Astronomy

A century ago, Erwin Schrödinger came up with an equation that says how the quantum world behaves. Now scientists are asking what happens when the observer is part of that world

A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, and that’s why last weekend’s winter storm dumped more snow, sleet and freezing rain than similar weather systems might have in the past

DeepMind’s AlphaGenome AI model could help solve the problem of predicting how variations in noncoding DNA shape gene expression

This stellar landscape is reminiscent of a winter vista in a view from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (red, green, and blue). Chandra data (red, green and blue) punctuate the scene with bursts of colored lights representing high-energy activity from the active stars.

Two days of intense discussions and exchanges came to an end at the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels on Wednesday.

The ubiquitous Epstein-Barr virus is increasingly being linked to conditions like multiple sclerosis and lupus. But why do only some people who catch it develop these complications? The answer may lie in our genetics

The ubiquitous Epstein-Barr virus is increasingly being linked to conditions like multiple sclerosis and lupus. But why do only some people who catch it develop these complications? The answer may lie in our genetics

Thousands of years before the invention of compasses or sails, prehistoric peoples crossed oceans to reach remote lands like Malta and Australia. Doing so meant striking out in unknowable conditions. What do such crossings tell us about ancient minds?

Thousands of years before the invention of compasses or sails, prehistoric peoples crossed oceans to reach remote lands like Malta and Australia. Doing so meant striking out in unknowable conditions. What do such crossings tell us about ancient minds?

A treasure trove of Cambrian fossils has been discovered in southern China, providing a window on marine life shortly after Earth’s first mass extinction event

A treasure trove of Cambrian fossils has been discovered in southern China, providing a window on marine life shortly after Earth’s first mass extinction event

Video: 00:08:37

Watch the keynote address by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher on the second day of the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels.

The European Space Conference is a key strategic event bringing together representatives from ESA, the European Commission, industry, national space agencies and other European institutions to discuss the future of Europe in space.

Download the transcript

Access all videos from the European Space Conference

Many of the team behind NASA’s Artemis II mission were children 40 years ago, when the space shuttle Challenger disaster reshaped spaceflight

BepiColombo is slowly uncovering more and more fun facts about Mercury as it continues its preliminary mission. One of the more interesting things found so far is a magnetic “chorus” that appears similar to a phenomenon found in Earth’s much larger magnetic field. A new paper in Nature Communications from the researchers responsible for the probe’s Mio instrument that is studying Mercury’s magnetic field describes what could be thought of as a form of magnetic birdsong.

Clumps of cells known as organoids are helping us to understand the brain, and the latest version comes equipped with realistic blood vessels to help the organoids live longer

Clumps of cells known as organoids are helping us to understand the brain, and the latest version comes equipped with realistic blood vessels to help the organoids live longer

Beneath fancy perfumes and deodorants, our food choices may be quietly shaping our natural scent in unexpected ways

Using a superconducting quantum computer, physicists created a large and complex version of an odd quantum material that has a repeating structure in time

Using a superconducting quantum computer, physicists created a large and complex version of an odd quantum material that has a repeating structure in time

It's 2041 and an astronaut on Mars Station 1 orbiting the Red Planet is inspecting life support systems in the bowels of the habitat. They open a compartment and are aghast to discover a mysterious goop clinging to the walls in microgravity that definitely shouldn't be there. In their shock, they immediately have flashbacks from every alien-based science fiction movie they've ever seen, and are convinced they not only just discovered the first signs of alien life, but they won't live to tell about it. After telling the rest of the crew in a heated panic, they calmly explain it's not an alien menace, but a substance called biofilm, which has been present on Earth for billions of years.