A super-short gamma-ray burst defies astronomers’ expectations
A surprisingly short gamma-ray burst has astronomers rethinking what triggers these celestial cataclysms. The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected a single-second-long blast of gamma...
SCIENTIFIC NEWS
New delta variant studies show the pandemic is far from over
The coronavirus’s delta variant is different from earlier strains of the virus in worrying ways, health officials are discovering. And those differences may mean...
A skeleton from Peru vies for the title of oldest known shark attack victim
When news broke that the oldest known case of a person killed by a shark involved a member of Japan’s Jōmon culture around 3,000...
Viruses can kill wasp larvae that grow inside infected caterpillars
When parasitic wasps come calling, some caterpillars have a surprising ally: a viral infection. Insects called parasitoid wasps lay their eggs inside young moth...
Dinosaur-killing asteroid may have made Earth’s largest ripple marks
The asteroid impact that slew the dinosaurs may have also indirectly sculpted the largest ripple marks ever found on Earth. A series of ridgelike...
Polar bears sometimes bludgeon walruses to death with stones or ice
Walruses, weighing as much as 1,300 kilograms with huge tusks and nearly impenetrable skulls, are almost impossible for a hungry polar bear to kill....
If confirmed, tubes in 890-million-year-old rock may be the oldest animal fossils
Pale, wormlike tubes in 890-million-year old rock may be ancient sea sponges, a new study concludes. If confirmed, that controversial claim would push back...
Near-invincible tardigrades may see only in black and white
Next time you’re looking at a rainbow, be thankful you’re not a tardigrade. While the microscopic creatures, also known as water bears, are master...
The tiny dot in this image may be the first look at exomoons in the making
New telescope images may provide the first view of moons forming outside the solar system. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Chile glimpsed a...
Why the CDC says it’s crucial to start wearing masks indoors again
Delta has changed the course of the pandemic in the United States yet again. After spurring a summer surge in COVID-19 cases, the more...
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