Science

Hoping to push Mars exploration into top gear and do recon for a future crewed landing, AeroVironment has released its concept for a mission consisting of half a dozen autonomous helicopters that would land on the Red Planet under their own power.

Leopard seals may be one of Antarctica’s most fearsome predators, but these vocalizers sing with the structured charm of a nursery rhyme. In a new study, researchers discovered that the underwater vocal patterns of these mammals resemble human song.

Using the thermal equivalent of giving it a sharp whack, NASA repaired the camera of its Jupiter-orbiting Juno probe from 370 million miles (590 million km) away after the instrument was put out of commission by the gas giant's radiation belts.

Tracing the potato’s deep ancestry, researchers have revealed a surprising origin story: modern potatoes emerged from natural interbreeding between tomato relatives and a wild-potato-like species about nine million years ago.

A lightning bolt stretching 515 miles from eastern Texas to near Kansas City has set a frightening new record as the longest single flash ever recorded. There are only two places on the entire planet where this kind of "megaflash" is likely to occur.

Research out of France has revealed that we're probably harming our lungs without knowing it. Every day, we're inhaling tiny bits of plastic smaller than a speck of dust without even leaving the house – that's 100x more than previously estimated.

In a bit of an oops, Australia's return to space after almost 54 years hasn't exactly gone to plan. On July 30, 2025 at the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in North Queensland, Gilmour Space Technologies' Eris rocket crashed just 14 seconds after launch.

Over the past two centuries, the construction of thousands of dams has done more than just tame rivers – it has shifted the Earth’s North Pole about a meter off its position.

Millenia ago communities went to great lengths to hunt wild boars, and not just for survival. Archaeologists recently uncovered 19 wild boar skulls. The skulls bore butchery marks, hinting at a feast; however, the real mystery was their origin.

Researchers in Australia have developed a titanium alloy that's 30% cheaper to produce than standard titanium, and is stronger and more ductile than other titanium alloys.