515-mile-long lightning bolt that spanned 5 states is the longest on record
A lightning “megaflash” that zipped across five U.S. states has set a new record for the longest ever detected.
Category: Science
People who see society as cutthroat value antagonistic leaders, study finds
Research suggests that whether people view the world as competitive or cooperative impacts how they perceive antagonistic leaders.
The hunt for ‘Planet Nine’: Why there could still be something massive at the edge of the solar system
The debate about an undiscovered Planet X or Planet Nine has been going on for more than 100 years.
A new species of ‘penis worm’ was discovered in the Grand Canyon
A trove of fossils, including a penis worm with a spiked, invertible throat, suggests this spot may have been a cradle of Cambrian evolution.
Potatoes have their roots in ancient tomatoes
Knowing potatoes’ origin story could help future-proof the crucial crop against climate threats.
Caffeine may help E. coli resist antibiotics — but more research is needed
A laboratory experiment suggests caffeine may boost E. coli’s antibiotic resistance. However, whether this discovery applies to real-world infections in people is not yet known.
Tomatoes randomly mated with another plant 9 million years ago. The result? Potatoes.
Researchers say they have finally uncovered the mysterious origins of one of our favorite carbs: the humble potato.
See the universe’s rarest type of black hole slurp up a star in stunning animation
Astronomers believe they have spotted an elusive intermediate-mass black hole shredding a distant star, and they have re-created the stellar murder in a stunning new
What makes a tsunami — and what to do if one comes
Several factors help determine whether a given earthquake will generate a dangerous tsunami, but the process is not yet fully understood. (Image credit: Connie France)
8.8-magnitude earthquake sends tsunami into coasts of Russia, Japan and Alaska
One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia’s Far East early Wednesday, sending tsunami waves into Japan and Hawaii and across the Pacific. (Image
Lightning on Earth is sparked by a powerful chain reaction from outer space, simulations show
A new model may have finally solved where storm clouds get their missing energy.
What Can a Cell Remember?
In 1983, the octogenarian geneticist Barbara McClintock stood at the lectern of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. She was famously publicity averse — nearly a
‘Sleeping giant’ fault beneath Canada could unleash a major earthquake, research suggests
A new assessment of the enormous Tintina fault suggests it has been slowly accumulating strain over thousands of years.
Archaeologists discover ‘Land of the White Jaguar,’ centuries-old stronghold of rebel Maya in Mexico
Archaeologists in Mexico have finally discovered the ‘Land of the White Jaguar,’ a stronghold for Maya rebels for nearly 110 years in the 16th and