Science News - Latest Scientific Discoveries

The Nadir crater, seen on seismic imagery from West Africa. The bottom of the crater, lined in green dots, sits at approximately the boundary between the Cretaceous and Paleogene, when the dinosaurs died out.

Did dinosaurs have to deal with multiple enormous asteroids? Crater in West Africa hints yes.

By Stephanie Pappas published 17 August 22

A 66 million-year-old impact crater has been discovered off the coast of West Africa, raising questions about just how many deadly space rocks the dinosaurs had to deal with.

'Cannibal' coronal mass ejection from 'dark plasma plume' will slam into Earth tomorrow (Aug. 18)

By Ben Turner published 17 August 22

The sun's activity has been ramping as it approaches its 11 year peak

A fragment of transparent quartz crystal found at Neolithic burial site.

'Magical' rock crystals found at Stone Age ceremonial site in England

By Tom Metcalfe published 17 August 22

Neolithic people sprinkled the crystals over burials.

This Lenovo Chromebook is 37% off on Amazon - ideal for students heading back to school

By Lloyd Coombes published 17 August 22

Looking for a new Chromebook? Lenovo’s 14e is available for under $200 in this Amazon deal.

A juvenile snailfish imaged under white light glowing green and red due to biofluorescence.

Beneath Greenland iceberg, scientists find a glowing snailfish with antifreeze coursing through its veins

By Jennifer Nalewicki published 16 August 22

A glowing snailfish riddled with antifreeze protein was discovered in Greenland. The protein helps protect it from the cold.

tan-colored italian greyhound curled up against a pillow on a bed

1st suspected case of human-to-dog monkeypox transmission reported in France

By Nicoletta Lanese published 16 August 22

Two men in France may have passed the monkeypox virus to their pet dog.

Scientists blast atoms with Fibonacci laser to make an 'extra' dimension of time

By Ben Turner published 16 August 22

The new phase was made by firing lasers at 10 ytterbium ions inside a quantum computer.

Gilead scientists engaging in research activity in laboratory

Advancing Transformational Innovation in HIV Research: A Pillar of Gilead’s Efforts to Help End the Global HIV Epidemic

By Sponsored published 16 August 22

Sponsored Learn about Gilead’s innovative approach to continuous scientific discovery as part of the company’s leadership and commitment that aims to help end the HIV epidemic for everyone, everywhere.

Back to school deals: Student laptops, software, printers, science kits & more

By Lloyd Coombes published 16 August 22

Looking for the best back to school deals for laptops, software, printers, headphones, and more? Here are our favorites for school and college students.

Young female student examines a miniature human skeleton model during anatomy class.

What's the largest bone in the human body? (What about the smallest?)

By Charles Q. Choi published 16 August 22

What is the smallest bone in the human body? What is the largest bone in the human body? Live Science has the answers.

Frazil ice under the Antarctic ice shelf. This fluffy, pure "underwater snow" may make up much of the ice sheet of Jupiter's moon Europa.

Europa's icy shell may be made from pure underwater snow

By Stephanie Pappas published 15 August 22

The icy shell of Jupiter's moon Europa may be formed by extremely pure underwater snow.

A man wiping sweat from his face under the hot sun.

For the first time, scientists have named a heat wave

By Stephanie Pappas published 15 August 22

For the first time, authorities have given a heat wave a name. Scientists hope that naming extreme heat events will help the public protect itself.

An artist's impression of the popcorning pebbles on the parent body of the Aguas Zarcas meteorite. Small-scale rearrangements may be more important for asteroids than major space collisions.

Ancient asteroids are covered with popcorning pebbles, new study finds

By Stephanie Pappas published 15 August 22

Some asteroids are surrounded by swarms of pebbles. A new study reveals why.

Two flashes on the GOES-17 Lightning Mapper aren't lightning, but a meteor trail and explosion.

Exploding meteor startles Utah

By Stephanie Pappas published 15 August 22

A loud explosion heard Saturday (Aug. 13) in Utah may have been an exploding Perseid meteor.

A poison frog (Dendrobates tinctorius) sits on a leaf in the tropical rainforest. It's a small frog with a yellow head and alight blue body.

Why is there so much biodiversity in the tropics?

By Martin McGuigan published 15 August 22

Ecologists say there are three explanations for the abundance of species in the tropics.

Two senior multi-ethnic woman, one Caucasian and the other African American, sitting on a porch enjoying each other's company. They are facing each other, laughing, talking and drinking coffee.

Does drinking coffee help you live longer?

By Martin McGuigan published 14 August 22

Habitual coffee consumption may lower your risk of heart disease and death in a given time period, but the jury is still out on whether it promotes longevity.

An image of the Earth from space. Here we see what Pangaea, or Pangea Earth Supercontinent, would have looked like – one giant land mass.

What's the largest ocean that ever existed on Earth?

By Michael Dhar published 13 August 22

Panthalassa, a single world ocean surrounding the supercontinent Pangaea, would have stretched at least 1,800 miles (3,000 kilometers) wider than the Pacific.

Jakapil Kanikukura, a new species of armored dinosaur from Argentina, weighed as much as a housecat and had a line of armored spikes going down its neck and back.

Small, prickly dinosaur discovered in South America reveals an unknown lineage

By Stephanie Pappas published 12 August 22

An armored dinosaur that weighed as much as a housecat has been discovered in South America. Though it resembles a primitive relative of ankylosaurus, it came from late in dinosaur history.

This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image shows auroras above the poles of Jupiter.

Extreme physics of 'supercritical' matter may be surprisingly simple

By Stephanie Pappas published 12 August 22

At 'supercriticality,' the difference between the liquid and gas phases of a material seems to disappear. New research finds that this weird tipping point may be simpler than scientists thought.

This four-panel graphic illustrates how the southern region of the rapidly evolving, bright, red supergiant star Betelgeuse may have suddenly become fainter for several months during late 2019 and early 2020. In the first two panels, as seen in ultraviolet light with the Hubble Space Telescope, a bright, hot blob of plasma is ejected from the emergence of a huge convection cell on the star's surface. In panel three, the outflowing, expelled gas rapidly expands outward. It cools to form an enormous cloud of obscuring dust grains. The final panel reveals the huge dust cloud blocking the light (as seen from Earth) from a quarter of the star's surface.

One of the brightest stars in the sky dimmed in 2019. Now we know why.

By Stephanie Pappas published 12 August 22

The star Betelgeuse visibly dimmed in 2019. A new analysis finds that it blew off a huge amount of its surface.