'A force more powerful than gravity within the Earth': How magnetism locked itself inside our planet
"As the magma cooled to form what is today the world's solid outer crust, magnetism was locked into minerals containing iron, such as magnetite."
By Sascha Pare published
China's southwestern karst landscape is pockmarked with dozens of enormous sinkholes that look like they were made with a cookie cutter — and scientists keep finding new ones.
By Harry Baker published
Alaska's melting permafrost is dumping toxic metals into the state's rivers, turning them bright orange and making the water highly acidic. The contaminated rivers are so vibrant they can be seen from space, and the problem is likely to get much worse in the future.
By Brandon Specktor published
The James Webb Space Telescope may have spotted the birth of some of the earliest galaxies in the universe for the first time ever, new research hints.
By Robert Lea published
Researchers using NASA's Chandra X-ray telescope have found that a group of "Death Star black holes are swiveling around and pointing at new targets, like the fictional space station in Star Wars."
By Emily Cooke published
Inhabitants of the world's highest settlement, La Rinconada, in the Peruvian Andes, face a unique set of challenges.
By Hannah Osborne published
Aardwolves — the "weird cousin" of the hyena world that has peg teeth and only eats insects — are an evolutionary mystery, stemming from a ghost lineage that scientists haven't been able to figure out.
By Ben Turner published
This is the first time an animal other than humans has been seen performing the feat of vocal numeracy.
By Jessie Szalay, Ailsa Harvey last updated
Reference Giant huntsman spiders are the largest member of the huntsman spider family Sparassidae with a leg span stretching up to 12 inches across — roughly the size of a dinner plate.
By Stephanie Pappas published
Human societies that experience downturns do a better job of recovering from later disasters, new research finds.
By Alexander McNamara published
In a new series of comics, where young, female scientists take center stage, MIT's Ritu Raman explains how the format can inspire the next generation of young people into the world of STEM.
By Jennifer Nalewicki published
Pilots have been doing barrel rolls in small planes throughout the history of aviation. But has anyone ever attempted this maneuver in a commercial airliner?
By Andrey Feldman published
A new theory of quantum gravity, which attempts to unite quantum physics with Einstein's relativity, could help solve the puzzle of the universe's expansion, a theoretical paper suggests.
By Andrey Feldman published
Black hole singularities defy the laws of physics. New research presents a bold solution to this puzzle: Black holes may actually be a theoretical type of star called a 'gravastar,' filled with universe-expanding dark energy.
By Deepa Jain published
Scientists have used a new technique to synthesize diamonds at normal, atmospheric pressure and without a starter gem, which could make the precious gemstones easier to grow in the lab.
By Ben Turner published
Social media has been flooded with bizarre and dangerous advice that appears to have been made by Google's new AI overview feature. The company continues to defend the 'high quality' search tool.
By Nicholas Fearn published
AlphaFold3 uses AI to helps scientists more accurately predict how proteins interact with other biological molecules.
By Nicholas Fearn published
Large language models (LLMs) have mastered the art of deception when competing with humans in games, but scientists warn these skills can also spill out into other domains.