdrok Lake in Tibet, China.

Here, a meteor appears as a horizontal dash across the night sky. This is the third photo taken by Tayfun Coskun at Yosemite National Park.

All eyes on 3I/ATLAS

The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS makes its closest approach to Earth this week, coming within around 167 million miles (270 million kilometers) of our planet on Friday (Dec. 19).

Astronomers worldwide are studying the comet, which is only the third interstellar object ever recorded in our solar system and potentially the oldest comet ever seen.

But it's not just space agencies getting in on the action. The United Nations' International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) is about halfway through its 3I/ATLAS observing campaign, Live Science contributor Elizabeth Howell reports.

This is the first time that the IAWN network's observing campaigns have tracked an interstellar object.

To learn why, read the full story here.

3I/ATLAS Hulks out

Speaking of 3I/ATLAS, Brandon reported on Friday (while the blog was down) that the interstellar comet is changing hues as it approaches Earth.

Atop Hawaii's dormant Mauna Kea volcano, the Gemini North telescope confirmed that comet 3I/ATLAS has become greener and brighter since flying past the sun in late October.

Our home star heated up the interstellar object and, in doing so, made it much more active.

Find out what's driving the comet's greenish hue by reading the full story here.

Fancy a crossword?

Senior staff writer Harry Baker has just finished the latest Live Science crossword puzzle. Give it a go below if you're into that kind of thing.

Note: Our crosswords are currently best experienced on desktop.

New pumpkin toadlet is so smol!

A newfound species of pumpkin toadlet has caught our eye. Researchers announced the discovery in the journal PLOS One mid-last week, but we think it deserves a shout-out today.

The frog lives in the mountains of southern Brazil and belongs to a group of miniaturized diurnal (awake during the day) frogs called Brachycephalus, some of which are pumpkin colored — hence the name, "pumpkin toadlet."

The Brachycephalus genus boasts the smallest known vertebrate in the world: A species known as B. pulex, whose females average just 0.32 inch (8.15 millimeters) in length and whose males are even shorter, at 0.28 inch (7.1 mm), which is smaller than a human fingernail.

This latest addition to the pumpkin froglet clan is a bit bigger, with a body length of up to 0.53 inch (13.4 mm). The frog is bright orange, as you'd expect, but distinguishes itself from other pumpkin froglets with small amounts of green and brown at irregular points on its body.

The researchers who made the discovery want the frog's territory in the Serra do Quiriri area of Brazil to be protected to safeguard its future, as well as other unique species that live there.

You've got to imagine that the researchers wanted this pumpkin toadlet study out closer to Halloween. Ah, well, it's a winter treat.

Hopping off

Time for me to sign off with the rest of the U.K. team. As always, keep checking back for more science news from our U.S. colleagues.

I'll leave you with this joke from The Conservation Volunteers.

What goes dot-dot croak, dot-dash croak?

Morse Toad!

Enormous genetic study groups psychiatric disorders

Live Science contributor Clarissa Brincat just covered the largest genetic analysis of psychiatric disorders to date. The study, which included data from more than 1 million people, found shared genetic profiles that unite different psychiatric disorders. Across 14 disorders — including anorexia, OCD, schizophrenia and ADHD — the analysis revealed five distinct groups that share similar genetics.

Some of these shared genetics point to shared biological mechanisms that may underpin the disorders. For instance, depression, PTSD and anxiety fell into one group that included genes associated with glia, the brain's nonneuronal support cells. That may hint that glia play a key role in the manifestations of each of these disorders.

However, an expert told Live Science that it's important to remember that correlation does not equal causation; a gene variant being linked to a given disorder doesn't mean it's a cause of that disorder. The genetics of psychiatric conditions are very complex, in that they interact with a person's environment and their experiences. Additionally, the genes tied to disorders can also be tied to traits like creativity or intelligence — it's not as if there's a "depression gene" or "PTSD gene" that does only one thing.

Read the full story here.

Tanning beds uniquely harmful to skin

Tanning beds are especially harmful to skin, a new study in the journal Science Advances suggests.

The study analyzed the medical records of around 32,000 patients who had visited a dermatology clinic at Northwestern University. Of these, more than 7,000 reported using tanning beds.

The team looked at a subset of the tanners and compared them with folks who did not use tanning beds. After controlling for various factors, such as risk factors for the deadly skin cancer melanoma, the team found that using tanning beds multiplied the odds of developing melanoma by a factor of 2.85. There was also a subtle-sign of causality — a "dose-response" relationship whereby more tanning led to higher risk.

They also took biopsies from 11 of the tanning bed users in the study, who went to a "high risk" skin cancer clinic, as well as from six cadavers, who presumably had normal risk of skin cancer. They then looked for molecular signs of DNA damage in the skin. They compared those against data from a vast database of people, known as the U.K. biobank.

Tanning seemed to induce unique signatures of DNA damage that were somewhat different from those due to general sunlight exposure. And tanning beds exposed more of the skin to UV light, as well as exposing skin not typically exposed to high levels (presumably because people tan their whole body in such beds, versus wearing coverups or swimsuits outdoors).

Young people who tanned frequently also had more mutations in their skin than people who were twice their age, the study found.

"We found that tanning bed users in their 30s and 40s had even more mutations than people in the general population who were in their 70s and 80s," study co-author Bishal Tandukar, a postdoc of dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco, said in a statement. "In other words, the skin of tanning bed users appeared decades older at the genetic level."

Levee fails near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

A levee has been breached near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, prompting the National Weather Service in Seattle to issue a flash flood warning for the populated area of about 46,000 people.

The Green River breach happened in the city of Tukwila, which is around 11 miles (17 kilometers) south of Seattle. The area also has one hospital and two schools.

"Leave immediately if you are in this area," Washington Governor Bob Ferguson stated, according to mynorthwest.com. "Conditions are dangerous and access routes may be lost at any time … Do not drive or walk through standing or moving water. Turn around, don't drown. Do not drive around barricades or road closures."

Atmospheric rivers have pummeled the areas around Seattle for the past week and into this one, stranding people on the roofs of their cars and houses. In the Pacific Northwest, atmospheric rivers "are long, narrow storm systems that cross the Pacific Ocean," KUOW environment reporter John Ryan reported. "They funnel moisture up from the subtropics, hence their local nickname the Pineapple Express, and they're perfectly normal this time of year and how the Northwest gets a lot of its winter precipitation. But the bigger atmospheric rivers, they do cause flooding."

While it's unclear if climate change is driving the current atmospheric rivers, studies have found that a "hotter climate will mean more frequent atmospheric rivers and rivers that last longer and deliver more rain," Ryan said. "And that's because, really simply, that warmer air can hold more water, and then it can unleash more of that water when it's time to rain, and that's expected to drive more flooding. And as the climate warms, we'll also be expecting more precipitation in our winters coming as rain instead of snow. And snow, of course, melts slowly over months, but rain can run off instantly and cause big flooding."

I'm from Seattle, so I've been keeping an eye on the horrific flooding that's been happening in the region. I've seen videos of a house being swept away in fast currents, the famous Snoqualmie Falls bursting at its seams, elk swimming across a flooded field by a middle school, and people kayaking along waterways that were once streets. It's heart wrenching to see, and I'm hoping everyone in the region is staying as safe as they can.

3I/ATLAS glows red in new X-ray image

The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is cruising toward its closest approach to Earth this week (Dec. 19), and the planet's science agencies are observing it with everything they’ve got.

Images released last week by the Gemini North observatory in Hawaii show the comet taking on a brighter, greener hue after being warmed up by the sun, causing it to leak clouds of green-glowing diatomic carbon gas. Now, the latest 3I/ATLAS image from the European Space Agency (ESA) shows the familiar comet in a new light: red X-rays.

Taken with the XMM-Newton satellite, the images show high-energy X-ray emissions surrounding the comet, with darker blue regions of space behind it. These emissions are the result of charged solar radiation slamming into the comet's coma — the thin atmosphere of gas that surrounds the comet's main body and feeds its tail.

Studying these emissions should help scientists better understand what the comet is made of, with gases like hydrogen and nitrogen being especially easy to detect with X-ray telescopes, according to ESA.

The images were taken when the comet was roughly 175 million miles (282 million km) from the spacecraft, which is about as close as 3I/ATLAS will get to Earth this week. In addition to ESA and NASA, dozens of observatories around the world are watching the comet in cooperation with the U.N.'s International Asteroid Warning Network, which tracks transient near-Earth objects.

Stay tuned for more images this week.

30 models of the universe are wrong

Thirty different cosmological models have been ruled out thanks to years of data from Chile's Atacama Cosmology Telescope, which winked on in 2007 and shut down in 2022. The telescope’s final data release hints that theoretical physicists may need to go back to the drawing board to explain the Hubble tension, or the fact that the universe seems to be expanding at different rates depending on how you measure it, Live Science contributor and astrophysicist Paul Sutter reports.

To learn more about why the data is so powerful, and why so many models of the universe keep failing, read the full story here.

Thirty different cosmological models have been ruled out thanks to years of data from Chile's Atacama Cosmology Telescope, which winked on in 2007 and shut down in 2022. The telescope’s final data release hints that theoretical physicists may need to go back to the drawing board to explain the Hubble tension, or the fact that the universe seems to be expanding at different rates depending on how you measure it, Live Science contributor and astrophysicist Paul Sutter reports.

To learn more about why the data is so powerful, and why so many models of the universe keep failing, read the full story here.

Going out with a (big) bang

The U.S. team is signing off for the evening, but the U.K team will be back with new science tomorrow.

In honor of all those failed cosmological models, we'll leave you with this enlightening joke:

How many astronomers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Zero. They use standard candles!

I'll let myself out.

Wake up, new 3I/ATLAS preprint just dropped

Good morning, science fans! Patrick here to kick off the day's science news blog coverage. I want to start with new comet 3I/ATLAS research.

Astronomers have detected a "wobbling high-latitude jet" in everyone's favorite interstellar object, according to a preprint paper, which appeared on arXiv today.

This is the first time scientists have detected a spinning jet on an interstellar comet, and it may indicate that the comet's nucleus is rotating rapidly as it moves through space.

Researchers observed the comet from the Teide Observatory on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Their letter, and findings, have been accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Comet 3I/ATLAS will make its closest approach to Earth on Friday, so stay tuned.

Bury Rex with his favorite dagger

Stone Age fishers buried a dog next to a dagger in a Swedish lake bed, staff writer Kristina reports.

Archaeologists are investigating the mysterious 5,000-year-old burial, which may represent a previously unknown ritual.

The burial was uncovered during a high-speed railway construction project about 22 miles (35 kilometers) southwest of Stockholm. Today, the lake is a swampy bog, but during the Stone Age, it was clear and filled with fish.

You can read the full story here.

Gigantic sinkholes in Turkey

Almost 700 sinkholes have opened up in Turkey due to extreme drought and groundwater extraction.

Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority found 684 sinkholes in the country's wheat-growing region of Konya Plain as part of a recent sinkhole assessment, AccuWeather reports.

The sinkholes began appearing in the 2000s, but this year has seen the emergence of more than 20 new, large sinkholes. Some of the holes are hundreds of feet wide and more than 100 feet (30 meters) deep.

Live Science news roundup

Here are some of the best Live Science stories from yesterday and this morning that we haven't covered on the blog:

• Deep snow blanket transforms Yellowstone Lake into a giant white void — Earth from space
• Fingerprint of ancient seaborne raider found on Scandinavia's oldest plank boat
• Record-breaking feat means information lasts 15 times longer in new kind of quantum processor than those used by Google and IBM

Down to Earth with a bump

The likelihood of Earth’s satellites causing a massive orbital pile-up are increasing dramatically, a new preprint study warns, with the estimated time it takes for a catastrophic space collision to occur among unsupervised satellites dropping from 121 days in 2018 to just 2.8 days today.

And one satellite crash can quickly lead to others, causing a chain reaction of debris called Kessler syndrome, which was popularly depicted in the 2013 film "Gravity."

Although a cascade of this kind has yet to happen, scientists are increasingly concerned that the growing number of satellite megaconstellations and space junk is making it more likely. Currently, the Department of Defense tracks the 30,000 largest debris pieces, but there are many more that are too small to be followed, according to NASA.

'The birth dose was a safety net': Expert reacts to new vaccine guidance

In early December, a committee that steers federal vaccine policy rolled back a universal recommendation for newborns to receive their first dose of hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth. Now, the committee instead says that children of mothers who test negative for the virus get the vaccine at 2 months old.

In a new opinion for CIDRAP, infectious diseases specialist Dr. Jake Scott lays out exactly why that's a bad idea.

"The committee's decision assumes prenatal screening reliably identifies at-risk infants," Scott writes. "It does not."

There are many known gaps in hep B screening: 14% of pregnant people are never tested for the virus; people can become newly infected after a negative test; and babies can be exposed by others even if their mothers test negative. The examples go on, but universal newborn vaccination sidestepped all these vulnerabilities, Scott says.

"The birth dose was a safety net. Safety nets exist for patients the system fails to catch," he continues. "That is who will pay for this decision."

Hepatitis B has no cure, and when the virus is contracted in infancy or early childhood, it turns into a chronic infection about 90% of the time, Scott explains. That chronic infection can lead to liver scarring (cirrhosis) and liver cancer, which ultimately leads to early death in up to 1 in 4 people who catch the virus as babies.

Following the vaccine committee's vote, "modeling estimates project 1,400 additional chronic pediatric hepatitis B infections per year, approximately 300 additional cases of liver cancer, and 480 preventable deaths over the lifetimes of these children — along with more than $222 million in excess annual health care costs," Scott said.

Read the full opinion here.

Glaciers reach peak extinction rate

We’ve written our fair share of stories on climate tipping points and glacial retreat, but this one managed to catch even us by surprise.

A new study published in Nature Climate Change has revealed that the peak rate of glacial extinction is much closer than we first thought — arriving in the European Alps by 2033 and the U.S. and Canada by 2040. This maximum rate of loss is then expected to plateau until 2060, causing 80% of the world’s glaciers to disappear before the end of the century.

That’s terrible news for settlements both in the mountains and near sea level, but it will also have wider impacts on climate patterns and ocean currents the world over.

The solution? You guessed it, rapid and deep cuts to fossil fuel emissions, which could stem annual glacier losses to a peak of roughly 2,000 a year in 2040, followed by a decline.

Signing off

That's all from us on the U.K. side, but stick with our North American colleagues for more updates. And why not a satellite joke before we go?

Actually, nevermind, those never land.

Polar bears evolving

There's a small bit of good news for polar bears, those perennially beleaguered poster children for the impacts of climate change.

It seems that the adorable, iconic bears may be rewriting their own DNA in order to survive melting sea ice.

To learn more about how polar bears are evolving in response to diminished ice cover, read the full story, by Live Science contributor Sarah Wild.

Why heart attack outcomes are worse during the day

Heart attacks cause more extensive damage when they happen during the day than when they occur at night — and the reasons for that are still being unraveled.

Live Science contributor Zunnash Khan just covered a new mouse study that starts to reveal the role of the immune system in this pattern. It turns out that immune cells called neutrophils, which become more active during the day, contribute to the inflammation and knock-on damage seen with daytime heart attacks. The study authors found several ways to shift these neutrophils into "night mode," and by doing so, they were able to reduce heart attack damage in mouse models.

That raises the possibility that there could be a way to replicate these results in humans and thus innovate new and better heart attack treatments.

Read the story here.

Did Webb spot the oldest supernova?

In March 2025, a mysterious, high-energy explosion came blazing out of the early universe. Within days of the blast’s detection, the James Webb Space Telescope zoomed in on the event to probe its origins.

Now, new research hints that the blast may have been triggered by the earliest known supernova in the universe. Just how ancient and distant was it? Live Science contributor Shreejaya Karantha has the story.

The most dangerous dams in the U.S.

New satellite imagery reveals that dams in the U.S. are in worse shape than we thought: The first ever national survey reveals that 2,500 of the 16,700 dams in the country are in poor condition — and many of the most imperiled dams are poised to destroy socially vulnerable communities, former Live Science intern Sierra Bouchér wrote for the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

The results will be presented at the AGU annual meeting in New Orleans on Wednesday (Dec. 17).

The study utilized radar data from the Sentinel-1 satellite, along with structural data and flood hazard maps to estimate how extensively different dams had sunk over a 10-year period, and what danger they posed to nearby communities.

Most dams in the country were built during a boom in the 1950s and 1960s, making the average one decades old. And many were in worse condition than previously thought, according to the research.

Climate change adds extra stress to these aging levees by increasing extreme weather, heavy rainfall and flash flooding events, pushing many of these dams to their limits.

Just yesterday (Dec. 15), the Green River levee was breached, raising the specter of flash flooding in Tukwila, south of Seattle, Washington. In 2017, heavy rainfall caused severe damage to the Oroville Dam spillway in Northern California, forcing evacuations downstream.

The U.S. has so far avoided a catastrophic hydropower dam failure, but if one were to break, it would be "a disaster,” study author Mohammad Khorrami, a geoscientist at Virginia Tech said in the AGU statement. "Some of the dams actually serve as a sub-buffer for water that's used for agriculture and for electricity production. Those dams can create a ripple effect if they fail that can impact the national economy."

Still, that doesn't mean disaster is inevitable. Many of the dams are in poor condition due to deferred maintenance, Khorrami noted. Investing in the infrastructure now could thus head off future catastrophes.

Of course, with massive cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) preparedness budget, it's unclear how many local authorities will choose to shore up their aging infrastructure.

Goodnight!

The U.S. team is heading out for the evening but the U.K. folks will be back online in the A.M.

I'll leave you with this well-known math joke:

Q. What's the difference between a doughnut and a coffee cup?

A. Nothing (if you're a topologist)

Blast off!

Good morning, science fans! Patrick here with more science news. I'm launching today's blog coverage with, rather appropriately, a launch.

Europe's Ariane 6 rocket blasted off into space this morning, carrying two more satellites for the Galileo satellite navigation programme. You can watch the full launch by clicking on the video above.

Ariane 6 is a heavy-lift launcher designed to carry heavy payloads. The pair of satellites it took to space today will join 26 other active satellites and act as spares to "improve the robustness" of the Galileo satellite navigation system, which serves five billion smartphone users worldwide, according to the European Space Agency.

The rocket left Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana at 2:01 a.m. local time (12:01 a.m. EST), Space.com reported.

Bear with us

Bears living around villages in the mountains of Italy have evolved to be smaller and less aggressive.

In a Molecular Biology and Evolution study published Monday, researchers detailed how human activity influenced selection pressures on the genes of central Italy's Apennine brown bears.

The Apennine bear population is small, lives in close proximity to humans, and has been isolated from other brown bears since Roman times.

As a result of their isolation, the researchers say that the bears have several unique characteristics that distinguish them from other brown bears, including the smaller bodies and less aggressive personalities.

The researchers think that the bears' behavior-related genes were influenced by humans removing (killing) more aggressive bears until the population as a whole became less aggressive on average.

Of course, they're still bears, so if you visit the region, please don't try to pet one.

Live Science news roundup

Here are some of the best Live Science stories from yesterday that we haven't covered on the blog:

• Ancient burrowing bees made their nests in the tooth cavities and vertebrae of dead rodents, scientists discover
• City-size 'cosmic butterfly' carved into Mars' surface contains traces of ancient water
• Brain scans reveal 'dial' that helps keep us from getting lost

Come in, MAVEN

Last week, we wrote about NASA losing contact with its Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft. Well, things aren't looking good for the probe, Live Science's sister site Space.com reports.

On Monday, NASA announced that efforts to reestablish contact with the spacecraft had been unsuccessful thus far.

MAVEN has been orbiting Mars for more than a decade, collecting data on the Martian atmosphere and acting as a communications relay station for Mars rovers.

The orbiter appeared to be working fine before traveling around the far side of the Red Planet earlier this month, but couldn't be reached when it reemerged on Dec. 9. NASA did recover a fragment of MAVEN's tracking data from Dec. 6, but it wasn't comforting.

"Analysis of that signal suggests that the MAVEN spacecraft was rotating in an unexpected manner when it emerged from behind Mars," Erin Morton, a NASA spokesperson, wrote in the Monday update. "Further, the frequency of the tracking signal suggests MAVEN’s orbit trajectory may have changed."

Stay tuned for any further MAVEN updates.

Bad vibes

Digital privacy experts have flagged a new, and incredibly icky, frontier for data snooping — app-connected sex toys, Wired reports.

The encroachment of data collection has been a steady ratchet in recent years, but now this spying is taking place in even the most intimate areas of our personal lives, with companies using sex toys to collect sexual behavior data, usage frequency, intensity settings, partner connections, location data, and IP addresses.

Some of the companies spoken to by Wired claim these are for marketing purposes, enabling them to sell better toys to users in future. Yet with policies being less than clear on just how this data is kept and protected, it places an onerous burden on consumers to guard their digital privacy.

Check out the full story here.

Icequakes at the Doomsday glacier

A researcher has detected hundreds of glacial earthquakes reverberating from Antarctica's "Doomsday glacier", giving scientists a new window to study the potential instability of the glacier.

The Doomsday Glacier, more formally known as The Thwaites Glacier, earned its cheerful nickname because of the increasingly unstable Florida-sized chunk of ice's potential to raise sea global levels by as much as 3 feet (10 meters) — a tipping point it appears to be steadily edging toward.

That makes studying the newly-detected earthquakes (360 of which were detected between 2010 and 2023 and whose exact cause is unknown) vital work in sizing up the glacier's future prospects, Thanh-Son Pham, the seismologist who found the quake signals, writes.

Check out his article in The Conversation here.

Climate change has already made us poorer

When we write about climate change, it’s usually in the form of gloomy scientific predictions on its detrimental effects in the near future.

But greenhouse gas emissions are already hitting Americans in the wallet today, reducing U.S. income by an estimated 12%, a new study claims. And that’s purely from temperature shifts leading to more warm days, without factoring in the untold damage from extreme weather events.

Earth-like planets could be way more common

Following that string of gloomy climate posts, you may be tempted to hop on a spaceship and go looking for an unruined planet.

Well, there’s good news on that front at least — Earth-like planets could be far more common than first thought.

For rocky planets like our own to form, they need to take material from nearby stellar explosions, or supernovas. But that raises a tricky question: How did our solar system get its material from supernovas without being blown up?

Scientists initially believed this could make planets like Earth rare cosmic flukes, but another team has an answer that could resolve the paradox. Check out the story by 404 Media for more.

Anglo-Saxon gold diggers

Two metal detectorists in England have stumbled on a cache of five Anglo-Saxon jewels from the seventh century.

But the gold-and-garnet accessories were not part of a high-status burial, which surprised archaeologists. In a new study, archaeologist Lisa Brundle details the jewels and offers explanations for why these antique pendants ended up together.

Read my full report here.

'Jekyll and Hyde' galaxy

Last week, I told you that NASA's James Webb Space Telescope had detected a supermassive black hole hiding in an ancient "Jekyll and Hyde" galaxy.

The galaxy, dubbed Virgil, looks like an ordinary star-forming galaxy when observed in optical wavelengths, but when viewed in infrared, transforms to reveal a monster black hole in its core.

I've now written a news story about the discovery, which suggests that our universe's most extreme objects could be invisible unless observed in infrared wavelengths.

Read the full story here.

Goodbye for now

That's us on the UK side signing off for tonight, but keep checking back for more updates from our colleagues across the pond!

Secrets of spider 'demon' lurking on Jupiter

In a fun new story, Live Science senior writer Harry Baker has shed light on an enduring solar system mystery: What created the "spiders" that appeared on Jupiter during the 1998 Europa mission.

Initial theories suggested they were cracks formed by the gas giant's extreme gravity, or hydrothermal vent eruptions. It turns out, neither of those theories was quite right, and the answer was a much more Earthly explanation.

So what exactly was this arachnid "demon"? Read the full story to find out.

Pumas are feasting on penguins in Patagonia

Pumas are acting strangely at a national park in Patagonia, Argentina. Back in the 20th century, sheep farmers forced out pumas. But after a national park was established in 2004, the pumas began coming back — and they were hungry.

The pumas set their sights on a colony of roughly 40,000 Magellanic penguins that had settled in while the big cats were away. (Probably a nasty shock for the penguins.)

But now, a new study finds that the pumas that are eating these penguins are showing an unusual behavior.

Live Science contributor Skyler Ware covered the finding — you can read it here.

Into the "twilight zone"

Have you ever wondered what it takes to dive into the ocean's enigmatic "twilight zone," around 130 to 490 feet (39 to 149 meters) underwater?

In a new feature, National Geographic contributor Annie Roth recounts a recent dive made by brave "aquanauts" specially trained to explore these depths. Their mission took them to Blue Hole, an underwater sinkhole off Guam, where they were tasked with retrieving autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) that had been placed there 8 years prior. By now, those ARMS are teeming with sealife, including species never-before-seen by humans, the team discovered.

Read more at National Geographic.

An ancient Egyptian temple revealed

Archaeologists working in a valley in Egypt have excavated a massive, 4,500-year-old temple dedicated to the sun god Ra. Even more intriguing, it's connected to another, "high" temple. Interestingly, ancient people used to float up to the valley temple by boat, before walking up a large ramp to the higher temple.

Live Science contributor Owen Jarus has more details on what was found at the site — and what the site became after the temple was no longer used.

Over and out

The U.S. team's day is over, but look out for new science updates from the U.K. folks first thing in the morning.

We'll leave you with this joke from Beano:

Why don't you ever see penguins in Great Britain?
Because they're scared of Wales!

Comet 3I/ATLAS incoming

Good morning, science fans! Patrick here to kick off a special comet edition of the science news blog coverage.

The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is zipping past Earth tonight, making its closest approach in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

Today's live blog will serve as a countdown to the exciting celestial event. We're going to tell you everything you need to know about comet 3I/ATLAS and why astronomers are so interested in this rare, interstellar interloper.

What is comet 3I/ATLAS?

Comet 3I/ATLAS is a rare interstellar object from outside of our solar system. It's only the third interstellar visitor ever detected and could be the oldest comet ever seen.

The comet was first discovered in July, when it was seen hurtling past Jupiter at around 221,000 kilometers per hour (137,000 miles per hour). Having reached the closest point to our sun (perihelion) at the end of October, 3I/ATLAS is now making its way out of our solar system.

Researchers aren't yet certain of 3I/ATLAS's size, but Hubble Space Telescope observations suggest that it's somewhere between 1,400 feet (440 meters) and 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) wide.

Comet 3I/ATLAS roundup

We've written a lot of stories about comet 3I/ATLAS. Here's a small selection of our coverage:

• The UN's International Asteroid Warning Network is closely watching comet 3I/ATLAS. Here's why.
• Comet 3I/ATLAS is getting greener and brighter as it approaches Earth, new images reveal
• Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is erupting in 'ice volcanoes', new images suggest
• How dangerous are interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS?

What time will the comet pass Earth?

Comet 3I/ATLAS is expected to make its closest approach to Earth at 01:01 a.m. EST (06:01 U.T.), according to data from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

And how close will it get?

The comet will get within about 168 million miles (270 million kilometers, or 1.8 astronomical units) of Earth, according to NASA.

This is relatively close when you consider the vastness of space, but not all that close. For context, the sun is 1 astronomical unit away, so the comet will be almost twice as far as the sun.

There's no danger that the comet will collide with Earth.

Where did comet 3I/ATLAS come from?

Comet 3I/ATLAS came from somewhere beyond our solar system, but we can't be much more specific than that.

Astronomers don't know which star system forged comet 3I/ATLAS. Given its speed, the comet has likely travelled a very long way and could be more than 7 billion years old.

Deciphering the comet's true origins may be beyond scientists' reach, particularly as billions of years of exposure to cosmic rays has transformed its exterior to the point that it no longer resembles the conditions in which it formed.

3I/ATLAS image gallery

Hubble captured this image of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on July 21, 2025, when the comet was 277 million miles from Earth. Hubble shows that the comet has a teardrop-shaped cocoon of dust coming off its solid, icy nucleus.

Satoru Murata, a New Mexico-based photographer, snapped this photo of Comet 3I/ATLAS on Nov. 16. The comet shows off its long tail and secondary anti-tail as a distant galaxy appears in the background.

In this image, comet 3I/ATLAS appears to have spiral jets shooting off its surface, which the authors of a preprint interpret as erupting "ice volcanoes."

A selection of images of the comet taken by various NASA spacecraft, and released during a much anticipated news conference last month.

So why are all these comet images so blurry?

Given the interest and speculation surrounding the comet in the press and on social media, you’d be forgiven for wanting some slightly crisper images of the interstellar visitor.

But alas, we’re going to have to disappoint: There’s simply no way to take clear images of a chunk of dirty ice that's just several miles across, zooming past Earth at a speed of 130,000 mph (210,000 km/h) and more than twice the distance between us and the sun.

That means that while many of these images are giving scientists a lot of new insights into the comet’s behavior, they’re hardly the most photogenic.

Why are scientists excited about the comet?

It's not every day that researchers get to observe an interstellar comet. Comet 3I/ATLAS is only the third interstellar object ever recorded. Its discovery follows those of the cigar-shaped 1I/'Oumuamua comet in 2017 and the pristine 2I/Borisov comet in 2019.

Each new comet from beyond our solar system is offering researchers a rare opportunity to learn more about conditions beyond our solar system, their chemistry, and their suitability for life.

So far, each interstellar visitor has displayed some differing characteristics, suggesting that there could be a variety of comet and planet-forming environments in the universe. Comet 3I/ATLAS has several intriguing properties, including its large size and unique chemical composition.

There has been some frenzied speculation that 3I/ATLAS could be an alien probe, which has elevated it to the status of celebrity comet. Yet 3I/ATLAS is almost certainly a natural object, which is unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on your perspective, personally I’ve had a busy enough year).

Okay, are you sure it’s not actually aliens?

If you want the short answer: Yes, most scientists are almost certain that 3I/ATLAS is not a probe, a spaceship, or really anything but a comet from an unknown star system.

One notable exception is Harvard University astrophysicist Avi Loeb, who has been giving interviews, writing blog posts and has co-authored a preprint about the possibility that comet 3I/ATLAS might be an alien spacecraft.

Loeb's assertions have drawn strong criticism from astronomers, especially as this isn't the first time he's made similar claims: Loeb also stated that 2017’s 'Oumuamua was alien technology, and that a meteor that struck Earth in 2014 left alien spherules at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Of course, there are plenty of people who believe, want to believe, or might find it very profitable to tell others that aliens are among us — or soon will be. For these people, comet 3I/ATLAS is an opportunity to start talking about their favourite subject. And hey, aliens are a fun thing to speculate about.

In the case of 3I/ATLAS, the alien speculation wasn't helped by the U.S. government shutdown, which ran from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12. This meant that NASA was silent and delayed releasing images while comet 3I/ATLAS flew behind the far side of the sun, reaching its closest point to the sun (perihelion) on Oct. 29.

Shortly after the shutdown ended, NASA shared its unreleased 3I/ATLAS images and came out swinging against what the space agency's Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya described, very understatedly, as "the rumors."

"This object is a comet," Kshatriya said in a stream on Nov. 19. "It looks and behaves like a comet… and all evidence points to it being a comet. But this one came from outside the solar system, which makes it fascinating, exciting and scientifically very important."

As we've said before, comet 3I/ATLAS having natural origins shouldn't detract from what is a remarkable story. This object is only the third interstellar comet ever recorded,potentially the oldest comet ever seen, and the most massive of its kind.

A tail as old as time

Despite what it seems, the alien speculation swirling around comet 3I/ATLAS is hardly new behavior. Historically speaking, humans have been dependably far from normal when confronted by comets — taking them to be portents of plague, war or societal collapse.

For example, in 44 B.C. a comet that appeared in the sky after Julius Caesar’s murder was interpreted by his son, Octavian, as a sign the slain statesman had ascended to godhood, making it a powerful propaganda tool in Octavian's successful bid to become the first Roman emperor.

Similarly, the appearance of Halley’s Comet in 1066 was taken by the Normans as a big cosmic thumbs up for their invasion and conquering of England, and was later depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry.

In modern times, the discovery of what comets are and what they’re made of has only altered the character of the hysteria surrounding their appearances. Another pass of Halley Comet’s in 1910 came not long after the discovery of toxic cyanogen gas in its tail, sowing widespread panic and giving swindlers the opportunity to sell anti-comet pills and umbrellas.

In 1997, the appearance of Comet Hale-Bopp saw the emergence of the Heaven’s Gate cult, whose members tragically died by mass suicide, believing that they would be beamed aboard a spaceship flying behind the comet.

Latest comet 3I/ATLAS research

The latest research concerns the detection of a "wobbling high-latitude jet."

The jet is made of dust particles and was ignited by the sublimation of volatiles as the comet approached the sun in the summer, according to the team that detected it.

This is the first time scientists have detected a jet on an interstellar comet, and it may indicate that the comet's nucleus is rotating rapidly as it moves through space. The jet also explains a sunward-pointing anti-tail observed on the comet.

Researchers observed the jet from Teide Observatory on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Their findings, first shared on Tuesday via the preprint server arXiv, have been accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Comet 3I/ATLAS livestream

A reminder that you can watch the comet zoom past in a livestream hosted by The Virtual Telescope Project, starting at 11 p.m. EST.

The Virtual Telescope Project plans to share real-time images of the comet as it makes its closest approach to Earth.

Brits away

Time for the U.K. team to sign off, so that's the end of our British cometary. Stay tuned for more 3I/ATLAS updates from our U.S. colleagues.

I'll leave you with this terrible joke that I just invented.

Why did comet 3I get lost?

It didn't have its ATLAS.

NASA's alien-hunting Clipper eyes 3I/ATLAS

The beguiling interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS will reach its closest point to Earth overnight tonight (Dec. 18-19) when it will swoop within about 168 million miles (270 million kilometers) of our planet. But the latest image release from NASA — taken with the Europa Clipper spacecraft — cuts the distance to 3I/ATLAS by a third.

Snapped on Nov. 6 from a distance of about 102 million miles (164 million km), the new image is the result of seven hours of observations with the spacecraft's Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph (Europa-UVS) instrument.

Clipper is currently on its way to Jupiter, where it will scour the icy moon Europa for signs of life. To find out what it could teach us about 3I/ATLAS in the meantime, read my full story here.

How to see 3I/ATLAS tonight

Do you want to see comet 3I/ATLAS at its closest point to Earth?

Skywatching reporter Jamie Carter has you covered. In his latest article, he runs down the best way to catch the interstellar comet through a backyard telescope or good pair of binoculars.

And if, like me, you don't have the optical tech to see the comet in person, you can also catch a free online webcast tonight. Find all the details in Jamie's article here.

ATLAS, our comet’s swung around

Good morning, science fans! We’re kicking off the blog this morning with a goodbye to comet 3I/ATLAS, which reached its closest point to Earth last night and is now slowly leaving our solar system.

However, while it may be goodbye, it’s not yet farewell — the comet will make a long exit, crossing Jupiter’s orbit in 2026 and Pluto’s in 2029. That should give astronomers plenty of time to mine the ice chunk for observations; and for anyone else to claim its aliens, over and over again.

Patrick’s busy working on the story, which we’ll drop here when it’s ready.

DNA evidence of Bronze Age incest

A new DNA study of people buried in southern Italy 3,700 years ago has revealed a relationship that shocked archaeologists: A teenage boy's parents were father and daughter.

This case of "extreme parental consanguinity" is the earliest — and only — example of this type of union that archaeologists have ever discovered.

Read more about the Bronze Age community and their relationships here.

Live Science roundup

Here are some of the best Live Science stories from yesterday and this morning that we haven't covered on the blog:

• Diarrhea and stomachaches plagued Roman soldiers stationed at Hadrian's Wall, discovery of microscopic parasites finds
• Japan trials 100-kilowatt laser weapon — it can cut through metal and drones mid-flight
• Undersea lava rubble acts as a 'sponge' for carbon dioxide, study finds

Bellyaching Roman soldiers

A new study of soil from Roman latrines at the fort of Vindolanda in the U.K. has revealed that troops stationed there in the third century A.D were likely infected with at least three different parasites.

While two of the parasites — roundworm and whipworm — have been found at other Romano-British archaeological sites, researchers discovered the first ever evidence of Giardia duodenalis — a microorganism that diarrhea sufferers know well.

Read my article on the new research here to find out what G. duodenalis tells us about life on the Roman frontier.

Is AI coming for mathematicians' jobs?

Artificial intelligence models are making steady progress in cracking increasingly difficult math problems, but will they soon eclipse humans in cracking the hardest unsolved conjectures? Or is it all just hype?

Live Science contributor Kit Yates spoke with some of the world's best mathematicians to find out.

You can check out the full story here.

Did you wave to comet 3I/ATLAS?

As Ben wrote this morning, comet 3I/ATLAS made its closest approach to Earth overnight and the interstellar visitor is now moving away from us.

However, last night was far from our last chance to see the comet. The solar system invader has a long way to travel before researchers and skywatchers lose sight of it — a good thing, too, as I was in bed when 3I/ATLAS reached its closest point to Earth.

Find out more about the comet's Earth flyby and where it's heading with my new story, available to read here.

Comet livestream, take two

Yesterday, I told you that the Virtual Telescope Project was hosting a livestream of comet 3I/ATLAS passing Earth. Well, it got called off because of rain.

The good news is that the project is trying again tonight. Scheduled for 11 p.m. EST, the livestream will feature real-time images of the comet as it heads away from Earth.

You can tune in for free on the Virtual Telescope Project's YouTube channel.

Tattooed toddlers in Nubia

Archaeologists recently studied more than 1,000 mummies from the Nubian region of the Nile Valley using multispectral imaging in search of ancient tattoos. They found 27 people with geometric-style tattoos — and a lot of them were kids with dots tattooed in a diamond shape on their forehead.

Researchers think that the tattoos may be linked to the rise of Christianity in the region, perhaps as a kind of baptism for kids as young as 18 months old. But the tattoos may also have been a kind of protection against disease.

Read my full story on this new research here.

Closing time

The U.K. team is signing off, so that's all from us Brits. Keep checking back for more science news from our U.S. colleagues.

We're putting the live blog on pause next week — the holidays and all that. As a result, you won't hear from Ben or me again this year. I hope you've enjoyed our coverage. Thank you for tuning in!

I'll leave you with this joke from a blog called The Adventures of Parson Carson.

How do you organize a space party?

You planet.

Catch a speeding comet?

Comet 3I/ATLAS is now speeding away from us, soon after its closest approach. But that doesn't mean we've necessarily seen the last of this interstellar interloper.

Senior writer Harry Baker has a fascinating Science Spotlight piece detailing the plans to catch up with this interstellar visitor — or the next one to blast through our solar system.

You can read about the pros and cons of each plan to intercept the comet in his story.

Flu season hits the US in earnest; 3 pediatric deaths reported so far

Flu season typically peaks between December and February, and the U.S. is starting to feel that seasonal uptick now, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) reports.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows that the rate of flu-like illnesses was "high" or "very high" in 14 states, as well as Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., and New York City, during the week ending on Dec. 13. This coincided with a rising rate of positive diagnostic test results for influenza. Additionally, two pediatric deaths from influenza were reported this week; one additional pediatric death was reported earlier in the season, bringing the current total to three.

It's not too late to get vaccinated for this year's flu season. It's recommended that everyone 6 months and older who hasn't yet gotten a flu shot do so now.

Read the CIDRAP story here.

Have a good weekend

The Live Science crew is signing off for the weekend. We're putting the blog on pause until next year, but keep checking the homepage for more science news.

In honor of the fast-receding 3I/ATLAS, we'll leave you with this joke.

Why does a shooting star taste better than a comet?

It's a little meteor.

It has been an exciting week in science news, with our understanding of human evolution and animal behavior taking interesting turns. But before we dip into matters on Earth, let's look to the skies and see what we've discovered in space.

A bright binary star system could soon light up with the nuclear brilliance of thousands of suns. The star system, called V Sagittae, is giving off brilliant flares before going supernova a century from now. Skywatchers are in for a treat, because the flares will be visible with the naked eye — day or night. Meanwhile, a mysterious X-ray signal from deep space may in fact be the death throes of a star getting ripped to bits by two separate black holes.

Finally, in a bit of out-of-this-world holiday news, Jupiter will be big and bright in the skies this month, making some wonder if it could have been the Star of Bethlehem described in the story of Jesus' birth. We'll never know for sure, but it's unlikely.

And closer to home, a particle detector buried deep underground in South Dakota has found no hints of elusive dark matter. The particle accelerator was searching for a type of particle theorized to make up dark matter. Scientists had spotted anomalies in prior experiments that they had theorized were due to a dark matter particle, but the new experiment effectively rules that out.

Are orcas and dolphins teaming up?

Killer whales are teaming up with dolphins on salmon hunts, study finds — but not everyone agrees

Orcas living off the coast of British Columbia have been spotted hunting with Pacific white-sided dolphins and sharing scraps of salmon with them after making a kill.

A study released this week shows the two species in this area generally showing few signs of mutual aggression and sometimes even seeking each other out, which is unusual given that orcas hunt dolphins in other locations, while some dolphins mob orcas.

The study authors claim the findings are the first documented recording of cooperative hunting and prey-sharing between orcas and dolphins. However, not all experts agree that the behavior shows these species working together. Instead, it could be a form of kleptoparasitism, in which one animal steals food that another has already hunted.

Life's Little Mysteries

What if Antony and Cleopatra had defeated Octavian?

In 30 B.C., Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII died by suicide after they were defeated by Octavian's forces in a civil war.

But what if Antony and Cleopatra had defeated Octavian, the man who became Rome's first emperor? Would they have become rulers of Rome? How would history have been different?

—If you enjoyed this, sign up for our Life's Little Mysteries newsletter

Neanderthals made fire very early

Archaeologists uncover evidence that Neanderthals made fire 400,000 years ago in England

The use of fire is often considered one of the key moments in the history of human evolution, but a new study released this week has pushed back previous estimates of when Neanderthals were first able to control it by some 350,000 years.

A naturally occurring mineral called pyrite can be found all around the world, and when struck against flint, produces fire-starting sparks. But the mineral, also known as fool's gold, is extremely rare at an archaeological site in Suffolk, England, from more than 400,000 years ago, a time when Neanderthals ruled the land but much earlier than previous evidence of fire making. Its presence at the site suggests it was intentionally brought there, probably with the aim of making fire, the researchers said in the study.

Because of the importance of controlled fire, paleoanthropologists have long debated the timing of this invention. The study's results add fuel to a larger debate about Neanderthals' control of fire and their social and cultural use of it.

Discover more archaeology news:

—1,800-year-old 'piggy banks' full of Roman-era coins unearthed in French village

—The 'hobbits' may have died out when drought forced them to compete with modern humans, new research suggests

—Lost Indigenous settlements described by Jamestown colonist John Smith finally found

Also in science news this week

—CDC panel, stuffed with vaccine skeptics, votes to end recommendation for universal newborn hepatitis B vaccination

—'It is simply too hot to handle': 2024 was Arab region's hottest year on record, first-of-its-kind climate report reveals

—New 'physics shortcut' lets laptops tackle quantum problems once reserved for supercomputers and AI

—Glue strong enough to tow a car made from used cooking oil

Beyond the headlines

New discoveries at Hadrian's Wall are changing the picture of what life was like on the border of the Roman Empire

Two millennia ago, the Roman Empire reached the limits of its power. The island of Britain marked the northernmost border of the Roman Empire and the point at which the ancient superpower's expansion came to a halt.

The Romans launched several invasions and kept 10% of the entire army in the province but failed to conquer the whole island. Instead, a militarized frontier divided the island in two — marked by the 73-mile-long (118 kilometers) Hadrian's Wall, which was the border for nearly 300 years.

One key source of information we've gleaned about this borderland is a historic fort called Vindolanda.New discoveries at Vindolanda are changing the picture of what life was like on the edge of the empire. The Roman frontier was far from a forbidding, "Game of Thrones"-like outpost in the middle of nowhere. Instead, clues point to a vibrant community that was a demographic snapshot of the entire empire. And the site is shining a light on some of the most understudied groups in Roman society.

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best polls, interviews and opinion pieces published this week.

—Earth's crust hides enough 'gold' hydrogen to power the world for tens of thousands of years, emerging research suggests [Feature]

—'Intelligence comes at a price, and for many species, the benefits just aren't worth it': A neuroscientist's take on how human intellect evolved [Book extract]

—Female chemist initially barred from research helps develop drug for remarkable-but-short-lived recovery in children with leukemia — Dec. 6, 1954 [Science history]

—#23: Distance around the edge of a circle — 6 down [Crossword]

Science in pictures

Strangely bleached rocks on Mars hint that the Red Planet was once a tropical oasis

This may look like a particularly unassuming rock, but its curious bleaching suggests that its home, Mars, may have once had wet, humid areas with heavy rainfall, similar to tropical regions on Earth.

The rock seen in this photo, taken by NASA's Perseverance rover, appears to be kaolinite, an aluminum-rich type of clay that on Earth almost always forms under very warm, steamy conditions. So how did it form on the cold and dry climate of Mars?

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

Here's the biggest science news you need to know.

• Magnitude 6.7 earthquake strikes off northeastern Japan days after the region experienced a major earthquake.
• The Geminid meteor shower peaks this weekend in what are forecast to be near-perfect skywatching conditions.
• NASA loses contact with its MAVEN orbiter on the far side of Mars.

Latest science news

Camera lost in lava fountain

Good morning, science fans! Patrick here to launch another week of our science news blog coverage.

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupted with spectacular, giant lava fountains over the weekend and consumed a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) camera.

The remotely operated camera filmed its own demise inside the Halema'uma'u crater on Saturday (Dec. 6) as a wall of volcanic debris approached and knocked it offline.

Kilauea volcano is one of the world's most active volcanoes and has erupted almost continuously on Hawaii's Big Island for more than 30 years.

The latest activity marked the 38th episode of the Kilauea summit's eruption cycle, which began on Dec. 23, 2024. We've seen plenty of lava fountains before, but the USGS's cameras are rarely this close to the action.

'Hobbit' extinction

A drought may have doomed the small ancient human species Homo floresiensis, nicknamed "the hobbit," Live Science contributor Owen Jarus reports.

New research suggests that declining rainfall could have reduced the population of Stegodon (extinct elephant relatives) that H. floresiensis relied on for food, and, in turn, forced the Hobbit to compete with modern humans (us).

H. floresiensis lived in Indonesia from at least 100,000 years ago until about 50,000 years ago. Researchers still have a lot to learn about these enigmatic ancient humans, the remains of which have only ever been found in one cave, and it remains uncertain whether they interacted with us.

Species typically go extinct for multiple reasons. In the case of H. floresiensis, a volcanic eruption may have also been a significant factor in their demise.

Read the full story here.

Live Science news roundup

Here are some of the best Live Science stories from the weekend:

• Lost Indigenous settlements described by Jamestown colonist John Smith finally found
• Strangely bleached rocks on Mars hint that the Red Planet was once a tropical oasis
• 1,800-year-old 'piggy banks' full of Roman-era coins unearthed in French village
• New NASA, ESA images show 3I/ATLAS getting active ahead of its close encounter with Earth

Japan hit by major earthquake

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake has hit off the northeastern coast of Japan's main island, Honshu. The earthquake struck at 11:15 p.m. local time (9:15 a.m. EST).

The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued tsunami warnings in three regions: the central part of the Pacific Coast of Hokkaido region, the Pacific Coast of Aomori Prefecture and Iwate Prefecture. The expected maximum tsunami height is between 3.2 and 9.8 feet (1 and 3 meters).

The earthquake was most intense in Hachinohe City where there was a seismic intensity of 6+ — such intensity means it is "impossible to remain standing or to move without crawling," according to the Japan Meteorological Agency's explanation of seismic intensity.

The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center tweeted at 9:32 a.m. EST that a tsunami was not expected in California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia or Alaska.

Rare sacrificial complex found in Russia

Russian archaeologists recently discovered a collection of hundreds of horse bridle bits and bronze beads near the burial mounds of high-status nomads from the fourth century B.C.

While the artifacts themselves are not exactly surprising — after all, these nomadic peoples relied on horses for travel — their collection as a kind of "sacrifice" is unusual.

To learn more about this discovery, which oddly included a gold plaque depicting a tiger, check out my coverage here.

Look out for Northern Lights

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a strong G3 geomagnetic storm watch for tomorrow (Dec. 9), with the potential for visible auroras over many U.S. states from the lower Midwest to Oregon.

The aurora forecast comes as multiple blasts of plasma, or coronal mass ejections (CMEs), hurtle toward Earth from the sun. CMEs have the potential to clash with Earth's magnetic field and trigger geomagnetic storms.

Tomorrow's strong geomagnetic storm forecast is associated with the eruption of a solar flare on Saturday. The resulting CME is predicted to arrive at midday tomorrow.

The Space Weather Prediction Center noted that the CME could also have limited, minor effects on technological infrastructure, but this can usually be mitigated.

And tonight…

Parts of the Northern Hemisphere could see some auroras on Monday, according to Live Science's sister site Space.com.

The Space Weather Prediction Center has forecast a less intense G1 geomagnetic storm as a result of a separate CME that left the sun on Dec. 4, while the U.K.'s Met Office has the more intense G3 watch in place for tonight and tomorrow.

Our sun is very active at the moment. The Space Weather Prediction Center recorded another powerful solar flare earlier today. The X1.1-level flare triggered high-frequency radio disruptions over parts of Australia and southern Asia, according to NOAA.

Tsunami hits Japan

A tsunami has hit Japan following a magnitude 7.6 earthquake off the northeastern coast of Honshu, the country's main island, earlier today.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has recorded tsunami waves hitting Japan's eastern coastline. The precise height of the waves is unclear at this time, but most are in the 3-foot-tall (1 meter) or less category.

There are no reported deaths at this time, although there are some reports of injuries.

Japan downgrades tsunami warning

Japan has downgraded its tsunami warning to a tsunami advisory. The initial warning meant that the authorities expected a maximum tsunami height of between 3.3 feet and 9.8 feet (1 and 3 m).

However, an "advisory" level means that the expected maximum height has been reduced to 3.3 feet, in keeping with the wave heights recorded thus far.

Earthquake injuries and damage

There have been some reports of injuries and damage in Japan as a result of the magnitude 7.6 earthquake that struck off Japan's main island earlier today. However, these initial reports are limited.

Sky News reported that several people have been injured in coastal communities, but that it was unclear how many.

A hotel employee in Hachinohe City told the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, NHK, of multiple injuries. In this case, everyone involved was conscious.

Japan's Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, told reporters on Tuesday morning local time that seven injuries had been reported, according to Reuters. The government has set up a task force in response to the earthquake.

Nuclear power plants appear to be working normally, according to NHK.

This is a developing story and we expect more details to emerge over the next 24 hours.

U.K. sign off

I'm signing off on the U.K. side, but as always, there's more to come from my U.S. colleagues.

You blockhead!

In Charles Schultz's Peanuts comic strip, Lucy often calls Charlie Brown a "blockhead." Archaeologists in Mexico recently discovered another kind of blockhead — a man whose skull had been shaped as an infant into something resembling a cube.

While head-shaping (also called cranial vault modification) is a practice that people around the world and through time have done to their kids, this particular shape was a surprise to researchers, who'd never seen it in that area of Mexico before.

For more information on the skull and the man it belonged to over a millennium ago, check out my coverage here.

Dark matter hunt fails — and scientists are excited

A Herculean effort to search for dark matter has found no evidence for the elusive substance. That's the takeaway from a gigantic particle detector located a mile underground in South Dakota.

The 417-day-long experiment, known as LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ), looked at the light signatures released as particles collide with xenon atoms in a giant vat, which is placed deep underground so that most particles from space cannot muddy the results.

Dark matter, which emits no light yet exerts gravitational force, is thought to make up most of the universe. And the new findings tightly constrain the properties of one the leading candidates for dark matter.

You can read all about why scientists are actually happy about these negative results in contributor Elizabeth Howell's story here.

Watch 3 astronauts return from the ISS

Three astronauts — NASA's Jonny Kim and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky — will be making the long journey home tonight. The trio has orbited Earth together 3,920 times, traveling a mind-boggling 104 million miles (167 million kilometers) since they launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in April, according to NASA.

The trio is scheduled to leave the ISS via a Soyuz spacecraft today at 8:41 p.m. EST (0141 GMT on Dec. 9) and will land in Kazakhstan near the city of Dzhezkazgan, Live Science's sister site Space.com is reporting.

The journey is scheduled to last around 3.5-hours — a speedy trip when you consider that it takes about 6 hours to fly between New York and San Francisco on a commercial plane.

Space.com is streaming the return trip live, so you can watch the journey there.

Old oil learns a new trick

What should you do with the leftover cooking oil in your pot after dinner? Pour it down the drain and feed the growing fatberg under your town? Or maybe do what a team of chemists just did, and use it to make a super-sticky adhesive polymer with unbelievable strength.

As described in a recent study in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the researchers devised a way to break down waste oil molecules, then recombine them in a variety of ways. One recombination resulted in a super-adhesive polyester plastic.

When the team used this polyester to glue two metal plates together, they found it could hold up hundreds of pounds of weight, and even tow a car. Read all about the amazing discovery in contributor Mason Wakley's new story on Live Science.

See you later

The U.S. is signing off for the night, but check back here tomorrow for the latest science news from our U.K. team.

Japan earthquake update

Good morning, science fans. Patrick here to kick off the day's science news blog coverage.

I want to begin with an update on Japan, which was rocked by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake off the northeastern coast of Honshu, the country's main island, yesterday.

More than 30 people were injured in the earthquake, Japan Broadcasting Corporation NHK reports. However, there haven't been any reports of major damage, according to Reuters.

Japanese authorities issued a tsunami warning immediately following the quake. The initial warning meant that the authorities expected a maximum tsunami height of between 3.3 and 9.8 feet (1 and 3 meters). However, this was subsequently downgraded to an advisory before being lifted altogether.

Megaquake advisory

Japan is now on "mega-quake" alert for a week, with the Japan Meteorological Agency warning that a magnitude 8 or higher earthquake could strike over the next few days.

The northeastern region of Japan was hit by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake in 2011, the deadliest in its history, just two days after it experienced an earthquake in the magnitude 7 range.

The government, therefore, issues a mega-quake warning whenever the region is hit by a significant earthquake, according to Reuters.

However, earthquakes are notoriously unpredictable.

A Christmas star

Jupiter is shining bright in the night sky this winter, with Live Science contributor Jamie Carter drawing comparisons between it and the "Star of Bethlehem."

Does this biblical star have any astronomical origins? Find out more by reading Carter's full story here.

Auroras incoming

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center has a strong G3 geomagnetic storm watch in place for today (Dec. 9), with the potential for visible auroras over many U.S. states from the lower Midwest to Oregon.

The geomagnetic storm is associated with the eruption of a solar flare on the sun, which is thought to have sent a blast of plasma (coronal mass ejection, or CME) toward Earth.

Space weather forecasters have been expecting the CME to clash with Earth's magnetic field and trigger the geomagnetic storm, along with the potentially visible auroras.

The CME could also have limited, minor effects on technological infrastructure, but this can usually be mitigated, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center.

Kick me with your best shot

A Chinese robotics company has released a promotional video of a humanoid robot kicking its CEO boss to the floor.

In the video, EngineAI's Zhao Tongyang gears up to take a strike from the T800 robot. The robot misses its first kick, but connects cleanly with the second, knocking the CEO off his feet.

EngineAI said that the purpose of the simulated fight was to counter claims that its latest model was a CGI creation, CNN reports.

While the T800 appears to have a decent kick, it doesn't go unnoticed that Tongyang was standing still, waiting patiently for his robot to strike.

With that in mind, don't expect to see robots beating UFC fighters anytime soon.

Another climate milestone

2025 is set to tie for the second-warmest year on record, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service has announced.

As of November, this year is tied with 2023 for annual global surface temperature, but the temperature is slightly cooler than it was in 2024, the warmest year on record.

The latest data suggests that next month we'll be able to say that the last three years were the warmest on record — an ominous consequence of global warming.

Researchers measure global temperature rise above the estimated average temperature between 1850 and 1900, known as pre-industrial levels.

World leaders promised to limit this warming to preferably below 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) and well below 3.6 F (2 C) in the 2015 Paris Agreement, adopted at the United Nations' COP21 climate conference. Unfortunately, they're failing.

"For November, global temperatures were 1.54 C above pre-industrial levels, and the three-year average for 2023–2025 is on track to exceed 1.5 C for the first time," Samantha Burgess, the strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which implements the Copernicus program, said in a statement.

"These milestones are not abstract — they reflect the accelerating pace of climate change and the only way to mitigate future rising temperatures is to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Burgess added.

It's worth remembering that last month, climate deliberations at the COP30 conference in Brazil ended in an underwhelming compromise. The final text of the COP30 agreement didn't contain any clear mention of fossil fuels, which are the primary source of increased greenhouse gas emissions.

Comet 3I/ATLAS gets an X-ray

Comet 3I/ATLAS has been viewed through an X-ray space telescope for the first time, revealing an X-ray glow stretching about 250,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) around the interstellar visitor.

This is the first time researchers have been able to detect X-rays emanating from an interstellar comet.

The comet was observed as part of the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), a collaboration between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Researchers across the globe are scrambling to learn all they can about comet 3I/ATLAS before this rare interstellar visitor exits our solar system next year.

XRISM observed comet 3I/ATLAS between Nov. 26 and Nov. 28, just as the comet moved far enough away from the sun to be visible to the telescope’s instruments.

"Comets are enveloped by clouds of gas produced as sunlight heats and vaporizes their icy surfaces," XRISM representatives wrote in a statement. "When this gas interacts with the energetic stream of charged particles flowing from the Sun — the solar wind — a process called charge-exchange reaction occurs, producing characteristic X-ray emission."

The researchers described the glow in the X-ray image as a "faint emission structure" and said it was potentially the result of a diffuse cloud of gas.

However, the researchers also noted that instrumental effects such as vignetting or detector noise can create similar structures in images, so they'll have to do follow-up analysis to confirm whether the extensive emission structure belongs to the comet.

"Moving forward, the XRISM team will continue refining its data processing and analysis to further reveal the activity of this interstellar comet and the nature of its interaction with the solar wind," the representatives wrote.

Over and out

I'm signing off now with the rest of the U.K. team. As always, keep checking back for more science news from my U.S. colleagues. Patrick out.

More parents refusing the vitamin K shot for their babies

New research in JAMA finds that more parents are opting out of giving their babies a recommended vitamin K shot at birth. And that puts babies at risk, experts say.

"We know unequivocally that infants that don't receive vitamin K are at significantly higher risk of getting serious bleeding," the lead study author told Scientific American.

All newborns are recommended to receive an injection of vitamin K, a nutrient that helps the body form blood clots. Older children and adults get vitamin K from their diets and their gut microbiomes, but babies are born with very little.

The nutrient doesn't easily pass through the placenta and babies' microbiomes are too immature to make it; breast milk also contains relatively little vitamin K, and regardless, vitamin K given to babies by mouth isn't absorbed well. That means babies are vulnerable to vitamin K deficiency, which can lead to dangerous bleeding, and in turn, permanent brain damage or death.

The one-time vitamin K shot protects babies from this deficiency extremely effectively and safely. Since universal administration of the vitamin was started in 1961, the U.S. has "nearly eliminated" vitamin K deficiency bleeding. But now, our numbers are slipping.

The JAMA analysis found that, between 2017 and 2024, the rate of vitamin K shot refusal has risen nearly 80%, with the proportion of newborns not given the shot rising from 2.92% to 5.18%.

Anecdotally, I've seen my share of breathless, online influencers spreading misinformation about vitamin K shots. Their efforts are closely tied to — if not indistinguishable from — the anti-vaccine movement, despite vitamin K shots not being vaccines. Often, the influencers promote unproven alternatives to the shot, which they personally happen to sell.

But to put it plainly: when vitamin K administration goes down, the rate of babies dying goes up. The new JAMA study calls attention to that disturbing trend. You can learn more about the vitamin K shot from the American Academy of Pediatrics and their informational site, Healthy Children.

'Gold hydrogen' sufficient to power human civilization for 170,000 years

Staff writer Sascha Pare has a fascinating feature on the hunt for "gold hydrogen," or hydrogen that's naturally found in large quantities separate from natural gas.

Hydrogen could power a green economy, but the naturally occurring stuff has historically been found with natural gas, which produce greenhouse gases when burned. But a 2016 find in Mali changed our understanding of how much hydrogen is lurking in Earth's crust, and where it's likely to be found.

Read more to learn about this hydrogen "gold rush" in her Science Spotlight story here.

Ubiquitous cold virus may raise risk of bladder cancer

Cancer isn't infectious — but we now know that several types of infections do raise the risk of cancer down the line. Among the well-known microbes known to fuel cancer are HPV, the primary cause of cervical cancer; hepatitis B, which causes liver cancer; and Helicobacter pylori, which raises stomach cancer risk.

Live Science contributor Jennifer Zieba has a fascinating new piece on another cancer which may be fueled, at least in part, by past infection.

Although most of us have never heard about the virus, it is a common infection that tons of us get as kids. To learn more about the virus, and how researchers think it may raise cancer risk, read the full story here.

RFK's FDA takes aim at RSV preventative treatments

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has informed pharma executives that it will be reevaluating already-approved treatments designed to protect infants from RSV, according to exclusive reporting from Reuters.

RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) is an infection that spreads seasonally and is particularly dangerous to young children, standing as the most common cause of hospitalization in infants. Annually, 100 to 300 children under 5 die from the infection in the U.S. To drive that number down, in recent years, scientists have invented, tested and earned FDA approval for antibody-based drugs that protect infants during RSV season. These treatments have been thoroughly researched in large clinical trials and shown to be both safe and effective at lowering the risk of serious RSV that requires a doctor's appointment, ER visit or hospitalization.

The treatments are recommended to all infants under 8 months old in their first RSV season, excluding babies whose mothers got an RSV vaccine before birth. (The vaccine prompts the mother to make antibodies that get passed to the baby.) Additionally, select kids with health conditions are recommended another dose during their second RSV season.

The antibody shots are sometimes lumped into conversations and controversy surrounding vaccines, despite not being vaccines themselves. They supply the body with ready-made antibodies; they do not teach the immune system to make its own, as a vaccine would.

The FDA has informed makers of the antibody drugs that it will be asking further safety questions about the treatments, and for now, it's unclear if that reevaluation might lead to changes in the drugs' availability or approval status.

What we do know is that the pattern is reminiscent of a move made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week, in which the agency overturned established guidance about the hepatitis B vaccine with no data suggesting they should make the change — and ample data suggesting they should not. Such moves align with the stance of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who posits that the risks of many pharmaceutical products have not been properly studied and casts doubt on established science.

Learn more about the RSV antibody treatments here.

Top Martian priorities

Our top priority when humans reach Mars should be to hunt for past or present life on the Red Planet, a new report from leading U.S. scientists argues.

The report, released by the National Academy of Sciences today (Dec. 9), lays out a road map of scientific priorities for the (hopefully) coming crewed mission to Mars.

That, of course, could be years away: NASA doesn't anticipate humans reaching Mars before the 2030s. But the gears are in motion. NASA’s Artemis moon mission could launch as early as this February, after years of delays. Artemis was always planned as a stepping stone to an eventual Mars mission.

If we do make it to the Red Planet in the next decade, we should also look for evidence of CO2 and water cycles, investigate the geological history of Mars, and study the physiological and psychological effects of both spaceflight and the Martian environment on potential astronauts living there, the report says.

Lower down on the list, scientists say we should explore Mars searching for resources we could exploit for future colonies, analyze the effects of the Martian environment on DNA and its replication, and characterize microbial communities that may be brought along for the ride through the solar system. As part of the new road map, they also lay out which types of measurements and instrumentation may be required to address each of those priorities.

It's a big and somewhat daunting list, but it's hard to imagine investing the staggering amount of money and technological innovation required to reach the Martian surface if we're not going to learn as much as we can from the process.

Catch you on the flip side!

The U.S. West Coast team is heading out for the evening, but we'll leave you with this tuff question, courtesy of sciencefun.org:

What did the limestone say to the geologist?

Don't take me for granite!

Aurora no-show

Good morning, science fans! Patrick here to launch another day of our science news blog coverage.

Yesterday's northern lights forecast turned out to be a bit of a let-down for skywatchers.

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center had issued a strong G3 geomagnetic storm watch for Tuesday, which had the potential to produce visible auroras over many U.S. states from the lower Midwest to Oregon.

However, this storm was expected to be triggered by a blast of plasma from the sun (coronal mass ejection, or CME), which didn't arrive as forecast.

Live Science's sister site Space.com reports that the CME only brushed Earth or missed us altogether.

Space weather forecasters are still seeing moderate to high solar activity, but for now, aurora activity is likely to be limited.

Supernova surprise

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has identified the earliest supernova on record, according to a statement released by the space agency yesterday.

The ancient and distant supernova exploded when the universe was in its infancy at just 730 million years old. For context, the universe is thought to be around 13.8 billion years old.

JWST turned its attention to the supernova in July after an international group of telescopes detected a rare gamma-ray burst (bright flash of light) in March, according to the statement.

"Only Webb could directly show that this light is from a supernova — a collapsing massive star," Andrew Levan, an astronomer at Radboud University in the Netherlands and the University of Warwick in the U.K., said in the statement.

"This observation also demonstrates that we can use Webb to find individual stars when the universe was only 5% of its current age," Levan added.

Surprisingly, the supernova looked very similar to modern supernovae that have occurred much closer to Earth. Researchers will need to collect more data to explore why this might be the case.

Live Science news roundup

Here are some of the best Live Science stories from yesterday that we didn't cover on the blog:

• Gray hair may have evolved as a protection against cancer, study hints
• 'It is simply too hot to handle': 2024 was Arab region's hottest year on record, first-of-its-kind climate report reveals
• Rare 'sunglint' transforms Alabama River into a giant 'golden dragon' — Earth from space
• This bright star will soon die in a nuclear explosion — and could be visible in Earth's

Regrowing volcano

Bezymianny volcano blew itself apart in 1956. Now, thanks to frequent eruptions, it's almost completely regrown, Live Science contributor Stephanie Pappas reports.

Bezymianny is an active cone-shaped volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East. Last month, the volcano ejected a massive ash cloud that rose 32,800 feet (10 kilometers) into the air.

Researchers say that eruptions like this spurred the volcano to reform, and draw closer to its pre-1950s height of at least 10,213 feet (3,113 meters). The volcano is currently 9,455 feet (2,882 m), according to the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program.

Read the full story here.

Life on the wall

Hadrian's Wall in northern England marked the border of the Roman Empire for nearly 300 years. But far from a "Game of Thrones"-style wall, where isolated (and cold) soldiers pee off the end of the world, experts told Live Science the Roman frontier was actually a diverse region of danger, boredom and even opportunity. (It was definitely cold though.)

To find out more about life on the edge of the Roman world, read the full story here.

Monogamy 'league table'

What do humans, meerkats and beavers have in common? We all tend to be relatively monogamous.

Mark Dyble, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Cambridge, has unveiled a monogamy "league table" after investigating the varying levels of exclusive mating in different animals.

Humans came out with a monogamy rate of 66%, which was closer to that of meerkats (60%) and beavers (73%) than most of our primate cousins, according to the researcher's findings, published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Chimpanzees are one of our closest living relatives, yet the study highlighted that they have a more polygynandrous approach to mating. Males and females mate with multiple different partners, giving them a monogamy rate of 4%.

California deermice topped the table with a monogamy rate of 100%. This species pairs for life as part of its mating strategy. Scotland’s Soay sheep, on the other hand, were at the bottom of the table. Ewes (females) of this breed mate with several rams (males), resulting in a monogamy rate of 0.6%.

"There is a premier league of monogamy, in which humans sit comfortably, while the vast majority of other mammals take a far more promiscuous approach to mating," Dyble said in a statement.

Dyble used a computer model to calculate the scores, based on sibling data from genetic studies and known reproductive strategies. It's worth noting that a higher or lower monogamy rate doesn't mean that a species is any more or less successful. The score is merely an indicator of reproduction habits.

Of course, humans are a varied bunch, and we're well known for having a variety of different mating norms.

Neanderthal Prometheus

Researchers in England have discovered the earliest and clearest evidence of purposeful fire-making in the world, settling — for now — a long-running debate about human control of fire. And it turns out that it was Neanderthals, not humans, who invented the technology.

Archaeologists identified a series of tiny pyrite chips as the "smoking gun" of fire control at Barnham, an ancient pond site in Suffolk that was occupied more than 400,000 years ago. Neanderthals likely imported the pyrite from elsewhere in England to strike against flint, making sparks.

Read my coverage of the new study to find out why archaeologist Nick Ashton called it "the most exciting discovery in my 40-year career."

The next naked-eye supernova?

Astronomers have taken a fresh look at an infamous star system veering toward catastrophe — and found the best evidence yet that it's due for a historic supernova explosion.

The binary star system V Saggitae, located 10,000 light-years from Earth, contains a white dwarf (the smoldering core of a dead star) and a larger, still-burning companion star whipping around one another every 12 hours. The dwarf star regularly rips material off its companion, triggering frequent X-ray flashes as thermonuclear reactions erupt on the white dwarf's surface.

The new research, based on 120 days of observations, confirms that a double-whammy light show is currently in production at V Saggitae. First, we'll see a nova: a bright explosion unleashed after the white dwarf has consumed too much of its companion, and violently ejects that excess matter into space. Then, once the two stars finally collide, the main event: A supernova explosion so bright "it'll be visible from Earth even in the daytime," study co-author Pablo Rodríguez-Gil told Live Science.

When will this historic daytime supernova occur? Contributor Ivan Farkas breaks down scientists' best estimates in his new story for Live Science.

Europe gets tougher on greenhouse gas emissions

The European Union has agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040, Reuters reports.

The new, legally binding climate target aims to cut emissions from European industries by 85%. The remaining 5% will come from the purchase of foreign carbon credits. Essentially, Europe will pay developing countries to cut emissions on its behalf.

The European Parliament and E.U. country negotiators agreed on the climate deal in the early hours of this morning (Dec. 10).

The target is among the most ambitious in the world, though still not as strong as what the E.U.'s climate science advisors recommended. It's also meant to help ensure that Europe reaches its 2050 net-zero emissions pledge, according to Reuters.

The E.U. wants to become the "first climate-neutral continent," where the amount of greenhouse gas it emits into the atmosphere is offset by the amount it removes, for example, through natural and artificial carbon sinks.

Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide trap heat in the atmosphere by absorbing radiation, and thereby raise global temperatures. The consequences of global warming include weather pattern changes, sea level rise, compromised food supply, and a host of other issues that will affect the lives of billions.

Until tomorrow

The U.K. side is closing up shop for the day. But keep checking back for more science news today from my U.S. colleagues.

Here's a joke from Reader's Digest. It explains why outer space is full of space cadets.

Why couldn't the star stay focused?

He kept spacing out.

Rare side effect of COVID vaccines unraveled

Myocarditis — inflammation of the heart muscle — is a rare side effect of COVID-19 vaccines, specifically those made using mRNA technology. A new study may have pinpointed how this side effect occurs and how to potentially stop it in its tracks, STAT reported.

"I want to emphasize this is very, very rare. This study is purely to understand why," the senior study author told STAT. As mRNA medicines, especially vaccines, face scrutiny and funding cuts from the U.S. federal government, researchers must carefully navigate how to study and call attention to aspects of the technology that still need improvement without putting fuel on the fire of anti-mRNA conspiracy theories.

The new study uncovered two immune signaling proteins, called cytokines, that appear in higher quantities in the blood of vaccine recipients with myocarditis than in those who didn't experience the side effect. The heart-damaging effects of these cytokines — CXCL10 and interferon-gamma — can be blocked with antibodies and with an anti-inflammatory compound found in soybeans, the study authors found in lab-dish experiments and in mice with myocarditis.

Notably, the myocarditis side effect is most often seen in teen boys and young men. The soybean compound, which is chemically similar to estrogen, lends credence to the idea that the female sex hormone might protect against the effect, Scientific American reported.

More work is needed to translate these findings into humans and to fully understand why mRNA vaccines, specifically, sometimes trigger this chain reaction. Read more in STAT, SciAm, or in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

When did complex life evolve?

Complex life may have evolved more than 1 billion years earlier than previously thought, a new Nature study suggests.

Previously, scientists thought that the first eukaryotes, or cells that include a nucleus, cell membrane and organelles, first emerged around 2 billion years ago. The new study looked at the genomes of a wide range of organisms from across the tree of life. They used gene duplication events, in which sections of DNA are doubled, to calibrate a molecular clock.

Their estimates suggest that the first cells with nuclei emerged 2.9 billion years ago — roughly a billion years before the organisms that would give rise to mitochondria were assimilated by eukaryotes. Scientists believe that our mitochondria — cellular powerhouses that are responsible for "breathing" oxygen — evolved from primitive bacteria and were absorbed via endosymbiosis.

"The process of cumulative complexification took place over a much longer time period than previously thought," study co-author Gergely Szöllősi, Head of the Model-Based Evolutionary Genomics Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), said in a statement.

Intriguingly, the rise in mitochondria corresponds to a rise in atmospheric oxygen, during what's known as the "Great Oxidation Event." The findings suggest ancient life forms were accomplishing complex cellular functions in oceans devoid of oxygen, according to the statement. It's also more evidence that life shapes the geochemistry of the planet.

Meanwhile, primitive life has been here almost since the beginning. The planet is around 4.5 billion years old, and the last universal common ancestor of all living organisms, known as LUCA, emerged 4.2 billion years ago. And LUCA wasn't alone; there were other viruses and bacteria filling its primeval ecosystem, genetic traces suggest. That means life likely emerged even earlier than LUCA, but just didn't pass on its genes to any creatures living today.

Spaghetti for two

In 1999, astronomers saw a deep space object go haywire. Watching with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the team saw a well-known X-ray source called XID 925 suddenly brighten by nearly 30-fold, then start to fade again.

Scientists have struggled to explain the event for decades, but now — according to research accepted for publication in the journal The Innovation — there's a solution that fits the data nicely: A hapless star was shredded into stellar spaghetti by not one, but two black holes in the same region of space.

How does that all work? Physicist and Live Science contributor Paul Sutter explains in his latest story.

Sperm donor gives 200 children rare cancer mutation

A sperm donor from Denmark who fathered around 200 children passed on a rare cancer-causing mutation to many of them. Some of the children conceived with his sperm have already died.

The disturbing case of "donor 7069" was made by the EBU Investigative Journalism Network, a consortium of journalists from across Europe who do cross-border investigations.

The man, known as "Kjeld," began donating sperm as a student and continued to do so for 17 years. He carries a mutation in a gene known as TP53, which codes for the tumor suppressor protein p53. This protein works by enabling DNA repair and by preventing uncontrolled cell division, Ars Technica reported. People inherit one copy of TP53 from each parent, but inheriting a dysfunctional copy leads to Li-Fraumeni syndrome, which comes with a 90% chance of developing cancer by age 60. (As an aside, elephants, which very rarely get cancer, inherit 20 copies of TP53 from each parent.)

The man's sperm passed all the initial screenings, and rare mutations such as this are not typically screened for when it comes to sperm donation.

Many European countries have caps on how many children can be conceived from a single sperm donor, but this man's sperm was sold across 14 countries to 67 clinics, which meant those limits often didn't apply. In Denmark alone, "Kjeld" fathered at least 49 children up until 2013, despite a non-binding cap of 25 children being in place at the time, according to the EBU story.

The doctors who revealed the case are currently trying to track down all the children conceived with Kjeld's sperm and to inform them of the greater cancer risk.

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

The U.S. West Coast is heading out for some holiday festivities, but the Live Science crew will be back first thing U.K. time with fresh science news.

We'll leave you with this joke from U.K. kid's site Beano.

What do you call a fish with no eyes?

Fsh!

Killer whales team up with dolphins to hunt

Tia here with a new story from contributor Chris Simms on a pod of very intriguing orcas off the coast of British Columbia that seems to team up with dolphins to hunt salmon, underwater footage reveals.

What's even more intriguing is that the two types of cetaceans seem to share their salmon spoils. It's not clear exactly why the killer whales — who are adept at hunting Chinook salmon — feel the need to follow dolphins on hunts, and it's also not clear why the dolphins, who are hunted by orcas in other locales, aren't skittish as a result. Basically, the whole interaction is somewhat mysterious, experts told Live Science.

Whatever the case may be, it's just one more strange activity in a suite of odd, mystifying and disturbing things orcas like to do — including but not limited to wearing dead salmon as hats in a bizarre fashion trend. This mix of silly, strange, affectionate, playful and macabre behaviors is the reason that orcas are the animals I'd most love to communicate with in some future world — just to see what was going on inside those blubbery heads of theirs.

To learn why orcas and dolphins seem to be teaming up and what it tells us about killer whales, read the whole story.

Fingerpainting the dead

Archaeologists in England have discovered that the Romans took a very hands-on approach to burying some of their dead in the third and fourth centuries.

While excavating inside a sarcophagus full of hardened liquid gypsum — a kind of plaster — the archaeologists discovered fingerprints and hand marks, which meant someone had smoothed and patted down the wet plaster over the corpse. This surprised the researchers, who had assumed that the hot plaster was simply poured into the coffin before it was closed and buried.

"We discovered the handprint with fingers and were astounded," Roman archaeologist Maureen Carroll told me.

The research team now wants to try DNA analysis on the prints, to see if they can extract any biological information about the undertaker.

NASA once again discovers a scary hellscape in space

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has once again spotted a distant exoplanet that I have exactly zero interest in visiting. The ultrahot super-Earth, descriptively named TOI-561 b, is surrounded by a thick blanket of hot gas that churns above a broiling magma ocean. Fun!

TOI-561 b is located around 280 light-years from Earth in the constellation Sextans, and has a radius about 1.4 times our own planet's. It circles its sun, which is slightly smaller and cooler than our own, every 11 hours, according to a statement from NASA.

If its star is so cool, why is TOI-561 b so hot? Well, that's because the planet orbits incredibly close to its parent star — just 1/40th the distance between Mercury and the sun, the statement noted.

"TOI-561 b is distinct among ultra-short period planets in that it orbits a very old (twice as old as the Sun), iron-poor star in a region of the Milky Way known as the thick disk," study lead author Johanna Teske, staff scientist at Carnegie Science Earth and Planets Laboratory said in the statement. “It must have formed in a very different chemical environment from the planets in our own solar system.”

What's also intriguing about the planet is that it has an atmosphere at all. Planets that have been orbiting so close to their star for so long are expected not to have an atmosphere, because eons of radiation from the parent star should have blasted it away. Yet TOI-561 b is slightly cooler than it would be if it had no protective gases surrounding it. That doesn't mean the planet is habitable, though; it's still a scorching 3,200 degrees Fahrenheit (1,800 degrees Celsius).

How is this possible? The authors aren't quite sure.

"What's really exciting is that this new data set is opening up even more questions than it's answering," said Teske.

Measles outbreak in South Carolina is accelerating

Around 280 students in South Carolina are in quarantine after being exposed to measles, officials are reporting. The students come from eight schools and from the "Upstate" region. So far, 111 people have caught the highly infectious disease in the state, with no end in sight, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy reported.

“We are faced with ongoing transmission that we anticipate will go on for many more weeks,” Dr. Linda Bell, state epidemiologist for the South Carolina Department of Public Health, said during a news briefing Wednesday (Dec. 11), according to NBC News.

Around 90% of the students in Spartanburg County are vaccinated against measles — which is below the 95% threshold needed to confer "herd immunity" and prevent outbreaks, an NBC data analysis shows. Neighboring Greenwood county had a vaccination rate of 90.5%.

Some of the unvaccinated children who are currently quarantined are in their second 21-day quarantine since the school year began, according to NBC.

Measles is one of the most infectious diseases on Earth; if 10 unvaccinated people are exposed to the virus, nine will go on to develop the disease. It's also a potentially deadly virus, with 1 to 3 of every 1,000 people infected dying of it in the acute phase. It's also associated with a bevy of complications, including deafness, encephalitis, and immune amnesia.

There have been dozens of outbreaks in the U.S. this year as vaccination rates decline, and experts are warning that the country could lose its "elimination" status by next year, just as Canada lost its measles elimination status in November.

Right, again, Einstein!

Add one more point to the Einstein scoreboard: new evidence has yet again confirmed his space-and-time bending theory of relativity. The list of data points that confirm relativity is long — and growing.

This time, the data comes from Mars, where time ticks faster — by a whopping 477 microseconds each Earth day — compared to the passage of time on Earth, contributor Deepa Jain reports. That speed-up is a consequence of Mars' lighter mass in relation to Earth's, as time ticks slower when gravity is bigger.

But while the find is good news for relativity, it's potentially bad news for future Mars missions.

To learn why, read the full story here.

Sine (and cosine) out

The U.S. is signing out for the day, but the U.K. will be back online in the A.M. with frequent updates.

In the meantime, we'll leave you with this joke via Reddit:

Why didn't Joseph Fourier ever get married?

He couldn't find anyone who was on the same wavelength as him.

Please stand by

Good morning, science fans! Patrick here with an update on our science news blog coverage.

You may have noticed that we've been experiencing some technical issues overnight. Most of yesterday's posts have disappeared, and the blog seems to think it's Wednesday.

Our technical team is investigating the issue and we hope to have it resolved soon. In the meantime, I'll gather more science news for another day's coverage.

Gremlins in the system

We need to pause the blog so our team can investigate the technical issues we've been experiencing. That means we'll go quiet now until Monday.

Live Science will continue operating as normal, so keep checking the homepage for all of our latest science news. And don't forget the Geminids!

A reminder that the Geminid meteor shower peaks this weekend with up to 150 "shooting stars" per hour in excellent skywatching conditions.

The Geminids represent the most prolific meteor shower of the year. While the shower has been ongoing since Dec. 4, this weekend will be the best time to see its meteors.

Here's our guide to the 2025 Geminids meteor shower so you can catch the show yourself.

This week’s biggest science news took us to a region 140 million-light-years away, where scientists have discovered the largest spinning object in the known universe. The enormous rotating filament is wider than the Milky Way and is linked to a daisy-chain of 14 galaxies, which is how astronomers found it. The filament is whirling at around 68 miles per second (110 kilometers per second).

Closer to home, researchers looked to southern Africa, where a human population was genetically isolated for 100,000 years.

The study looked at a number of human skeletons that were up to 10,000 years old and were found south of the Limpopo River, which begins in South Africa and flows east through Mozambique to the ocean. All of the remains from people who lived more than 1,400 years ago had a dramatically different genetic makeup than modern humans. These people "form an extreme end of human genetic variation," the researchers wrote in the study.

On the other side of the world, archaeologists in China unearthed a massive pit of skulls outside the gates of a 4,000-year-old city. What puzzled archaeologists, however, was that almost all the skulls were from males — a big departure from the human sacrificial pattern found in other nearby settlements. Archaeologists were also baffled by a 2,700-year-old elaborate tomb in Greece that contained a woman wearing an upside-down crown.

In some disconcerting modern-day news, a massive ecosystem engineering project initiated in China decades ago had some unintended consequences. As part of the Great Green Wall, China initiated a major tree-planting project to stave off desertification. But while the efforts worked, they also changed rainfall and evaporation patterns across the country, leading to lower water levels in some of the most populous parts of the country, a new analysis revealed.

Speaking of deserts, the world's hottest temperature record, set in Death Valley in 1913, may have been due to human error, new research finds. And in Europe, the collapse of a key Atlantic current could lead to centuries of drought.

Our favorite interstellar visitor is erupting

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is erupting in 'ice volcanoes', new images suggest

The world has been fascinated by interstellar visitor comet 3I/ATLAS since it zoomed into our consciousness in July. Since then, we've learned tons about the cosmic interloper, which is not an alien spacecraft.

Now researchers have trained their sights on the speedy space rock using the Joan Oró Telescope at the Montsec Observatory in northeastern Spain, and paired its observations with those made by other observatories in the region. The team noticed that the comet heated up and brightened rapidly as it approached the sun, which is a clue that ice is sublimating from its surface. That would make 3I/ATLAS similar to other objects in our solar system, such as the dwarf planets that orbit beyond Neptune.

Discover more space news

— James Webb telescope spots strange 'super-puff' planet frantically chasing its own atmosphere through space

— An extra solar system planet once orbited next to Earth — and it may be the reason we have a moon

—Russia accidentally destroys its only working launch pad as astronauts lift off to ISS

Life's Little Mysteries

Do your dreams change as you age?

Dreaming is a nearly universal human experience. But there can be huge variations in how vivid, realistic or memorable different people's dreams are. But what about the dreams of the same person — do they change as a person ages?

—If you enjoyed this, sign up for our Life's Little Mysteries newsletter

Making water out of thin air

MIT invention uses ultrasound to shake drinking water out of the air, even in dry regions

Researchers at MIT have found a way to suck the water out of the air and turn it into drinking water — and the process takes just minutes. Past evaporation water harvesting systems cool moist air or use spongy materials to absorb water vapor and condense it into droplets. Past versions typically rely on sunlight to power the evaporation, which can take hours or days and doesn't work in dry regions.

The new method uses sound waves to shake the liquid from the sponges and is 45 times more efficient than relying on evaporation alone, the researchers say. One challenge of the new device, however, is that it needs a power source, but the researchers think they can get around this problem by pairing their device with a solar cell.

Discover more technology news

—When an AI algorithm is labeled 'female,' people are more likely to exploit it

—New 'physics shortcut' lets laptops tackle quantum problems once reserved for supercomputers and AI

Also in science news this week

—Law of 'maximal randomness' explains how broken objects shatter in the most annoying way possible

—Injecting anesthetic into a 'lazy eye' may correct it, early study suggests

—Anacondas became massive 12 million years ago — and it worked so well, they haven't changed size since

—Volcanic eruption triggered 'butterfly effect' that led to the Black Death, researchers find

Beyond the headlines

Could hunks of ancient rock lurking in Earth's crust hide massive, carbon-free helium reservoirs?

Helium is used in MRI machines, superconductors and quantum computers — and there's a massive shortage looming. Historically, helium was only found in tiny quantities alongside natural gas, which made extracting usable helium a huge source of carbon emissions.

But as Live Science staff writer Sascha Pare discovered, a handful of enormous, highly concentrated, carbon-free helium reservoirs have changed the geological picture.

Can that help us find other massive helium caches — and solve the helium shortage?

Something for the weekend

If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best interviews, opinion pieces and science histories published this week.

—'Intelligence comes at a price, and for many species, the benefits just aren't worth it': A neuroscientist's take on how human intellect evolved [Book extract]

—Your AI-generated image of a cat riding a banana exists because of children clawing through the dirt for toxic elements. Is it really worth it? [Opinion]

—Science history: Computer scientist lays out 'Moore's law,' guiding chip design for a half century — Dec. 2, 1964 [Science history]

Science in motion

18,000 dinosaur tracks discovered along ancient Bolivian coastline — and they set a new record

While excavating in Bolivia's Carreras Pampa tracksite, scientists found more than 18,000 fossilized dinosaur footprints and swim marks. The vast trail of ancient footprints spans an area of 80,570 square feet (7,485 square meters), and the sheer size of the area is visible in a video the researchers took of the site.

Follow Live Science on social media

Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp Channel for the latest discoveries as they happen. It's the best way to get our expert reporting on the go, but if you don't use WhatsApp we're also on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

Here's the biggest science news you need to know.

• CDC panel ends newborn hepatitis B vaccine recommendation
• Comet 3I/ATLAS "surprises" scientists in ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer navigation camera.
• Volcanic eruption may have triggered a "butterfly effect" that led to the Black Death.
• Photographers take stunning snaps of the "Cold Supermoon".

Latest science news

Good morning, sunshine

Welcome back, science fans. We’re here with news of fresh geomagnetic storms, as Earth was hit by one solar flare last night and many more — alongside a coronal mass ejection — appear to be in the offing.

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are large, fast-moving clouds of magnetized plasma that occasionally get spat out into space by the sun alongside solar flares — powerful explosions on our star's surface triggered when solar magnetic loops snap in half like an overstretched elastic band.

Last night’s flare was a surprise, spaceweather.com reports, coming from a new sunspot on the sun’s northern surface that appeared to be harmless until it exploded. The flare ionized the Earth’s atmosphere and caused a radio blackout over Australia.

With multiple more sunspots appearing on the sun’s surface, it could be a busy week for solar storms, potentially bringing more disruption in space and auroras here on Earth.

Solar flares corrupt airplanes

How much disruption can space weather really cause? Surprisingly, the answer is a lot — just ask Airbus.

Solar eruptions can grow to truly catastrophic scales, having the potential to wreak havoc on electrical systems and Earth-orbiting satellites.

Even aircraft aren’t immune from geomagnetic storms, as news broke over the weekend that aircraft manufacturer Airbus has recalled thousands of its A320 passenger jets owing to a fault that enabled intense solar radiation to "corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls", Gizmodo reports.

The A320 is the most delivered jetliner in history, and the recall has severely impacted some airlines such as Colombia’s Avianca, which said the issue had affected 70% of its fleet.

And as solar activity continues to unexpectedly ramp up in its activity for the next few decades, the issues posed by it are only likely to get worse.

Live Science roundup

Here are some of the best stories Live Science published this morning and over the weekend:

• 'Potentially hazardous' asteroid 2024 YR4 was Earth's first real-life planetary defense test
• Roman sun hat: A 'very rare' 1,600-year-old brimmed cap that may have protected a Roman soldier from Egyptian sandstorms
• Antarctica's Southern Ocean might be gearing up for a thermal 'burp' that could last a century
• Time may be a psychological projection, philosopher argues

Chernobyl mushroom could be feeding on radiation

Onto terrestrial radiation now, and there are intriguing reports doing the rounds that a fungus may be using the radiation in the Chernobyl exclusion zone as food.

The fungus is called Cladosporium sphaerospermum and the strange process it could be using to mop up Chernobyl’s radiation is called radiosynthesis, which deploys melanin to metabolise ionising radiation, the BBC reports.

The process of radiosynthesis remains hypothetical for the time being, but it could stand as a potential new foundation for life on Earth.

That means that instead of photosynthesis, the fungus may be thriving off the exploded fissile material of Ukraine’s dark star. (Chernobyl is Ukrainian for wormwood, a prophesied star in The Book Of Revelation that falls to Earth to poison the waters).

Life in the zone

And while we’re at it, mushrooms aren’t the only form of weird life thriving in Chernobyl’s exclusion zone — there are also worms that appear unscathed by the radiation; the feral descendants of pet dogs; and an endangered species of wild horse whose numbers have exploded.

Humans have also been making lemonade, or better to say an apple-based moonshine called Atomik, from ingredients grown within the exclusion zone.

If that sounds dangerous, only small parts of the zone are dangerous radiation hotspots, and tours through it ran frequently until Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Clam-plane supernova

What does a nuclear explosion in space look like? As it turns out, not perfectly spherical, Live Science contributor Shreejaya Karantha writes.

New observations taken by Chile’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have revealed that, as massive stars run out of fuel to fuse and burst, their first light isn’t emitted in all directions equally, but along a shockwave stretched along one axis, much like a clam.

You can read the full story here.

Half the world away

Over the weekend, Kristina wrote a story about when modern humans arrived in Australia, which has proven to be a real hit with our readers.

New genetics research published in the journal Science Advances concluded that humans began to settle northern Australia by 60,000 years ago, potentially breeding with archaic humans along the way, including the "hobbit" Homo floresiensis.

Humans had to invent and use watercraft in order to reach Australia, so their arrival Down Under was an impressive feat. Researchers have long debated their arrival date, but with the new research, that debate may finally be settled.

Read the full story here.

Tip of the iceberg

More than 500 scientists have signed an urgent climate declaration stating that our "planet's future hangs in the balance" and "if we wait, it will be too late" to address climate tipping points, according to the University of Exeter in the UK.

Tipping points are potential "points of no return" within key Earth systems beyond which lasting changes to the environment occur. The new declaration warns that global warming will soon exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), which puts us in the "danger zone" of breaching multiple tipping points.

The declaration comes in the wake of an underwhelming COP30 agreement that had no clear mention of fossil fuels in the final text. It was a decade ago at COP21 that world leaders adopted the Paris Agreement, which promised to limit global warming to preferably below 1.5 C and well below 2 C (3.6 F).

This isn't the first time scientists have issued a stark warning about climate change, and so long as humanity fails to comprehensively address the matter, it won't be the last.

Comet 3I/ATLAS 'ice volcanoes'

A series of cryovolcanoes, sometimes nicknamed "ice volcanoes," erupted on the surface of comet 3I/ATLAS as it approached the sun, preliminary research suggests.

I've been speaking to Josep Trigo-Rodríguez, a leading researcher at the Institute of Space Sciences (CSIC/IEEC) in Spain, who has led a preprint study about new observations of our favorite interstellar visitor.

Trigo-Rodríguez and his colleagues found that the comet could be covered in cryovolcanoes, activated by the corrosion of pristine material locked inside its core. The findings, which haven't yet been peer-reviewed, suggest that comet 3I/ATLAS is similar to icy trans-Neptunian objects — dwarf planets and other objects that orbit the sun beyond Neptune.

Read the full story here.

Russia accidentally destroys its last working launchpad

Tia here with news that Russia has accidentally messed up its sole working launchpad after sending astronauts to the ISS. The launchpad is actually not in Russia proper; it's the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, but Russia uses it for all of its Soyuz rocket launches.

Senior writer Harry Baker has the details on why this likely happened and what it means for future Russian space launches.

You can read the whole story here.

Do dreams change as we age?

When I was a kid, I dreamed about jumping on a giant Swiss-cheese trampoline hidden in a secret room beneath the supermarket. Last week I dreamed about paying a very large grocery bill.

But was my more recent dream so humdrum because I'm older? Or was it simply because now I pay a lot of bills, and back then I jumped on a lot of trampolines?

Live Science contributor Abby Wilson covered how dreams change as we age in one of this week's Life's Little Mysteries.

You can read the full story here.

Solar flare could signal Northern Lights this week

Earth could be in for another bout of bright auroras later this week.

Late Sunday night (Nov. 30), a sunspot on our star's northeastern edge erupted with a powerful X1.9-class solar flare — the most intense class of flare the sun can emit. Here, courtesy of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, is what the blast looked like up close:

Radiation from the flare quickly rushed over Earth, triggering radio blackouts across parts of Australia and Southeast Asia, according to Live Science's sister site Space.com. The explosion was also accompanied by a high-speed concentration of plasma called a coronal mass ejection (CME), though this blast of solar shrapnel was angled away from Earth and is unlikely to have any impact on our planet.That might not be the case later this week. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center, a large group of sunspots is presently rotating into view, putting Earth in the firing line of forthcoming eruptions.

This particular group of coronal troublemakers battered Earth with CMEs two weeks ago, pushing the Northern Lights as far south as Florida and Mexico, and NOAA predicts a 70% chance of additional solar flares between Dec. 1 and Dec. 5.

Stay tuned for more space weather updates as the story progresses.

Earth had a secret neighbor

Tia here again. It's no secret that Earth's moon formed thanks to a massive collision with a Mars-size rocky body around 4.5-billion years ago. But new research suggests that this hunk of space rock, dubbed Theia, wasn't a cosmic interloper from the outer reaches of the solar system, but rather a planet that used to live next door.

That's the takeaway from analyzing samples from the Apollo moon missions, as well as meteorites and terrestrial rocks on our own planet.

Live Science contributor Sharmila Kuthunur covered the new research, which paints a picture of the chaotic first 100-million-years of Earth's history. At the time, hundreds of baby planetoids likely pinged and jostled each other in the inner solar system.

The new study clarifies certain pieces of the Earth-moon puzzle, but there are still many unresolved questions about our planet's closest companion, including why Earth and the moon have nearly-identical compositions.

You can read the full story here.