Halley wasn't the first to figure out the famous comet. An 11th-century monk did it first, new research suggests.
An 11th-century monk saw the famous "Halley's comet" first as a child and later as an adult, new research finds.
Space
Giant 'metal cloud' in nearby star system could be hiding an undiscovered sun
Astronomers suspect that a massive metallic cloud swirling in a nearby star system could be hiding a giant planet or dwarf star from view, after it drastically dimmed a sun-like star for around nine months.
NASA is preparing for simulated launch of Artemis II mega moon rocket — and it could happen as early as Saturday
NASA has announced it will fuel the Artemis II rocket as part of a simulated launch that will take place as early as Saturday (Jan. 31).
See February's full Snow Moon rise this weekend next to a glittering star cluster
February's full "Snow Moon" will be at its fullest on Sunday, Feb. 1, and will be best seen at moonrise. It will appear just beneath the Beehive Cluster, one of the closest star clusters to the solar system.
Planet Earth
'Doomsday Clock' ticks 4 seconds closer to midnight
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists now says humanity is a metaphorical 85 seconds to global disaster.
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Ancient lake full of crop circles lurks in the shadow of Saudi Arabia's 'camel-hump' mountain
Earth from space A 2020 astronaut photo shows the oasis town of Jubbah lurking within a paleolake in the wind shadow of Saudi Arabia's "two camel-hump mountain."
A drying climate is making East Africa pull apart faster
A switch from a humid to a dry climate has led the Eastern African Rift Zone to pull apart more freely, new research finds.
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Chocolate Hills: The color-changing mounds in the Philippines that inspired legends of mud-slinging giants
The Chocolate Hills are 1,776 mounds on Bohol Island in the Philippines where grassy cover turns brown during the dry season.
Arctic blast probably won't cause trees to explode in the cold — but here's what happens if and when they do go boom
An exploding tree claim has gone viral as the U.S. brace for an Arctic blast that will send temperatures plunging, triggering a massive and long-lasting winter storm.
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archaeology
Teenage girl who lived in Italy 12,000 years ago had a rare form of dwarfism, DNA study shows
In 1963, researchers unearthed two Stone Age skeletons that were buried in an embraced position in a cave in Italy. Now, DNA testing has revealed that one of them had a rare genetic condition.
430,000-year-old wooden handheld tools from Greece are the oldest on record — and they predate modern humans
Archaeologists have found the oldest-known surviving examples of handheld wooden tools.
160,000-year-old sophisticated stone tools discovered in China may not have been made by Homo sapiens
Archaeologists have found the oldest known evidence of hafted tools in East Asia, and they challenge a previously held assumption about stone tool use.
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LATEST ARTICLES
Animals
Rock climbers in Italy accidentally discovered evidence of an 80 million-year-old sea turtle stampede
Scientists say grooves on a rock face overlooking the Adriatic Sea may have been made by sea turtles fleeing an earthquake.
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Shark attacks in Hawaii spike in October, and scientists think they know why
Sharktober is real in Hawaii — and it's down to the reproductive pattern of predatory tiger sharks, an analysis of 30 years of data reveals.
'They are life, but not as we now know it': 26-foot organism that lived 420 million years ago is completely unknown branch of animal kingdom
An ancient and enormous organism called Prototaxites, initially found to be a type of fungus, may actually be an unknown branch of life, researchers say.
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Coyote scrambles onto Alcatraz Island after perilous, never-before-seen swim
Experts have reacted to a viral video of a coyote swimming to Alcatraz Island in what is a surprising first for the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Health & Human Behavior
Can AI detect cognitive decline better than a doctor? New study reveals surprising accuracy
Designed to assist rather than replace doctors, a new autonomous tool scans clinical notes to highlight patients who may need urgent follow-up for cognitive decline and potential dementia.
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Liquid-nitrogen-infused cocktail popped a man's stomach like a balloon
Liquid nitrogen can be used safely in food preparation — but one man's stomach burst after he threw back a cocktail that had been cooled with the substance.
IVF hormones could be delivered with painless 'microneedle' patch someday, early study hints
Scientists are developing a microneedle patch that they hope could someday simplify IVF hormone delivery. They've tested it in animals.
The UK has lost its measles elimination status — again
Measles has been spreading continuously in the U.K. for over a year, meaning the country has lost its elimination status.
People with more 'brown fat' have healthier cardiovascular systems. A new study in mice may explain why.
A mouse study shows that beige fat, previously known for its heating function, may also lower blood pressure by keeping blood vessels relaxed. The same may go for brown fat in humans.
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Life's Little Mysteries
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Technology
Giving AI the ability to monitor its own thought process could help it think like humans
Today's best AI systems don't have a good grasp on their own thought process, but a new model might allow them to tap into metacognition
Next-generation AI 'swarms' will invade social media by mimicking human behavior and harassing real users, researchers warn
Artificial intelligence experts have warned that AI "swarms" are poised to infiltrate social media by deploying agents that mimic human behavior and exploit our tendency to follow the herd.
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Physics, Math & Chemistry
Standard model of cosmology holds up in massive 6-year study of the universe
The six-year Dark Energy Survey has released its full results, showing that two leading models of cosmology are equally valid — but both fail to explain one key observation.
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Dark matter and neutrinos may interact, hinting at 'fundamental breakthrough' in particle physics
Astronomers found evidence that dark matter and neutrinos may interact, hinting at a "fundamental breakthrough" that challenges our understanding of how the universe evolved.
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Quizzes & Games
Live Science crossword puzzle #28: Largest desert in Asia — 6 across
Science crossword Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!
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Renpho Lynx smart ring review: Somewhat disappointing
Reviews The first fitness tracker made by wellness giant Renpho has some strong points, but it is unlikely to make serious waves in the smart ring industry.
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