Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.
For years, scientists were certain that two factors were involved in the assembly of active, highly infectious Zika viruses in human cells: a specific viral protein in its entirety and a turncoat human enzyme that assured viral maturity. New research suggests that Zika virus has been far less reliant on those components than previously thought.
As of Aug. 30, 2026, NASA's Curiosity rover has officially seen the sun rise and set over Mars' reddish horizon more than 5,000 times in its quest to discover if life ever existed there. The rover was originally planned to operate for only two years, but the mission is still going strong more than 14 years after landing on Mars in August 2012. During that time, the rover has weathered global dust storms and climbed more than 3,200 feet (1,000 meters) up a mountain — although its tires have gotten some rather large holes in them in the process. The rover still uses its 17 cameras to take hundreds of photos every single sol (Martian day), beaming a total of more than 780,000 photos back to Ear...
Scandinavian museums are trying to move beyond the familiar image of Vikings as sword-wielding male warriors, highlighting women, farmers, traders, and a far more complicated society. But the enduring popularity of the Viking myth means exhibitions often balance historical accuracy with stories that reflect modern ideas about national identity and culture.
Stonehenge’s six-ton Altar Stone may have been carried from Scotland to Dogger Bank by glaciers before prehistoric people transported it hundreds of kilometers to Salisbury Plain. The possible multistage journey suggests remarkable organization and raises the possibility that the stone was valued long before it became part of Stonehenge.
A pigeon turning its head might seem an unlikely electricity generator. Yet one proposed explanation for the bird's magnetic sense depends on exactly that: Turning through Earth's magnetic field would produce tiny electrical signals inside its ears. However, a theoretical study suggests that this miniature generator cannot supply directional information fast enough to work as a compass. The problem is electrical noise produced within the proposed sensor itself.
The patient: A 16-year-old boy in IndiaThe symptoms: The teen developed swelling on his left upper eyelid that persisted for a few months but was painless. However, he later noticed two sharp, white projections poking out from the skin above his eye. About a month after these projections appeared, he went to a hospital. What happened next: Doctors examined the teen's eyelid, noting that the spikes had a "fairly smooth surface and were hard on palpation," said Dr. Meghana Tanwar, a medical consultant at the Aravind Eye Hospital in India who co-authored a report of the case. The texture and color of the projections suggested they might be teeth, she told Live Science in an email.Initially, the...
Is it possible to optimize our poop?
A new study found that one in four professional football players who died between 2016 and 2021 had CTE—a degenerative brain disease—but what about children who play these sports?
Typhoon Dujuan left seven people dead and five others missing Tuesday after the storm triggered landslides and flooding in the greater Tokyo area, Kyodo News reported, citing authorities.
Britain announced Wednesday that it will launch a new military space squadron to defend the country's satellites, the latest move as countries race to develop military space capabilities.
A new peer-reviewed study from Bournemouth University has found a striking gap between how people perceive the risks of matched betting and what some experience in practice. Matched betting involves using free bets given out by online gambling companies as a promotion to attract new customers. This allows people to bet on different results for the same event, such as a football match. It is frequently promoted online as a controlled or even 'risk-free' way of making money.
Heat waves over land worldwide are beginning earlier, ending later and occurring over longer seasons, while the first heat wave of the season has recently shifted toward faster onset, according to a new study published in Nature Climate Change.
A study conducted by the University of Liège and Rockefeller University reveals, with near-atomic precision, the three-dimensional structure and function of a gigantic molecular machine essential to the survival of trypanosomatid parasites, which cause serious diseases in humans, animals and plants. The work has been published in Nature Communications.
New York University researchers have trained an AI model to learn chemical patterns associated with stability in drug-like molecules and accurately predict where their hydrogen atoms should be positioned.
The hunt for extraterrestrial life on distant planets may be operating with a big blind spot. That's because we aren't accounting for the nature of the light coming from the host star itself when we interpret the chemical signatures of life, or biosignatures, on some of the most promising candidate planets beyond the solar system. If we don't consider that crucial factor, we could be led on a wild-goose chase across the cosmos.Despite having discovered thousands of exoplanets, we have not detected convincing evidence of alien life on any of them. But astronomy is reaching a point where powerful telescopes can zoom in on many more potentially habitable worlds. Planets that orbit M dwarfs, whi...
The most powerful venture capital firm in Silicon Valley is starting a two-year private school intended to replace college, as some members of the U.S. tech elite question the benefits of a traditional university education.
A display of flowers has bloomed across Chile's Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, after the El Niño climate phenomenon brought heavy rain to the region.
A reptile believed to be struggling in sand at a Southern California beach was simply making history: a sea turtle laying eggs on the U.S. West Coast.
Grassland plants transfer large amounts of carbon to soil through their roots, and most of that carbon is stored underground. Therefore, promoting soil carbon storage can help combat climate change. Grazers feed on grassland plants, and conventional wisdom often assumes that removing grazers benefits carbon storage, but a new study in Global Change Biology Communications reveals that the opposite may be the case.
New research in Plants, People, Planet demonstrates how precision agriculture techniques involving drones and sensor-based irrigation can save water needed to produce tomatoes and grapes while also improving the quality of these crops.