Science News

Tulip trees were long renowned for their carbon storage. Their unique wood may be responsible.

On Sunday, Sept. 22, day and night will be nearly equal in length as Earth spins side-on to the sun and autumn officially begins in the Northern Hemisphere.

Unlike the other planets in the solar system, Mars is distinctly triaxial, meaning it is an ellipsoid with different sizes along all three axes.

Human activities now account for two-thirds of all methane venting to the atmosphere, and our efforts to staunch the flow are not yet bearing fruit.

The first phase of China's moon base will be completed around 2035 near the lunar south pole, and an extended model will be built by about 2050, if all goes according to plan.

The long-sought evidence of alien life could be lurking in Earth's oceans, says Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb. Here is his plan to find it.

SpaceX Polaris Dawn astronaut Jared Isaacman briefly "touched the void" as he embarked on the first-ever private spacewalk Thursday (Sept. 12).

When the brain "juggles" information, things can fall through the cracks.

Seeing the world with a restricted color palate seems to tone down an emotion-based resistance to new foods.

An angular roughshark pulled from the water near Elba, an Italian island near Tuscany.

China's Chang'e 5 mission brought back evidence that the moon had erupting volcanoes just 120 million years ago.

Soap has a pretty simple formula and a long history.

"Human evolution has occurred both due to, and in spite of, the placenta. Every pregnancy, unthinkingly, must navigate a careful path through it. Every menstruation is testament to it. It is partly why menopause exists, to give individuals an escape from the energetic costs associated with its imposition."

The Earth's core may be much younger than previously thought.

Sept. 14, 2024: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend.

A new study suggests that mindfulness meditation influences how the brain perceives pain in ways that are distinct from the placebo effect.

Giving children saline nose drops at the start of a cold may shorten its duration and reduce the likelihood that they will pass the illness to others, a study hints. But it has some caveats.

The world's largest hot desert, the Sahara, is being hit with unusually heavy rain. Scientists are unclear why, but it may be linked to a subdued Atlantic hurricane season.

Satellite data suggest a volcano in Tanzania that expels extremely runny lava could be creeping toward an eruption.

The growing "gateway to the underworld," officially known as the Batagay megaslump, is the largest megaslump in the world and exposes permafrost layers that are 650,000 years old.