25 years on, 2001's 'Planet of the Apes' has become a bit of a guilty pleasure
Time to fire up the Wayback Machine to pay tribute to Tim Burton's controversial sci-fi reimagining.
Science
Research, discovery, and the natural world.
On this day in space! July 27, 1962: The 1st zero-g cosmonaut training flight took off on a Soviet jetliner
On July 27, 1962, two Russian cosmonauts boarded a Soviet airliner and experienced weightlessness without going to space. Here's why it mattered.
Are we overlooking signs of alien life that aren't technological or biological? 'Bread would be a signature of intelligence'
Between biosignatures and technosignatures lie noosignatures, and some scientists think they could help us find alien life someday.
We've found huge discounts on a range of ZWO astronomy cameras, including three we love
Save on ZWO astrophotography gear at B&H Photo Video. Shop discounts on astrocams, telescopes and mounts to upgrade your stargazing setup with top deals today.
Curiosity Mars rover inspects cracked wheel | Space photo of the day for July 27, 2026
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has experienced some serious wear and tear during its nearly 14 years on the Red Planet, as seen in new images of its wheels.
X-ray spacecraft finds supermassive black hole stirring up the 'red potato' galaxy: 'There may be a cook in this cosmic kitchen'
Using the Chandra X-ray spacecraft, astronomers have seen a jet from a feeding supermassive black hole churning gas surrounding a galaxy nicknamed the "red potato."
Private companies could ruin the night sky for the entire world, and international law can't stop them
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can single-handedly approve space projects that will change the night sky around the world. The international community can do very little against it.
A seed that flew around the moon grew into this tree in NYC
The Madison Square Park Conservancy unveiled its moon tree at a smoky birthday party.
An 'almost blood moon' is coming on Aug. 27 and it'll be the best lunar eclipse until NYE 2028
The countdown is on! Millions of skywatchers will have front-row seats to a dramatic 96% 'blood moon' lunar eclipse. Here's what you need to know.
These insect submariners survive depths that should crush them
Lake fly larvae plunge more than 200 meters into Lake Malawi each day to hide from predators, using tiny air sacs to control their depth. A rubber-like material called resilin lets them expand or shrink the sacs by changing their pH. Their toughness challenges a popular explanation for why insects are absent from the open ocean.
Your dreams aren’t random. Your brain is rewriting reality
Dreams are not random mental noise. A large study of more than 3,700 dream and waking reports found that what we experience during sleep is shaped by both our personalities and the world around us. Rather than simply replaying daily events, the dreaming brain mixes memories, emotions, imagined possibilities, and familiar settings into vivid new scenarios.
Scientists reveal what sparkling water really does to your teeth
Unsweetened sparkling water may offer a tooth-friendlier alternative to sugary soda, according to a small preliminary study tracking how different drinks change mouth acidity. Soda caused the strongest and longest drop in salivary pH, while sparkling water produced only a temporary decline before saliva restored normal conditions. Importantly, acidity remained above the level associated with enamel damage.
500,000-year-old elephant bone hammer shows ancient humans were master toolmakers
Early humans in England crafted a rare piece of elephant bone into a reusable hammer for sharpening stone tools nearly 500,000 years ago. The extraordinary find reveals that ancient toolmakers were resourceful, skilled, and capable of surprisingly advanced planning.
Why Jupiter has several giant moons but Saturn has only Titan
Young Jupiter’s powerful magnetic field may have created a safe zone where several large moons could survive. Saturn lacked this protection, possibly explaining why Titan stands almost alone among its largest moons.
Eating within 8 hours may help keep the aging brain sharp
Eating within a shorter daily window may help protect certain thinking skills as people age. In a small six-month trial, older women who limited eating to about 8 to 9 hours a day performed better on planning and problem-solving tests than those who ate over 12 hours. Both groups lost similar amounts of weight, hinting that when people eat could matter in addition to how much they eat.
Why the same DNA damage causes cancer in some people but not others
A controlled mouse study has provided direct evidence that inherited genetics can steer how cancer begins and evolves after DNA damage. The discovery could eventually help doctors better predict cancer risk and tailor screening and treatments to each patient.
After 241 days in orbit this NASA astronaut is finally home
NASA astronaut Chris Williams and two Roscosmos cosmonauts are back on Earth after spending 241 days aboard the International Space Station. Their journey covered more than 102 million miles and included 3,856 trips around the planet.
What happened to space horror movies?
They mostly don't come out anymore... mostly.
I'm not an astronaut, but I went to the International Space Station (sort of)
"Just the fact that it exists, just the fact that it continues to exist. We should marvel at that."
The best way to save giant sequoias may be more fire
Giant sequoias are built to withstand ordinary fires, but recent extreme wildfires killed thousands of trees that had survived for centuries or even millennia. A new analysis of about 26,400 sequoias found that trees in areas treated with prescribed burns were nearly four times more likely to survive. Researchers estimate the controlled fires prevented about 1,900 deaths and could have saved thousands more if used across every grove.