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![A golden lancehead pit viper curled up with its head alert on Snake Island in Brazil.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xMQSpP56aRFR23pySnecRB-320-80.jpg)
Snake Island: The isle writhing with vipers where only Brazilian military and scientists are allowed
By Sascha Pare published
Snake Island was isolated from the Brazilian mainland at the end of the last ice age, trapping Earth's only known population of highly venomous golden lancehead pit vipers on a rock in the Atlantic.
![Three women sit on a beach in Mumbai, India, holding a cloth over their heads to protect themselves from the scorching sun.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FTop7nDWRbWKDwJjk34jUH-320-80.jpg)
Tree rings reveal summer 2023 was the hottest in 2 millennia
By Sascha Pare published
Tree rings suggest the Northern Hemisphere summer of 2023 was the hottest in 2,000 years, with temperatures exceeding those of the coldest summer in the same period by 7 degrees Fahrenheit (3.9 Celsius).
![Northern lights seen from Lake Erie aboard a cruise ship.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ho4kcEKWrabHo29yEVSo4c-320-80.jpg)
Aurora photos: Stunning northern lights glisten after biggest geomagnetic storm in 21 years
By Live Science Staff published
An immense geomagnetic storm caused auroras as far south as Florida for the first time in 21 years after the sun unleashed a wave of solar flares and at least seven coronal mass ejections at Earth.
![A satellite image of Jack Hills, Australia.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/TkRwantuXAHFXu9TWykWUT-320-80.jpg)
Earth may have had freshwater and continents soon after forming, ancient crystals reveal
By Richard Pallardy published
Ancient zircon crystals hold chemical clues that of freshwater may have existed on Earth soon after it formed.
![A young girl and others stands in the aisle of a grocery store with products strewn across the floor in the aftermath of an earthquake.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PE7sFDxz3jiwRQFfAUGjm-320-80.jpg)
Why do earthquakes happen far away from plate boundaries?
By Alice Sun published
It's well known that earthquakes can rock fault-filled places like the U.S. West Coast. But why do earthquakes happen in the middle of tectonic plates?
![Satellite photo of a sow covered volcano with a larger crater filled with a lake and lava flows that make it look like a yin-yang symbol](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Ldg6RsAJyacgEhbbAV2fUh-320-80.jpg)
Earth from space: Majestic 'yin-yang' crater sits atop a dormant volcano in Turkey
By Harry Baker published
The massive caldera of Turkey's Mount Nemrut volcano is split in half, with one side made of solidified lava flows and the other half a deep crater lake. Covered in snow, the summit scene looks like the yin-yang symbol when viewed from above.
![A digital rendering of yellow C. auris fungi](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UaFLToXQ4rcFeeCuz6w46T-320-80.jpg)
'The most critically harmful fungi to humans': How the rise of C. auris was inevitable
By Arturo Casadevall published
In this excerpt from his new book "What if Fungi Win?" microbiologist and immunologist Arturo Casadevall examines the rise of the deadly yeast Candida auris.
![A photograph of an autumn sunset from Barenstein hill above Plauen city in Germany](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KGzSdyBaQm736boYZpnnWc-320-80.jpg)
Odd earthquake swarm in Central Europe hints at magma bubbling below the surface
By Stephanie Pappas published
An odd earthquake swarm has struck the region between the Czech Republic and Germany, far from any tectonic plate boundary.
![Turkey's Love Valley and its spires at sunrise.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RpRc3JjonqcKP4gpZRUycM-320-80.jpg)
Fairy Chimneys: The stone spires in Turkey that form 'the world's most unusual high-rise neighborhood'
By Sascha Pare published
Turkey's magical "fairy chimneys" in Cappadocia were carved out of an ancient volcanic landscape over millions of years before humans turned them into hiding dens.
![Seismic station on snow in Antarctica](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KpkRrz8avbViZsx3CqtyFa-320-80.jpg)
Weird blobs lurking near Earth's core may have been dragged from the surface
By Stephanie Pappas published
A new study of seismic data from Antarctica finds that the mantle may be stranger and more variable than previously believed, with pieces of ancient crust that have been dragged down by tectonic forces.
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