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Latest News

An astronaut photo of a deep blue lake in Turkey with milky light blue swirls spinning in the water

Rare milky plumes paint stunning swirls in world's largest 'soda lake' — Earth from space

Harry Baker published 26 August 25

Earth from space A 2016 astronaut photo shows surprising plumes of milky material swirling in the waters of Turkey's Lake Van, the largest alkaline lake on Earth.

An image of the asteroid Bennu produced by the OSIRIS-REx mission.

Bennu sample contains dust older than the solar system itself

Elizabeth Howell published 25 August 25

The near-Earth asteroid Bennu contains stardust that is older than the solar system and clues about its violent history, three new studies of the asteroid's sample materials show.

a photo of two surgeons dissecting a pair of pig lungs

First-ever pig-to-human lung transplant attempted in brain-dead person in China

Nicoletta Lanese published 25 August 25

In a first, scientists in China transplanted a lung from a pig into a human so they could see how the host immune system handled the procedure.

A planet with red patches and cream patches against a dark background.

New Pluto mission could uncover dwarf planet's hidden ocean — if the 'queen of the underworld' gets to fly

Nola Taylor Tillman . published 25 August 25

A conceptual mission known as "Persephone" could explore Pluto and its moons for 50 years — if it ever gets funded and approved.

A series of red bubble looking spheres over a dark, starry background with four white cutout squares in the front enlarging four of the bubbles to show glowing balls of red light in each of the bubbles.

James Webb Space Telescope uncovers 300 mysteriously luminous objects. Are they galaxies or something else?

Samantha Mathewson . published 25 August 25

Deep-field images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope revealed 300 unusually energetic early galaxy candidates, offering new insights into how the universe formed and evolved over 13 billion years ago.

Rochester researcher Chunlei Guo tests a solar thermoelectric generator (STEG) etched with femtosecond laser pulses to boost solar energy absorption and efficiency in a lab.

Laser-blasted 'black metal' could make solar technology 15 times more efficient

Owen Hughes published 25 August 25

Unlike solar panels, solar thermoelectric generators can convert heat from any source into electricity. But poor efficiency has held the technology back – until now.

a single sphere of colorful cells against a black background — 'Minibrains' reveal secrets of how key brain cells form in the womb Miniature models of the brain have revealed a "previously unappreciated" role of microglia, a type of cell found within the organ. The finding could help unpack how disorders such as autism arise.

An illustration of the ultrabright "‘RBFLOAT"' radio burst flaring over Canada's CHIME radio telescope. — James Webb telescope pinpoints brightest FRB ever detected Astronomers using the James Webb telescope alongside Canada's CHIME telescope have pinpointed the origin of one of the brightest blasts of radio energy ever detected in Earth's skies.

an edited photo of a man appearing to walk through a brick wall — Why can't we walk through walls if atoms are mostly empty space? Most of an atom is empty space, so why does some matter feel solid? Two physics principles explain why.

a clay panel with a Christian cross sits partially broken on orange colored dirt — 'We never had concrete proof': Archaeologists discover Christian cross in Abu Dhabi, proving 1,400-year-old site was a monastery The discovery of a Christian cross proves that eighth-century houses found in the United Arab Emirates were part of a monastery.

Closeup of a grumpy-looking Pallas's cat's head. — Pallas's cat: One of the world's oldest felines that stands on its bushy tail to keep its paws warm Pallas's cat is a small wild cat native to Central Asia with short legs and dense fur, making it look bigger than it really is — but the yelps it makes in stressful situations betray its size.

An illustration of a black hole represented by a sphere with swirls of purple and brown light around it representing its accretion disk as it sits in the darkness of space — X-ray telescope finds something unexpected with the 'heartbeat black hole' NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) telescope has detected unexpected X-ray polarization from the "heartbeat black hole," formally known as IGR J17091-3624.

a three-toed sloth with its baby on a branch — What is the world's slowest animal? What does survival look like for animals who live in the slow lane?

Planet Earth

Forecasters predict La Niña conditions this fall: What to expect

By Patrick Pester published 24 August 25

NOAA forecasts suggest we could experience La Niña conditions in the fall and early winter. However, this potential La Niña spell is unlikely to break records.

Hurricane Erin and a James Webb Space Telescope photo of Uranus.

Science news this week: Storms rage on Earth and the sun, and a new moon is spotted around Uranus

By Ben Turner published 23 August 25

Science news this week Aug. 23, 2025: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend.

Science news this week

LATEST ARTICLES

1
Bennu sample contains dust older than the solar system itself
2
First-ever pig-to-human lung transplant attempted in brain-dead person in China
3
New Pluto mission could uncover dwarf planet's hidden ocean — if the 'queen of the underworld' gets to fly
4
James Webb Space Telescope uncovers 300 mysteriously luminous objects. Are they galaxies or something else?
5
Laser-blasted 'black metal' could make solar technology 15 times more efficient

Space

NASA's Perseverance Rover captured this image of a strange rock on Aug. 5, 2025.

NASA's Perseverance rover spies mysterious 'helmet' on Mars

By Daisy Dobrijevic Partner Content Created With Space. published 24 August 25

A medieval-looking "helmet" rock spotted by NASA's Perseverance rover adds to Mars' gallery of odd shapes.

The folded layers of eastern Candor Chasma on Mars.

Longest canyon in the solar system reveals new secrets — Space photo of the week

By Jamie Carter published 24 August 25

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter recently photographed Candor Chasma in Mars' Valles Marineris, the largest canyon in the entire solar system.

archaeology

Malia Bee Pendant: A 3,800-year-old accessory found in a Minoan 'pit of gold'

By Kristina Killgrove published 25 August 25

This extremely detailed depiction of insects holds clues to the natural world of the ancient Minoans.

Mysterious 300,000-year-old Greek cave skull was neither human nor Neanderthal, study finds

By Patrick Pester published 22 August 25

Researchers have dated the mysterious skull from Petralona Cave in Greece to 300,000 years ago and concluded that the fossil belonged to an ancient human group that lived alongside Neanderthals.

Human Evolution

World of science

Health

Why do caffeine withdrawal headaches hurt so much?

By Abby Wilson published 23 August 25

It's still largely a mystery why caffeine withdrawal causes headaches, but researchers have a few ideas.

$14,000 pregnancy robot from China isn't real. But is a similar technology possible?

By Nicoletta Lanese published 23 August 25

A story circulating on social media this week featured a seemingly made-up scientist who is developing an equally imaginary "pregnancy robot." Virality ensued.

Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth

If 'pregnancy robots' were real, would you use one?

By Nicoletta Lanese published 23 August 25

A viral story raised the idea of using robots outfitted with artificial wombs to incubate human babies from conception to birth. If such technology existed, would you consider using it?

Fertility, Pregnancy & Birth

Animals

Japanese macaque sitting in the snow.

Earth's early primates evolved in the cold — not the tropics

By Jason Gilchrist published 22 August 25

Fossil spore and pollen data reveal our early ancestors evolved in cold, dry environments, with some even colonizing Arctic regions.

How to watch Shark Week 2025: Live TV & streaming schedule for Discovery special

By Fran Ruiz last updated 20 August 25

All the broadcast information, including full program guide and show synopses, so you can watch Shark Week 2025 from anywhere from July 20-26.

What's the difference between a llama and an alpaca?

By Charles Q. Choi published 18 August 25

Llamas are closely related to alpacas, so how can you tell these South American camelids apart?

Human Behavior

A hand holding a pencil over a crossword puzzle

Live Science crossword puzzle #7: NASA mission that redirected an asteroid — 8 across

By Harry Baker last updated 18 August 25

Test your knowledge on all things science with our weekly, free crossword puzzle!

Arts & Entertainment

People who see society as cutthroat value antagonistic leaders, study finds

By Perri Thaler published 31 July 25

Research suggests that whether people view the world as competitive or cooperative impacts how they perceive antagonistic leaders.

Girl doing math homework.

The 'gender gap' in math is not innate — something about school drives it

By Victoria Atkinson published 17 July 25

A new study of schoolchildren in France suggests that boys are not innately better at math. Some aspect of schooling appears to drive the "gender gap."

Physics & Mathematics

Meet the 'neglectons': Previously overlooked particles that could revolutionize quantum computing

By Larissa G. Capella published 16 August 25

When mathematicians revived ignored mathematical structures, they found that overlooked particles, called "neglectons," could complete the quantum computing puzzle.

Physics & Mathematics

Trieste Lightning

Lightning on Earth is sparked by a powerful chain reaction from outer space, simulations show

By Ben Turner published 31 July 25

A new model may have finally solved where storm clouds get their missing energy.

Physics & Mathematics

'Paraparticles' would be a third kingdom of quantum particle

By Shalma Wegsman published 13 July 25

A new proposal makes the case that paraparticles — a new category of quantum particle — could be created in exotic materials.

Quantum Physics

Chemistry

Scientists transform 'forever chemicals' in water into fluoride with new process

By Ben Turner published 16 August 25

Exposure to a sunlight-activated catalyst broke down 99% of a forever chemical, leaving behind recyclable fluoride.

Scientists have finally made an elusive meteorite diamond, predicted to be 50% harder than Earth diamonds

By Victoria Atkinson published 16 August 25

Meteorite diamonds, which could be 58% harder than ordinary diamonds, have finally been made in the lab.

Scientists synthesized elusive 'super alcohol' — a 'seed of life molecule' that marks a step toward finding alien life

By Perri Thaler published 7 August 25

Scientists have synthesized methanetetrol, an elusive alcohol that could be the foundation of alien life.

Technology

China is dunking data centers into the ocean to keep them cool

By You Xiaoying published 24 August 25

China is pulling ahead of the rest of the world in sinking data centers that power AI into the ocean as an alternate way to keep them cool.

Robot drumming.

Meet Robot Drummer: Scientists train an AI to drum like Linkin Park and AC/DC — but it sounds like it has plenty of practice to do

By Bobby Hellard published 23 August 25

Robot Drummer is a simulated program able to learn pop, rock, and jazz songs with reinforcement learning.

A selection of our favorite sleep headphones laid out on a blue duvet

Best sleep headphones 2025 — Cozy tunes for every type of sleeper

By Anna Gora published 21 August 25

Buying guides These are the best sleep headphones you can buy in every category, from Ozlo Sleepbuds and AcousticSheep SleepPhones V8 to Soundcore Sleep A30.

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