Science
Scientific discoveries and research
NASA's MAVEN detects first evidence of lightning-like activity on Mars
While sifting through the extensive data collected by NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft over the last decade, scientists discover...
Get ready for the Rubin Observatory's deluge of discoveries
It's been about eight months since the Vera Rubin Observatory (VRO) saw first light. Now the telescope is scanning the night sky to detect transient changes and...
Laser-within-a-laser delivers MeV X-ray radiography in picoseconds
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the hottest place on Earth for the briefest of moments during an experiment. Now, i...
Paleontologists investigate how life entered and adapted to the deep sea
The deep sea is a dark, cold place. It's just a few degrees above freezing, subject to immense pressure, and beyond the reach of the sunlight needed for photosy...
The nation is missing millions of voters due to lack of rights for former felons
If you gathered every American with a prison record into one contiguous territory and admitted it to the union, you would create the 12th-largest state. It woul...
How invasive house sparrows are helping scientists detect dangerous contaminants
The house sparrow is a highly invasive pest in North Carolina, and bluebird enthusiasts frequently throw their eggs out and remove their nests to keep them from...
Wildfire smoke silences grassland birds in New York state
On a hazy day in June 2023, doctoral students Trifosa Simamora and Timothy Boycott noticed that the birds at their field site had gone quiet. Now in a study pub...
Rare Type Icn supernova SN 2024abvb is among the most luminous known
An international team of astronomers has carried out photometric and spectroscopic observations of SN 2024abvb—a recently discovered supernova of a rare Type Ic...
Nanoparticles and AI can help researchers detect pollutants in water, soil and blood
Across the U.S., hundreds of sites on land or in lakes and rivers are heavily contaminated with hazardous waste produced by human activity. Many of these places...
Tiny recording backpacks reveal bats' surprising hunting strategy
Deep into the Panamanian night, the forest hums with sound. Chirping insects form a steady backdrop, rain softly trickles from leaves. Somewhere above a stream,...
Ancient Greek priestesses may have turned ergot fungus into a psychedelic brew during the Eleusinian Mysteries
The Eleusinian Mysteries were secret religious rites in ancient Greece honoring the goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone, and aimed to remove the fear of...
NASA adds mission to Artemis lunar program, updates architecture
As part of a golden age of exploration and discovery, NASA announced Friday the agency is increasing its cadence of missions under the Artemis program to achiev...