Why losing Arecibo is a big deal for astronomy
Edgard Rivera-Valentín first visited the Arecibo Observatory as a little kid. “I definitely remember this feeling of just being awestruck,” Rivera-Valentín says. “Looking at...
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50 years ago, scientists caught their first glimpse of amino acids from outer space
Amino acids in a meteorite — Science News, December 5, 1970 [Researchers] present evidence for the presence of amino acids of possible extraterrestrial origin...
Two stones fuel debate over when America’s first settlers arrived
Scientific debate about the most controversial archaeological site in the Americas has entered rocky new territory. In 2017, scientists reported that around 130,000 years...
The new light-based quantum computer Jiuzhang has achieved quantum supremacy
A new type of quantum computer has proven that it can reign supreme, too. A photonic quantum computer, which harnesses particles of light, or...
Ancient humans may have deliberately voyaged to Japan’s Ryukyu Islands
Long ago, ancient mariners successfully navigated a perilous ocean journey to arrive at Japan’s Ryukyu Islands, a new study suggests. Archaeological sites on six...
The ‘last mile’ for COVID-19 vaccines could be the biggest challenge yet
A race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine began almost the minute the coronavirus’s genetic makeup was revealed in January. Already, two companies have announced...
The U.K. is the first country to authorize a fully tested COVID-19 vaccine
The United Kingdom became the first country to approve a fully tested COVID-19 vaccine for its citizens on December 2 when it OK’d Pfizer’s...
A COVID-19 time capsule captures pandemic moments for future researchers
Imagine if, at the height of the 1918 flu pandemic, researchers studying how society was changing had captured the moment in a time capsule....
December’s stunning Geminid meteor shower is born from a humble asteroid
On Sunday night, December 13, countless meteors will shoot across the sky as space particles burn up in our atmosphere and meet a fiery...
Health care workers and long-term care residents should get COVID-19 vaccines first
Health care workers and long-term care facility residents should be at the head of the line when the first doses of vaccines against COVID-19...
Sudan: Drought and war push Darfur and Kordofan towards famine 
Navi Pillay’s Nobel Peace Prize Is a Vote of Confidence in a Global Legal Order under Fire 
Scarred blood vessels may be one clue to APOE4’s Alzheimer’s risk 
Rise in poverty is ‘a wake-up call for the world’, UN development chief says