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Early human ancestor 'Lucy' was a bad runner, and this one tendon could explain why
By digitally modeling muscles and tendons for the skeleton of Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis), researchers determined that our hominin ancestors could run well but topped out around 11 mph.
Editor's picks: 2024's most exciting technology advancements
AI dominated tech news this year, but has the technology actually been improving? We review the leaps we've seen, as well as what's new in the world of quantum computing.
Expect more pandemics to sweep the globe in the coming decades
When human activities disrupt and unbalance ecosystems, such as by way of climate change and biodiversity loss, things go wrong.
The most important and shocking climate stories of 2024
Soaring carbon emissions, an unexpected new source of global warming, and collapsing ocean currents shocked scientists in 2024. Here are our picks for this year's top climate change stories.
Frosted branch angiitis: A rare eye condition that makes the retina look like a frosted tree
Frosted branch angiitis is a rare condition that makes the blood vessels that supply the retina look like the frosted branches of a tree.
Scientists still don't fully understand why some planets have hundreds of moons while others have none
It's not a competition, but if it were, Saturn would be winning.
NASA's Hubble and Chandra telescopes discover a strange 'sideways' black hole in a cosmic crime scene
What knocked this black hole over onto its side? It's a cosmic "whodunnit" that NASA scientists using the Hubble and Chandra space telescopes are trying to solve.
The fabric of the universe is 'lopsided', huge gravitational wave mapping study finds
A new effort to map the rumblings in spacetime caused by enormous black hole collisions paints a surprisingly loud and lopsided picture of the universe.
Astronomers spot an enormous explosion from the 1st black hole ever photographed
A massive, energetic jet from Virgo A could help scientists understand how matter behaves around a black hole.
Venomous pit viper devouring a frog as it takes its final breath captured in gruesome photo
From bloodsucking fly mites to fish being swallowed whole, photographers get up close and personal with an array of animals in this year's shortlisted entries for the Close-up Photographer of the Year 2024.
'Vulva stone' and coin jewelry among remarkable treasures discovered at Viking burial site in Norway
An excavation of three Viking graves in Norway reveals beads, coin jewelry and a stone carved to look like female genitalia.
From 'the last Neanderthal' to sacrifices in Peru: Our biggest archaeology stories of 2024
Here are our biggest archeology stories of 2024.
These endangered whales can live up to 150 years — twice as long as previously thought
Life expectancy prediction using data collected over four decades reveals southern right whales' exceptionally long lives — far longer than scientists previously thought.
James Webb Space Telescope catches monster black hole napping after 'overeating' in the early universe
The James Webb Space Telescope has caught a napping monster black hole in the early universe. The cosmic giant is slumbering after a massive meal like a reveler on Christmas Day.
Diagnostic dilemma: Doctors find 27 contact lenses in woman's eye ahead of routine surgery
A patient went to the doctor for cataract surgery, but her physicians were surprised to find a huge, foreign mass under her eyelid.
Auroras could light up the skies on Christmas, thanks to a powerful solar flare heading toward Earth
A display of auroras is expected to light up the skies on Christmas Day, thanks to a powerful M8.9 solar flare enroute to Earth.
These insects keep evolving to look like sticks. Why?
Researchers have found that stick insects keep evolving the same 20 body plans, from the "tree lobster'" to the "bark hugger" and the "large-headed stick."
Drastic Antarctic sea ice loss could fuel extreme weather in years ahead
Massive reductions in Antarctic sea ice in recent years has been correlated with more stormy days in the Southern Ocean, and could have implications for vital ocean currents.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe completes historic Christmas Eve flyby of the sun — but it could take days to know if it survived
On Christmas Eve, NASA's Parker Solar Probe flew closer to the sun than any human-made object ever — a stunning technological feat that scientists liken to the historic Apollo moon landing in 1969.
'Like nothing we've seen before': James Webb telescope spies a mysterious asteroid-comet hybrid lurking past Jupiter
The James Webb telescope has focused its attention on an oddball space rock lurking between Jupiter and Neptune. The unusual "centaur," named 2060 Chiron, has features of both comets and asteroids.
