Atacama Desert's center dried out 20 million years earlier than previously thought - before the Andes formed - Chile's Atacama Desert, which gets less than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) of rainfall each year, started to form more than 40 million years ago ‪-‬ 20 million years before the Andes.

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NASA's experimental X-59 jet breaks the sound barrier twice, reaching Mach 1.4 -- NASA and Lockheed Martin's experimental X-59 aircraft has broken the sound barrier twice, achieving a top speed of Mach 1.4. The feat could set the stage for "quiet" supersonic flight. -- Joanna Thompson -- Last updated

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Diagnostic dilemma: Brain scans following a man's hospital visit for leg weakness revealed a surprising finding -- Diagnostic dilemma -- A man went to hospital complaining about weakness in his left leg, and subsequent brain scans revealed his abnormally small brain. -- Christoph Schwaiger

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'Melted in a pot somewhere': Vikings used Islamic silver coins to make their early pennies, study finds -- The silver in a Viking Age hoard found in Denmark was from melted-down coins from the faraway Islamic world, a new study finds. -- Tom Metcalfe -- Published

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'I never thought we'd see one alive': Elusive goblin shark captured on camera for the first time -- Researchers have filmed goblin sharks in the deep sea for the first time. Until now, these sharks had been seen alive only after being hauled up to the surface with fishing lines. -- Sascha Pare -- Published

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Hundreds of hidden earthquakes discovered beneath Antarctica - and they're happening in a very odd location -- Antarctica was long thought to be seismically calm, but new technology makes it possible to detect unexpected types of earthquakes beneath the ice. -- Olivia Ferrari -- Published

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An ancient piece of the moon found in Africa hints at a violent, long-ago collision -- A meteorite shows evidence that an ancient crash on the moon 3.5 billion years ago was so powerful, it turned the surface molten. -- Elizabeth Howell -- Published

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'Political motivations' of Inca emperor led to the sacrifice of 3 children on a snow-capped volcano over 500 years ago, study suggests -- An analysis of corn, cassava and coca plants discovered with sacrificed Inca children reveals they died during the reign of one of the last Inca emperors. -- Kristina Killgrove -- Published

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Neuroscientists are searching for the 'cellular substrate of loneliness' -- Neuroscientists are discovering that spending time with others may be a basic biological necessity, like need for food or water. -- Elizabeth Preston -- Published

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El Ni o arrives, the Artemis III crew are revealed, a 'cold blob' worsens in the Atlantic, and a Richard Feynman note is finally deciphered. -- Science news this week -- June 13, 2026: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend -- Ben Turner

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World's rarest great ape decimated by 4 days of extreme rain, with 7% of population lost to cyclone -- Around 58 of Indonesia's Tapanuli orangutans were crushed or buried alive by landslides brought on by the climate-change-fueled Cyclone Senyar. -- Sophie Berdugo -- Published

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'I was really amazed': On the edge of the Milky Way, a dwarf galaxy is being ripped in half by its big sibling -- A new study shows that the Small Magellanic Cloud is being pulled apart by its larger sibling on the Milky Way's periphery, upending our understanding of our cosmic neighbor. -- Harry Baker -- Published

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These patients' hearts stopped a dozen times a day. An innovative procedure has transformed their lives. -- People with a rare condition experience "pauses" in their heart beat that cause them to faint. A new procedure could change their lives, research suggests. -- RJ Mackenzie -- Published

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Ancient squirrel poop from Arctic permafrost contains DNA from mammoths, bison, horses and big cats -- Prehistoric squirrel droppings were analyzed and found to contain genetic material of numerous ice-age beasts, plants, microbes and fungi. -- Aristos Georgiou -- Published

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Earth's underground fungal network is so massive, it would span 10% of the Milky Way, map reveals -- The first global map of subterranean fungi networks reveals how massive its reach is worldwide. -- Sophie Berdugo -- Published

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Century-old tuberculosis vaccine could help treat diabetes, trials hint. How? -- Repeated doses of a tuberculosis vaccine lowered insulin needs in patients with two forms of diabetes, new trial data show. But more research is needed to prove the benefit. -- Clarissa Brincat -- Published

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The Milky Way returns: How to take breathtaking photos of our galaxy this summer -- Learn how to photograph the Milky Way in June with expert astrophotography tips on dark skies, camera settings, timing and composition. -- Jamie Carter -- Published

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El Ni o is officially here, and will be among the strongest ever recorded, NOAA announces -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gives the climate event a 63% chance to "rank among the largest El Ni o events in the historical record going back to 1950." -- Ben Turner -- Published

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Complete skin of an adult horse found with 10th-century woman and newborn in rare Siberian burial -- Archaeologists found a rare medieval burial of a woman, newborn child and horse in southern Russia. -- Kristina Killgrove -- Published

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Scientists discover 5 million-year-old whale graveyard stretching for hundreds of miles in the Indian Ocean -- Researchers have discovered a "megasite" of dead whales along with new species of marine life feasting on the corpses. -- Chris Simms -- Published

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