Category: Science

A new view of the Helix Nebula reveals a dying white dwarf star at the nebula’s center. This star’s violent eating habits could be responsible for strange X-ray emissions in the region.

An ichthyosaur was pregnant with twins when she died, a fossil from Cretaceous Chile reveals.

We have tried and tested dozens of air purifiers over the years, measuring their accuracy and speed in removing airborne pollutants — here’s everything we found.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has completed is 2nd ultra-close flyby of the sun, and survived to transmit its data back to Earth.

Q.ANT’s new chip uses photon power in a bid to solve AI’s big energy issue. It’s also 50 times faster than silicon-based equivalents, the company says.

Scientists in New Zealand believe they may have the first-ever recording of a shark making noise. (Image credit: Photo by Paul Caiger)

Eight-point-seven billion. Four-hundred million. One-hundred-seventy-five million. These are just some examples of the money the federal government has withheld or is threatening to withhold from various colleges and universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University and Harvard University. That $8.7 billion figure was announced earlier this week by the Trump administration, which said that it’s reviewing federal grants and contracts awarded to Harvard because Harvard has not done enough to curb antisemitism on campus. Some educators say the administration’s moves to cut funding at colleges and universities amounts to a war on higher education. But the loss of those funds will be felt far beyond the college campuses. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. (Image credit: Scott Eisen)

The discovery of nearly 20 alligator-size amphibians that died together during the Triassic in what is now Wyoming is providing scientists important clues about these creatures’ lives.

Under extreme metabolic conditions, like a marathon, the brain may turn to cellular fat stores to maintain function, according to a new study.

SPHEREx’s first images — containing roughly 100,000 points of light stars, galaxies and nebulae — have confirmed that the telescope is working according to its design.

In about 5 billion years, our Sun will run out of fuel and expand, possibly engulfing Earth. These end stages of a star’s life can be utterly beautiful – as is the case with this planetary nebula called the Helix Nebula. Astronomers study these objects by looking at all kinds of light. This images show X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (magenta), optical light data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (orange, light blue), infrared data from the European Southern Observatory VISTA telescope (gold, dark blue), and ultraviolet data from GALEX (purple) of the Helix Nebula.

After 11 years mapping the Milky Way, the European Space Agency’s Gaia space telescope has retired. Scientists hailed it as “the discovery machine of the decade.”

Smart scales track changes in your muscle mass, body fat percentage and other health metrics — but how do they work?

A metalworking die found in Denmark features a depiction of a horse and warrior that is remarkably similar to motifs on the Sutton Hoo helmet in England.