Artemis II Catches Glimpse of the Moon's Grand Canyon, a Basin That Looks Like a Giant Bullseye

Learn about the Orientale basin, a ringed impact structure on the moon that was recently seen by the Artemis II crew. 

Most Pristine Star May Have Been Spotted 80,000 Light-Years From Earth

Learn more about SDSS J0715‑7334, one of the most chemically pristine stars ever found.

A Mutant Clownfish Broke the Rules of Stripes and Offers Clues to How Animal Patterns Form

Learn how a small genetic change affects cell communication and reshapes the stripes seen in clownfish.

About 34 Million Years Ago, Earth’s Most Powerful Ocean Current Emerged and Reshaped the Climate

Learn how the Antarctic Circumpolar Current formed during the Oligocene, as winds, shifting continents, and ocean gateways reshaped Earth’s climate.

Organ‑on‑a‑Chip Models Now Include the Cervix — Revealing New Clues About STIs

New organ-on-a-chip recreates the cervix’s microbiome and immune system, revealing how bacteria shape STI infection risk.

What Is Kleptoparasitism? Why Food Theft Is a Common Survival Strategy Across the Animal Kingdom

Learn more about kleptoparasitism and how animals adjust to it when their food sources are scarce. 

Earth’s Magnetic Field Flipped 43 Million Years Ago — Was There an Impact on Life?

Learn how a flip in Earth's magnetic field may have caused changes in the radiation on our planet.

How Large-Scale Human Migration Reshaped Europe More Than a Thousand Years Ago

Learn more about how a great human migration began towards the end of the Roman Empire, and how it would shape Europe's future. 

Here Are the Best U.S. National Parks to See the Northern Lights — and No, They Aren’t All in Alaska

Discover the best U.S. national parks to see the Northern Lights and how often they can occur there. 

Cannibalism in Snakes Is Not Uncommon — but Could be a Behavior That's Tied to Evolution

Cannibalism in snakes is much more widespread than previously thought, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that snakes are evolving to become cannibalistic. Learn more about it. 

Octopuses Don’t Need Eyes to Mate — Their Arms Do the Work

Learn how specialized sensory cells and 500 million neurons help octopuses recognize mates and reproduce through touch alone.

Artemis II Has Successfully Launched and Is Heading for the Moon — What Comes Next for the Mission?

With Artemis II well underway, learn what comes next for this historic mission. 

Magma Formed in Deep "Gold Kitchens" Delivers Traces of Gold to Volcanic Islands

Learn how subduction zones become enriched in gold through repeated melting of Earth's mantle.

Ice Age Humans Played Dice — And May Have Been Gambling 12,000 Years Ago

Learn how bone dice from Ice Age sites in the American West are pushing the origins of gambling back by more than 6,000 years.

539-Million-Year-Old Ediacaran Fossils Push Complex Animal Life Back 4 Million Years

Learn how newly discovered Ediacaran fossils are pushing the origins of animals back millions of years before the Cambrian explosion.

Imagination Isn’t Just Memory Replay — Your Brain Rebuilds It From Scratch

Learn how imagination works in the brain and why it may come from higher-level systems, not just a replay of sensory experiences.

Ancient African Workshop Reveals Ironworking Tradition That Was Used for Nearly Eight Centuries

Learn about the discovery of a 2,400-year-old iron-smelting workshop in Senegal, shedding light on the Iron Age in West Africa. 

Aboriginal Cave Paintings of Now-Extinct Tasmanian Tiger May Shift Extinction Timeline

Discover how Indigenous art from less than 1,000 years ago could reshape what we know about the Tasmanian tiger’s disappearance from mainland Australia.

Human Language May Have Started With Just Two Words

Learn how early human language relied on simple verb-noun combinations, and how these structures still survive today as clues to how speech first developed.

3 Apex Predators — Snow Leopards, Wolves, and Leopards — Coexist by Choosing Different Prey

Learn how snow leopards, Himalayan wolves, and leopards share the same habitat in the Himalayas by hunting different prey, allowing multiple apex predators to coexist without direct competition.