Science

Image: Dr. Horst Neve, Max Rubner-Institut

Study Maps the Hundreds of Bacteria That Live in the Human Vagina

Scientists say they’ve for the first time conducted an extensive analysis of the bacteria that live in the human vagina. And they seem to have found plenty of surprises. In recent years, much has been made of the gut microbiome: the unseen, symbiotic world of bacteria and other microorganisms that live in our digestive system.…

Health Ed Cara

Red Pandas Might Actually Be Two Species

Scientists think they’ve helped settle a debate over one of the most endangered (and cutest) animals around: the red panda. New genetic evidence suggests there are really two different species of red panda, each with a unique evolutionary history. Red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) are the only mammals of their kind, though they are closely related…

Biology Ed Cara

Image: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

China’s Space Agency Reveals What It Learned from Deep Radar Probe of Moon’s Far Side

On January 3, 2019, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) accomplished a human first: It successfully placed a lander on the far side of the Moon. Today, the team is revealing new insights about what they found beneath the lunar surface. The Chang’e 4 team has released the first ground-penetrating radar study of the Moon’s…

Space & Spaceflight Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Possible New ‘Mini-Moon’ Detected in Orbit Around Earth

Astronomers from the Catalina Sky Survey say they have detected a rare mini-moon around Earth. Sadly, we shouldn’t get too attached to our new natural satellite, as the rock—if that’s indeed what it is—will only hang around for a few months. The mini-moon, dubbed 2020 CD3 and also known as C26FED2, was seen by astronomers…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Why Is Courtroom Science So Unscientific?

May 15, 1989, 83-year-old Modine Wise was found naked and beaten in her home. The perpetrator left evidence scattered around her: a bloody handprint, a jacket, a pack of cigarettes, and two hairs. In February of 1991, the court sentenced 23-year-old Timothy Bridges to life in prison for the crime. The conviction was largely based…

Crime Jackie Rocheleau

Stone Tools Suggest Supervolcano Eruption Didn’t Decimate Humanity 74,000 Years Ago

Humans may have continued to thrive in spite of a supervolcano eruption 74,000 years ago, according to a new study. The finding could have important implications for our understanding of human history. Researchers in based in Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and India found evidence of stone tools and other artifacts in the Dhaba locality…

Human History Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Should You Cancel Your Travel Plans Because of the Coronavirus?

As an outbreak of a new pneumonia-causing coronavirus is poised to spread across the globe, people in largely unaffected places like the U.S. might worry about visiting areas where the virus is spreading or traveling by air at all. The answer to whether you should cancel existing travel plans, however, is complicated. Late last month,…

Health Ed Cara

CDC Warns Coronavirus Outbreaks Likely to Hit U.S.

On Tuesday, health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a dire warning: The U.S. will almost certainly not be spared from the outbreak of a new pneumonia-causing coronavirus that threatens to sweep across the globe. It’s only a matter of time before the virus will start to spread locally, if it…

Health Ed Cara

There’s a Lot More Happening Inside Mars Than We Knew

Scientists have published a treasure trove of new research from the InSight lander’s first year on Mars, showing just how active the Red Planet really is. InSight touched down on Mars’ Elysium Planitia in November 2018. It has an impressive suite of instruments, including cameras, weather sensors, magnetic field sensors, a heat probe, and a…

Space & Spaceflight Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Traveler Returning From Coronavirus-Hit China May Have to Pay Thousands for Flu Test

A Miami man who felt ill after returning from a business trip to China in January was slapped with a $3,270 bill after seeking a test to determine if he was infected with the Wuhan coronavirus, the Miami Herald reported on Monday. According to the Herald, Osmel Martinez Azcue believed it would be irresponsible for…

Health Tom McKay

Four Babies in NYC Have Recently Gotten Herpes From Controversial Circumcision Ritual

A seldom-practiced religious ritual has led to a cluster of herpes cases among infants, New York City health officials said Sunday. At least four infants have contracted the potentially fatal viral disease since last September, all after undergoing a circumcision during which the circumciser placed their mouth on the genital wound. Last September, health officials…

Health Ed Cara

Solar Storms Could Confuse Whales and Cause Mass Strandings

Gray whales seem to strand themselves more often during solar storms, according to a new study. Researchers still don’t know exactly how whales navigate the ocean’s dark depths during their epic migrations, and it’s difficult to study them in action. But recently, scientists discovered that sperm whale strandings in Europe’s North Sea seemed to correlate…

Biology Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Watch Researchers Giggle While They Electrocute a Lifelike Robot Child

It seems we’ve learned absolutely nothing from cautionary tales like the Terminator films, because researchers in Japan have upgraded a robot that looks like a human child with the ability to feel the pain from an electrical charge applied to its skin and wince in pain. The robot being subjected to these new experiments is…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson, ‘Hidden Figures’ Hero, Dies at 101

NASA mathematician and subject of the 2016 movie “Hidden Figures” Katherine G. Johnson passed away today at age 101. Johnson was born on August 26, 1918 in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia to a family dedicated to her education—her father moved his family to Institute, West Virginia so she could continue her studies past eighth…

Space & Spaceflight Ryan F. Mandelbaum

No Pandemic… Yet: WHO Holds Back as Coronavirus Outbreak Spreads Globally

A deadly new coronavirus is now clearly spreading across the globe—with hundreds of reported local cases surging in countries outside China, previously the sole epicenter of the outbreak. But for the time being, the World Health Organization said on Monday that it will not declare the outbreak a pandemic, believing that such an announcement would…

Health Ed Cara

This Noodle-Fingered Robot Is a Friend to Jellyfish

Forget flies—this robot is so gentle, it wouldn’t hurt a jellyfish. Which is saying a lot, since the gelatinous lifeform is especially prone to damage, according to David Gruber, a marine biologist at City University of New York. “Some of them fall apart just when they’re in your hand,” he said. “They’re this fragile ball…

Biology Marion Renault

Photo: JENNIFER LEIGH WARNER / CATERS NEWS

Here Are Some Gulls Playing With a Dildo

Conservation photographer Jennifer Warner visited the Children’s Pool in La Jolla, California on Tuesday in order to photograph the pupping harbor seals that have taken up residence on the beach. She soon noticed some juvenile gulls chasing each another around and causing a ruckus; one of them had what she thought at first was a…

Biology Ryan F. Mandelbaum

Things Are Not Looking Good for Stopping the Coronavirus

The prospect that the new coronavirus, whose outbreak has been so far largely confined to China, could become a pandemic is seeming more likely today. This week, several countries have reported local clusters of the disease outside of mainland China, suggesting the virus is freely circulating there. Meanwhile, a new report estimates that only a…

Health Ed Cara

Bird That Looks Like It Died Yesterday Turns Out to Be 46,000 Years Old

On Jacquelyn Gill’s first day doing field work at the Siberian permafrost caves during the summer of 2018, a local fossil hunter approached her with a dead bird in his hands. The translator hadn’t yet arrived, but from the freshly dead look of the bird, Gill assumed it had just recently flown into the cave…

Biology Ryan F. Mandelbaum

A Study Linking E-Cigs to Heart Attacks Was Just Retracted—What Does That Mean for Vaping’s Health Risks?

This week, a study that had suggested using e-cigarettes could increase the risk of heart attack was retracted, following an investigation by the journal’s editors that deemed its findings “unreliable.” But does the retraction mean vaping is safe, and should we be concerned about the validity of other vaping research? The study was published last…

Health Ed Cara

Study Maps the Hundreds of Bacteria That Live in the Human Vagina

Red Pandas Might Actually Be Two Species

China’s Space Agency Reveals What It Learned from Deep Radar Probe of Moon’s Far Side

Possible New ‘Mini-Moon’ Detected in Orbit Around Earth

Why Is Courtroom Science So Unscientific?

Stone Tools Suggest Supervolcano Eruption Didn’t Decimate Humanity 74,000 Years Ago

Should You Cancel Your Travel Plans Because of the Coronavirus?

CDC Warns Coronavirus Outbreaks Likely to Hit U.S.

There’s a Lot More Happening Inside Mars Than We Knew

Traveler Returning From Coronavirus-Hit China May Have to Pay Thousands for Flu Test

Four Babies in NYC Have Recently Gotten Herpes From Controversial Circumcision Ritual

Solar Storms Could Confuse Whales and Cause Mass Strandings

Watch Researchers Giggle While They Electrocute a Lifelike Robot Child

NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson, ‘Hidden Figures’ Hero, Dies at 101

No Pandemic… Yet: WHO Holds Back as Coronavirus Outbreak Spreads Globally

This Noodle-Fingered Robot Is a Friend to Jellyfish

Here Are Some Gulls Playing With a Dildo

Things Are Not Looking Good for Stopping the Coronavirus

Bird That Looks Like It Died Yesterday Turns Out to Be 46,000 Years Old

A Study Linking E-Cigs to Heart Attacks Was Just Retracted—What Does That Mean for Vaping’s Health Risks?

You Can Now Watch Rocky From ‘Project Hail Mary’ Sleep With the Perfect Accompaniment

5 Things You May Have Missed During NASA’s Historic Launch of Artemis 2

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

30 Unpublished Poems From Iconic Greek Philosopher Discovered in Cairo

Lucid Recalls 4,000 Gravity SUVs for Faulty Seat Belts That May Not Actually Work During a Collision

Ninja Blast Max Hits Its Lowest Price and Now One of the Cheapest Portable Blenders Worth Buying

The ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Sequel Is a Beautifully Executed Dystopian Nightmare

Antibiotics Turned This Woman’s Limbs Into an Unsettling Horrorshow

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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