Astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) recently observed a planet suspected of having liquid iron as a precipitate. The ultra-hot giant exoplanet, WASP-76b, has a day side where temperatures reach over 2400 degrees Celsius. This is hot enough to vaporize metals. Strong winds carry iron vapor to the cooler night side where it condenses into iron droplets. Read more... March 12, 2020

A new study has revealed that the ultra-black wings of some butterfly species have a unique 3-D structure. This 3-D structure creates an optical illusion and light-trapping effect that makes the wings appear even blacker than they are. Read more... March 10, 2020

The novel coronavirus, Covid-19, has quickly become a global health threat. Here you will find a list of helpful resources for the pandemic. Read more... February 21, 2020

Lake Mega Chad was once an enormous lake in Africa. About 7,000 years ago it covered over 400,000 square kilometers (150,000 square miles). Read more... February 20, 2020

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has shared a new version of the image known as the Pale Blue Dot. The original image was taken by Voyager 1 during NASA's Voyager mission in 1990. Read more... February 19, 2020

The CDC started shipping laboratory test kits to detect 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) to qualified local U.S. laboratories yesterday. These kits will allow local health departments to identify coronavirus patients. Previously, samples had to be sent to the CDC for testing. Read more... February 7, 2020

Scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have identified a new species of thalattosaur named Gunakadeit joseeae. A fossil of the species found in Southeast Alaska that was nearly complete apart from its partially eroded tail. Read more... February 5, 2020

Researchers from the University of Hyogo in Awaji, Japan conducted a study that found caring for a small plant at work can help reduce stress. A small air plant that was one of the plants used in the study is pictured above. Read more... January 2, 2020

A new species of fish parasite has been discovered in South Africa. The parasite attaches itself inside the branchial cavities (the gills) of their fish hosts. The parasite has been named after Xena, the warrior princess. Read more... December 30, 2019

Scientists have discovered the first species of praying mantis known to conspicuously mimic a wasp. The wasp was near the Amazon River in Peru in 2013. Read more... October 18, 2019

The American Chemical Society has released a new video that provides instructions for making magnetic slime. The ACS even suggests skipping work in order to make it. The video is part of the PBS series, Reactions. Read more... October 14, 2019

Mold pigs were tiny invertebrates that inhabited Earth about 30 million years ago. They were discovered in fossils preserved in Dominican amber. They are a newly discovered family, genus and species of microinvertebrate. Read more... October 8, 2019

NASA has released new visualizations of a black hole to illustrate how its gravity warps its surroundings and distorts our view. The extreme gravity of the black hole skews light emissions and results in the its misshapen appearance. Read more... September 27, 2019

A new research study suggests mosasaurs used a muscular breast stroke that gave them an extra burst of speed. This speed may have been used when ambushing prey. Mosasaurs were huge late Cretaceous sea creatures that were also equipped with two rows of sharp teeth that could shred their victims apart. Read more... September 23, 2019

A newly identified species of pterosaur was one of the largest ever flying animals. The pterosaur, named Cryodrakon boreas, had a wingspan of up to 10 meters (about 33 feet). It lived during the Cretaceous period around 77 million years ago. Read more... September 10, 2019

The Schomburgk's deer (Rucervus schomburgki) was believed to be extinct in 1938. However, recent analysis of a photograph of fresh antlers from 1991 suggests the deer did not go extinct and may still be alive today. Read more... September 6, 2019

Scientists have identified a new species of duck-billed dinosaur. The fossils of the dinosaur were found in 72-million year-old marine deposits in northern Japan. The species has been named Kamuysaurus japonicus. It is nicknamed "Mukawaryu" after the excavation site. Read more... September 5, 2019

Harrvard researchers created a self-folding soft robot they call Rollbot. The researchers used origami concepts and 3D-printed soft hinges that fold at different temperatures. This way the hinges can be programmed to fold in a specific order. Read more... August 21, 2019

Scientists have discovered two new species of tweezer-beaked hopping rats in the Philippines. The scientists say the rats hop around like little kangaroos. Worms are the preferred diet of the new species named Rhynchomys labo and Rhynchomys mingan. Read more... August 20, 2019

Bats have an amazing acoustic hunting ability through echolocation. Scientists have found that leaf-nosed bats can find insects resting silently on leaves in the dark using echolocation alone. Read more... August 18, 2019