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It's a chilly start to 2025 for many as an expanding polar vortex is expected to bring dangerously low temperatures to the eastern half of the U.S. While it's too early for precise measurements, forecasters predict that this month could be the coldest January in the U.S. for more than a decade.
But weather forecasts are not the only 2025 predictions in this week's science news…
A bathymetric map of the Axial volcano off the coast of Oregon.
(Image credit: NOAA)
Axial is an underwater volcano located 300 miles (480 kilometers) west of Cannon Beach, Oregon. The seamount erupts fairly regularly and is relatively close to the shore, making it a perfect site for studying volcanic activity.
Predicting when a volcano is going to erupt is a difficult feat — and one that usually can only be done a couple of days in advance. However, volcanologists hope that by studying Axial, they may be able to gain new insights into how a volcano's surface activity reflects the movement of magma and fluids underneath, which could help them improve longer-term eruption forecasting.
A colorized engraving of Alexander the Great fighting at the Battle of the Granicus.
(Image credit: mikroman6 via Getty Images)
The Battle of the Granicus in 334 B.C. was one of the most significant turning points in the rise of the famous Macedonian king, Alexander the Great. However, the site of the battlefield has been somewhat of a mystery — until now.
Archaeologists have been sniffing around the area in northwest Turkey since the 19th century, and human skeletons and weapons have been found at the site. However, thanks to modern techniques, researchers have reconstructed what the area might have looked like in Alexander's time, to further support theories of the battleground's location and rule out other contenders.
From human-like torsos to nanobots, robots got weirder in 2024.
(Image credit: Clone Robotics)
The field of robotics continues to expand and stretch to new frontiers, from microscopic drug delivery services to humanoid (and pet-like) companions. We've collated a list of 8 of the weirdest robots in the world right now, from impressive feats of engineering to just plain freaky.
Something for the weekend
If you're looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best long reads, book excerpts and interviews published this week:
Kol'tsevoye Lake is sandwiched between both halves of the Krenitsyna Volcano on Russia's Onekotan Island. In this astronaut photo, it appears to be full of clouds — but this is just an illusion.
(Image credit: NASA/ISS Program)
There's something magical about seeing Earth from an airplane window — even more so if you're an astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS). And sometimes, Earth can treat us to impressive optical illusions that can only be seen from above.
In this image, an astronaut has captured one of Russia's deepest lakes — Kol'tsevoye Lake — sandwiched between two halves of a volcano as its surface transformed into a reflective sea of swirling clouds. The illusion occurred thanks to a rare mirror-like phenomenon, known as "sunglint," which relies on sunlight bouncing off a watery surface at an angle.
Pandora is the trending news editor at Live Science. She is also a science presenter and previously worked as Senior Science and Health Reporter at Newsweek. Pandora holds a Biological Sciences degree from the University of Oxford, where she specialised in biochemistry and molecular biology.
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