Science
Martian air could yield methane rocket fuel with fewer unwanted byproducts
As NASA prepares to send humans to Mars as early as the 2030s, University of Mississippi researchers are working on one of the key questions: How will they get back?
Quebec wildfire smoke left forest moths with deformed wings, research finds
Over the course of the summer of 2023, Quebec experienced its worst wildfire season on record. By its end, some 4.5 million hectares (11.1 million acres) of the province's boreal …
Star-fingered toads use fingertip lobules to detect prey in murky water
Surinam toads (Pipa pipa) are strange, flat frogs with minuscule eyes that live in the murky waters of the Amazon basin and carry their eggs on their backs. The way they catch pre…
'Star Trek' imagined strange new worlds 60 years ago, but are real exoplanets even stranger?
"To explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before!"
Study reveals another reason to save the world's trees
All over the world, from Oregon's old-growth forests to Queensland's eucalyptus groves, creatures depend on trees for shelter. A new analysis from the University of Illinois Urban…
Astrophotographer captures jaw-dropping view of the Crescent Nebula
Astrophotographer Kevin Boardman spent more than 16 hours capturing the intricate filaments of the Crescent Nebula.
Why should we care if there aren't any squished insects on our windshield?
This summer, you may have wondered why you are seeing so few insects squished on your car's windshield compared with a road trip several years ago.
On this day in space! Sept. 8, 2004: NASA's Genesis spacecraft crashed in the Utah desert, shattering its samples of solar wind particles from the sun
On Sept. 8, 2004, NASA's Genesis spacecraft crash-landed in Utah after its parachutes failed to deploy. Here's why it mattered.
Heat waves inhibit antibiotic resistance in soils, but at a price
Extreme heat waves disrupt life in soil. Soil bacteria that produce and resist antibiotics switch into survival mode, temporarily reducing the number of resistance genes. At the s…
Arthropods inspire interdisciplinary solutions to global challenges, initiative shows
Arthropods are small, but they could play an outsized role in tackling some of the world's biggest challenges.
An unmissable $450 off, we rank this vintage-style Nikon as the best camera under $2000, but it is going fast
Our expert thinks this Nikon Zf camera is a stylish, powerful performer at full price, offering great low-light performance to boot. Now, thanks to this Amazon deal, it's the chea…
Superbubble in the Large Magellanic Cloud
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captures a photogenic nebula, N44, in the Large Magellanic Cloud in this Sept. 3, 2026, image. N44 is dominated by two features: a vast central void …
World's most endangered tigers born in Greece as zoos build a safety net
The world's most endangered tigers have started a family in Greece, offering hope for a predator rapidly vanishing from the wild.
Are rich people really worse behaved? Here’s the science – video
Who’s more likely to steal sweets from a child? According to science, it’s the rich. A study seemingly confirming our suspicions about the moral behaviour of the wealthy was one o…
New way to harness copper makes antibiotic-resistant bacteria and cancer cells more vulnerable
University of Missouri researchers have discovered a new way to harness one of the body's natural defenses: copper. While copper is essential for life and helps power important bi…
Quiet black holes with a stellar companion raise questions about how they form
Active black holes are easy to detect. Their superheated accretion disks emit bright X-rays, and the jets streaming from their poles are easily seen at visible and radio wavelengt…
Hubble and Webb find that far-out solar system objects 'remember' the past
For the first time, scientists used the combined power of NASA's Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes to study some of the most far-flung bodies in our solar system, trans-Neptu…
2 satellites just burned up in Earth's atmosphere — and scientists were watching from a private jet. Here's why
A team of researchers just chased a pair of reentering satellites in a private jet to learn about the pollution caused by space debris burning up in Earth's atmosphere.
Interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS carries clues from the frozen outskirts of another star system
UK astronomers have uncovered new clues about the origin of 3I/ATLAS—only the third known object from beyond the solar system ever spotted. In a new paper published in Monthly Not…
Pumping antibiotics out: A new route to bacterial drug resistance
Bacteria can survive antibiotics in several ways, including by pumping the drugs out of their cells before they can take effect. Researchers at the University of Osaka have discov…
Do black holes grow along with the universe? A new study says yes
We know the universe is constantly expanding. We also know that gravitationally bound objects, such as solar systems and black holes, seem to be immune to that expansion. But a ne…
ALMA watches a massive binary assemble in real time
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have captured one of the most detailed three-dimensional views yet of a massive binary star system while…
NASA Technique for Manipulating Satellite Photos Now Reveals Ancient Images
Algorithm NASA first applied to satellite imagery is now used to peer into antiquity
Eggshells-inspired aluminum material offers significant protection from space debris
There are nearly 1 million pieces of debris larger than 1 centimeter (0.4 inch) in near-Earth orbit. As we continue launching spacecraft and telescopes to explore the universe, th…