Science News: Recent scientific discoveries and expert analysis

The La Niña weather pattern ended last month as Pacific Ocean temperatures rose and the El Niño Southern Oscillation cycle entered a neutral state, according to the NOAA.

mRNA vaccines train the immune system in a similar way to traditional vaccines, but they use a different strategy to get there.

Scientists have unveiled the oldest woolly mammoth specimen ever discovered in North America as part of a major DNA study spanning a million years of mammoth evolution.

Rocket start-up SpinLaunch wants to catapult hundreds of flattened "microsatellites" into space at once, using a cannon-like machine that accelerates objects by spinning them. The first orbital demonstration is scheduled for next year.

Researchers have invented two new urinal designs that could significantly reduce the amount of urine splashback, keeping public restrooms cleaner.

Fall armyworms have spread throughout the world, destroying crops and evolving insecticide resistance. New research in Australia suggests fungi that attack the worms could be a promising pest control method.

Researchers have determined that a mysterious jawbone discovered on the seafloor off the coast of Taiwan was Denisovan, proving that the archaic humans were distributed widely over Asia.

A massive gang of over 60 orcas was seen brutalizing an endangered pygmy blue whale off the coast of Western Australia by a whalewatching tour.

"What surprised us, at the end, was how effective this type of impact could be in explaining Mercury's unusual structure without needing to consider multiple collisions or extremely rare conditions."

Many deserts face worsening droughts, but India's Thar Desert has become 38% greener in the past 20 years due to increased rainfall and expanding agriculture in the region, according to a new study.

A recently unearthed altar in Tikal holds the burial of a child and adult, but it wasn't built by the Maya. Instead, it appears foreigners from Teotihuacan built it.

Scientists have found previously undocumented ash deposits buried beneath the Lava Creek Tuff in Wyoming — and at least one of them could be from an unknown volcanic eruption, they say.

An analysis of star movements from the Gaia spacecraft reveals that the Small Magellanic Cloud — a satellite galaxy bound to the Milky Way — is being torn apart by its larger neighbor.

A pair of white dwarfs, located just 150 light-years from Earth, appears doomed to die in a type 1a supernova that will shine brighter than anything currently visible in the night sky. But humanity — and our planet — will be long gone before this happens.

Futuristic holograms you can manipulate have become a reality sooner than we thought, thanks to breakthrough display.

The mysterious Antikythera Mechanism is 2,000 years old and has long puzzled scientists. New research into its triangle-shaped teeth may finally reveal its intended purpose.

Hantaviruses are spread by rodents and can cause deadly respiratory and kidney illnesses in humans. It recently killed Betsy Arakawa, actor Gene Hackman's wife, in a widely covered case.

Also known as the 'Paschal Moon,' April's full 'Pink Moon' will rise alongside Spica, one of the brightest stars in the night sky, on April 12.

A public health official in Texas recently warned that the state's ongoing measles outbreak could last a year. Why are cases expected to keep rising?

Physicists are finalizing plans for MATHUSLA, a powerful new addition to CERN's Large Hadron Collider that will detect long-lived particles and potentially open the door to new physics.