Ancient mummified cheetahs discovered in Saudi Arabia contain preserved DNA from the long-lost population
Cheetahs vanished from Saudi Arabia half a century ago. Now long-dead mummified big cats may help herald their return.
Category: Science
Scars from ancient ‘megaquakes’ at Cascadia subduction zone discovered in deep-sea landslides
Large subduction-zone earthquakes leave scars on the continental slope in the deep sea.
A long-lost tectonic fragment may be shaking Northern California
Seismic tremors reveal a shallow fragment of an ancient tectonic plate beneath Northern California, helping explain damaging earthquakes near the surface.
Math puzzle: The homesick rover
Solve the math puzzle from our February 2026 issue, where we plan a return passage for a robotic explorer that doesn’t want to explore.
NASA’s Crawler Preps for Artemis II Rollout
NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 moves toward the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. The crawler will transport
Why There’s No Single Best Way To Store Information
Just as there’s no single best way to organize your bookshelf, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to storing information. Consider the simple situation where you create
Woolly rhino flesh pulled from ancient wolf stomach gives clues to ice age giant’s extinction
More than 14,000 years ago, a wolf pup ate a piece of woolly rhino. Scientists have analyzed the rhino’s DNA to figure out why it
Diagnostic dilemma: A man’s sudden seizures were set off by sudoku
In the weeks following a ski accident, a German man experienced seizures when he completed sudoku puzzles.
Some objects we thought were planets may actually be tiny black holes from the dawn of time
Scientists have discovered more than 6,000 planets beyond our solar system. What if some of them aren’t planets at all, but tiny black holes in
How cheetah mummies could help bring the species back to Arabia
Arabian cheetah mummies’ DNA reveals that the long-lost population could be closely replaced by a cheetah population in northwestern Africa.
Our model of the universe is deeply flawed — unless space is actually a ‘sticky fluid,’ new research hints
Our best models of the cosmos don’t add up — but that could change if the universe is actually made of a viscous ‘fluid,’ a
Rare nocturnal parrots in New Zealand are breeding for the first time in 4 years — here’s why
The 2026 breeding season for endangered kākāpō could produce the most chicks in decades.
NASA’s powerful new Roman Space Telescope is complete — and will soon begin mission to find 100,000 alien worlds
New photos show off NASA’s newly constructed Roman Space Telescope, which will soon help researchers unravel the mysteries of the cosmos. Experts have also revealed
After a medical evacuation from space, NASA’s Crew-11 returns to Earth a month early
Four people from NASA’s Crew-11 mission splashed down off San Diego, successfully completing five months aboard the International Space Station. The trip was cut short