Science

Measles Is Back With a Vengeance, Killed 200,000 in 2019

A new report from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlights a bleak reality: Measles, the highly contagious but vaccine-preventable viral illness, infected at least 860,000 people and killed over 200,000 worldwide in 2019—a roughly 50% jump in deaths from 2016. Sadly, the covid-19 pandemic is likely to make…

Health Ed Cara Nov 12

This Weekend’s Launch of SpaceX CrewDragon Will Usher in a New Era [Updated]

NASA and SpaceX are targeting this Saturday for the launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station, in what is expected to be the first of many regularly scheduled crew flights to space from U.S. soil. Here’s what you need to know about this historic mission and how you’ll be able to watch. Update…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Nov 12

Image: D. Osterhage et al., 2020/PLOS ONE

Deepwater Sightings of Rare Bigfin Squid Reveal Some Serious Weirdness

An extensive survey of deep waters off the coast of Australia has resulted in a trove of bigfin squid sightings. And by trove, we mean the detection of five individuals—these deep-sea creatures are exceptionally rare, so any new observations are quite valuable to scientists. “Deep-sea cephalopods are highly diverse and widespread yet often shrouded in…

Biology George Dvorsky Nov 11

Photo: Washington State Department of Agriculture

Take a Look Inside the Washington State Murder Hornet Nest

The full contents of the first “murder hornet” nest discovered in the U.S. have been revealed, and they’re unsurprisingly terrifying. On Tuesday, Washington state officials announced they found over 500 Asian giant hornets in the nest, including dozens of not-yet-fertile queens that were primed to mate, wait out the winter, and then start their own…

Earther Ed Cara Nov 11

Do Not Relax: Covid-19 Is Reaching a Terrifying New Peak

This is not the time to let your guard down. Over the weekend, many people breathed a collective sigh of relief as it became apparent that Joe Biden would become the 46th President of the United States. During his victory speech on Sunday, Biden assured people that he would immediately create a task force of…

Health Ed Cara Nov 10

Scientists Have Discovered an Ancient Lakebed Beneath Greenland’s Ice

Using radar and other ice-penetrating instruments, scientists have detected a “fossil lakebed” preserved beneath the Greenland ice sheet, in what is the first discovery of its kind. Now a basin smothered by a gigantic sheet of ice, this former lake once measured 2,740 square miles (7,100 square kilometers) in size, which is an area comparable…

Earth Science George Dvorsky Nov 10

A Dark Matter Detector Based on a Wind Chime Seems Just Weird Enough to Work

Dark matter physicists may have one of the most frustrating jobs in science. Their work deals with something that must, by almost all models of the universe, exist. But we’ve never found any direct evidence for dark matter. Where other scientists can capture their subjects in a lab and perform experiments on it, scholars of…

Physics & Chemistry Nathaniel Scharping Nov 10

Covid-19 Survivors Face Increased Risk of Mental Illness and Dementia, Study Suggests

A new study out this week is the latest to suggest that the effects of covid-19 can extend beyond the initial acute illness. Researchers found that about one in every five people diagnosed with covid-19 went on to be diagnosed with an episode of mental illness and/or insomnia in the three months following—a rate higher…

Health Ed Cara Nov 10

Microbes Can Mine Valuable Elements From Rocks in Space

Recent experiments aboard the International Space Station have shown that some microbes can harvest valuable rare-earth elements from rocks, even when exposed to microgravity conditions. The unexpected finding shows how microbes could boost our ability to live and work in space. On Earth, some microscopic organisms have shown their worth as effective miners, extracting rare-earth…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Nov 10

NASA Chief Says He Will Step Down When Biden Takes Office

Jim Bridenstine will reportedly step down soon from his top role at NASA, saying he would be a poor fit for the job under a Biden administration. Appointed by the outgoing, impeached President Donald Trump, the Republican former congressman ended up being actually competent as leader of NASA, despite his history of climate change denial…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Nov 9

Arctic Researchers Are Racing Against Time to Retrieve Acoustic Devices on the Seafloor

Last summer, researchers anchored underwater listening devices to the bottom of the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic. Now, they’re making the treacherous journey to pull them up to see what they can teach us about the climate crisis. The scientists deposited the devices in August 2019 on voyage called the Coordinated Arctic Acoustic Thermometry Experiment.…

Earther Dharna Noor Nov 9

Second Cable Fails at Arecibo, Causing Even More Damage to Famed SETI Dish

Another cable has fallen onto the reflector dish at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, in yet another frustrating setback for this beloved facility. The main support cable of the Arecibo Observatory failed and fell onto the dish below at 7:30 p.m. Puerto Rico time on Friday November 6, reports UCF Today. The extent of…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Nov 9

How Excited Should You Be About the Pfizer Vaccine News?

On Monday, pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced that its experimental vaccine against the coronavirus that causes covid-19 was shown to be highly effective in an early analysis of its ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial. The data underlying these results has yet to be verified by outside scientists and is preliminary, however, so while this is encouraging…

Health Ed Cara Nov 9

Some People Already Have Antibodies That Recognize Covid-19, Thanks to Common Colds

A new study suggests that a small portion of the population carries antibodies that respond to the coronavirus behind covid-19 without having been infected—antibodies lifted from previous bouts with the common cold caused by related viruses. The research is the latest to indicate that some people may have a degree of preexisting immunity to the…

Health Ed Cara Nov 6

Major UK Trial Will Study Aspirin as a Covid-19 Treatment

A 120-year-old drug is about to be put to the test as a possible treatment for covid-19. This week, researchers from the UK announced they would start including aspirin as one of the treatments studied in the ongoing RECOVERY trial—one of the largest and most influential clinical trials conducted during the pandemic. They hope that…

Health Ed Cara Nov 6

Image: John and Karen Hollingsworth/USFWS

Colorado Is Getting Its Wolves Back After Voters Approve Historic Law

Voters in Colorado have approved Proposition 114, forcing the state government to reintroduce the gray wolf. It’s the first time in U.S. history that a ballot measure win has obliged a state government to bring back a species that disappeared due to human actions. With more than 90% of the vote counted, opponents of Proposition…

Conservation George Dvorsky Nov 6

Mimic, Guillermo del Toro’s Most ‘Hollywood’ Movie, Is Still a Creepy-Crawly Chiller

Four years after his first feature, Cronos, Guillermo del Toro made his Hollywood debut with Mimic and famously hated the experience. Though he might have been hamstrung in certain arenas while making the movie, Mimic is still stuffed full of del Toro trademarks—and 23 years later, it’s fascinating to revisit. If you’re looking to watch,…

Movies Cheryl Eddy Nov 6

World’s Biggest Iceberg Is on a Collision Course With Wildlife-Filled Island

The world’s biggest iceberg—called A68a—is heading directly towards the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, where it could wreak havoc on the local wildlife for years to come. Satellite imagery shows the iceberg, which is larger than Rhode Island, drifting northeast towards the British overseas territory of South Georgia. As the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) explained…

Earther George Dvorsky Nov 5

Denmark to Cull Mink Population After Finding Coronavirus Mutation That Spread to Humans

Denmark is taking aggressive action to stop the spread of coronavirus outbreaks on mink farms that have now seemingly jumped back into humans. On Wednesday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that farm workers have contracted infections with strains of the virus that contain a mutation first found in infected minks—a mutation that public health…

Health Ed Cara Nov 4

Illustration: Matthew Verdolivo (UC Davis IET Academic Technology Services

9,000-Year-Old Burial of Female Hunter Upends Beliefs About Prehistoric Gender Roles

Conventional thinking in anthropology has it that prehistoric hunting was an activity reserved for males, while females did the gathering. Turns out this assumption is wrong, according to a provocative new study. She died young, somewhere between the ages of 17 and 19. Buried some 9,000 years ago in the Andean highlands of South America,…

Human History George Dvorsky Nov 4

Measles Is Back With a Vengeance, Killed 200,000 in 2019

This Weekend’s Launch of SpaceX CrewDragon Will Usher in a New Era [Updated]

Deepwater Sightings of Rare Bigfin Squid Reveal Some Serious Weirdness

Take a Look Inside the Washington State Murder Hornet Nest

Do Not Relax: Covid-19 Is Reaching a Terrifying New Peak

Scientists Have Discovered an Ancient Lakebed Beneath Greenland’s Ice

A Dark Matter Detector Based on a Wind Chime Seems Just Weird Enough to Work

Covid-19 Survivors Face Increased Risk of Mental Illness and Dementia, Study Suggests

Microbes Can Mine Valuable Elements From Rocks in Space

NASA Chief Says He Will Step Down When Biden Takes Office

Arctic Researchers Are Racing Against Time to Retrieve Acoustic Devices on the Seafloor

Second Cable Fails at Arecibo, Causing Even More Damage to Famed SETI Dish

How Excited Should You Be About the Pfizer Vaccine News?

Some People Already Have Antibodies That Recognize Covid-19, Thanks to Common Colds

Major UK Trial Will Study Aspirin as a Covid-19 Treatment

Colorado Is Getting Its Wolves Back After Voters Approve Historic Law

Mimic, Guillermo del Toro’s Most ‘Hollywood’ Movie, Is Still a Creepy-Crawly Chiller

World’s Biggest Iceberg Is on a Collision Course With Wildlife-Filled Island

Denmark to Cull Mink Population After Finding Coronavirus Mutation That Spread to Humans

9,000-Year-Old Burial of Female Hunter Upends Beliefs About Prehistoric Gender Roles

This Loud-Ass Party Speaker Almost Got Me High AF

VHS-Inspired ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Mod Takes Night City Back to the Future

Our Checkout Code Gives You 5 Years of ChatOn’s All-in-One AI Tools Experience for Less Than Half Price

How Should We Prepare for the Looming Quantum Encryption Apocalypse?

Picture Perfect: Artemis 2 Returns Home After a Stellar 10 Days in Space

Artemis 2 Day 10: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

It Sure Looks Like This Is the End for the Current Era of ‘Star Trek’

Before ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Blew Up, Disney Scrapped a Pixar Movie With a Similar Vibe

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

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The Best Gadgets of March 2026

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