Adrian Tchaikovsky: "Could life have gone any other way?"
The author of the latest read for the New Scientist Book Club on the science that lies behind his novel Alien Clay, set on a prison planet where the biology is very different to that on Earth
Air monitoring station records biggest ever jump in atmospheric CO2
Wildfires and fossil fuel burning in 2024 contributed to the biggest annual rise in atmospheric CO2 levels ever recorded at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Was Never Meant to Look at the Sun. Astronomers Tried It Anyway
A little-known chapter of the Hubble Space Telescope’s history is a reminder of the risks of looking at the sun
The untold story of the gladiator and Britain's remarkable discovery
Research is revealing the hidden story of one of Britain’s most intriguing archaeological finds
Colombian tree frog found by Sheffield florist highlights invasive species threat
Scientists say frog’s journey shows difficulty of spotting insects or fungi spread by global plant trade
Blood-thirsty 33ft dinosaur rediscovered after its bones were blown up in WWII
Tameryraptor markgrafi was recreated using unearthed photographs of its remains.
Rocket Report: Starship experiences a RUD; Blue Origin nails its debut launch
This weekly newsletter on rockets provides definitive coverage of the global launch industry. The big news this week is the New Glenn and Starship missions.
The World’s Rarest Insect Lives On The World's Tallest Sea Stack In The Pacific Ocean
Lost, rediscovered, clinging onto survival – and now thriving?
Elusive phase change finally spotted in a quantum simulator
Researchers saw a chain of atoms in a quantum simulator go from being magnetic to not magnetic at all, the first time such a change has ever been seen in one spatial dimension
Da Vinci was right: Secret tunnels found in Italian castle
Italy’s Sforza Castle includes a underground passage that linked the Duke of Milan to his wife’s tomb.
A deep-sea robot went to one of the darkest places on Earth – what it found was staggering
The voyage included four unnamed submarine canyon systems and nearly 20 methane seeps off the coast of Chile.
Check Out These Extraordinary New Images of Mercury
New photos of Mercury taken during the joint European and Japanese BepiColombo mission reveal fascinating details of the small rocky planet.
A new Space Race begins – Blue Origin’s New Glenn reaches orbit during first test flight
The first test flight of the New Glenn rocket from Blue Origin – a spaceflight company founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos – successfully launched on 16 January 2025.
The Silurian Hypothesis Suggests An Advanced Civilization Lived On Earth Before Humans
If an advanced civilization lived on Earth millions of years before humans, would we be able to tell?
Snow Moon 2024: How to see the last full Moon of winter
February’s full Snow Moon marks the end of the Lunar New Year celebrations. Here’s how you can see it.
Planet-warming carbon dioxide levels rose more than ever in 2024
The record rise is incompatible with keeping global warming to 1.5C according to the Met Office.
Severe droughts are getting bigger, hotter, drier and longer
Droughts lasting multiple years are becoming more common and extreme around the globe, expanding by about 50,000 square kilometres annually
What Killed The Dinosaurs? New Study Suggests We’ve Got One Key Element Wrong
And it all centers around an eggy smell.
Parasitic crickets have a few moves to outsmart ants
Infiltrating ant colonies comes with a deadly risk.
Rare Jaw Fossil Found in China Might Belong to the World's Smallest Cat
Scientists placed the extinct species, which may date back more than 300,000 years, in the same genus as modern leopard cats in Asia
For Possibly The First Time Ever, A Meteorite Was Captured Hitting The Ground On Video And Audio
“When I was innocently moving that dog lead, a meteor was hurling towards me.”
NASA image reveals Jupiter as you've never seen it before
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot storm, which usually appears dark-red, can be seen shining a lurid blue color in an ultraviolet image of the planet.
NASA tracking Washington Monument-sized asteroid nearing Earth
2022 CE2 will pass us at speeds of 29,661 mph, several times faster than even the speediest of bullets.
Early Humans Adapted To Extreme Deserts More Than A Million Years Ago
The capacity might explain how Homo erectus conquered Eurasia, but deepens the mystery about what took our own species so long.
Multi-Ion Optical Atomic Clock Takes A Step Towards Changing The Definition Of A Second
The breakthrough has applications from metrology to dealing with the consequences of climate change.
Nasa's Sunita Williams makes first of two spacewalks
Nasa astronaut Suni Williams, one of two astronauts stuck on the International Space Station, has completed her first spacewalk since arriving.
Warning of stowaway snakes and tree-frogs hiding in pot plants
Frogs, lizards, snakes and insect pests are being transported across the world on ornamental plants.
British Iron Age burial grounds reveal women had power
Husbands joined their wives’ communities and ‘close inbreeding was avoided.’
"Three Gorges Dam In Space": China Reveals Plans To Build Giant Power Station In Earth's Orbit
“The energy collected in one year would be equivalent to the total amount of oil that can be extracted from the Earth.”
Neolithic people sacrificed "sun stones" after volcano 4,900 years ago
A “completely unique” collection of prehistoric stone artifacts have been linked to a “devastating” volcanic eruption.
‘We’re very fortunate’: stargazers to see almost all planets in the night sky at the same time
Expert says the planet parade will be best viewed around 21 January and recommends downloading a sky map app to help spot them
This May Be The Best Photo Ever Taken From The International Space Station
We are in awe at what astronaut Don Pettit has been able to capture from space.
Tiny creature with very hairy toes discovered on hillside in Cambodia
Radiation may not be behind differences among Chernobyl’s dogs, scientists find
New study has implications for our understanding of nuclear radiation exposure effects on populations
Mysterious 5,000-year-old ‘Stonehenge of the East’ is drifting over time, study shows
True purpose of enigmatic stone circle in Golan Heights has remained elusive despite decades of research
Will the world fall in love with nuclear power once more?
Environmental journalist Marco Visscher talks about his new book on the rise, fall, and return of nuclear.
Astronomers baffled by bizarre 'zombie star' that shouldn't exist
A newly discovered neutron star is behaving so strangely that it may alter our understanding of the dense remains left behind when stellar objects die
Hidden mysteries underneath iconic Italian castle unravelled
Method can also help investigate other historical sites around the world, researchers say
Why every arm of an octopus moves with a mind of its own
There is ‘an equivalent to a spinal cord running down the center of every single arm.’
First Infrared Flare-Up Detected From The Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole
This detection fills in a crucial gap in our understanding of our local supermassive black hole.
Firm with salvage rights to the Titanic wins right to continue shipwreck search
The U.S Government argued that entering the hull would violate a 2017 federal law
Why Stonehenge was ‘ultimately a failure’ in striking new theory on its origins
Stonehenge may have served a political purpose for prehistoric Britons, research suggests
‘Titanic’ artifact salvage efforts paused indefinitely
The 112-year-old shipwreck is expected to disintegrate in a matter of decades.
Chernobyl’s feral dogs are genetically unique, but not mutated
At least 30 generations have roamed the abandoned region since 1986.
New Laser Technique Measures Distance Between Faraway Labs To A Fraction Of Hair’s Width
Lasers have long been great for measuring distances precisely, but this is a whole new level.
When and where to see the next 'Blood Moon' lunar eclipse
Might need to set an early alarm for this one, though.
There was a straight shot from Earth to the Moon and Mars last night
Even at its closest point to Earth, Mars looms 250 times farther than the Moon.
Stone Age Artisans Chose Their Materials For A Reason. A New Study Is Figuring Out Why
To work with the most basic technology, you’ve got to be pretty smart.
Bats Hitch a Ride on Storm Fronts When Migrating, Saving Energy by 'Surfing' Through the Sky, Study Finds
Researchers tracking female bats in central Europe found they migrated much farther in a single night than previously thought. The findings could help protect bats from wind turbine collisions
"Time is ticking" for world’s rarest turtle – this new DNA test could help save it from extinction
The portable eDNA test can detect incredibly rare Swinhoe’s softshell turtles in vast bodies of water, say scientists.
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