Research, discovery, and the natural world.
As Mohenjo-daro prospered, the gap between its richest and poorest households actually shrank. Its shared infrastructure, fair trade systems, and lack of powerful royal elites suggest that equality may have helped fuel the ancient city’s success.
A compound in rice bran may help calm an overactive gut by reducing the calcium signals that cause intestinal muscles to contract. Ferulic acid suppressed contractions triggered by several chemical messengers in laboratory experiments. The discovery could eventually support new dietary approaches for diarrhea-related digestive disorders, although it may make constipation worse.
More than 150 years after Darwin’s finches helped reshape biology, Galápagos plants are exposing another evolutionary surprise. Giant daisies repeatedly developed similar heat-tolerant leaf shapes, but each lineage used a different combination of genes. Researchers also found major genetic differences among isolated populations, suggesting new species may be forming right now.
NASA interns at Johnson Space Center are applying their talents to real-world projects while working alongside the engineers, scientists, communicators, and innovators advancing human spaceflight. Learn how these students are gaining hands-on experience, contributing to real missions, and preparing to join the nation’s highly skilled and competitive aerospace workforce.   Meet the students behind the work and discover what inspired them to pursue careers at […]
The cosmological principle is the foundation of modern cosmology – but its usefulness doesn’t necessarily make it true, says columnist Leah Crane
Certain sleeping positions can lead to babies developing flattened heads, and an analysis of ancient skulls from Italy reveals that this condition affected people in the 9th century BC
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 July 30 – Red Sun… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Red […]
Stewart Island/Rakiura, New Zealand’s third-largest island, is known for its vibrant birdlife, unique forests, wilderness beaches, and views of the night sky.
A fossil overlooked for nearly 80 years has revealed a previously unknown crocodile relative that lived 210 million years ago in what is now New Mexico. Named Eosphorosuchus lacrimosa, the jackal-sized predator had a reinforced skull, powerful jaw muscles, and a short snout built for tackling larger prey.
Astronomers may have been listening for alien civilizations in only a small slice of the radio spectrum while overlooking a largely unexplored range of higher frequencies. Using archived data from the ALMA telescope in Chile, researchers conducted the observatory’s first SETI survey, searching for narrow signals that could indicate advanced technology. No possible alien transmissions were found, but the study revealed that even a handful of telescope observations may quietly include millions of stars.
NASA's Roman Space Telescope is ready to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Aug. 30. It'll map the entire sky like never before.
Ultrafast X-rays revealed how a molecule converts absorbed light into motion in just trillionths of a second. Individual atoms recorded different stages of the process, opening a powerful new window into light-driven chemistry.
The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program has created 18 new awards to support visionary ideas to improve aerospace technologies in areas ranging from the exploration of the solar system to understanding the universe. The 18 NIAC Phase I awards total $3.2 million. Each award provides up to $175,000 for a nine-month initial investigation. The […]
Songbirds appear to have evolved through rare explosions of change separated by long periods of slower development. Many of those bursts lined up with major climate shifts, suggesting that environmental upheaval can reshape life in powerful ways.
Last weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, Paramount revealed a moving "Star Trek" tribute video created for the franchise's 60th anniversary this year.
Taking a daily multivitamin may help older adults preserve the strength and stamina needed for everyday activities. After three years, users reported better functional health than those taking a placebo, although the preliminary findings still require peer review.
NASA launched the Swift Boost mission earlier this month to try and save one of its aging science observatories, but the rescue spacecraft is now experiencing control issues.
SpaceX launched a secret reconnaissance mission for the U.S. government early on Thursday morning, July 30, 2026 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
On Wednesday, Aug. 12, a total solar eclipse will be visible in parts of Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, the Atlantic Ocean, Spain, and a small corner of Portugal. NASA will stream the eclipse live with views across the path and interviews with subject matter experts through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online: […]
A genuinely pocket-sized smart telescope
