Science

An Isolation Guide to Birdwatching From Your Home

You’re probably spending a lot more time at home than you’re used to, doing your part to follow social distancing rules and slow the ongoing spread of covid-19. But only humans need to follow these rules—birds don’t. It’s the perfect time to start paying attention to them. Birds around the world are in the midst…

Biology Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Ridiculously Detailed Apollo 15 Simulator Could Help Us Return to the Moon

Scientists at the European Space Agency are using a powerful new simulator to relive the Apollo 15 mission in excruciating detail. By revisiting this and other missions, the researchers are seeing old data with new eyes, and the exercise will also help in the planning of future missions. Developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Ancient Britons Worshipped Chickens and Hares Before Deciding They Were Food

Archaeologists in Britain have uncovered evidence of chickens and brown hares being buried fully intact and with great care in the centuries leading up to the Roman period. It’s further evidence that these animals, which would eventually become important food staples, were once associated with gods. When the first chickens and brown hares arrived in…

Human History George Dvorsky

Oh Crap, a Really Promising Comet Just Fell to Pieces

Discovered late last year, C/2019 Y4 ATLAS was supposed to be the brightest comet to decorate the night sky in decades, but now it appears to have suffered a major collapse. C/2019 Y4 ATLAS has fragmented into three or four pieces, according to astronomer Gianluca Masi from the Virtual Telescope Project 2.0, a group that…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

New Theory Explains How Interstellar Object ‘Oumuamua Got Its Freaky Shape

In the three years since ‘Oumuamua visited our solar system, scientists have struggled to explain some of its more enigmatic features, including its cigar-like shape. State-of-the-art computer models are providing some tantalizing new clues, showing how the object likely formed and how it became an interstellar interloper. New research published today in Nature Astronomy suggests…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Astronomers Spot the Brightest Supernova Ever Recorded

Back in 2016, a telescope spotted a supernova flaring so brightly that it far outshone its own galaxy. The exploded star continued emitting radiation for more than 1,000 days, unleashing more energy than any supernova previously documented. But that’s only the start of the story. The supernova, named SN2016aps, was unlike any supernova on record,…

Space & Spaceflight Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Birds Are Judging You by Your Outfit

You might be able to quickly recognize a friend from afar based on their body language or their personal fashion choices. It turns out that some birds do the same thing, recognizing familiar, harmless humans by their clothing. Many birds have sharp memories, especially when it comes to keeping track of which humans are dangerous…

Biology Jake Buehler

Illustration: Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)/R. Connors (Caltech

This Black Hole Is Bending Light Back Toward Itself

Scientists think that they’ve spotted a black hole’s gravity bending light emitted from the disk of matter around it right back toward the black hole, according to a new paper. Black holes are extremely compact objects whose immense gravity warps space such that, beyond a point of no return called the event horizon, light can’t…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

A New Case of Ebola Scuttles WHO’s Plan to Declare the Outbreak Over

Just days before the World Health Organization was set to declare the official end of the world’s second-deadliest outbreak of Ebola, a new case in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was reported Friday. Now, it’s uncertain when this outbreak will truly end. In August 2018, the Ebola virus began sickening people living in the…

Health Ed Cara

The Coronavirus Death Count Will Be a New Battle in the Culture Wars

As parts of the United States settle in for what may be the worst weeks of their local covid-19 outbreaks, a familiar refrain is sure to emerge. Some people will complain that the death count attributed to the coronavirus is being exaggerated. Others, including researchers, have argued that covid-19 related deaths are actually being undercounted,…

Health Ed Cara

Image: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Bonn/K. Migkas et al.

The Universe Might Be Expanding Like a Lumpy Balloon

Is the universe’s expansion the same everywhere? New research suggests it’s not—which could have huge implications for our understanding of the cosmos. Scientists led by Konstantinos Migkas at the University of Bonn in Germany analyzed data on x-rays released by hundreds of clusters of galaxies, revealing that the universe seems to be expanding differently in…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Are Plants Quantum?

A long-standing debate over just how “quantum” photosynthesis is may finally be coming to an end. Subatomic particles obey a strange set of mathematical rules as they move around. They can only take on defined values of certain properties (kind of like taking positions on a staircase), but they might take on multiple values at…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Fascinating Discovery Suggests Neanderthals Invented String

Scientists working in the south of France have discovered a small Neanderthal cord fragment dating back to over 41,000 years ago. It’s now the oldest evidence of fiber technology in the archaeological record, and further testament to the remarkable cognitive abilities of these extinct humans. Neanderthals manufactured glue, wore eagle talons as jewelry, decorated themselves…

Human History George Dvorsky

CDC Strips Page on Hydroxychloroquine of ‘Unusual’ Guidance for Doctors

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has changed text on their website to remove guidance for physicians on the possible usage of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, two drugs touted as a wonder cure for covid-19 by Donald Trump, on patients. Per Reuters, the page titled Information for Clinicians on Therapeutic Options for Patients with…

Health Tom McKay

This Freaky Spiral Thing Is Alive

More than 2,000 feet beneath the ocean surface, an otherworldly, 50-foot-wide marine organism floats… and feeds. The Schmidt Ocean Institute recently shared a video on Twitter of this impressive siphonophore, a compound organism in the Cnidaria phylum (a grouping that includes jellyfish and sea anemone). At 50 feet across, this spiral-shaped specimen could be the…

Biology Ryan F. Mandelbaum

A New False Memory Study Suggests People Can’t Tell What’s Real

A new study is the latest to show how indistinguishable false memories are from real ones. People who watched someone else recount a supposed recollection were unable to tell that the memory was false with any better accuracy than chance, the study found. Moreover, in many cases the people describing their own memories had been…

Health Ed Cara

Evidence of 10,000-Year-Old Crops Points to the Amazon as an Early Agricultural Hotspot

Archaeologists have pinpointed four independent regions where humans first began cultivating crops: China, the Middle East, Mesoamerica, and the Andes. We can now add southwestern Amazonia to this exclusive list, owing to new evidence of plant domestication in the region. Foods made from squash and cassava, a carbohydrate-rich root vegetable, were being consumed in the…

Human History George Dvorsky

Genius Trump Threatens to Defund World Health Organization at Height of Coronavirus Pandemic

The president has a new talking point, and per usual, it’s a thinly veiled distraction that if acted on could cause untold harm. During one of Donald Trump’s daily press briefings on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, he added yet another enemy to his grievance list: the World Health Organization. Trump used the occasion…

Health Tom McKay

Hawks’ Forbidden Love Results in a Rare Hybrid

She was a common black hawk. He was a red-shouldered hawk. They weren’t in the same genus, let alone the same species, and they normally don’t even live in the same part of the continent. But in a strange twist of fate, none of that mattered: It was love at first screech. Researchers have discovered…

Biology Jake Buehler

Here’s What We Know About Coronavirus Risks to Children, According to the CDC

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the first to try detailing how covid-19 is affecting children in the U.S. Children tend to experience milder symptoms and are less likely to be hospitalized, the report found. Evidence from other countries and isolated outbreaks (such as onboard the Diamond Princess cruise…

Health Ed Cara

An Isolation Guide to Birdwatching From Your Home

Ridiculously Detailed Apollo 15 Simulator Could Help Us Return to the Moon

Ancient Britons Worshipped Chickens and Hares Before Deciding They Were Food

Oh Crap, a Really Promising Comet Just Fell to Pieces

New Theory Explains How Interstellar Object ‘Oumuamua Got Its Freaky Shape

Astronomers Spot the Brightest Supernova Ever Recorded

Birds Are Judging You by Your Outfit

This Black Hole Is Bending Light Back Toward Itself

A New Case of Ebola Scuttles WHO’s Plan to Declare the Outbreak Over

The Coronavirus Death Count Will Be a New Battle in the Culture Wars

The Universe Might Be Expanding Like a Lumpy Balloon

Are Plants Quantum?

Fascinating Discovery Suggests Neanderthals Invented String

CDC Strips Page on Hydroxychloroquine of ‘Unusual’ Guidance for Doctors

This Freaky Spiral Thing Is Alive

A New False Memory Study Suggests People Can’t Tell What’s Real

Evidence of 10,000-Year-Old Crops Points to the Amazon as an Early Agricultural Hotspot

Genius Trump Threatens to Defund World Health Organization at Height of Coronavirus Pandemic

Hawks’ Forbidden Love Results in a Rare Hybrid

Here’s What We Know About Coronavirus Risks to Children, According to the CDC

The ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Moment Designed for You to Gawk at Hugh Jackman’s Chiseled Body Is Now an Action Figure

Marshall Emberton III Bluetooth Speaker Isn’t Supposed to Be This Cheap, Even the New Midnight Blue at an All-Time Low

2026 MacBook Pro (M5 Pro) Breaks Into Its First Sale on Amazon, While Apple Store Still Has None on the New Laptop

Don’t Hold Your Breath for a ‘Super Smash Bros.’ Movie

What’s Actually the Best Way to Get a Good Night’s Sleep? We Asked Scientists

Game to Lose Online Mode After Its Server Partner Pivots to You’ll Never Guess What

This $400 (Not) AI Keychain Is Pointless, Extravagant, and Weirdly Lovable

New Getaway Means Subaru Has an Electric SUV in Every Size

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

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

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