'This is not the outcome we were working towards': $30 million mission to save NASA's Swift telescope fails - NASA's Swift Observatory is set to come crashing down to Earth later this year after private rescue mission failure. space-exploration

21 hours ago

Black hole star? Solar-system-size 'dot' from the early universe is our best evidence yet of a brand-new type of cosmic object -- The James Webb Space Telescope has identified the most promising candidate yet for a black hole star, lurking 660 million years after the Big Bang. The hypothetical entity, which shines 100 billion times brighter than a typical star, could shed light on the origins of the mysterious "little red dots." -- Harry Baker

21 hours ago

Cave sanctuary in Spain has highest number of Latin inscriptions anywhere in the Roman Empire - and many of them mention mysterious 'Lady' -- Researchers found 120 ancient inscriptions referring to a mysterious goddess known as "the Lady" in a cave in Valencia, Spain. -- Kenna Hughes-Castleberry

23 hours ago

Mini 'arteries-on-a-chip' could help predict a person's risk of stroke -- New models of the carotid artery can be personalized for different people, revealing subtle differences in stroke risk. -- Victoria Atkinson

23 hours ago

1,400-year-old skeleton found in underground channel in Peru may have belonged to human sacrifice victim -- A mysterious burial in an underground water channel may help archaeologists understand a pre-Inca ritual in Peru. -- Kristina Killgrove

1 day ago

Secret 'messages' in cat pee let felines identify each other - and scientists just cracked the code -- Cats can identify each other by the scent of their pee. We now know why. -- Skyler Ware

1 day ago

IBM's new 'quantum fridges' are nearly 200 times colder than deep space -- IBM's new modular cryogenic system links quantum chips to overcome major infrastructure hurdles and pave the way for a powerful system by 2029. -- Tristan Greene

1 day ago

Scientists just discovered a big limitation in lab-grown minibrains - they have a skewed 'sense of time' -- Miniature models of the brain don't seem to follow the same developmental timetable as real brains, which matters for research. -- Zunnash Khan

1 day ago

Astronomers spot the closest, fastest star ever seen orbiting our galaxy's monster black hole -- A star is whipping around the Milky Way's central black hole incredibly fast, setting a record for the tightest orbit ever observed -- Andrey Feldman

1 day ago

Out-of-control SpaceX rocket carved a 60-foot crater into the moon, NASA images reveal -- NASA has finally revealed the enormous crater left on the moon after a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage smashed into its surface on Aug. 5. -- Pandora Dewan

2 days ago

Body found at bottom of Scottish well may be from rare ritual burial performed centuries ago -- An Iron Age grave has been discovered in the Scottish Highlands. The person was buried within what may have been a ritual well. -- Owen Jarus

2 days ago

Peptides are the latest wellness fad. What are they, and are they safe? -- Explainer -- An FDA advisory panel has recommended making six unapproved peptides more accessible through compounding pharmacies - but scientists warn that easier access does not mean these experimental products have been proven safe or effective. -- Jennifer Zieba

2 days ago

Neanderthals may have trekked through the Saudi Arabian desert 55,000 years ago, farther south than experts thought possible -- Stone tools from a lakeside site in Saudi Arabia hint that Neanderthals were adapted to the arid Arabian interior, not just to cold places. -- Olivia Maule

2 days ago

'Beyond human intuition': AI designs chip components 500 times smaller than what engineers could ever imagine -- Three new AI-designed chip components are just a few micrometers long and go beyond what human engineers have previously envisaged. -- Fiona Jackson

2 days ago

The pace of climate change matters more than overall heat in the race to save key Atlantic currents, study finds -- The rate of global warming, rather than the extra heat itself, could determine whether a system of ocean currents known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation will cross a tipping point, new research suggests. -- Sascha Pare

2 days ago

Archaeologists discover Etruscan well that was ritually opened with offerings for a goddess - and 'closed' with human bodies -- An ancient Etruscan cult likely left burials and bronze artifacts in a well that was recently discovered in Italy. -- Margherita Bassi

3 days ago

1,700-year-old church discovered under a lake in Turkey may be the location of the First Council of Nicaea - but other experts disagree -- A small church discovered beneath a larger one may have hosted one of the most important meetings in the history of Christianity, but some scholars not involved with the excavation disagree. -- Owen Jarus

3 days ago

Skeleton with 167 fractures discovered at Scottish castle may have been first victim of Edward I's 'War Wolf' trebuchet -- Dozens of fractures in a medieval skeleton found buried near a castle suggest the person may have been killed by a direct trebuchet hit. -- Kristina Killgrove

3 days ago

Elon Musk and Sam Altman claim we've reached the AI singularity. But how would we even know that happened? -- Analysis -- Scientists suggest it could take decades to achieve superintelligent AI, and doing so still depends on hypothetical breakthroughs. So why do some suggest we're already there? -- Adam Shepherd

2 days ago

4 LEMURS DIE OF HUMAN HERPESVIRUS, INCLUDING ONE THAT HAD BEEN USED IN A 'LEMUR YOGA' CLASS -- Researchers recently confirmed cases of human herpesvirus infection in four lemurs, which died of the infection after having close contact with humans. -- Kenna Hughes-Castleberry

3 days ago