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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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A U.S. Titan nuclear missile

What are the nuclear codes?

By Stephanie Pappas published

The nuclear codes carried by the president at all times don't launch an attack directly, but they prove the president's authority to drop the big one.

A close-up image of a jumping spider next to a dew drop.

Sweet dreams, spidey: Arachnids experience REM sleep, and may even dream

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

Spiders likely sleep and dream like humans do.

Here we see at least nine large open boxes filled with gold coins and jewelry that was collected by the Nazis from their victims. These were found in a cave adjoining the Buchenwald concentration camp.

Is Nazi gold real?

By Martin McGuigan published

Nazi soldiers looted numerous valuable items and tons of gold, but the chances of locating buried treasure are tiny.

An artist’s impression of the cosmic web. It looks like a vast cobweb-like structure or mostly purple and some orange filaments on a black background.

Giant voids of nothingness may be flinging the universe apart

By Paul Sutter published

Dark energy could be caused by pressure from giant voids of nothingness that may be flinging the universe apart.

illustration shows t. rex skull with its true eye socket shape compared to skull with circular eye socket, which can hold a far larger eyeball

Not just tiny arms: T. rex also had super small eyes to accommodate its big bite

By Nicoletta Lanese published

T. rex may have evolved thin eye sockets to help handle its bite force.

The July full moon rises over Rome, Italy in summer 2022.

Last supermoon of the year — the 'Sturgeon moon' rises tonight (Aug. 11)

By Brandon Specktor published

The Sturgeon Moon, the fourth and final supermoon of 2022, rises on Aug. 11th.

Three sequential photos of a 'gigantic jet' lightning bolt blasting out of the top of a cloud over Oklahoma, and shooting directly into space.

'Gigantic jet' that shot into space may be the most powerful lightning bolt ever detected

By Brandon Specktor published

Scientists detected the most powerful gigantic jet lightning bolt — a lightning bolt that shoots up out of a cloud into the ionosphere — ever.

Tridymite powder

Mysterious mineral on Mars was spat out by an explosive eruption 3 billion years ago

By Harry Baker published

Scientists have finally identified the origin of a puzzling volcanic mineral on Mars that was found at the bottom of an ancient lake by the Curiosity rover.

The Maya ruins of Toniná in Chiapas, Mexico. Here we see several stone buildings with their roofs and half their walls missing overlooking a beautiful green valley with trees and mountains in the distance.

Rubber balls used in famous Maya game contained ashes of cremated rulers, archaeologists claim

By Owen Jarus published

An archaeologist claims that Maya rulers' cremated remains were used to make rubber balls for use in Mesoamerican ballgames.

black, mineral-filled water shown spewing out of a hydrothermal vent that a robot is collecting samples from

Massive expanse of towering hydrothermal vents discovered deep in the Pacific

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Scientists found a huge field of hydrothermal vents on the East Pacific Rise.

Close up detail of a meteor streaking through the sky with stars in the background. A green color can be seen at the tail end of the streak.

Bright-green fireballs spotted over New Zealand. Here's what's probably happening.

By Jamie Carter published

A combination of more awareness and chemistry is causing sightings of greenish 'shooting stars' to skyrocket.

Fragile corals grow in the shallows of Raja Ampat, Indonesia.

The 6th mass extinction hasn’t begun yet, study claims, but Earth is barreling toward it

By Martin McGuigan published

Earth has experienced five mass extinction events over its 4.5 billion-year history. A sixth mass extinction is underway as a result of human-driven climate change.

Scientists think that shrews are a natural reservoir for the virus.

Newly-discovered Langya virus infected 35 people in China

By Ben Turner published

A newly-identified virus has sickened people in China after spilling over from animals.

A scuba diver in deep dark water inspecting a sunken vessel.

Rare 400-year-old ship found in German river is a stunningly preserved 'time capsule'

By Tom Metcalfe published

The ship didn't capsize, but "sank almost standing."