A decade after Deepwater Horizon, we’re still cleaning up oil spills the same way

A sinking boat off the coast of Sri Lanka is about to spill tons of oil into the ocean. The cleeanup will uses the same, ineffective techniques as the major oil spills before it. But there are better solutions.

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Humans have ‘untapped’ ability to regenerate body parts, scientists say

When humans sustain an injury like a cut our first instinct is to ensure it doesn’t get infected. We make sure it’s clean and as it heals, a scar takes its place. Scars are part of life, or at least that’s what we’ve been led to believe, and it’s the human body’s way of forming a barrier between the wound and the dirty outside world. But what if scars weren’t as helpful as well all think? What if scars are actually preventing an even more incredible form of healing? What if humans could actually regenerate body parts?

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Collapsing star produces one of the most fantastic explosions ever seen

When some stars die, they collapse and go supernova, creating bright flashes of gamma rays and X-rays known as gamma-ray bursts. GRBs are thought to be the biggest explosions in the universe, and now scientists have observed one closer than ever before, leading to a surprise that challenges our understanding of the massive blasts that can also give birth to black holes.

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Shrinking giants: North Atlantic right whales getting tinier

North Atlantic right whales are shrinking and entanglements with fishing gear, collisions with ships and climate change moving their food supply are to blame.

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Nasa plans return to Venus with two missions by 2030

Nasa is returning to Venus for the first time in more than three decades to gain a better understanding of the history of what scientists believe could have been the first habitable planet in the solar system. Plans for two separate and ambitious deep space missions to Earth’s nearest neighbour were announced on Wednesday by the head of the US space agency, Bill Nelson. Launches were targeted for a 2028-2030 time frame, he said.

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United Airlines will buy 15 ultrafast airplanes from start-up Boom Supersonic

Boom says its first commercial supersonic jet, the Overture, will fly at Mach 1.7 and cut some flight times in half.

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Russia Wants to Send a Nuclear-Powered “Space Tug” to Jupiter

Russia's space agency Roscosmos has announced that it is planning to send a nuclear-powered "space tug" capable of transporting heavy cargo in deep space, all the way to Jupiter in 2030.

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