New Research

The first color photo of the Martian surface, taken in 1976 by the Viking 1 probe. To survive on Mars' surface, astronauts will need oxygen, which only exists in trace amounts in the Martian atmosphere.

A Robotic 'A.I. Chemist' Could Make Oxygen on Mars

In a lab on Earth, the machine created a catalyst from Martian materials that can extract oxygen from water, for astronauts to breathe or use as fuel

Hummingbirds' unusual flying abilities have long fascinated scientists.

Watch How Hummingbirds Fly Through Narrow Spaces

Slow-motion video revealed the birds take two different approaches: flying sideways or pinning their wings back and darting like a bullet

Attenborough's long-beaked echidna, photographed by a camera trap

Scientists Find 'Lost' Echidna Species for the First Time in 60 Years

An expedition team in Indonesia spotted the elusive, egg-laying mammal, which is named after David Attenborough and had not been documented since 1961

The number of African elephants, which are endangered, has been declining in recent years due to factors including habitat loss and poaching. A new study identifies a bacterium that could also continue to pose a threat to the elephants.

Bacteria to Blame for Elephant Deaths in Zimbabwe

Researchers are just now uncovering what may have killed 35 of the animals three years ago

The Great Sphinx in the Giza Necropolis

Wind May Have Helped Sculpt Egypt's Famous Sphinx

New research suggests that a natural rock formation served as the sculpture's foundation

The galaxy cluster Abell 2744, which lies in front of the galaxy containing the newly discovered black hole

Astronomers Spot the Oldest Black Hole Ever Seen, Shedding Light on the Early Universe

Dating to just 470 million years after the Big Bang, the ancient cosmic structure could help researchers understand how the first black holes formed

Some species of kingfisher hunt for fish by diving head-first into the water as quickly as 25 miles per hour.

How Kingfishers Dive Head-First Into Water Without Getting Concussions

Thanks to a new genetic analysis of 30 kingfisher species, researchers are one step closer to understanding the birds' dramatic hunting style

Magnets can levitate over superconductors, which expel a magnetic field.

Paper That Claimed a Room-Temperature Superconductor Breakthrough Is Retracted by the Journal 'Nature'

The discovery, which would have revolutionized energy, was surrounded in controversy from the start

Researchers examined how key genes behave across the sea star body by staining genetic material with fluorescent labels.

A Starfish 'Body' Is Just One Giant Head, Study Finds

Genes associated with the torso are largely absent in a species of starfish, upending how scientists perceive these creatures

New research suggests rats can mentally navigate to locations they've visited before.

Rats Can Use Imagination to Navigate in Virtual Reality, Study Finds

Like humans, the rodents appear to be able to visualize walking through locations they've previously visited

An artist's rendition of the collision between Earth and the protoplanet Theia, which, according to the prevailing theory, resulted in the moon's formation.

Mysterious Lumps in Earth's Mantle May Be Remains of the Crash That Formed the Moon

Chunks of a protoplanet called Theia became lodged within Earth after the two worlds smashed together, new computer simulations suggest

Cats have 26 different facial movements that combine to make 276 distinct expressions, according to a new study.

Cats Make Nearly 300 Different Facial Expressions

From ear position to pupil size, a new study examines how felines express themselves while interacting with one another

Researchers at the University of Chicago have developed a new technique that allows artists to embed invisible “poison” into their work that misleads A.I. models.

Artists Can Use This Tool to Protect Their Work From A.I. Scraping

Nightshade subtly alters the pixels of an image to mislead A.I. image generators, ultimately damaging the models

The four telescopes of the Very Large Telescope in Chile. Researchers used them to search for the source of the fast radio burst.

Astronomers Find Powerful 'Fast Radio Burst' That Traveled for Eight Billion Years

The strong blast of radio waves is the oldest known, and it could tell scientists more about the mysterious matter that lies between galaxies

An image of Pluto taken by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2015

A Supervolcano on Pluto May Have Spewed Ice Just a Few Million Years Ago

An unusual crater on the dwarf planet hints at past volcanic activity—and a possible vast ocean beneath its surface, scientists say

Jean Fouquet's Melun Diptych features two panels, Étienne Chevalier with Saint Stephen on the left, and Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels on the right.

Mysterious Stone in 15th-Century Painting Could Be a Prehistoric Tool

Jean Fouquet's "Melun Diptych" is likely the earliest artistic representation of an Acheulean hand ax

Wildfires have smashed records this year in Canada, scorching more than 40 million acres in the country.

Earth Is Entering 'Uncharted Territory' Because of Climate Change, New Report Warns

Researchers found that 20 of 35 "planetary vital signs" are at record extremes, and they call for rapid action

Female chimps at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, in 2005. The new study followed 185 chimps in Uganda's Kibale National Park for 21 years.

Wild Female Chimpanzees Go Through Menopause, Study Finds

Until now, menopause had not been documented in wild, non-human animals, except for a few species of toothed whales

In 2022, nearly 46 percent of health workers felt burnt out either often or very often.

Health Care Workers Are Burning Out, CDC Says

Depression, anxiety and harassment of health professionals have risen beyond crisis levels, per a new report from the agency

In the new experiment, roosters made fewer alarm calls, meant to warn peers of predators, when placed in front a mirror versus when standing near another rooster.

Roosters May Recognize Their Reflections in Mirrors, Study Suggests

The findings demonstrate self-recognition could be more common among animals than previously thought

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