Science

These Contact Lens Horror Stories Show Why You Need to Take Them Out at Night

Those of us who regularly wear contact lenses know we should practice good lens hygiene, including taking them out at night and washing them with a sterile cleaning solution. But knowing doesn’t always equate to doing. For those who need a more visceral reminder of why these habits are so important, here are some gruesome…

Health Ed Cara Dec 19

Don’t Take the DNA Test You’ll Probably Get for Christmas

This year, you and your loved ones may have come across ads for a great gift to give this holiday season: cheaper-than-ever home DNA-testing kits sold by companies like 23andMe, FamilyTreeDNA, and Ancestry. And judging by the numbers, these companies’ sales pitches have been a wild success for them, especially in 2018. Just a few…

Reviews Ed Cara Dec 19

Saturn’s Rings Could Be Gone in Just 100 Million Years

With its extensive system of rings, Saturn is among the most beautiful planets in the Solar System. Sadly, it’s beauty may be fleeting, according to new research. Saturn’s rings are dissolving faster than scientists expected, according to the study, and they could be gone in 100 million to 300 million years—a cosmological blink of the…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Dec 18

Knowing the Carbon Footprint of Your Food May Convince You to Eat Less Meat, Study Suggests

I’m one of those people who can’t let go of meat altogether, but I try to eat less because of its carbon footprint. A new study hints that more people would do the same if they realized how bad their food was for the planet. The study, published in Nature Climate Change Monday, consisted of…

Climate Change Yessenia Funes Dec 18

Look at These Incredible Dinosaur Footprints Found in England

A trove well-preserved dinosaur footprints has been uncovered on a beach in southern England. Dating back to the Cretaceous Period, the prints still show traces of skin, scales, and claws. Paleontologists from the University of Cambridge have uncovered 85 dinosaur footprints from at least seven different species on a beach in East Sussex near Hastings,…

Biology George Dvorsky Dec 18

Hell Yes, NASA’s New Horizons Will Buzz Right Past Ultima Thule on New Year’s Day

Today was the last possible day for mission controllers to adjust the trajectory of the New Horizons spacecraft as it approaches Ultima Thule, a distant Kuiper Belt object. With no detectable dangers in sight, NASA has given the green light for the spacecraft to remain along its optimal path—a trajectory that will result in an…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Dec 18

Scientists Retract Study that Found Americans Had Given Up on Losing Weight

It’s well known that Americans have steadily become more overweight and obese over the years. A widely reported 2017 study even found that overweight Americans were giving up on losing weight altogether—but, as it turns out, that conclusion wasn’t quite right. On Tuesday, the authors of the study retracted and corrected their finding, claiming they…

Health Ed Cara Dec 18

Skull Soup, Viking Tech, and More: The Wildest Archaeological Discoveries of 2018

Archaeologists dug up a lot of cool stuff in 2018, but they dug up a lot of weird, disgusting, and disturbing stuff as well. Here are the strangest archaeology stories the year had to offer. No doubt, 2018 was a banner year for archaeology. It was a year that witnessed the discovery of a 50,000-year-old…

Reviews George Dvorsky Dec 18

Astronomers Just Discovered ‘Farout,’ the Most Distant Known Object in the Solar System

A team of astronomers has discovered the most extreme trans-Neptunian object in the outer reaches of the Solar System. Dubbed “Farout,” the object is more than 120 times farther from the Sun than Earth is. Excitingly, given preliminary estimates about its size, it could actually be a dwarf planet—but it’s still too small to qualify…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Dec 17

U.S. Gun Deaths Reached a Record High in 2017

The number of Americans who were killed by firearms in 2017 reached a record high, according to a recent CNN analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were almost 40,000 gun-related deaths last year. The majority of these deaths were suicides. CNN looked at the CDC’s WONDER database, which pools…

Health Ed Cara Dec 17

Seattle Experiment Shows Later School Start Times Can Help Teens Get More Sleep

Here’s some refreshing good news, courtesy of a new study released last week in Science Advances. Teens in Seattle got more sleep, were less tardy, and even did better in class after schools across the area delayed their start times by about an hour. While many people deal with chronic sleep deprivation, kids and teens…

Health Ed Cara Dec 17

Ancient Flying Reptiles Featured Distinctly Dino-Like Feathers

Feathers were common among dinosaurs, but scientists aren’t certain if the fur-like coverings of pterosaurs—a group of flying reptiles—were of the same sort seen on dinos and birds or something completely different. The discovery of two exquisite fossils in China now suggests pterosaurs were very much covered in feathers, potentially pushing back the origin of…

Biology George Dvorsky Dec 17

What’s the Newest Animal?

Bears. Donkeys. Fat, friendly dogs. These animals—animals, generally—have been around for an extremely long time, long enough to feel like a fixed part of the landscape. It’s easy to forget that these creatures weren’t always there, and didn’t always look like they do now. On human—as opposed to geologic—time, forms seem more or less fixed;…

Tech News Daniel Kolitz Dec 17

NBA Star Steph Curry Interviews Astronaut Scott Kelly as Part of His Moon Landing Apology Tour

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is backpedaling from his quip last week on the Winging It podcast endorsing a classic conspiracy theory: that NASA’s six-manned landings on the moon from 1969-1972 somehow didn’t occur. On the podcast, Curry disagreed that anyone has ever been to the moon, saying, “They’re going to come get us.…

Space & Spaceflight Tom McKay Dec 16

A Passing Comet Will Be Visible to the Naked Eye This Weekend

The year’s brightest comet will make its closest approach with Earth over the weekend—and, if you’re in the right spot, you should be able to see it without a telescope. 46P/Wirtanen is a fuzzy green blob that orbits Earth every 5.5 years. It hit its closest point to the Sun on Wednesday, and should be…

Space & Spaceflight Ryan F. Mandelbaum Dec 14

Report: Johnson & Johnson Knew About Asbestos in Its Baby Powder Products for Decades

An explosive new report by Reuters released Friday may upturn the narrative surrounding the potential cancer risks of talcum powder. According to the report, Johnson & Johnson—the makers of the most popular consumer talc product, Baby Powder—knew for decades that its products at times contained carcinogenic asbestos, but did everything possible to keep its findings…

Health Ed Cara Dec 14

China’s Social Ranking System Will Now Target Rule-Breaking Scientists

To tackle widespread scientific misconduct, the Chinese government has expanded its controversial social credit system to include infractions made by research scientists. The plan could scare some scientists straight—but the potential for abuse is very real. “Researchers in China who commit scientific misconduct could soon be prevented from getting a bank loan, running a company…

Tech News George Dvorsky Dec 14

Maybe Don’t Eat Glitter, FDA Says

This holiday season, the Food and Drug Administration has issued an important, somehow not obvious piece of advice to the public: Please don’t eat or use glitter in your baked goods unless it’s clearly labeled as edible. The FDA’s advice came courtesy of a consumer update sent out Friday morning. The update featured a short…

Health Ed Cara Dec 14

This Could Be the Best Quantum Computer Yet

A startup based in Maryland has released and tested an impressive new quantum computer that demonstrates the power of an occasionally overlooked quantum computing architecture. Companies like IBM, Google, and Rigetti are developing new kinds of computer processors that rely on the mathematics of subatomic particles to potentially perform calculations difficult for classical computers to…

Gadgets Ryan F. Mandelbaum Dec 14

Martian Satellite Spots NASA’s InSight Lander From Space

The precise location of NASA’s InSight lander within Elysium Planitia is now known, thanks to images captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The InSight lander touched down on the Martian surface on November 26, with NASA scientists confident it had settled somewhere along an 81-mile-long (130-kilometer-long) ellipse chosen as an ideal landing zone. But it’s…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Dec 14

These Contact Lens Horror Stories Show Why You Need to Take Them Out at Night

Don’t Take the DNA Test You’ll Probably Get for Christmas

Saturn’s Rings Could Be Gone in Just 100 Million Years

Knowing the Carbon Footprint of Your Food May Convince You to Eat Less Meat, Study Suggests

Look at These Incredible Dinosaur Footprints Found in England

Hell Yes, NASA’s New Horizons Will Buzz Right Past Ultima Thule on New Year’s Day

Scientists Retract Study that Found Americans Had Given Up on Losing Weight

Skull Soup, Viking Tech, and More: The Wildest Archaeological Discoveries of 2018

Astronomers Just Discovered ‘Farout,’ the Most Distant Known Object in the Solar System

U.S. Gun Deaths Reached a Record High in 2017

Seattle Experiment Shows Later School Start Times Can Help Teens Get More Sleep

Ancient Flying Reptiles Featured Distinctly Dino-Like Feathers

What’s the Newest Animal?

NBA Star Steph Curry Interviews Astronaut Scott Kelly as Part of His Moon Landing Apology Tour

A Passing Comet Will Be Visible to the Naked Eye This Weekend

Report: Johnson & Johnson Knew About Asbestos in Its Baby Powder Products for Decades

China’s Social Ranking System Will Now Target Rule-Breaking Scientists

Maybe Don’t Eat Glitter, FDA Says

This Could Be the Best Quantum Computer Yet

Martian Satellite Spots NASA’s InSight Lander From Space

‘Kamen Rider’ Is Ready to Take on the World

Twitter Just Can’t Stop Leaking Movies

The ‘Mass Effect’ Show is Getting Rewritten to Get Greenlit

See the Early Stages of How ‘Project Hail Mary’ Brought Rocky to Life

‘Cognitive Surrender’ Is a New and Useful Term for How AI Melts Brains

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Marshall Acton III Home Speaker Drops to a Record Low, the Deal Countdown Has Already Started

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

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