'RNA can do things which we have never seen before': New study challenges assumptions about what RNA was up to at the dawn of life - RNA can fold into more complex configurations than scientists thought, raising questions about how important these 3D structures were when life on Earth began.

4 hours ago

'These are striking forecasts': Super El Ni o keeps getting even more likely, and it could bring a humanitarian crisis -- Forecasts point to the ongoing El Ni o rapidly strengthening to a likely all-time record in the coming months, fueling temperature rises and extreme weather. -- Patrick Pester -- Published

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'Explosive diarrhea' parasite infections in 5 states linked to Taco Bell lettuce; other cases still under investigation -- Lettuce served at Taco Bell has been identified as a source of Cyclospora infections affecting people across five states. -- Nicoletta Lanese -- Published

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'Shared cosmic experience': 90% of the world's population may see 'once-in-a-millennium' asteroid fly by Earth in 2029 -- Researchers predict that up to 7.6 billion people will be able to see the potentially hazardous asteroid Apophis fly past Earth on April 13, 2029. The skyscraper-size space rock will come closer than some satellites, making it clearly visible to the naked eye. -- Harry Baker -- Published

5 hours ago

Did ancient Egyptian princesses use weapons? Controversial study claims they hunted or trained with the military, but not all experts agree. -- Nearly 4,000-year-old skeletal remains show that several royal women repeatedly used their upper-body muscles. Researchers link those changes to archery and weapon training, but outside experts urge caution. -- Kenna Hughes-Castleberry -- Published

6 hours ago

Ancient chariot emerges among remains of mysterious society that burned down its own buildings and then disappeared -- An ancient bronze chariot recently discovered in Spain was used by a culture that mysteriously disappeared from the archaeological record. -- Margherita Bassi -- Published

17 hours ago

Nobel Prize-winning physicist and team use Claude AI to solve decades-old math puzzle -- A decade after uncovering a mysterious mathematical relationship in the physics of "jamming," Nobel laureate Giorgio Parisi and collaborator Francesco Zamponi have finally cracked the case - not with a radical new theory, but with the help of the generative AI Claude. -- Benjamin Skuse -- Published

1 day ago

Thousands of liberated Africans died on a remote island after the British Navy freed them. We now know where they came from. -- Thousands of enslaved Africans were liberated from slave ships and died on the island of St. Helena around 200 years ago. A new chemical analysis has revealed their tragic stories. -- Owen Jarus -- Published

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Oops! Ancient Bronze Age shaman long assumed to be a man was actually a woman, DNA reveals -- A DNA analysis of a 4,000-year-old skeleton buried with an elaborate metalworking tool kit near Stonehenge has revealed that the individual, long assumed to be a male shaman, was actually a woman. -- Olivia Maule -- Published

1 day ago

'This was one of the most arduous expeditions I've ever done': Scientists confirm that 15-mile-wide pit found on Google Maps is ancient meteor crater -- Jo l Lapointe was using Google Maps to plan a camping trail through Quebec's C te-Nord region when he stumbled across a large indentation. Now, scientists have confirmed that the pit was indeed a meteor impact crater that dates back roughly 390 million years. -- Pandora Dewan -- Published

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New 3D silicon chip stacks circuits on top of each other to boost computing power -- Researchers have found a way to build a three-layered silicon chip without the chip overheating. -- Rich McEachran -- Published

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Orange-lipped monkey that roars and snorts deep in Congo rainforest is new species to science -- A striking new monkey species, Colobus congoensis, was discovered deep in the Congo rainforest and has been scientifically described for the first time. -- Chris Simms -- Published

2 days ago

Robot dog can climb stairs, navigate a forest and bound over logs thanks to new, rapid AI training technique -- Researchers used reinforcement learning to train a quadrupedal robot to adapt to different environments using two different pre-learned gaits. -- Kenna Hughes-Castleberry -- Published

2 days ago

Physicists made a black hole out of light and used it to test Stephen Hawking's elusive radiation theory -- Scientists made a breakthrough discovery about the physics of Hawking radiation by making a miniature black hole out of light in the laboratory. -- Andrey Feldman -- Published

2 days ago

How wildfire smoke harms the body, and how to protect yourself -- Experts lay bare the health effects of breathing in wildfire smoke and the steps that can be taken to reduce your risk. -- Emily Cooke -- Last updated

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Scientists show that DNA can last for up to 50,000 years in Africa ‪-‬ much longer than previously thought -- Researchers extracted DNA from long-dead animals that lived in South Africa during the last ice age, revealing that genetic material lasts longer in hot climates than was previously thought. -- Kristina Killgrove -- Published

2 days ago

Scientists are deep-freezing koala eggs and sperm to protect the species from extinction -- Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia want to freeze koala sex cells in liquid nitrogen, which could preserve the DNA for decades until we need it, an expert said. -- Sascha Pare -- Published

2 days ago

5 'extremely rare' iron shackles discovered in France highlight Celtic slave trade 2,300 years ago -- Archaeologists were surprised to find evidence of shackles in a pre-Roman settlement in France. -- Kristina Killgrove -- Published

2 days ago

Sugar found in raspberries discovered near the center of the Milky Way -- Erythrulose, a sugar found in raspberries, was spotted in a gas and dust cloud near the center of the Milky Way. -- Elizabeth Howell -- Published

2 days ago

18 ancient Egyptian tombs with dozens of gold 'tongues' discovered along the Mediterranean coast -- Archaeologists have found 18 tombs at an ancient Egyptian site by the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. -- Owen Jarus -- Published

4 days ago