Astronomy

Keith Thomas, a man in his 40s with no sensation or movement in his hands, is able to feel and move objects by controlling another person's hand via a brain implant. The technique might one day even allow us to experience another person's body over long distances.

What happens when your body suddenly stops making the one hormone that keeps your blood sugar in check?

The equatorial regions of Mars are home to unexpectedly enormous layers of ice, and they may have been put there by dramatic volcanic eruptions billions of years ago

The equatorial regions of Mars are home to unexpectedly enormous layers of ice, and they may have been put there by dramatic volcanic eruptions billions of years ago

A whole library’s worth of papyri owned by Julius Caesar’s father-in-law were turned to charcoal by the eruption of Vesuvius. Nearly 2000 years later, we can at last read these lost treasures

A whole library’s worth of papyri owned by Julius Caesar’s father-in-law were turned to charcoal by the eruption of Vesuvius. Nearly 2000 years later, we can at last read these lost treasures

Data from the James Webb Space Telescope and other observatories suggests a supervolcanic exomoon may lurk around the giant exoplanet WASP-39b

Modularity is taking off in more ways than one in space exploration. The design of the upcoming “Lunar Gateway” space station is supposed to be modular, with different modules being supplied by different organizations. In an effort to extend that thinking down to rovers on the ground, a new paper from researchers at Germany’s space agency (DLR), developed an architecture where a single, modular rover could be responsible for both exploration and carrying payloads around the Moon or Mars.

It’s great to see old astronomical observations come to light. Not only can these confirm or refute what’s known about historic astronomical events, but they can describe what early observers actually saw. A recent study cites two Arabic texts that may refer to accounts of two well-known supernovae seen in our galaxy: one in 1006 AD and another in 1181 AD.

Progesterone, oestrogen and testosterone can be detected in skeletons over 1000 years old, offering a way to identify individuals who died while pregnant or soon after giving birth

Progesterone, oestrogen and testosterone can be detected in skeletons over 1000 years old, offering a way to identify individuals who died while pregnant or soon after giving birth

Of the 202 Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and physiology or medicine this century, fewer than 70 percent hail from the country in which they were awarded their prize. These graphics trace their journeys

MetaGraph compresses vast data archives into a search engine for scientists, opening up new frontiers of biological discovery

Sky & Telescope’s 2025 “Galileo’s Italy” tour offered much more than sightseeing, as participants enjoyed multiple opportunities to stand on astronomical hallowed ground.

The post In the Footsteps of Galileo appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

We know lots about our Galaxy yet still, some regions still hold countless secrets. Recently, a team of astronomers using South Africa's MeerKAT radio telescope uncovered 164 of them, compact radio rings. Each one smaller than an arcminute across, were hiding along the plane of the Milky Way, and were just waiting for a telescope powerful enough to reveal them.

For millions of years, a fragment of ice and dust drifted through interstellar space, its origin, a distant planetary system. This summer, that fragment finally entered our Solar System, becoming only the third confirmed interstellar visitor and earning the designation 3I/ATLAS. When astronomers at Auburn University pointed NASA's Swift Observatory toward this icy chunk, they detected water vapour streaming from its surface. It was revealed through the faint ultraviolet glow of hydroxyl molecules and was completely unexpected.

How a father’s love, entrepreneurship and tech advances could lead to a working artificial pancreas

Diabetic eye disease robs sight from millions. But there are often ways to save vision

Genetic screening can mean that people at risk of type 1 diabetes get earlier treatment and better outcomes

Advocates are lightening mental health burdens, improving pregnancy care and helping patients in developing countries