In 2021, a deadly volcano erupted with no warning. Here’s why
In May 2021, Congo’s Mount Nyiragongo, one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes, burst to life without warning. Lava erupted from fissures and flowed...
SCIENTIFIC NEWS
Here’s the James Webb telescope’s first direct image of an exoplanet
This is the first picture of an exoplanet from the James Webb Space Telescope. “We’re actually measuring photons from the atmosphere of the planet...
A clever molecular trick extends the lives of these ant queens
For some ant queens, the secret to long life might be a self-produced insulin blocker. Ant queens are famously long-lived, even though they shouldn’t...
‘The Milky Way’ wants you to get to know your home in the universe
The Milky WayMoiya McTierGrand Central Publishing, $27 Meet the Milky Way in its own words. The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy takes...
Who has the highest risk of long COVID? It’s complicated
For millions of people, COVID-19 doesn’t end with a negative test. Weeks or months after traces of the virus disappear from noses and throats,...
Ancient ‘demon ducks’ may have been undone by their slow growth
Giant flightless birds called mihirungs were the biggest birds to ever stride across what is now Australia. The animals, which weighed up to hundreds...
Physicists dispute a claim of detecting a black hole’s ‘photon ring’
The first image of a black hole may conceal treasure — but physicists disagree about whether it’s been found. A team of scientists say...
The curious case of the 471-day coronavirus infection
As omicron subvariant BA.5 continues to drive the coronavirus’ spread in the United States, I’ve been thinking about what could come next. Omicron and...
This bizarre ancient critter has been kicked out of a group that includes humans
No ifs, ands or butts about it: A teeny roughly 530-million-year-old critter that lacks an anus is not, as previously thought, the oldest member...
The Tonga eruption may have spawned a tsunami as tall as the Statue of Liberty
The massive Tonga eruption generated a set of planet-circling tsunamis that may have started out as a single mound of water roughly the height...
A new treatment could restore some mobility in people paralyzed by strokes 
What has Perseverance found in two years on Mars? 
This robot automatically tucks its limbs to squeeze through spaces 
Greta Thunberg’s new book urges the world to take climate action now