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Updated: 23 hours 6 min ago

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere just hit a ‘depressing’ record high

Tue, 05/05/2026 - 4:15pm

These data come from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Mauna Loa Observatory, which may soon be shut down because of proposed government budget cuts

Categories: Astronomy

Babies may ‘catch’ yawns from their mother in the womb, new study finds

Tue, 05/05/2026 - 3:00pm

Researchers found that fetuses were more likely to yawn when their mother did, suggesting humans may experience yawn contagion throughout their life

Categories: Astronomy

Why some mathematicians think we should abandon pi

Tue, 05/05/2026 - 2:00pm

A growing minority believes it’s a mistake to tie so many mathematical formulas to the famed 3.14... value. Another value, tau, could be better

Categories: Astronomy

Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin moon lander completes a crucial test as race with SpaceX heats up

Tue, 05/05/2026 - 12:00pm

NASA announced that this uncrewed lander, named Endurance, completed vacuum testing on Earth—a key step toward a planned launch later this year

Categories: Astronomy

Does a psychedelic trip change your brain? A new study offers a tantalizing clue

Tue, 05/05/2026 - 11:45am

Scientists gave people a “heroic” dose of psilocybin and then looked at their brain. Here’s what happened

Categories: Astronomy

A decade of research reveals harms of ‘fitspiration’ content online

Tue, 05/05/2026 - 11:00am

The Internet loves fitness-motivation content. Olympian and researcher Valerie Gruest explains why it can be so harmful

Categories: Astronomy

How scientists made the discoveries behind a game-changing gene therapy for sickle cell disease and won a $3-million Breakthrough Prize

Tue, 05/05/2026 - 7:00am

Stuart Orkin and Swee Lay Thein shared a Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for their research on genetic causes of sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia that set the stage for approved gene therapies. The treatments are not accessible to everyone, though

Categories: Astronomy

Humpback whales sometimes hang out with their mouth open, baffling scientists

Tue, 05/05/2026 - 6:00am

Scientists are trying to decode why humpback whales can be observed hanging around with their mouth open, with no apparent explanation

Categories: Astronomy