Page Updated: Wednesday, May 13, 2026 4:08 PM ET

Live Science - Science

Hantavirus updates: American doctor on cruise speaks out from quarantine; unrelated potential case appears in Illinois - The latest news and updates on the hantavirus cluster associated with the MV Hondius.

6 hours ago

SpaceX prepares to launch next-generation Starship, the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built -- Starship V3's maiden spaceflight is scheduled for next week as SpaceX prepares to launch the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built. -- Patrick Pester -- Published

1 hour ago

'Exceptional' drilled tooth reveals Neanderthals practiced dentistry in Siberia 60,000 years ago -- A hole found in a 60,000-year-old Neanderthal tooth was likely made by a stone drill, making the discovery the oldest evidence of intentional dentistry to date. -- Sophie Berdugo -- Published

1 hour ago

The Milky Way ate a galaxy called Loki, and scientists think they found its bones -- Astronomers have identified a group of ancient stars that may be the remnants of a dwarf galaxy named Loki that merged with the Milky Way more than 10 billion years ago. -- Shreejaya Karantha -- Published

2 hours ago

Homo erectus genetic material sequenced for the first time, and it shows 'deep genetic links' with modern humans -- A new study of six Homo erectus individuals from China reveals one amino acid variant that distinguished this archaic human from all other human lineages and one that it passed on to modern humans via Denisovans. -- Kristina Killgrove -- Published

2 hours ago

AI self-replication hacks 'no longer purely theoretical,' study finds -‬ ‪but experts say it's too soon to panic -- Researchers say AI models can now replicate themselves across vulnerable systems, but experts warn the real threat is not rogue machine intelligence but cybercriminals weaponizing AI agents. -- Carly Page -- Published

6 hours ago

Hantavirus outbreaks could become more likely as virus-carrying rodents expand their range, model finds -- New models chart how virus-carrying rodents may spread across Argentina as climate change reshapes weather patterns. -- Naomi Mihara -- Published

1 day ago

Physicists find possible errors in 100-year-old model of the universe -- The universe may not be perfectly uniform after all, a new series of papers hints. If confirmed, this could upend a nearly 100-year-old model of cosmology. -- Andrey Feldman -- Published

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'A combination of amazement and horror': Hitchhiker fish hide in manta ray buttholes -- Hitchhiker fish known as remoras have a very unexpected hiding place: the rear ends of manta rays. -- Bethany Augliere -- Published

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Eruption blows hole in sun's atmosphere, unleashing solar flare and potentially triggering northern lights -- The sun has erupted with a moderate M5.7 solar flare and a coronal mass ejection that could trigger a northern lights display. -- Patrick Pester -- Published

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A SpaceX rocket is going to hit the moon -- Part of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is likely to crash into the moon this summer, a new report finds. It poses no danger, but it does highlight a worrying trend. -- Brandon Specktor -- Last updated

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Once-in-a-century 'super' El Ni o in the cards as ocean temperatures reach near record highs in April -- Climate scientists have revealed that last month's sea surface temperatures were the second-warmest for any April on record, reflecting the emergence of El Ni o. -- Patrick Pester -- Published

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'Speculation' and 'egregious failure': 30 researchers publish scathing critiques of study that questioned date of early human occupation of Monte Verde in Chile -- Dozens of scientists have banded together to pen scathing research letters to the journal Science about the publication of a study claiming the 14,500-year-old Monte Verde archaeological site in Chile is much younger than shown. -- Kristina Killgrove -- Published

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Microplastics absorb heat in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming - as if they weren't bad enough -- Climate scientists have discovered that microplastics and nanoplastics are helping to drive global warming by absorbing sunlight and radiation in the atmosphere. -- Patrick Pester -- Published

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'The name was inaccurate': PCOS gets a new name after years-long effort -- Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, has just been given a new name that experts say better reflects the nature of the condition. -- Nicoletta Lanese -- Published

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'Insect apocalypse' is already fueling malnutrition in some regions, first-of-its-kind study reveals -- In a first, researchers quantify how pollinator declines contribute to food insecurity. -- Joanna Thompson -- Published

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What is a hantavirus? Symptoms, treatments, prevention and how it spreads -- Hantaviruses are spread by rodents and can cause deadly respiratory and kidney illnesses in humans, although these infections are relatively uncommon globally. -- Emily Cooke -- Last updated

2 days ago

New 'trick' fixes major flaw with lasers in neutral-atom quantum computers - inching us closer to more powerful systems -- A new "geometry‑based" quantum swap gate makes neutral‑atom computers far less sensitive to laser noise - bringing large‑scale, stable quantum processors a step closer to reality. -- Alan Bradley -- Published

10 hours ago

A 2025 Alaskan tsunami was one of the largest on record, new research finds -- A tsunami that rocked an Alaskan fjord in 2025 was the second largest ever recorded and formed a standing wave that sloshed for a day. -- Stephanie Pappas -- Published

2 days ago

'More than 100 million years of evolution': How snakes evolved and lost their legs -- Huge snakes, tiny snakes, poisonous snakes and constrictor snakes, snakes that slither, burrow or swim: New fossils and modern technology are tracing serpent origins -- Amber Dance -- Published

2 days ago