San Francisco’s Patchwork Streets
A period of unsettled weather brought scattered showers and thunderstorms to California’s Bay Area on May 27, 2026. That afternoon, a break in the clouds
Category: Science
How Many Elementary Particles Are There, Really?
Every time I write about particle physics, I encounter a moment of uncertainty about a quantity that, at first glance, ought to be clear. How
Atacama Desert’s center dried out 20 million years earlier than previously thought — before the Andes formed
Chile’s Atacama Desert, which gets less than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) of rainfall each year, started to form more than 40 million years ago —
Diagnostic dilemma: Brain scans following a man’s hospital visit for leg weakness revealed a surprising finding
A man went to hospital complaining about weakness in his left leg, and subsequent brain scans revealed his abnormally small brain.
‘Melted in a pot somewhere’: Vikings used Islamic silver coins to make their early pennies, study finds
The silver in a Viking Age hoard found in Denmark was from melted-down coins from the faraway Islamic world, a new study finds.
Why more male than female newborns may get the crucial vitamin K shot
Vitamin K lowers the risk of bleeding, including in a circumcision. That procedure may explain a disparity in which infants are more likely to get
Otherworldly music albums feature space weather data
A science-art team uses research data to make music featuring sounds of Antarctica and outer space
Hundreds of hidden earthquakes discovered beneath Antarctica — and they’re happening in a very odd location
Antarctica was long thought to be seismically calm, but new technology makes it possible to detect unexpected types of earthquakes beneath the ice.
An ancient piece of the moon found in Africa hints at a long-ago collision that turned the lunar surface molten
A meteorite shows evidence that an ancient crash on the moon 3.5 billion years ago was so powerful, it turned the surface molten.
Mask of Mictlantecuhtli: A 500-year-old mask of the Aztec god of the underworld, who tore apart the dead as they entered his realm
This skull-shaped mask was made to be used in a ritual involving the Aztec god of death.
Curiosity Shakes Loose a Pesky Rock
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used its Mast Camera, or Mastcam, to capture this view of a rock nicknamed “Atacama” on May 6, 2026, the 4,877th
Artemis II crew captures rare double auroras on the dark side of Earth as they zoom toward the moon — Space photo of the week
The four astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II mission captured more than they bargained for when they photographed the nightside of Earth, right after starting their
Bow-Wow, Ding-Dong, Pooh-Pooh: Expert explains early theories of how human language evolved — and their silly names
There are many theories as to how human language first evolved. But none completely explains why it happened.
Famous child mummies in Andes may belong to kids who were sacrificed to ‘ritually anchor’ the Inca’s presence as their empire expanded
An analysis of corn, cassava and coca plants discovered with sacrificed Inca children reveals they died during the reign of one of the last Inca