This surprising new model of the Universe doesn’t need dark energy at all
A fresh look at Type 1a supernovae under a revised model of how the Universe is expanding has led researchers to suggest there might be no need for dark energy…
IBM just broke the record of simulating chemistry with a quantum computer
Engineers have modelled the interactions between subatomic components of a complex molecule using a quantum computer, making a significant leap forward in our modelling of chemical reactions. The simulations were…
Cassini is dying, but its groundbreaking Huygens lander on Titan lives on
The spacecraft Cassini will become a streak of ash when it tumbles into Saturn on Friday. Less than a million miles away, the probe Huygens, which Cassini launched onto Saturn’s…
By 2050, most of world’s best coffee growing areas won’t be viable any more
According to a new study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the world’s largest coffee-producing regions could shrink by as much as 88 percent by 2050…
Here’s a list of 100 words scientists really want you to stop misusing
Without language, things between humans would get pretty confusing pretty fast. And even though the ways we communicate can be super-flexible, it’s best to make sure we actually know what…
We just found 500-million-year-old fossils from the earliest complex life on Earth
A new set of fossils dating back more than half a billion years has been uncovered by scientists: left behind by the earliest forms of complex life on Earth, these…
Giraffes didn’t evolve long necks simply to reach tree leaves, new study shows
In a study that shows just how cool giraffes can get, researchers have tested a hypothesis that the giraffe’s long neck actually helps regulate their body temperature. At up to…
Scientists have discovered a way to make alcohol out of thin air
Friends, the utopia is real. Researchers say they have a way to make alcohol out of thin air, and the technique might even save the world in the bargain, not…
Reddit has found a way to reduce hate speech that actually works
Reddit had a problem. Perhaps more accurately, the Internet has long had a problem, but in 2015 Reddit attempted to do something about their corner of it. Now two years…
A monster ‘fatberg’ the size of 20 elephants is clogging London’s sewer right now
Those ‘flushable’ wipes sure are a gross problem. Combined with nappies (diapers), condoms, tampons and congealed fat, they can stick together to form a gargantuan ‘fatberg’, like the one currently…
Vikings really could have used strange ‘sunstones’ to navigate the dark seas
For half a century, historians have wondered if Viking sailors travelled long distances under dense cloud cover under the guidance of a crystal called a sunstone. Conclusive evidence might be…
Uncontacted tribe in the Amazon reportedly massacred by illegal gold miners
Prosecutors in Brazil are investigating reports that illegal gold miners allegedly massacred up to 10 members of a remote, uncontacted tribe in the Brazilian Amazon. The alleged attack, which is…
Uncontacted Tribe in The Amazon Reportedly Massacred by Illegal Gold Miners
Prosecutors in Brazil are investigating reports that illegal gold miners allegedly massacred up to 10 members of a remote, uncontacted tribe in the Brazilian Amazon. The alleged attack, which is…
We finally know why galaxies across the universe have all those weird shapes
In 1926, famed astronomer Edwin Hubble developed his morphological classification scheme for galaxies. This method divided galaxies into three basic groups – elliptical, spiral and lenticular – based on their…
3 people have died after falling into a volcanic crater in Italy
Three people – an 11-year-old boy and his parents – died after they fell into boiling mud in a volcanic crater in Pozzuoli, an Italian city not far from Naples.…
Scientists just added a shocking 20 new branches to the tree of life
Scientists have identified the genomes of close to 8,000 microorganisms from samples taken out in the field – and around a third of them are distinct from any life forms…
Here’s what we can expect from Apple’s new push toward augmented reality
Apple chief executive Tim Cook has said he thinks of augmented reality as a ‘big idea like the smartphone,’ which should give you a sense of how important the iPhone…
Cassini’s final moments may be visible from a telescope here on Earth
Early Friday morning (US time), NASA’s Cassini probe will meet its doom as it becomes a streak of plutonium-laced fireworks in the clouds of Saturn. The nuclear-powered robot was launched…