Science Spotlight: Discover the research changing our understanding of the world

The question of what defines a species has vexed scientists across the ages, particularly in conservation, where decisions require a firm understanding of biodiversity.

Astronomers have been scouring the outer solar system for signs of a hypothetical ninth planet for almost a decade, without success. However, we may finally be on the cusp of finding it, experts say.

Like whale blubber, oil as a dominant source of energy will gradually be phased out over the next decades. Here's what that transition may look like.

Neanderthals and humans mated millennia ago, and their legacy lives on in us today. Here's how.

Antarctic sea ice has been disappearing over the last several summers. Now, climate scientists are wondering whether it will ever come back.

More than two decades ago, scientists predicted that at ultra-low temperatures, many atoms could undergo 'quantum superchemistry' and chemically react as one. They've finally shown it's real.

Due to their proximity to Earth, minimoons are prime candidates for exploration. Now, some scientists want to use these tiny satellites to push humanity further into the cosmos.

Scientists are finding ever-earlier examples of artistic expression in the archaeological record that reshape what we know about the cognitive abilities of our archaic human relatives, such as Neanderthals.

Diamonds seem to reach Earth's surface in massive volcanic eruptions when supercontinents break up, and they form when continents come together.

For decades, measurements of the universe's expansion have suggested a disparity known as the Hubble tension, which threatens to break cosmology as we know it. Now, on the eve of its second anniversary, a new finding by the James Webb Space Telescope has only entrenched the mystery.