The last woolly mammoths on Earth died alone, stranded on an island
As Earth began to slowly emerge from the last ice age, many of the creatures who had adapted to life on a frigid planet found …
Science
NASA just joined the electric vehicle revolution
As automakers continue to embrace electric vehicles and more companies pledge to purge their vehicle lineups of gas engines in the coming years, the trend …
Fireballs spotted above Chile defy explanation
When we Earthlings spot something tearing through the sky in a blaze of glory, there’s almost always a totally reasonable explanation. More often than not, …
FDA announces expanded recall of all-purpose flour that is tainted with E. coli
Several months ago the FDA announced a recall of all-purpose flour because it was probably tainted with E. coli. E. coli is no joke, but …
NASA’s InSight robot is fighting against Mars to save a vital instrument
NASA’s InSight lander has been resting safely on Mars for nearly a year now, and it’s doing some seriously great work. Most of the robot’s …
Paralyzed man walks again thanks to brain-controlled exoskeleton
A 28-year-old man who fell some 40 feet off a balcony four years ago is getting back on his feet thanks to advancements in brain-controlled …
Insane anti-vaxxer threw blood at California lawmakers over vaccination exemptions
Things took a turn for the surreal in the California Senate a couple of weeks back when an unhinged woman threw a cup of “red …
Trio of space station travelers safely arrive back on Earth
After over 200 days in space, NASA astronaut Nick Hague has returned to Earth aboard a Russian Soyuz crew capsule. Hague and his two fellow …
Japan’s asteroid probe just fired a rover at space rock Ryugu
The Hayabusa2 probe arrived at the space rock known as Ryugu in June of last year. It was launched by Japan’s space agency JAXA, and …
NASA’s Juno orbiter has to jump over Jupiter’s shadow, or die trying
NASA’s Juno orbiter has been doing some really great work while in orbit around gas giant Jupiter. The spacecraft has taught scientists a great deal …
Red meat is bad for you. Or maybe it’s not.
You’d think that maybe, in the year 2019 (almost 2020), with all of the data nutritionists and health experts have gathered over the past few …
India’s space agency refuses to give up on crashed Moon lander
Early last month was supposed to be a time of celebration for India’s space agency ISRO. The group was poised to become the fourth nation …
Just try to pretend this new NASA snapshot isn’t the most incredible thing you’ve seen today
With some of the most powerful imaging tools on Earth at its disposal, NASA and its scientists have captured countless lovely images of the cosmos …
NASA’s new drones are taking on bizarre shapes
In the context of space exploration, the term “rover” conjures images of multi-wheeled robots with big, bulky bodies covered in scientific instruments. NASA’s Mars rovers …
The hunt for life on Saturn’s moon Enceladus just got a big boost
Of all the worlds in our solar system that may harbor some form of life, Saturn’s moon Enceladus may be the most exciting. The moon …
Black holes might not be black holes at all
Of all the features of our universe, black holes might be the most interesting, as well as the most frightening. These ultra-dense spots in space …
Failing might actually be good for you
Career setbacks can be a real bummer no matter what your profession. For scientists, proposals that fail to gain funding and research efforts that hit …
NASA’s InSight lander is hearing all kinds of weird stuff on Mars
NASA’s InSight lander has experienced its fair share of hardship since landing on the Red Planet late in 2018. In the months since it touched …
NASA needs your help to make its Moon mission a reality
NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions to the Moon are taking shape, and with a very short deadline of 2024 for a crewed trip to the lunar …
NASA chief says the world may not be ready for Martian life
NASA’s Mars 2020 mission will attempt to answer a number of questions about the Red Planet, and one of the most pressing is the search …
Scientists argue that contaminating Mars with microbes might be a good thing
At some point in the not-so-distant future, mankind will embark on a mission to another planet. That planet will be Mars, the largely barren, dusty …
Police in China find fugitive who has been living in a cave for 17 years
When news broke late last month about a fugitive in Wisconsin who had made his home in a makeshift bunker in the middle of the …
Groundbreaking blood test could detect over 20 types of cancer
Modern medical innovations have given doctors the power to screen for a variety of cancers, and that’s great, but screening for multiple types of cancers …
CDC clarifies stance on vaping illness, admits that bootleg THC products are likely to blame
In a “better late than never” move, the CDC has issued an update to its documentation on the so-called “vaping illness” that has been sweeping …
Elon Musk presents Starship to the world
If you even casually follow space news you’ve no doubt already heard of SpaceX’s Starship. Starship — and the Super Heavy launch vehicle that will …
Is there a black hole hiding right here in our solar system?
Way out on the edge of our solar system something big is lurking that has yet to be identified. Astronomers know it’s there because they …
NASA spots distant star being torn apart by a hungry black hole
Black holes are devastatingly powerful forces of nature, and nothing demonstrates their incredible might quite like seeing one tear apart a star. Recently, NASA’s sky-scanning …
Popping a champagne cork generates a tiny supersonic shockwave
When you pop the cork on a champagne bottle, the physics of the cork’s departure probably isn’t the first thing on your mind — it’s …
Astronomers spotted a planet that shouldn’t exist
When we imagine what other solar systems are like it’s easy to fall into a trap of assuming that our own system is a model …
Astronauts on the ISS are playing with slime while waiting for new cargo shipment
Earlier this week, Japanese space agency JAXA fired off a new resupply to the International Space Station. With such a busy week aboard the ISS …
