After 54-year wait, Australia’s first attempt at an orbital rocket crashes 14 seconds after liftoff
Eris-1, the first rocket fully built by an Australian company, crashed back to Earth 14 seconds after taking off from a spaceport in Queensland. It
Category: Science
Shroud of Turin wasn’t laid on Jesus’ body, but rather a sculpture, modeling study suggests
A 3D analysis comparing the way fabric falls on a human body versus a low-relief sculpture shows that the Shroud of Turin was not based
‘This is not a new war’: How the battle between viruses and bacteria could help us beat superbugs
The viruses that kill bacteria may be our best bet against antibiotic resistance — if we can understand how they win.
A Midwest ‘megaflash’ is the longest lightning on record
A reanalysis of satellite data shows that a 2017 Texas-to-Missouri lightning megaflash stretched 829 kilometers and lasted 7.39 seconds.
In reversal, Defense Department will continue providing crucial satellite weather data
About a month after announcing that it would stop sharing data that hurricane forecasters and scientists rely on, the Navy now says it will continue
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.
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)