How the 2024 superstorm crushed Earth’s protective plasma bubble
In May 2024, Earth was hit by the strongest geomagnetic storm in more than 20 years.
Known as the Gannon storm or the “Mother’s Day...
Scientists use laser tweezers to uncover the secret origin of lightning
Lightning lights up the sky in a dramatic flash, but scientists still don’t fully understand how it starts.
Now, researchers at the Institute of Science...
Archaeologists discover second-largest Roman olive oil mill ever found in Tunisia
Archaeologists working in the Kasserine region of central Tunisia have uncovered one of the most impressive industrial sites of the Roman Empire: the second-largest...
Earth’s oldest signs of life hidden in 3.3-billion-year-old rocks, study finds
Scientists have uncovered new chemical clues that life existed on Earth more than 3.3 billion years ago—much earlier than many previous estimates.
Even more surprising,...
Humans, apes, and Neanderthals have been kissing for millions of years, study finds
A new study from the University of Oxford suggests that kissing is far older than most people imagine.
According to the research, kissing likely evolved...
Giant hidden blobs inside Earth may explain why our planet can support life
Deep under our feet—almost 1,800 miles below the surface—scientists have found two huge and mysterious structures that may hold clues to how Earth formed...
How Neanderthal DNA helps explain why our faces look the way they do
Every human face is different, but scientists still know surprisingly little about how our DNA shapes these differences.
To learn more, researchers are turning to...
How tiny algae may have helped life survive Earth’s worst mass extinction
About 252 million years ago, Earth experienced the most devastating mass extinction in its history.
Known as “the Great Dying,” this event wiped out more...
How a modern koala is related to a ferocious ice age predator
Koalas may look like peaceful, eucalyptus-chewing tree-dwellers, while the marsupial lion was one of the fiercest Ice Age predators ever to roam Australia.
But scientists...
Ancient Roman glass cups hold secret messages from their creators
In early 2023, art historian and glassblower Hallie Meredith stood inside a quiet gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art when she noticed something...