153,000-year-old footprints from South Africa are the oldest Homo sapiens tracks on record By Kristina Killgrove published 29 May 23 A modern dating method has revealed the oldest Homo sapiens' footprints yet, placing bipedal humans in South Africa around 153,000 years ago.
2,700-year-old petroglyphs depicting people, ships and animals discovered in Sweden By Owen Jarus published 29 May 23 About 40 ancient rock carvings have been found on a former rocky island in Sweden.
The Tunguska event was the biggest asteroid impact in recorded history. How did it vanish without a trace? By Hannah Osborne published 29 May 23 During the Tunguska event, over 8 million trees covering an area of 830 square miles were flattened when an asteroid entered Earth's atmosphere.
The oldest tree in the world (and the 7 runner-ups) By Erik Ofgang published 29 May 23 From Prometheus and Methuselah to trees in remote forests of China, these are the most ancient known trees on Earth.
Earth may have debris from alien star systems trapped in its orbit, new research suggests By Robert Lea published 29 May 23 A new study questions if our planet could capture rocky and icy visitors from outside the solar system — and how scientists could spot them.
Why do animals keep evolving into crabs? By Laurel Hamers published 29 May 23 Crabby bodies are so evolutionarily favorable, they've evolved at least five different times. So why does this process, known as carcinization, keep happening?
What was the longest-lasting civilization? By Tom Metcalfe published 28 May 23 Is the longest-lasting civilization China, ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia? Here's a look at the evidence for each of these enduring cultures.
What is the 'ship of Theseus' thought experiment? By Meg Duff published 27 May 23 The Greek writer Plutarch proposed this question: If a ship's planks are replaced over time due to wear and tear until none of the original pieces remain, is it still the same ship?
Science news this week: Sinking cities and tree of life mysteries By Alexander McNamara published 27 May 23 May 27, 2023: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news over the past few days, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend.
Scientists changed scales on chicken feet to feathers by tweaking a single gene By Jennifer Nalewicki published 26 May 23 By targeting a single gene, scientists successfully turned chickens’ feet from scaly to feathery.
Watch the biggest supernova in 10 years explode tonight on this free telescope livestream By Robert Lea published 26 May 23 A newly discovered supernova can be watched as it develops in real-time online and for free. The livestream will begin at 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT) on Friday, May 26.
Heavy rains expose ancient phallus and 'imposing' face carvings at Roman fort in Spain By Hannah Kate Simon published 26 May 23 A rainstorm has exposed the ancient Roman stone carvings of a phallus, face and cornucopia at a first-century fort in Spain.
Over half of the world's largest lakes and reservoirs are losing water By Kelly Oakes published 26 May 23 The amount lost in the last 30 years is equivalent to 17 Lake Meads — the largest reservoir in the U.S.
NASA uncovers shattered remains of Japanese lunar lander that mysteriously disappeared on April 25 By Joanna Thompson published 26 May 23 Japan's private Hakuto-R spacecraft broke into at least four large pieces of debris, according to new images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Grab a powerful laptop for less with $500 off the MacBook Pro 14 By Lloyd Coombes published 26 May 23 The MacBook Pro 14 is a stylish laptop with the power to handle anything students can throw at it, including coding and photo editing, and this model is 20% off.
2,500-year-old poop from Jerusalem toilets contain oldest evidence of dysentery parasite By Kristina Killgrove published 25 May 23 A fecal analysis from two toilets dating to biblical times in Jerusalem has revealed the oldest evidence yet of the parasite that causes dysentery.
In rare case, man develops painful deep vein blood clots following brown recluse spider bite By Nicoletta Lanese published 25 May 23 A man in Michigan developed deep vein thrombosis after reportedly being bitten by a brown recluse spider.
Antarctic currents supplying 40% of world's deep ocean with nutrients and oxygen slowing dramatically By Sascha Pare published 25 May 23 These deep ocean tides supply almost half of the world's oceans with vital nutrients and oxygen, but melting ice shelves are slowing them down.
A rare type of black hole never proven to exist could be orbiting our galaxy right now, Hubble telescope reveals By Ben Turner published 25 May 23 A potential intermediate-mass black hole may be lurking in Messier 4, the nearest globular star cluster to Earth, new Hubble data reveals.
Raging 'polar vortex' discovered over Uranus' north pole for 1st time By Keith Cooper published 25 May 23 A polar cyclone is swirling on Uranus, further showing that the planet's atmosphere is a hive of hidden activity.
