Science News

Researchers have extracted ancient proteins from australopithecine fossils and determined whether they were male or female — a first for human evolution studies.

A woman's contraceptive implant ended up in her lung; doctors believe the device migrated because it wasn't inserted in her upper arm properly.

La Niña and record cold temperatures in the U.S. should have made Earth cooler, but January 2025 was still the hottest on record, with an average global warming of 3.15 F (1.75 C) above pre-industrial levels.

Mars will appear to make an ultraclose approach to the moon on Sunday, after Jupiter had a turn earlier this week. Here's how to get the best view of the rare conjunction.

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a belching protostar in its infancy. By studying the dust grains whirling around it, astronomers hope to better understand how solar systems like our own take shape.

The adult orcas swam around the ice demonstrating how to pull a seal off by its tail.

Unusual weather patterns and climate change have been driving stark changes in the northwestern state. Now, new satellite images show the extent of this transformation.

The discovery of an 11,000-year-old village in Saskatchewan could rewrite Indigenous history in central Canada.

Scientists have cooled qubits to record low temperatures using a quantum refrigerator powered by "hot thermal baths."

Trovants are rocks that grow by absorbing minerals from rainwater. Romania is home to a cluster of trovants that inspired folklore of dinosaur eggs, plant fossils and alien creations.

SPHEREx is slated to launch Feb. 27 on a SpaceX rocket. It is meant to map the entire night sky in infrared — something even the JWST can't exactly do.

A branch of the H5N1 bird flu family tree that hadn't previously been seen in cattle has now been detected in dairy cows.

Scientists are studying the vaginal microbiome in populations all around the world to see how it might differ in different people and in health and disease.

A 2,000-year-old Herculaneum scroll buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius is filled with lost words that scholars can now decipher thanks to AI and a particle accelerator.

A new virus related to the deadly Nipah and Hendra viruses has been detected in shrews in the U.S. However, scientists say there is currently "no evidence" that it has infected humans and the risk of it doing so is "likely low."

Archaeologists discovered ancient Roman inscriptions and a 1,900-year-old coin wedged between rock formations while exploring a cave called the Cova de les Dones in eastern Spain.

New 3D maps of the Greenland Ice Sheet show how huge cracks in the ice that accelerate melting expanded between 2016 and 2021.

A new study has greatly expanded the number of gene variants thought to be tied to bipolar disorder.

Scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope have spotted a record-smashing galaxy wrapped in 9 rings of stars — along with the dwarf galaxy that violently plunged through its center.

More than a quarter million beads found in a tomb with female skeletons were used to decorate the women's ceremonial dresses, suggesting they were powerful leaders five millennia ago.