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Scientists have long tried to uncover the perilous journey humans took to reach the ancient land mass that now makes up Australia. Now, a genetic study has edged us closer to understanding how and when they achieved this

Scientists have long tried to uncover the perilous journey humans took to reach the ancient land mass that now makes up Australia. Now, a genetic study has edged us closer to understanding how and when they achieved this

NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured dramatic plumes, both large and small, spray water ice out from many locations along the famed 'tiger stripes' near the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Dramatic plumes, both large and small, spray water ice out from many locations along the famed tiger stripes near the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus in this image released on Feb. 23, 2010. A study published in October 2025 analyzed data from NASA’s Cassini mission and found evidence of previously undetected organic compounds in a plume of ice particles like the ones seen here. The ice particles were ejected from the ocean that lies under Enceladus’ frozen shell. Researchers spotted not only molecules they’ve found before but also new ones that lay a potential path to chemical or biochemical activity.

Learn more about what they discovered.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Dramatic plumes, both large and small, spray water ice out from many locations along the famed tiger stripes near the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus in this image released on Feb. 23, 2010. A study published in October 2025 analyzed data from NASA’s Cassini mission and found evidence of previously undetected organic compounds in a plume of ice particles like the ones seen here. The ice particles were ejected from the ocean that lies under Enceladus’ frozen shell. Researchers spotted not only molecules they’ve found before but also new ones that lay a potential path to chemical or biochemical activity.

Learn more about what they discovered.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Google is reportedly in talks to sell its tensor processing units – a type of computer chip specially designed for AI – to other tech companies, a move that could unsettle the dominant chip-maker Nvidia

Google is reportedly in talks to sell its tensor processing units – a type of computer chip specially designed for AI – to other tech companies, a move that could unsettle the dominant chip-maker Nvidia

Week in images: 24-28 November 2025

Discover our week through the lens

Dental problems often arise or get worse during pregnancy, and a new study hints that rapid changes to the oral microbiome at this time could be at least partly to blame

Dental problems often arise or get worse during pregnancy, and a new study hints that rapid changes to the oral microbiome at this time could be at least partly to blame

Mars is passing behind the sun, giving NASA's Perseverance rover a view of the star’s far side

A technique called interferometry can greatly magnify tiny objects on the sky, and is powerful enough to reveal the surfaces of nearby stars

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope continues its inexorable march toward launch. It recently completed another series of tests that brings it a few steps closer to a launch pad in Florida. This time, the telescope was split into two separate parts - an inner portion and an outer portion, each of which went through separate tests throughout the fall.

Logging and mining are destroying swathes of the Congo rainforest, with the result that African forests went from being  a carbon sink to a carbon source in 2010 to 2017

Logging and mining are destroying swathes of the Congo rainforest, with the result that African forests went from being  a carbon sink to a carbon source in 2010 to 2017

Inspired by natural polymers like DNA, chemists have devised a way to engineer plastic so it breaks down when it is no longer needed, rather than polluting the environment

Inspired by natural polymers like DNA, chemists have devised a way to engineer plastic so it breaks down when it is no longer needed, rather than polluting the environment

Saturn remains super-thin-ringed high after dark. The interstellar comet, 11th magnitude, is now nice and high in the dark before dawn. Don't wait; moonlight approaches.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, November 28 – December 7 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

New Scientist Book Club members share their thoughts on our November read, Grace Chan's Every Version of You

New Scientist Book Club members share their thoughts on our November read, Grace Chan's Every Version of You