The Alfred Jewel: A 1,100-year-old treasure from England's first king that proclaims 'Alfred ordered me to be made'
This gold-encrusted jewel has an inscription revealing who made it.
Space
January 'Wolf Supermoon': How to see the full moon rise with Jupiter this weekend
The first full moon of 2026 and of winter in the Northern Hemisphere will shine brightly this week, just as Earth makes its annual closest approach to the sun.
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Full moons of 2026: When to see all 13 moons rise next year
When does the next full moon rise? Find out exactly when to see the full moons of 2026, including the full "Wolf Moon" supermoon in January.
Quadrantid meteor shower peaks this week: How to see the first 'shooting' stars of the year
The Quadrantids will be harder to see than usual due to the bright full moon. Here's how to get the best views.
Planet Earth
Spotted Lake: Canada's soda lake with colorful brine pools that are smelly and slimy 'like the white of an egg'
Spotted Lake is a soda lake that evaporates every summer, leaving a white crust with circular brine pools that can appear blue, green or yellow.
Trees in Panama's tropical forests are growing longer roots in the face of drought
A long-term experiment reveals tropical forests in Panama are able to adapt to droughts, but scientists warn this short-term "rescue strategy" is unlikely to save them from the impacts of climate change.
Melting of West Antarctic ice sheet could trigger catastrophic reshaping of the land beneath
A picture of what West Antarctica looked like when its ice sheet melted in the past can offer insight into the continent’s future as the climate warms.
Massive Myanmar earthquake was super smooth and efficient — and it holds lessons for the 'Big One'
The fault that ruptured in the March quake was simple and mature, which allowed the quake's energy to shoot right to the surface.
Enough fresh water is lost from continents each year to meet the needs of 280 million people. Here's how we can combat that.
Earth's continents are losing 4 Olympic swimming pools' worth of fresh water every second, with dire consequences for jobs, food security and water availability.
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archaeology
Centuries-old 'trophy head' from Peru reveals individual survived to adulthood despite disabling birth defect
A researcher has documented a cleft lip in an ancient mummified head from the Andes, a condition that may have been seen as a "blessing" rather than a disability.
'Artificial intelligence' myths have existed for centuries – from the ancient Greeks to a pope's chatbot
'Artificial intelligence' myths have existed for centuries — from the ancient Greeks to a pope's chatbot
10 things we learned about Neanderthals in 2025
Findings about our extinct relatives, the Neanderthals, continue to surprise us, especially those from 2025.
LATEST ARTICLES
Animals
Did reintroducing Wolves to Yellowstone really cause an ecological cascade?
Previous research on the effect of wolves on the food web has been criticized, raising questions about the predator’s role in the Yellowstone ecosystem.
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Orcas are adopting terrifying new behaviors. Are they getting smarter?
From sinking boats and feasting on shark livers to dining on whale tongue and tossing porpoises around for fun, orcas are displaying some fascinating — and sometimes terrifying — behaviors.
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Science history: Dian Fossey found murdered, after decades protecting gorillas that she loved — Dec. 27, 1985
Dian Fossey was a zoologist who spent decades studying the elusive mountain gorillas of Congo and Rwanda before she was murdered.
Spinosaurus relative longer than a pickup truck stalked Thailand's rivers 125 million years ago
A large fish-eating dinosaur died beside a river 125 million years ago in Cretaceous Thailand. Now, the remains of this ancient predator are helping researchers better understand Asia's enigmatic spinosaurids.
Health & Human Behavior
Why can't you wiggle your toes one at a time?
A biological anthropologist explains why humans can't wiggle their toes in the same way they can wiggle their fingers.
'The ban assumed the danger was making pigs too human': Why human organs aren't grown in pigs in the US
As a bioethicist and philosopher explains the ethics of using organs grown in animals for human transplant procedures.
From gene therapy breakthroughs to preventable disease outbreaks: The health trends that will shape 2026
Opinion Live Science's health channel editor makes predictions about the medical breakthroughs and public health shifts to come in 2026.
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A rare condition caused a man to get 'scales' on his hands whenever he washed them
A man's rare condition caused "excessive wrinkling" in his hands which spread to his wrists and elbows.
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Life's Little Mysteries
Science questions, answered
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Space photo of the week
Extraordinary images of our sublime universe
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Diagnostic dilemma
Unusual case reports from the medical literature
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Incredible places
A window onto extraordinary landscapes on Earth
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Astonishing artifacts
A glimpse into how people lived in the past
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Earth from space
Incredible images of our planet from above
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Technology
This new DNA storage system can fit 10 billion songs in a liter of liquid — but challenges remain for the unusual storage format
The new storage system could hold family photos, cultural artifacts and the master versions of digital artworks, movies, manuscripts and music for thousands of years, scientists say.
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'Putting the servers in orbit is a stupid idea': Could data centers in space help avoid an AI energy crisis? Experts are torn.
Google’s proposal to explore space-based AI infrastructure raises fundamental questions about energy, physics and feasibility – and whether Earth has really run out of options.
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Physics, Math & Chemistry
Science history: Richard Feynman gives a fun little lecture — and dreams up an entirely new field of physics — Dec. 29, 1959
In a short talk at Caltech, physicist Richard Feynman laid out a vision of manipulating and controlling atoms at the tiniest scale. It would precede the field of nanotechnology by decades.
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Quizzes & Games
Yellowstone quiz: How much do you know about the first national park?
Crammed full of epic scenery, steaming geysers, plants and animals, Yellowstone National Park is a spectacular place to visit, but how hot is your knowledge on it? Take our quiz to find out.
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Canon EOS R50 V review
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