Technology

Trio of 'black mesas' leftover from Paleozoic era spawn rare sand dunes in the Sahara — Earth from space

A 2023 astronaut photo shows three dark hills, or mesas, towering above part of the Sahara desert in southern Mauritania. The structures are remnants of a single Paleozoic era formation, and have help...

Dec 02, 2025 • 5 min read

Technology

'Cold Supermoon' 2025: It's not too late to see the last, highest full moon of the year

The Cold Moon, the 12th and final full moon of 2025, rose on Thursday (Dec. 4) but will still appear bright and full on Friday (Dec. 5)

Dec 02, 2025 • 5 min read

Technology

'We do not know of a similar case': 4,000-year-old burial in little-known African kingdom mystifies archaeologists

Remains of what was likely a funeral feast were discovered in a 4,000-year-old jug in Africa.

Dec 02, 2025 • 5 min read

Technology

Elaborate 2,700-year-old tomb in Greece contains burial of a woman with an upside-down crown

A lavish tomb of a noblewoman discovered in ancient Greece includes a mysterious symbol of lost power.

Dec 02, 2025 • 5 min read

Technology

Law of 'maximal randomness' explains how broken objects shatter in the most annoying way possible

A new mathematical equation describes the distribution of different fragment sizes when an object breaks. Remarkably, the distribution is the same for everything from bubbles to spaghetti.

Dec 02, 2025 • 5 min read

Technology

Anacondas became massive 12 million years ago — and it worked so well, they haven't changed size since

The snakes stayed large and thrived even when cooling temperatures and shrinking habitats killed off other giant reptiles millions of years ago.

Dec 02, 2025 • 5 min read

Technology

James Webb telescope spots strange 'super-puff' planet frantically chasing its own atmosphere through space

New James Webb telescope observations of the 'super-puff' planet WASP-107b show that the exoplanet's runaway atmosphere is frantically escaping into space.

Dec 03, 2025 • 5 min read

Technology

Diagnostic dilemma: A woman got a rare parasitic lung infection after eating raw frogs

In an unusual case, a woman developed a parasitic infection in her lungs, when more typically, the parasite stays just under the skin.

Dec 03, 2025 • 5 min read

Technology

When an AI algorithm is labeled 'female,' people are more likely to exploit it

People who played the “Prisoner’s Dilemma” were less likely to cooperate when the other player was a male human or AI, and exploited female players.

Dec 03, 2025 • 5 min read

Technology

Death Valley's 'world's hottest temperature' record may be due to a human error

A new analysis of July temperatures in Death Valley between 1923 and 2024 suggests the world record near-surface air temperature of 134 F measured in July 1913 may be erroneous.

Dec 03, 2025 • 5 min read

Technology

China has planted so many trees it's changed the entire country's water distribution

Huge "regreening" efforts in China over the past few decades have activated the country's water cycle and moved water in ways that scientists are just now starting to understand.

Dec 03, 2025 • 5 min read

Technology

'An extreme end of human genetic variation': Ancient humans were isolated in southern Africa for nearly 100,000 years, and their genetics are stunningly different

Ancient genomes from southern Africa show that people evolved in isolation for upward of 100,000 years.

Dec 03, 2025 • 5 min read

Technology

Ancient 'hanging coffin' people in China finally identified — and their descendants still live there today

People buried in "hanging coffins" thousands of years ago in China and Southeast Asia have finally been identified through DNA research.

Dec 03, 2025 • 5 min read

Technology

Giant rotating string of galaxies is 'probably the largest spinning object' in the known universe

A giant rotating filament of the cosmic web may be the largest spinning structure ever seen, and could help reveal how galaxies form.

Dec 04, 2025 • 5 min read

Technology

MIT invention uses ultrasound to shake drinking water out of the air, even in dry regions

A new device cuts down the time it takes to harvest water from the atmosphere from days to minutes, MIT researchers say.

Dec 04, 2025 • 5 min read