Planet Earth

A picture taken from orbit of the Gulf of Suez.

A gulf separating Africa and Asia is still pulling apart — 5 million years after scientists thought it had stopped

By Stephanie Pappas published

The Arabian and African tectonic plates failed to pull apart 28 million years ago at the Gulf of Suez, but the area hasn't stopped rifting.

Geology
Waves crashing into a cliff from top down.

Eruptions of ocean volcanoes may be the echoes of ancient continental breakups

By Stephanie Pappas published

Waves in Earth's mantle created by the rifting of continents may peel the planet's crust from below, feeding volcanoes in the middle of the ocean.

Volcanos
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Space

An exploded comet and the aurora borealis.

Powerful solar storms, exploding comets and pigs from hell

By Ben Turner published

Science news this week Nov. 15, 2025: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend.

Science news this week

What's the darkest place in the solar system? What about the universe?

By Alice Sun published

Space looks very dark from Earth. But does the solar system, and the universe for that matter, have an area that's the darkest of all?

Astronomy
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archaeology

Caergwrle Bowl: A 3,300-year-old stone-and-tin bowl with gold oars and 'protective eyes'

By Kristina Killgrove published

The ancient stone-and-tin bowl was discovered 200 years ago in a boggy field in Wales.

Archaeology

Archaeologists discover 1,500-year-old reindeer trap and other artifacts 'melting out of the ice' in Norway's mountains

By Kristina Killgrove published

The well-preserved reindeer trap may be unique in Europe.

Archaeology
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World of science

Health

A Live Science Black Friday Deals logo and a picture of a woman exercising in the park, looking at her smartwatch

Top 10 Black Friday smartwatch deals: From budget Amazfit trackers to premium Garmin watches

By Anna Gora last updated

Deals Top-rated smartwatches without breaking the bank.

Deals
Best Black Friday deals on air purifiers

Top 10 Black Friday air purifier deals for cleaner, fresher air in your home

By Anna Gora last updated

Deals Remove bad odors and airborne pollutants without breaking the bank.

Deals
A Live Science Black Friday Deals logo and a close-up picture of a woman holding an electric toothbrush in a bathroom

The best early Black Friday discounts on electric toothbrushes, water flossers and whitening strips

By Anna Gora last updated

Deals Best deals for squeaky-clean teeth and a bright smile.

Deals
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Animals

In this photo, the parasitic ant queen Lasius orientalis (left) infiltrates the nest of Lasius flavus and apporaches their queen (right).

'Nothing but a nightmare': Worker ants are tricked into murdering their mom by an imposter queen — who quickly takes the throne for herself

By Chris Simms published

A sneaky spray of chemicals makes ant workers turn on their own mother — the queen — so a parasitic invader can take over the colony herself.

Insects

Mammoth RNA sequenced for the first time, marking a giant leap toward understanding prehistoric life

By Jeanne Timmons published

Scientists successfully sequence the RNA from woolly mammoths found in Siberia that lived up between 10,000 thousand and 50,000 years ago.

Mammoths
Jase Parnell-Brookes using binoculars

Best binoculars for bird-watching 2025: Eyes on the skies

By Jacob Little last updated

A great pair of binoculars is a must for any serious birder, from compact binos for popping in your bag to image-stabilized models — find your next pair ready for Black Friday.

Animals
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Human Behavior

There is such a thing as 'settled science' — anyone who says otherwise is trying to manipulate you

By Kit Yates published

Opinion How bad-faith arguments sow doubt by weaponizing scientific humility.

Opinion
scientist holding test tubes with illustration of money symbols and a sand timer on a blue background

Citation cartels, ghost writing and fake peer-review: Fraud is causing a crisis in science — here's what we need to do to stop it

By Kit Yates published

Opinion Thousands of scientific papers are retracted every year because of fraudulent activity, with both authors and journals gaming a system to gain academic acclaim through deceit, dishonesty and false representation.

Opinion
a 5g cell tower with green waves coming out

'When people gather in groups, bizarre behaviors often emerge': How the rise of online social networks has catapulted dysfunctional thinking

By Carlo Kopp, David Green, Fatima Seeme published

Opinion The pervasive spread of misinformation can be tracked to cognitive limitations, social influence and the global spread of online networks. Combatting it has become an "arms race" between truth and lies.

Opinion
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Physics & Mathematics

For the first time, physicists peer inside the nucleus of a molecule using electrons as a probe

By Larissa G. Capella published

A novel experiment has revealed a phenomenon called the Bohr–Weisskopf effect in a pear-shaped nucleus in a molecule for the first time.

Particle Physics

Science history: Russian mathematician quietly publishes paper — and solves one of the most famous unsolved conjectures in mathematics — Nov. 11, 2002

By Tia Ghose published

Mathematician Grigori Perelman solved the Poincaré conjecture, and then rejected the $1 million prize that came with it.

Mathematics
Clocks stand in a row in front of autumn trees

Daylight saving time 2025: When does the time change, and why?

By Jeanna Bryner last updated

When does daylight saving time end in 2025? Here's a look at when the time changes this year, and why we change our clocks in the first place.

Physics & Mathematics
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Chemistry

Scientists invent way to use E. coli to create and dye rainbow-colored fabric in the lab

By Mason Wakley published

Scientists have used a novel method to create sustainable, rainbow-colored fibers using bacteria in the lab.

Chemistry
an animation of a spinning buckyball molecule

Science history: Chemists discover buckyballs — the most perfect molecules in existence — Nov. 14, 1985

By Tia Ghose published

Over a feverish 10-day period, scientists synthesized and described a new class of carbon molecules, called buckminster fullerenes, after the iconic 20th-century inventor.

Chemistry

Why does boiling water have bubbles, except in a microwave?

By Victoria Atkinson published

Bubbles are usually the first sign that water’s coming to the boil, but heating it in a microwave seems to skip this important step. Here’s what’s going on.

Chemistry
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Technology

Conceptual cartoon illustration. Person beside a laptop wears a t-shirt saying 'I'm with stupid' pointing to the laptop with what looks like a chatbot conversation open on the screen.

The more that people use AI, the more likely they are to overestimate their own abilities

By Drew Turney published

Researchers found that AI flattens the bell curve of a common principle in human psychology, known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, giving us all the illusion of competence.

Artificial Intelligence
A pixel art-style illustration of a castle representing the protection of data

Quantum computing will make cryptography obsolete. But computer scientists are working to make them unhackable.

By Joanna Thompson published

When quantum computers become commonplace, current cryptographic systems will become obsolete. Scientists are racing to get ahead of the problem and keep our data secure.

Computing
IBM's new Loom processor

IBM unveils two new quantum processors — including one that offers a blueprint for fault-tolerant quantum computing by 2029

By Keumars Afifi-Sabet published

IBM has released two new complex quantum processors alongside a new framework that would allow us to track the first demonstration of quantum advantage.

Computing
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