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![An illustration of an asteroid approaching Earth](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hF68obBzzxNiQwxDeSAYz6-320-80.jpg)
'City-killer' asteroid has a 1-in-43 chance of smashing into Earth in 2032, NASA says
By Joanna Thompson last updated
A space rock dubbed 2024 YR4 has a roughly 2.3% chance of smashing into our planet, NASA scientists announced.
![An image of a supercluster outline in pink and blue blobs](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3X9m9xUVCtaDAACZba4SxN-320-80.jpg)
Astronomers discover 'Quipu', the single largest structure in the known universe
By Stephanie Pappas published
Newly discovered Quipu, a superstructure in which galaxies group together in clusters and clusters of clusters, is the largest known structure in the universe in terms of length, scientists claim.
![Skulls of two Australopithecus africanus specimens are highlighted against a black background. The left-hand skull is that of a young child with round eye orbits and smooth skull, while the right-hand skull is that of an adult, with wide orbits, a projecting jaw, and a rough skull.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CNoD85sQCDo39etJyNur9d-320-80.png)
In a 1st, ancient proteins reveal sex of human relative from 3.5 million years ago
By Kristina Killgrove published
Researchers have extracted ancient proteins from australopithecine fossils and determined whether they were male or female — a first for human evolution studies.
![A CT scan of a woman's chest showing an implant near her lung](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/sDQkkvwUgETt8x4cWrHSrT-320-80.jpg)
'Wandering' contraceptive implant travels to woman's lung in rare case
By Emily Cooke published
A woman's contraceptive implant ended up in her lung; doctors believe the device migrated because it wasn't inserted in her upper arm properly.
![A photo of a person standing in front of a burning house in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/G9czFnNqwRkJp7tUGjoZaB-320-80.jpg)
January 2025 hottest on record despite US cold and La Niña
By Patrick Pester published
La Niña and record cold temperatures in the U.S. should have made Earth cooler, but January 2025 was still the hottest on record, with an average global warming of 3.15 F (1.75 C) above pre-industrial levels.
![A telescope photo of the Red Planet Mars rising near the bottom of Earth's moon](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tBJTQJXALPrgQvu6H93Ef7-320-80.jpg)
Red 'star' rising with the moon on Sunday is really Mars — and you may be able to see it 'disappear'
By Gretchen Rundorff last updated
Mars will appear to make an ultraclose approach to the moon on Sunday, after Jupiter had a turn earlier this week. Here's how to get the best view of the rare conjunction.
![HH 30 as imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WpUe2E2jTETuMXMRrQYwNK-320-80.jpg)
Stunning, rainbow-colored object spotted by James Webb telescope could be an alien solar system in the making
By Ben Turner published
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a belching protostar in its infancy. By studying the dust grains whirling around it, astronomers hope to better understand how solar systems like our own take shape.
![orcas swimming in circles around a seal on a block of ice](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RvNk823PKhy5SsbWzrhbvb-320-80.jpg)
Orcas off Antarctica filmed teaching calves to hunt in incredible new footage
By Hannah Osborne published
The adult orcas swam around the ice demonstrating how to pull a seal off by its tail.
![NASA satellite image showing melt on Alaska.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Hdbjw97vLoCaXgTSviPH7H-320-80.jpg)
Alaska's ice is melting in front of our eyes, staggering satellite shots show
By Ben Turner published
Unusual weather patterns and climate change have been driving stark changes in the northwestern state. Now, new satellite images show the extent of this transformation.
![Two people standing in front of a cliff, looking at the different colored lines of soil running horizontally](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ZnMXNjYDvaCp47WWixgBMB-320-80.png)
11,000-year-old settlement in Canada could rewrite history of Indigenous civilizations in North America
By Kristina Killgrove published
The discovery of an 11,000-year-old village in Saskatchewan could rewrite Indigenous history in central Canada.
![Someone holding the small, square quantum refrigerator in their hands.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6L3ixqkoKajFqxT4tUZUtW-320-80.jpg)
Coldest-ever qubits could lead to faster quantum computers
By Owen Hughes published
Scientists have cooled qubits to record low temperatures using a quantum refrigerator powered by "hot thermal baths."
![A photo of the Trovants, bulbous stones emerging from the earth](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3RXQhuF3CtxpcRos67LuLA-320-80.jpg)
Romania's trovants: The bulbous 'living' rocks that inspired folkloric tales of dinosaur eggs and aliens
By Sascha Pare published
Trovants are rocks that grow by absorbing minerals from rainwater. Romania is home to a cluster of trovants that inspired folklore of dinosaur eggs, plant fossils and alien creations.
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XUfVfet2gsXXTLCZJvwErf-320-80.jpg)
NASA's new SPHEREx space telescope to launch in February — it can do what the JWST can't
By Monisha Ravisetti published
SPHEREx is slated to launch Feb. 27 on a SpaceX rocket. It is meant to map the entire night sky in infrared — something even the JWST can't exactly do.
![A row of dairy cows](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Ld6p2PXGH5K4tX9MHDT8KF-320-80.jpg)
2nd form of bird flu detected in US cows
By Nicoletta Lanese published
A branch of the H5N1 bird flu family tree that hadn't previously been seen in cattle has now been detected in dairy cows.
![An illustration of bacteria](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/z4KDqQz5Q9dgvPmjmiYsZN-320-80.jpg)
Scientists are building an ultimate atlas of the vagina. Here's why.
By Nicoletta Lanese published
Scientists are studying the vaginal microbiome in populations all around the world to see how it might differ in different people and in health and disease.
![A photograph of the Herculaneum scroll, PHerc. 172, which was buried by Mount Vesuvius' eruption 2,000 years](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/agq8rTxzUXer7Xu5j7YWrE-320-80.jpg)
'Incredible moment in history:' Particle accelerator and AI offer first peek inside 2,000-year-old Herculaneum scroll
By Patrick Pester published
A 2,000-year-old Herculaneum scroll buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius is filled with lost words that scholars can now decipher thanks to AI and a particle accelerator.
![A multi-colored illustration of particles of Nipah virus against a black background. The particles are orange, green and yellow.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3nKoixwdzWXVpp2b7hgJ4R-320-80.jpg)
New 'Camp Hill' virus discovered in Alabama is relative of deadly Nipah — the 1st of its kind in the US
By Emily Cooke published
A new virus related to the deadly Nipah and Hendra viruses has been detected in shrews in the U.S. However, scientists say there is currently "no evidence" that it has infected humans and the risk of it doing so is "likely low."
![A researcher points to a fissure in the ceiling of a cave in Spain that held a Roman coin.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/SE5CAehXHQscX6TGDZdfdA-320-80.png)
1,900-year-old Roman sanctuary and coin found in flooded Spanish cave
By Sascha Pare published
Archaeologists discovered ancient Roman inscriptions and a 1,900-year-old coin wedged between rock formations while exploring a cave called the Cova de les Dones in eastern Spain.
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