Brazil’s New Covid Strain Raises Big – and Scary – Questions

The biggest pandemic news may not be from Johnson & Johnson but the Amazonian city of Manaus.

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NASA Veterans Are Building an Orbital Space Hotel With Artificial Gravity

NASA veterans in a new company are building the first space hotel! Featuring artificial gravity.

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Here's what traveling by hyperloop might be like - CNN Video

Hyperloop high speed transportation is still years away, but a new concept video from Virgin Hyperloop gives a glimpse into the future of high speed transit.

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Scientists solve a major climate mystery, confirming Earth is hotter than it's been in at least 120 centuries

Scientists have resolved a controversial but key climate change mystery, bolstering climate models and confirming that Earth is hotter than it's been in at least 12,000 years, and perhaps even the last 128,000 years.

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50 years since Apollo 14: Mission to Fra Mauro

The first American astronaut, Alan Shepard, ventured to the Moon in 1971 — where he hit what might be the longest golf shot in the universe.

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Two-thirds of the world’s population think climate change is an emergency

The UN conducted the survey through ads in popular games like Angry Birds and Words With Friends.

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Materials breakthrough could lead to cheaper, better solar panels

To improve the efficiency of solar panels, scientists have become increasingly intrigued by perovskites, an evasive natural mineral with a unique crystalline structure. Unfortunately, the mineral has proved to be uncooperative. At room temperature, three of its four possible atomic configurations are unstable and the material quickly reverts to its fourth phase, which renders it useless in the effort to convert sunlight to electricity.

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Not an early bird? Don't worry — afternoon workouts could be better for your health

New research found that afternoon exercise provides greater health benefits for some people than a morning workout

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Ridiculously Tiny Chameleons Discovered in Madagascar

Researchers have found a minuscule chameleon in Northern Madagascar, which they believe to be the smallest reptile on the planet. Small body, big attitude—just look at that face. The chameleon is Brookesia nana, abbreviated to B. nana (if you squint, it does kind of look like a banana). Females of the species are larger than males, at about three-quarters of an inch from snout to vent. The new record holders are the adult males, which are less than an inch including the tail. Oh, and the males also have huge hemipenes (genitals) in proportion to their size.

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General Motors plans to exclusively offer electric vehicles by 2035

GM announced its "aspirations" Thursday as part of a larger plan for the Detroit automaker to be carbon neutral by 2040 in its global products and operations.

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Tim Cook says privacy 'one of the top issues of the century'

Apple CEO Tim Cook in an interview on Thursday called privacy, specifically data privacy, one of the most important issues of our time.

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Talking can spread Covid as much as coughing, says research

Tiny aerosols of the virus emitted when speaking linger in air for longer than larger droplets from a cough

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The Challenger disaster: 35 years ago I was working at mission control

It was manned space flight's darkest day.

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Pablo Escobar's Pooping Hippos Are Polluting Colombia's Lakes

A new study suggests the hulking creatures are changing local water bodies with their bathroom habits

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3,000-year-old fashion could be evidence of Biblical truth

Scientists may have discovered physical evidence of King Solomon entwined in 3,000-year-old strands of purple wool. Using radiocarbon dating and a special chemical analysis technique, a team of researchers from Israel has identified three textile samples dating to approximately 1000 BCE from the Timna Valley region of Israel. The fibers were dyed "true purple," using special salt-water mollusks found in the Mediterranean.

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Israeli scientists say they’ve found ‘Achilles’ heel’ of cancer cells

A team of researchers led by scientists at Tel Aviv University say they may have stumbled upon the “Achilles’ heel” of cancer cells, which could in the future lead to the development of an entirely new array of cancer drugs and treatments.

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Wormholes may be lurking in the universe — and new studies are proposing ways of finding them

Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity profoundly changed our thinking about fundamental concepts in physics, such as space and time. But it also left us with some deep mysteries. One was black holes, which were only unequivocally detected over the past few years. Another was “wormholes” – bridges connecting different points in spacetime, in theory providing shortcuts for space travellers.

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Children Are Much Less Likely Than Adults To Prioritise Human Over Animal Lives

“Two boats are sinking and you can save only one. One holds two dogs, the other a person. Which do you save? If you’re not sure, you can say, ‘I can’t decide.’” When I put this to my 11-year-old, his response was immediate: “Save the dogs!” In his defence, he has grown up with a pet dog, which he adores — and, according to a new study in Psychological Science, most other kids would say the same thing.

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What does the night sky look like on Mars?

Ever wondered what it would be like to see the Sun or the stars from Mars? Read our guide to find out what sights await future Martian astronomers.

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6 Things to Know About NASA’s Mars Helicopter on Its Way to Mars

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the leading center for robotic exploration of the solar system.

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US Politicians Use Moral Language More Often When They Have Less Power

Whatever your political affiliation, making appeals to people’s morality can be a powerful rhetorical tool. Politicians frequently use language that refers to moral principles of harm, fairness, loyalty, authority and purity, in order to defend policy positions, appeal to new voters and appease old ones.

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SpaceX, Amazon spat pits world's richest men against each other over space real estate

SpaceX and Amazon — companies run by the two richest men in the world — are sparring over their competing satellite-based internet businesses, with SpaceX accusing Amazon of "stifling competition" and Amazon accusing SpaceX of looking to "smother competition in the cradle."

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Lobster shell patterns make concrete stronger: Australian researcher

Inspired by the natural, twisting patterns of a lobster shell, Australian researchers say they have found a way, using 3D printing technology, to improve the strength of concrete for use in complex architecture.

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Solar is now ‘cheapest electricity in history’, confirms IEA

Solar power is up to 50% cheaper than thought, according to new analysis from the International Energy Agency. 

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Let This Harvard Professor Convince You That Aliens Exist

A Harvard astrophysicist thinks a mysterious object that swung by our solar system in 2017 was from an extraterrestrial civilization.

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A quarter of all known bee species haven't been seen since the 1990s

The number of bee species appears to have declined sharply in the past 30 years, which could mean many types of bee are extinct or so rare that no one has recording a sighting

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What’s the technology behind a five-minute charge battery?

The company behind a new battery isn't saying much, but we figured a few things out.

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Scientists Make First 'Invisible Solar Panels' You Can Integrate Into Smartphones

A long time after the Paris Climate Agreement, nations have kept on enhancing on the mission to make a smooth exit from non-renewable energy and to change to renewable energy sources for electricity. Korean Scientists from Incheon National University exhibits how they have made the first fully transparent solar cell.

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NASA lends 3.9-billion-year-old moon rock to the Biden White House

There's a new decoration in President Joe Biden's Oval Office. Although really, it's a very old decoration. At the request of the new administration, NASA loaned out a moon rock from its Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The moon rock went on display in the Oval Office on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.

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Harvard’s top astronomer says our solar system may be teeming with alien technology

Avi Loeb spent his career searching for evidence of alien life. When he found it, the scientific community refused to believe him.

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Green propellant successfully demonstrated on NASA mission

A recent NASA mission successfully demonstrated the performance of a non-toxic “green” propellant, creating opportunities for its use in a wide range of future spacecraft. NASA flew the Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) spacecraft as one of the payloads on the Space Test Program 2 mission that launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy in June 2019. The spacecraft’s mission ended when it reentered in October 2020 after a series of deorbiting maneuvers.

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What If You Never Get Better From Covid-19?

Some patients could be living with the aftereffects for years to come. Recent research into another persistent, mysterious disease might help us understand how to treat them.

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A moon rock in the Oval Office: President Joe Biden's lunar display

Joe Biden was three weeks from taking office as a freshman U.S. senator when the moon rock that is now on display in the White House was collected by astronauts on the lunar surface. Biden and lunar sample 76015,143 will now share the Oval Office.

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The COVID-19 pandemic made U.S. college students’ mental health even worse

College students struggled with mental health problems before the pandemic. Now, some vulnerable students are even more at risk.

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Electric vehicles close to ‘tipping point’ of mass adoption

Sales increase 43% globally in 2020 as plunging battery costs mean the cars will soon be the cheapest vehicles to buy

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Women at midlife are the ones most likely to experience low sexual desire with associated personal distress

Findings from the Journal of Sexual Medicine suggest that low sexual desire accompanied by distress is most common among women reaching midlife. Having a partner, being sexually inactive, and taking psychotropic medication was also associated with a higher likelihood of such distress.

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Missing: One Black Hole With 10 Billion Solar Masses

One of the biggest galaxies in the universe seems to lack its dark centerpiece.

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Space station detectors found the source of weird ‘blue jet’ lightning

The origins of an enigmatic type of lightning in the upper atmosphere has been traced to a 10-microsecond flash of bright blue light.

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A Bitter Archaeological Feud Over an Ancient Vision of the Cosmos

The Nebra sky disk, which has been called the oldest known depiction of astronomical phenomena, is a “very emotional object.”

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Building Earth's largest telescope on the far side of the moon

NASA engineers are planning a robotically constructed kilometre diameter radio telescope that will fit in a giant crater and study radio waves from the big bang.

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Why cats are crazy for catnip

Cat owners flood the internet with videos of their kitties euphorically rolling and flipping out over catnip-filled bags and toys. But exactly how catnip—and a substitute, known as silver vine—produces this feline high has long been a mystery. Now, a study suggests the key intoxicating chemicals in the plants activate cats’ opioid systems much like heroin and morphine do in people. Moreover, the study concludes that rubbing the plants protects the felines against mosquito bites.

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From mummies to mosques—new Google Arts & Culture initiative brings Egypt’s archaeological treasures to the masses

New online platform aims to turn traditionally scholarly subject into something "easily digestible and fun to explore"

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Breakthrough study finds age-related cognitive decline may be reversible

A breakthrough study from a team of neurologists at Stanford University claims to have discovered one way immune cells become dysfunctional as we age, leading to the inflammatory hyperdrive that plays a role in most age-related disease from cancer to cognitive decline.

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Three Mathematicians We Lost in 2020

John Conway, Ronald Graham, and Freeman Dyson all explored the world with their minds.

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How whales help cool the Earth

The world's largest animals are unusually good at taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

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MRI researcher may have accidentally discovered how gas planets are magnetic

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Jupiter is the largest and one of the most mysterious planets in the solar system. It’s 1,300 times the size of Earth, and never seems to behave the way it should or t…

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Synthetic cornea helped a legally blind man regain his sight

A legally blind 78-year old man has regained his sight after being the inaugural patient to receive a promising new type of corneal implant.

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We’ve got intelligence all wrong – and that’s endangering our future

A narrow focus on IQ to determine success is depriving us of key decision-making smarts, as our faltering response to problems such as covid-19 and climate change shows

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Cleaner air and a climate solution, are now within reach — if we have the political will

Clean air, cheaper energy and responding to climate change all have the same solution — and Americans are ready.

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Electrical Brain Stimulation May Alleviate Obsessive-Compulsive Behaviors

Noninvasive electrical zaps, tuned specifically to individual brain-activity patterns, appear to reduce checking, hoarding and other compulsions for up to three months

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