Astronomy

What are the physics of life? That is more than just a philosophical question - it has practical implications for our search for life elsewhere in the galaxy. We know what Earth life looks like, on a number of levels, but finding it on another planet could require us to redefine what we even mean by life itself. A new paper from Stuart Bartlett of Cal Tech and his co-authors provides a new framework for how life could be defined that could reach beyond just what we understand from our one Pale Blue Dot.

Wild turkeys once nearly disappeared, but today they’re thriving.

Sometimes the dark dust of interstellar space has an angular elegance.

Unexplained gamma ray radiation coming from the edge of the Milky Way galaxy could be produced by self-annihilating dark matter particles – but the idea requires further investigation

Unexplained gamma ray radiation coming from the edge of the Milky Way galaxy could be produced by self-annihilating dark matter particles – but the idea requires further investigation

Skipping meals before a big holiday feast probably isn’t the best idea for gut health, experts say. Here’s how to prevent overeating on an empty stomach—and tips for if you do

The laws of thermodynamics don't accurately account for the complex processes in living cells – do we need a new one to accurately measure the ways living systems are out of equilibrium?

The laws of thermodynamics don't accurately account for the complex processes in living cells – do we need a new one to accurately measure the ways living systems are out of equilibrium?

A new federal initiative aims to accelerate scientific discovery by uniting artificial intelligence with large federal datasets

Using its Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam), NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has revealed never-before-seen details in the picturesque Red Spider Nebula with a rich backdrop of thousands of stars.

Human brains go through five distinct phases of life, each defined by its own set of characteristics, according to a new study

Hoverflies, often mistaken for bees and wasps, pollinate three quarters of our crops. Now we’re discovering we can train them to be even more efficient

Hoverflies, often mistaken for bees and wasps, pollinate three quarters of our crops. Now we’re discovering we can train them to be even more efficient

Astronomers have tuned in to the celestial “songs” of two red giant stars to reveal their hidden histories — including a case of stellar cannibalism.

The post Red Giant “Star Songs” Reveal Their Chaotic, Pasts appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Scientific American asked experts which type of Thanksgiving pie spikes blood sugar the most—and how to eat healthier while still enjoying the holidays

Understanding how exactly lunar dust sticks to surfaces is going to be important once we start having a long-term sustainable presence on the Moon. Dust on the Moon is notoriously sticky and damaging to equipment, as well as being hazardous to astronaut’s health. While there has been plenty of studies into lunar dust and its implications, we still lack a model that can effectively describe the precise physical mechanisms the dust uses to adhere to surfaces. A paper released last year from Yue Feng of the Beijing Institute of Technology and their colleagues showcases a model that could be used to understand how lunar dust sticks to spacecraft - and what we can do about it.

As AI slips into kitchens, conversations and memories, Thanksgiving has become a test of how much we’re willing to outsource

An enigmatic group of fossil organisms has finally been identified—and is changing the story of how plants took root on land

Image: The Hayli Gubbi volcano in northeast Ethiopia, dormant for up to 12 000 years, erupted on 23 November 2025, sending a large plume of ash and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere. Copernicus Sentinel-5P captured the spread of the sulphur dioxide.