6,752 results
- Animals
These brainless jellyfish use their eyes and bundles of nerves to learn
No brain? No problem for Caribbean box jellyfish. Their seemingly simple nervous systems can learn to avoid obstacles on sight, a study suggests.
- Planetary Science
Granite likely lurks beneath the moon’s surface
Without plate tectonics or water, granite is hard to make. But a 50-kilometer-wide hunk sits beneath the moon’s surface, lunar orbiter data suggest.
- Paleontology
Living fast may have helped mammals like ‘ManBearPig’ dominate
Staying in the womb for a while but being born ready to rock may have helped post-dinosaur mammals take over the planet.
- Tech
50 years ago, a balloon circumnavigated the world for science
A 1973 high-altitude flight kicked off an era of useful stratospheric balloon science. Some scientists worry that heightened concerns over alleged spy balloons might hamper that.
- Life
The Endangered Species Act is turning 50. Has it succeeded?
After 50 years, this landmark law has kept many species alive — but few wild populations have recovered enough to come off the “endangered” list.
- Archaeology
Indigenous input revealed early hints of fiber making in the tropics
To decipher marks on nearly 40,000-year-old stone tools and figure out what they were used for, researchers turned to the Philippines’ Pala’wan people.
- Ecosystems
Some polar bears in Greenland survive on surprisingly little sea ice
“Glacial mélange” could provide a last refuge for some bears as the Earth warms, but climate action is needed to preserve the species, researchers say.
- Microbes
Ancient bacteria could persist beneath Mars’ surface
Radiation-tolerant microbes might be able to survive beneath Mars’ surface for hundreds of millions of years, a new study suggests.
- Astronomy
Alien life may be possible even at the Milky Way’s edges
Phosphorus detected far from the Milky Way’s center seems to extend the zone where life could exist in the galaxy by thousands of light-years.
- Psychology
An apology to Indigenous communities sparks a mental health rethink
The leading U.S. psychological association pledged to embrace Indigenous approaches to healing, which requires rethinking how to address mental health.
- Paleontology
520-million-year-old animal fossils might not be animals after all
Newly described fossils of Protomelission gatehousei suggest that the species, once thought to be the oldest example of bryozoans, is actually a type of colony-forming algae.
- Science & Society
The Smithsonian’s ‘Lights Out’ inspires visitors to save the fading night sky
The exhibition examines how light pollution harms astronomy, ecosystems and human cultures. But it also offers hope.
