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Astronauts and satellites watch Hurricane Henri from space as US Northeast braces for storm

As parts of New England brace for Hurricane Henri to make landfall in New York Sunday (Aug. 22), astronauts and satellites are tracking the historic storm from space.

These flesh-eating centipedes hunt and eat baby birds alive. Here's why.

The centipedes hunt at night, striking young, defenceless petrel chicks in their nests and devouring them alive after injecting paralyzing venom.

What can we do with a captured asteroid?

Asteroids are packed with gold and other valuable resources. And the best way to harvest those metals may be to bring space rocks to Earth.

What color is the universe?

Scientists have figured out the average color of the universe by recording visible light from more than 200,000 galaxies.

NASA halts human moon lander work with SpaceX amid Blue Origin lawsuit

NASA must again stop work on its human moon lander partnership with SpaceX due to a Blue Origin lawsuit, further risking the agency's tight timeline to return astronauts to the moon.

Why do you sometimes gain weight after exercising?

Why do people sometimes gain weight after they start to exercise regularly?

What is the hippocampus?

The hippocampus is a small region of our brain responsible for memory, learning and navigation.

Rain falls on Greenland's summit for first time in recorded history

Scientists attribute the unprecedented event to an unusually long lasting atmospheric event, driven in part by climate change.

Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier' is fighting an invisible battle against the inner Earth, new study finds

Researchers studied geothermal heat flow below West Antarctica, and found that the infamous Thwaites Glacier is being disproportionately cooked from below.

Metal detectorist finds sword pyramid from time of mysterious Sutton Hoo burial

A metal detectorist found a 1,400-year-old sword pyramid in England, which was likely a status symbol for an elite warrior.

Why this weekend's Blue Moon is extra rare (and how to see it)

August's full Blue Moon shines on Sunday, but it will be a «full moon weekend.»

Rattlesnake rattles use auditory illusion to trick human brains

Snakes use an audio trick to cause approaching mammals to underestimate their distance to the snakes, creating a safety buffer region between themselves and a potential threat.

Sexually frustrated sea snakes mistake scuba divers for potential mates

Sea snakes, particularly males, are more likely to interact with scuba divers during mating season because the snakes can't distinguish the divers from potential mates, a new study has found.

400-year-old 'Muga dhambi' is one of the largest and oldest corals in the Great Barrier Reef

Australian researchers have discovered the widest, and quite possibly the oldest, coral colony in the Great Barrier Reef, which they have named «Muga dhambi.»

Chinese astronomers eye Tibetan Plateau site for observatory project

Chinese astronomers hope to establish a major observatory program on the roof of the world, the Tibetan Plateau, with new research arguing for pristine observing conditions nestled in the uplands.

SpaceX Starlink satellites responsible for over half of close encounters in orbit, scientist says

SpaceX's Starlink satellites are involved in about 1,600 close encounters between two spacecraft in low Earth orbit every week, according to available data. That’s about 50% of all such incidents.

World's most elusive giant squid could be monogamous, female corpse hints

A female giant squid caught off the coast of Japan mated with a single male in her lifetime, a surprising finding given what little is known about these creatures' reproduction.

Milky Way has a 3,000-light-year-long splinter in its arm, and astronomers don’t know why

Astronomers discovered a 3,000-light-year-long 'break' in the Milky Way's Sagittarius spiral arm, jutting out at a wild angle.

What is RSV?

In healthy children and adults, the virus typically causes mild, cold-like symptoms; but it can cause more serious disease in infants and the elderly.

Fusion experiment breaks record, blasts out 10 quadrillion watts of energy

Scientists used an unconventional method of creating nuclear fusion to yield a record-breaking burst of energy of more than 10 quadrillion watts, by firing intense beams of light from the world's largest lasers at a tiny pellet of hydrogen.

Lab-made mini brains grow their own sets of 'eyes'

A group of scientists has grown mini brains that have something their real counterparts do not: a set of eye-like structures called «optic cups» that give rise to the retina

Physicists give weird new phase of matter an extra dimension

The new phase of matter behaves like a solid and a frictionless liquid at the same time

Mass grave from Nazi atrocity discovered in Poland's 'Death Valley'

Archaeologists in Poland have discovered a mass grave from World War II that contains the remains of about 500 people.

Man gets 'flesh-eating' bacterial infection from eating raw oysters

The man spent three weeks on life support.

SpaceX's Starship could be ready for 1st orbital test flight 'in a few weeks,' Elon Musk says

The first full-size prototype of SpaceX's Starship vehicle should be ready to launch on an orbital test flight «in a few weeks,» company founder and CEO Elon Musk said via Twitter on Saturday (Aug. 14).

Chinese satellite got whacked by hunk of Russian rocket in March

The partial breakup of China's Yunhai 1-02 military satellite on March 18 is no longer mysterious.

Extinct 'Hobbit' creature the size of a house cat discovered in Wyoming dig site

Scientists have discovered three new species of North American mammals, including one they've named after J.R.R. Tolkien's skin-changing warrior Beorn.

Rare embryo from dinosaur age was laid by human-size turtle

A farmer in China found a 90 million-year-old fossilized turtle egg that has an embryo inside it.

Stunningly preserved mummy of slave found in Pompeii graveyard

The partially mummified remains of an urbane Pompeii resident have been discovered in a tomb outside the city center.

Tetanus: Causes, symptoms, prevention and treatment

Tetanus, also called lockjaw, is caused by bacteria found on rusty metals and many other surfaces.

Pi calculated to a record-breaking 68.2 trillion digits

Researchers are set to break the world record for the most precise value of pi, after using an advanced computer to calculate the famous constant to 68.2 trillion decimal places.

Crowds of desperate people at Afghanistan airport visible in satellite photos

Crowds that descended upon an Afghanistan airport were so massive that they showed up in satellite photos taken from space.

Supercomputer calculates pi to a record-breaking 68.2 trillion digits

Researchers are set to break the world record for the most precise value of pi, after using an advanced computer to calculate the famous constant to 68.2 trillion decimal places.

Here's why you need to wash your hands for 20 seconds, according to physics

The authors created a simple mathematical model to simulate the movement of particles during hand washing.

US to recommend COVID-19 vaccine booster shots 8 months post-vaccination

U.S. health officials are expected to recommend that people receive an additional COVID-19 vaccine dose eight months after their second dose.

Saturn's rippling rings point to massive, soupy core hidden inside

Scientists used Saturn's famous rings as a seismograph to study processes in the planet's interior. The researchers found its core is like a soup consisting of rocks, ices and metallic fluids.

Three volcanoes erupt at the same time in Alaska, in rare phenomena

Three volcanoes in Alaska's Aleutian islands are erupting simultaneously, but are currently not a threat to local communities.

What God, quantum mechanics and consciousness have in common

Theories that try to explain these big metaphysical mysteries fall short, making agnosticism the only sensible stance.

Does the explosion of the delta variant mean we need a new COVID-19 vaccine?

COVID-19 vaccines largely prevent severe illness, but the delta variant raises the question of whether and when booster shots will be needed.
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