Coronavirus outbreak: Live updates
Among the top news today: The U.S. is nearing an average of 200,000 new COVID-19 cases a day and the pandemic is likely to...
Ancient people may have survived desert droughts by melting ice in lava tubes
During a parched summer almost 2,000 years ago, people living in what is now western New Mexico crawled into the cold, dark belly of...
Here are answers to 6 burning questions about COVID-19 vaccines
The recent success of some coronavirus vaccines in late-stage clinical trials has inched us closer to the end of the pandemic — a glimmer...
Hayabusa2’s asteroid dirt may hold clues to the early solar system
For the first time, scientists are about to get their (carefully gloved) hands on asteroid dirt so old it may contain clues to how...
Giant pandas may roll in horse poop to feel warm
It was a strange sight: In the winter of 2007, scientists in China spotted a wild giant panda romping about in horse manure, diligently...
An enormous supervolcano may be hiding under Alaskan islands
A mysterious, previously undiscovered supervolcano may be lurking beneath Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. A new study suggests a wide crater, created when the supervolcano exploded,...
Here are 10 of Arecibo’s coolest achievements
The sun has set on the iconic Arecibo telescope. Since 1963, this behemoth radio telescope in Puerto Rico has observed everything from space rocks...
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...
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...
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