NASA’s Swift telescope will face a fiery demise after a failed rescue
Designed to study the powerful outbursts, the Swift Observatory quickly contributed to a wide range of discoveries. Now, it’s about to meet a fiery fate.
Category: Science
Could AI ever build itself? Scientists map the road to the ‘last AI built by humans.’
Scientists in China are exploring what it would take to develop “the last AI built by humans” — a powerful, self-improving artificial intelligence (AI) system
NASA’s Hubble Marks Way for Roman Space Telescope
A sinuous spiral galaxy (center) appears in the same field of view as a vivid gravitational lens (right corner) in this Hubble image.
How Do You Take a Picture of a Black Hole?
Black holes are one of the universe’s most exotic and elusive objects. When nothing, not even light, can escape their powerful gravitational grasp, taking a
Seabirds get jet lag, too — and it can throw them a bit off course
GPS tracking reveals fast east-west flights lead to a mismatch between birds’ internal time and the sun’s position, skewing their sense of direction.
Some of the world’s biggest bats are getting smaller
Madagascan flying foxes aren’t as mighty as they were 150 years ago. The big bats have shrunk, possibly due to selective hunting or other human
Bright object beyond Pluto may be the solar system’s sixth dwarf planet
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has found what might be a tiny new world in the far reaches of our solar system, hidden beyond the
‘This is so crazy!’ Virginia college student looking for shark teeth finds rare Native American spearpoint
On the last day of an ecology field trip to Virginia’s Eastern Shore, a biology undergraduate student discovered more than she expected. While searching for
Decapitated man buried near fort in Roman-era Scotland gets a new virtual face
Researchers have virtually reconstructed the face of a man who was decapitated after his death almost 2,000 years ago and then buried near a Roman
Neanderthal DNA still survives in our human family tree. What were our ancient relatives’ relationships like?
Deep in a limestone cave on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, two very different sets of humans left behind nearly identical traces of their lives — similar
New simulation shows the first 2 billion years of the universe’s history play out in stunning detail
Scientists are getting a new glimpse of how the first galaxies came to be. In a stunning new simulation, researchers charted the aftermath of the
Study reveals new clues to why colorectal cancer in young people is so deadly
Colorectal cancer rates have been rising in people under 50 since the mid-1990s. These early-onset cancers tend to be more aggressive and resistant to treatment
A striking Mars cloud may be born from surprising physics
Everyday Earth clouds get their start with a bit of salt or dust. Not so the Red Planet’s Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud, computer models suggest.
Bronze Age sword discovered in an Italian lake is still sharp after 3,300 years
Archaeologists have recovered a well-preserved bronze sword from a volcanic lake in Italy. The 3,300-year-old weapon may have been deposited in the lake as an