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Reconstruction of Homo floresiensis. Image credit: Kinez Riza / Atelier Elisabeth Daynes, Sangiran Museum.

Climate Change Played Key Role in Extinction of Homo floresiensis

Dec 9, 2025 by News Staff

Homo floresiensis abandoned Liang Bua — a cave this small-bodied human species had occupied for around 140,000 years — during severe drought...

Hypothetical reconstruction of Mirischia asymmetrica (left) and Santanaraptor placidus (right) disputing a lizard in what is now northeastern Brazil approximately 112 million years ago. Image credit: Guilherme Gehr.

Two Species of Coelurosaurs Co-Existed in Cretaceous-Era Brazil

Dec 8, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have performed a comprehensive anatomical reassessment of the fossilized remains of two coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs from the Early...

This image of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was taken by Hubble on November 30, 2025. At the time, the comet was about 286 million km (178 million miles) from Earth. Image credit: NASA / ESA / STScI / D. Jewitt, UCLA / M.-T. Hui, Shanghai Astronomical Observatory / J. DePasquale, STScI.

Hubble Takes New Look at Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

Dec 5, 2025 by Natali Anderson

The Hubble team has released a stunning new image snapped by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which is only the...

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is on a mission to explore the asteroid Bennu and return a sample to Earth. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab.

Scientists Find Extraterrestrial Bio-Essential Sugars in Samples from Asteroid Bennu

Dec 3, 2025 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the United States and Japan has analyzed an extract from a sample of the near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu collected by NASA’s...

Mastcam-Z landscape and multispectral images of light-toned float rocks atop the Jezero crater Margin Unit near the Hans Amundson Memorial workspace (Sol 912) demonstrating the spectral diversity of this material. Image credit: Broz et al., doi: 10.1038/s43247-025-02856-3.

Mars Was Warmer, Wetter Millions of Years Ago, Planetary Scientists Say

Dec 3, 2025 by News Staff

NASA’s Perseverance rover has discovered several thousand small, light-toned rock fragments, or float rocks, with some exhibiting spectral signatures...

Life reconstruction of another Mamenchisaurus species, Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum. Image credit: Júlia d’Oliveira.

Paleontologists Discover New Species of Mamenchisaurid Dinosaur

Dec 1, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new species of the sauropod dinosaur genus Mamenchisaurus has been discovered in China dating back to the Late Jurassic epoch. Life reconstruction of...

Detection of electric discharges in dust devils by the SuperCam instrument on board NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars. Image credit: Nicolas Sarter.

Perseverance Detects Triboelectric Discharges during Martian Dust Devils and Storms

Dec 1, 2025 by News Staff

Using data captured by the SuperCam microphone aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover over two Martian years, planetrary scientists have detected 55 triboelectric...

The genomes of ancient cats from archaeological sites across Europe and Anatolia (circles in the map) revealed that domestic cats were introduced to Europe from North Africa starting at 2,000 years ago, several millennia after the onset of the Neolithic in Europe; African wildcats in Sardinia originate from a distinct wildcat population in Northwest Africa. Image credit: De Martino et al., doi: 10.1126/science.adt2642.

Domestic Cats Were Introduced to Europe around 2,000 Years Ago, Probably from North Africa: Study

Nov 28, 2025 by News Staff

The domestic cat (Felis catus) descends from the African wildcat (Felis lybica lybica). Its global distribution alongside humans testifies to its successful...

Australopithecus deyiremeda and Australopithecus afarensis. Image credit: Gemini AI.

Two Australopithecus Species Co-Existed in Ethiopia 3.4 Million Years Ago

Nov 28, 2025 by News Staff

In 2009, paleoanthropologists found eight bones from the foot of an ancient human ancestor in 3.4-million-year-old sediments at the paleontological site...

An artist’s impression of Quaoar and its two rings. Quaoar’s moon Weywot is shown on the left. Image credit: ESA / Sci.News.

Trans-Neptunian Object Quaoar Has Two Moons, New Study Suggests

Nov 24, 2025 by Natali Anderson

The newly-discovered moon has an estimated diameter of 38 km (23.6 miles) and a V magnitude of 28, likely making it the faintest satellite ever found around...

This image of 3I/ATLAS was captured by the HiRISE camera onboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on October 2, 2025. Image credit: Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Snaps Close-Ups of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

Nov 19, 2025 by News Staff

The new images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera onboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will allow astronomers to better...

Kissing Likely Evolved in Common Ancestor of Humans and Large Apes 21 Million Years Ago

Nov 19, 2025 by News Staff

Kissing occurs in most living large apes, and likely also occurred in Neanderthals, first evolving in the ancestor to this group 21.5-16.9 million years...

An AI impression of the Early Earth. Image credit: Gemini AI.

Researchers Find Evidence of Ancient Microbial Life in 3.51 Billion-Year-Old Rocks

Nov 19, 2025 by News Staff

Teasing out biochemical information from ancient organic-rich sediments, notably the timing of the emergence of photosynthesis relative to the inferred...

This image of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was captured with the Celestron EdgeHD 800 telescope on November 16, 2025. Image credit: Satoru Murata.

Astrophotographer Captures Stunning New Image of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

Nov 18, 2025 by Natali Anderson

A member of the ICQ Comet Observations group has released a new image of 3I/ATLAS, the third object and the second comet from outside the Solar System...

Reconstruction of nothosaurs about 240 million years ago revealing a hidden diversity from southwestern China: Lijiangosaurus yongshengensis (center), Nothosaurus yangjuanensis (upper left), Nothosaurus luopingensis (upper right), Brevicaudosaurus jiyangshanensis (lower left), and Lariosaurus hongguoensis (lower right). Image credit: Kelai Li.

Early Long-Necked Marine Reptile Unearthed in China

Nov 17, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

The exceptionally long neck of Lijiangosaurus yongshengensis contained 42 cervical vertebrae, according to a research team led by paleontologists from...

Artistic reconstruction of the filter-feeding pterosaur Barikibu waridza in the Early Cretaceous Romualdo Formation environment; the spinosaurid dinosaur in the background represents the putative predator that hunted Barikibu waridza. Image credit: Julio Lacerda.

New Filter-Feeding Pterosaur Species Discovered in Brazil

Nov 14, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

Named Bakiribu waridza, the newly-identified species is the first filter-feeding pterosaur from the tropics. Artistic reconstruction of the filter-feeding...

Panoramic aerial drone image of the Jinlin crater, taken on May 12, 2025. Image credit: Chen et al., doi: 10.1063/5.0301625.

Well-Preserved Impact Crater Discovered in China

Nov 13, 2025 by News Staff

Researchers have discovered an impact crater formed on a granite mountain capped by a thick weathering crust in southern China. Located in Zhaoqing in...

The Pleiades. Image credit: NASA / ESA / AURA / Caltech / Palomar Observatory.

Pleiades Star Cluster is Part of Much Larger Stellar Structure, Astronomers Say

Nov 13, 2025 by News Staff

Also known as the Seven Sisters and Messier 45, the Pleiades — an open star cluster about 440 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Taurus...

Monte Sierpe. Image credit: Charles Stanish.

Monte Sierpe: Thousands of Mysterious ‘Holes’ in Peru May Have Been Ancient Barter Marketplace

Nov 11, 2025 by News Staff

Monte Sierpe (translated as ‘serpent mountain’ and known colloquially as the ‘Band of Holes’) is located in the Pisco Valley of southern Peru and...