Science News - Latest Scientific Discoveries

How many times can you fold a piece of paper in half?

By Charles Q. Choi published 7 January 23

It's easy to fold a piece of paper in half once, twice or even three or four times. But what's the highest number of times one piece of paper can be folded in half?

conceptual illustration showing the human brain depicted in blue with various neural networks highlighted using colorful dots

Humans' big-brain genes may have come from 'junk DNA'

By Nicoletta Lanese published 6 January 23

"De novo" genes may have paved the way for humans' big brains.

An artist's illustration of a rocky, Earth-like exoplanet (in this case, Kepler-1649c), orbiting its sun. Aliens on such a planet might choose to beam signals toward Earth when they are directly between Earth and their own sun.

Why hasn't ET phoned Earth? Maybe aliens are waiting for the exact right moment.

By Stephanie Pappas published 6 January 23

A new search for alien signals focuses on planetary transits, when exoplanets pass right in front of their suns.

Light-toned fracture halos as seen crosscutting the bedrock extend into the subsurface. These fracture networks would have served as safe havens from harsh surface conditions in a modern period on Mars.

Mars crater is 'chock-full' of opal gemstones, hinting at widespread water and possible microbial life

By JoAnna Wendel published 6 January 23

Mysterious "halos" of rock surrounding cracks in a Martian crater may be made of water-rich opal gemstones, a new study suggests.

detailed three-dimensional model showing the timbers of the hull of a ship

Quarry workers make 'unexpected' discovery of ship from Queen Elizabeth I's reign

By Tom Metcalfe published 6 January 23

Timbers from the hull of a 16th-century ship have been found in a flooded quarry in southeastern England.

Huge discounts on the sleek iPad Pro M1 in Best Buy’s New Year deals

By Lloyd Coombes published 6 January 23

Deal Save anywhere from $300 to $400 on Apple’s iPad Pro M1 (12.9-inch) at Best Buy.

Deal

Save $400 on the latest and greatest MacBook Pro M1 in Best Buy's 2023 New Year sale

By Lloyd Coombes published 6 January 23

Deal Best Buy’s latest MacBook Pro M1 (14-inch) deal cuts a massive $400 off the original price tag.

Deal

MacBook Pro M2 (13.3 inch) open showing off keyboard and Touch Bar.

Save big on the MacBook Pro M2 - Apple’s longest-lasting battery laptop is $150 less

By Lloyd Coombes published 6 January 23

Deal Looking for a classic MacBook design? Then this deal on the MacBook Pro M2 (13.3-inch) is just for you.

Deal

diagram showing a new anatomical structure in the brain called the SLYM which lies between the skull and surface of the brain

Newfound 'protective shield' in the brain is like a watchtower for immune cells

By Nicoletta Lanese published 5 January 23

Scientists discovered a "protective shield" in the brain.

An artist's illustration of a black hole. The center of black holes are examples of singularities.

Could humans use black holes to time travel?

By Sam Baron published 5 January 23

Black holes form natural time machines that allow travel to both the past and the future. But don't expect to be visiting dinosaurs any time soon.

An artist's interpretation of a solar flare erupting from the sun.

Massive, hidden sunspot blasts out potential X-class flare — and Earth could soon be in the firing line

By Harry Baker published 5 January 23

Astronomers recently detected a massive explosion on the far side of the sun, which may have spat out one of the most powerful flares the sun can produce.

Fluorescent protein chains produced by genetically-altered mouse neurons.

Secret inner workings of cells revealed through self-assembling 'memory' chains

By Harry Baker published 5 January 23

Researchers genetically altered mouse brain cells to produce physical timelines of their key events in the form of a self-assembling chain of fluorescent proteins.

Jewel damselfish are becoming less territorial and less aggresive due to the presence of invasive rats on nearby islands.

Invasive rats are changing how reef fish behave. It's because there's not enough bird poop.

By Harry Baker published 5 January 23

Jewel damselfish living on coral reefs surrounding rat-infested tropical islands have become less territorial and less aggressive due to a bizarre ecological link between the two species: bird poop.

A 21,500-year-old cave painting depicting an extinct cattle species known as an aurochs in the Lascaux caves, in France. Notice the four dots (in the digital yellow circle) which may have had a special meaning for ice age peoples.

20,000-year-old cave painting 'dots' are the earliest written language, study claims. But not everyone agrees.

By Kristina Killgrove published 5 January 23

Stone Age dots, lines and Y-shaped marks might represent a type of proto-writing created by hunter-gatherers who lived in Europe at least 20,000 years ago.

Fitbit Versa 4 being tested by Live Science contributor Andrew Williams

Get up to 43% off top smartwatches with these January Fitbit deals

By Becks Shepherd published 4 January 23

DEALS Track your 10,000 steps and stay on top of your fitness goals with the best Fitbit deals right now.

DEALS

The facial reconstruction of the Cittiglio murder victim, who was killed sometime between the 11th and the 13th centuries in what seems to have been a surprise attack.

Medieval murder victim was killed by multiple sword blows to the head in 'case of raw violence'

By Tom Metcalfe published 4 January 23

Sword blows to the head of a medieval murder victim in Italy suggest "a case of overkill."

Does reality exist when we're not looking?

By Paul Sutter published 4 January 23

In quantum physics, particles exist in many states at once until you measure them. Can reality really work that way?

A solar flare captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory in extreme ultraviolet light. Here we see a fiery orange and black orb and at one point a white-hot explosion taking place.

Earth reaches its closest point to the sun — just in time to be slammed by a solar storm

By Brandon Specktor published 4 January 23

A minor G1-class geomagnetic storm will hit Earth right as our planet reaches perihelion, its closest point to the sun.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live on a January sale deal

Enhance your workouts with $50 off the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live

By Maddy Biddulph published 4 January 23

DEALS The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live are reduced by 33% at Best Buy thanks to the January sales.

DEALS

A map showing how Beringia—which includes the famous ice age land bridge—once looked.

Bering Land Bridge formed much later than originally thought, study suggests

By Jennifer Nalewicki published 3 January 23

The formation of the Bering Land Bridge connecting Asia to North America occurred much later than experts thought.