Science

This Beach Could (Almost) Be on Mars

These are the vast plains of Katwijk. That’s not the name of a new Martian valley or a hidden lunar crater, though but… a beach, right here on Earth in the Netherlands. In fact, it’s where the European Space Agency is putting a new breed of robotic rovers through their paces. Much like autonomous cars…

Gene Editing Won’t Work on Complex Traits Like Intelligence

As we consider the ethics of human gene editing, we need to understand what can and can’t be meaningfully edited. Last week, scientists gathered in Washington, DC for the International Summit on Human Gene Editing to discuss a technology called CRISPR-CAS9, which can insert, remove and change the DNA of basically any organism. It is…

Tonight is the Last Chance for Japan’s Venus Orbiter to Reach the Planet

Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft is desperately trying to claw its way into Venus orbit tonight. After blowing its orbital insertion five years ago, this is an incredible second chance for the spacecraft brought about by impressive ingenuity from the engineering team. Artist’s concept of Akatsuki observing the clouds of Venus. Image credit: JAXA Akatsuki originally attempted…

Will Cygnus Finally Fly Today? Watch LIVE!

It’s proving hard for the Cygnus spacecraft to get off the ground for its return-to-flight! After getting rained out Thursday and shoved around by gusts of wind Friday and Saturday, this is the fourth attempt for the cargo craft to deliver supplies to the space station. Watch live as we count down to the 4:44pm…

The return-to-flight launch of the Cygnus spacecraft today was preemptively scrubbed due to high winds. The next attempt is Sunday at 4:44 p.m. EST. Join us then to watch live! [NASA]

Behold the Closest Ever Image of a Kuiper Belt Object

Whoosh! Did you see that? It may look a bit scrappy, but the tiny white projectile at the center of the animation below—officially called 1994 JR1— is a cosmic time capsule, brought to you by a piano-sized spacecraft over 3 billion miles away. You’re looking at the closest picture yet of a Kuiper Belt Object…

We Still Don’t Know What Causes That Knuckle Cracking Sound

Snap, crackle, pop: the sound of cracking knuckles is familiar to everyone, but scientists are having a hell of a time figuring out what causes it. A new ultrasound imaging study offers additional clues, but no definitive answers. The GIF above was created from ultrasound footage collected in a first-of-its-kind knuckle cracking study led by…

This Bandage Glows Green When You’re Infected

It isn’t easy to diagnose wound infections before they’ve progressed into a nasty, purulent mess, and many doctors prefer to play it safe by doling out antibiotics early. But a clever new bandage that glows bright green at its first whiff of bad bacteria could help change that. Led by chemistry professor Toby Jenkins at…

These Are the Best Pluto Images New Horizons Captured

NASA has just received the first batch of the sharpest images of Pluto captured during the July flyby—and they’re incredible. Are you ready to go cross-country skiing and ice climbing three billion miles from home? Because Pluto’s terrain is a frozen wonderland. The images below are part of a sequence captured by New Horizons’ Long…

This Distant Galaxy Appeared Just 400 Million Years After the Big Bang

NASA scientists have captured a remarkable glimpse of a primordial compact galaxy that came into existence at a time when the Universe was exceptionally young, using the Hubble Space Telescope. Scientists at NASA spotted the ancient galaxy while analyzing a Hubble image of a massive cluster of galaxies. Located at the mind-boggling distance of 4…

Second Attempt to Launch Cygnus to the Space Station Scrubbed by Wind [UPDATED]

After getting rained out yesterday, it’s time to start preparing for the next launch window for the Cygnus spacecraft. If it succeeds, this will be the first launch for the cargo tug since the previous one blew up in October 2014. UPDATE: Gusts of wind caused first delays and finally a scrub for the launch…

A Trash-Munching Robot Could Turn Space Junk Into Propulsion

Humans clearly have a trash problem on Earth, but our track record isn’t that much better in outer space, where tens of thousands of stray debris fragments whip around the planet at rip-roaring speeds, posing a very serious danger to astronauts and satellites. Many ideas have been tossed out to deal with our orbital trash,…

Watch This Bat Pounce On Its Prey in Infrared Slow Motion

Bats are small, generally harmless to humans, and eat a lot of insects that would otherwise infect our bodies or ruin our fruit. That doesn’t stop this air-to-leaf pounce from being kind of scary, though. We know that many bats find their food through echolocation, but for some time we didn’t know how far their…

British Astronaut Tim Peake Is Going to Run a Marathon—in Space

The British astronaut Tim Peake clearly likes a challenge. Not content with merely heading into space on December 15th, he’s also agreed to run a marathon aboard the International Space Station. It will be the first time any astronaut has run the distance while in space. He’ll undertake the 26.2 miles at 10:00am GMT on…

Scientists Have Turned Gum Into a Carbon Nanotube-Loaded Sensor

It sounds like it could be something that Q hands to Bond, but researchers have developed a way to incorporate carbon nanotubes into chewing gum so that the sticky mass can be used as a stretchable, bendable medical sensor. A team of researchers from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg chewed Doublemint gum for 30…

Toolmarks on Mars Leave a Trail of Robotic Graffiti

Our robots are equipped tools that leave behind distinctive marks on the fourth planet from the Sun. Here’s how those tools have changed over time to leave a more lasting impression on Mars, and what we can expect from the robots of the future. Nuzzles from Sojourner The Pathfinder Lander’s deployable mini-rover Sojourner was equipped…

Fermilab Experiment Finds No Evidence That We Live in a Hologram

A controversial experiment at Fermilab designed to hunt for signs that our universe may really be a hologram has failed to find the evidence it was seeking, the laboratory has announced. It’s called the Holometer (short for “Holographic Interferometer”), and it’s the brainchild of Fermilab physicist Craig Hogan. He dreamed up the idea in 2009…

These Bouncing Droplets Could Help Resolve a 90-Year Mystery of Quantum Mechanics

The drops of silicone oil bobbing in this mesmerizing video do more than create aesthetically satisfying ripples across a slick surface. They could be indirect evidence of an alternate solution to a nagging question in quantum mechanics — one that dates back almost a century. The video is among the winners of this year’s Gallery…

Watch NASA’s Cygnus Spacecraft Launch to the Space Station Live Right Here [UPDATED]

After a long wait, NASA’s Orbital ATK Cygnus is headed up to the space station today, carting 7,000 pounds of gear along with it. Count down with us and watch the whole thing happen right here. UPDATE 6:25 p.m. EST: The launch has been rescheduled due to weather. The new date is tomorrow, Friday December…

Our Sun Could Release Superflares As Powerful As a Billion Megaton Bombs

By studying a nearby sun-like star, astronomers have concluded that the Sun is capable of releasing solar flares a thousand times greater than anything previously recorded. Scientists say the chances of this are quite slim, but warn that such an event would threaten life on Earth. Astronomers have documented superflares before, but never in our…