New 'quasi-moon' discovered near Earth has been travelling alongside our planet since 100 BC By Kiley Price published 31 May 23 Astronomers recently identified asteroid 2023 FW13 as a quasi-moon, a space rock orbiting the sun nearly in tandem with Earth.
Weight-loss surgery is becoming more common among US teens By Nicoletta Lanese published 31 May 23 A study suggests that more U.S. teens with obesity are getting weight-loss surgeries, in line with official guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
NASA concludes first-ever public UFO briefing. What did we learn? By Brett Tingley published 31 May 23 The government is investigating hundreds of military UFO reports, but only a small fraction are truly "anomalous."
Listen to the sounds of Pando, the largest living tree in the world By Jennifer Nalewicki published 31 May 23 Researchers are using sound to study Pando, the world's largest tree.
Suspected Russian spy whale is looking for love in all the wrong places By Harry Baker published 31 May 23 A beluga whale that was discovered wearing a suspicious harness in 2019 is on the move in search of other belugas. But it's heading in the wrong direction.
Killer bees stung a man 250 times in swarm attack, but he survived. How? By Sarah Moore published 31 May 23 A man escaped death after being stung by a swarm of 1,000 killer bees, yet previous similar incidents have proved fatal. Why do some people survive and others don't?
This psychedelic-eyed gecko isn't what we thought it was By Harry Baker published 31 May 23 The bright-eyed reptiles were identified as a new species after a genetic analysis of other geckos revealed they were separate from another closely related species.
How to watch Mars photobomb the buzzing Beehive Cluster of stars this week By Jamie Carter published 31 May 23 Here's how to watch the Red Planet swoop across the Beehive Cluster — one of the closest star clusters to Earth — after sunset this week.
Watch the full 'Strawberry Moon' rise on June 3 By Jamie Carter published 31 May 23 June's full moon is known as the Strawberry Moon, the Hot Moon and the Rose Moon. It will be at its fullest on Saturday night, June 3.
World War II 'horror bunker' run by infamous Unit 731 discovered in China By Ben Turner published 30 May 23 A bunker discovered near the city of Anda in northeast China is believed to be the largest test site of Imperial Japan's infamous Unit 731, which conducted horrifying human experiments during the 1940s.
Mystery pathogen is stripping sea urchins of their flesh and turning them to skeletons — and it's spreading fast By Ben Turner published 30 May 23 A mysterious epidemic that began in the Mediterranean at the start of the year looks set to wipe out all of the Mediterranean and Red Sea’s urchins, and possibly their coral reefs too.
What is the speed of light? By Briley Lewis published 30 May 23 Light is faster than anything else in the known universe, though its speed can change depending on what it's passing through.
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?