Astronomy

Fossils of a human ancestor from 773,000 years ago may be near the base of the Homo sapiens lineage, representing a common ancestor of modern humans, Neandertals and Denisovans

It feels like every time we publish an article about an exciting discovery of a potential biosignature on a new exoplanet, we have to publish a follow-up one a few months later debunking the original claims. That is exactly how science is supposed to work, and part of our job as science journalists is to report on the debunking as well as the original story, even if it might not be as exciting. In this particular case, it seems the discovery of dimethyl sulfide in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18 b was a false alarm, according to a new paper available in pre-print form on arXiv by Luis Welbanks of Arizona State University and his co-authors.

Capsizing icebergs are violently clashing with the crumbling end of the Doomsday Glacier

NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers captured this image of lightning while orbiting aboard the International Space Station more than 250 miles above Milan, Italy.

The jawbones and vertebrae of a hominin that lived 773,000 years ago have been found in North Africa and could represent a common ancestor of Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans

The jawbones and vertebrae of a hominin that lived 773,000 years ago have been found in North Africa and could represent a common ancestor of Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans

Most planetary systems contain worlds larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, and the low-density planets around one young star should help us understand how such systems form

Most planetary systems contain worlds larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, and the low-density planets around one young star should help us understand how such systems form

You might feel like the days and weeks are slipping by. Here is how one psychologist says you can shift your experience of time

You might feel like the days and weeks are slipping by. Here is how one psychologist says you can shift your experience of time

It was a question I heard lots this past weekend. “What’s that bright star near the Full Moon?” That ‘star’ was actually a planet, as Jupiter heads towards opposition rising ‘opposite’ to the setting Sun this coming weekend. This places the King of the Planets high in the northern sky, in the same general spot the Full Moon occupies in January.

Image: This image, captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission on 6 January 2026, shows Amsterdam in the Netherlands blanketed in snow.

Trump has cited Venezuela’s oil resources as motivation for capturing the nation’s leader—here’s the geology behind the news

A look at how evolving national health policies could reshape the future of kids’ care, from vaccines to essential treatments.

Water plays a crucial role in how tiny pieces of plastic enter our environment—and us

AI models such as ChatGPT and Gemini fail to give adequate advice for 60 per cent of queries relating to women’s health in a test created by medical professionals

AI models such as ChatGPT and Gemini fail to give adequate advice for 60 per cent of queries relating to women’s health in a test created by medical professionals

The extent and speed of ice moving off the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica into the sea – an important dynamic for climate and sea-rise modelling – has been captured over a 10-year period by satellites from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission.

Martian winds can have quite an impact. ESA’s Mars Express has spotted them whipping up sand grains and acting as a cosmic sandblaster, carving out intriguing grooves near Mars’s equator.