Infamous 'sofa problem' that boggled mathematicians for decades may finally have a solution

A math problem delineating the largest-size sofa that can fit around a corner has finally been solved, though it may not help you move. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Asteroid news, features and articles

Asteroid news, features and articles | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

New thunderstorms wider than Earth are spewing out green lightning on Jupiter — and could make one of the gas giant's massive bands disappear

A pair of massive thunderstorms have been spotted swirling in Jupiter's "South Equatorial Belt" and are likely unleashing massive bolts of green lightning. Some experts think the pale clouds could end up altering the rusty band's color — and potentially even making it "disappear. … | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Ancient 'land bridge' that connected Siberia to US wasn't what it seems, scientists find

The boggy landscape of the Bering land bridge may have allowed some ice age animals to cross easily, while others stayed in Asia. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Large, ghostly white crab-like predator discovered at the bottom of the Atacama Trench

A never-before-seen predatory crustacean that feeds on other smaller creatures in the hadal zone was discovered in the Atacama Trench at a depth of 25,900 feet. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

New quantum computing milestone smashes entanglement world record

Researchers have made significant progress in the quest for scalable and fault-tolerant quantum computers after entangling the most logical qubits on record. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

How long does it take to travel to the moon?

The answer depends on many factors, including the amount of fuel needed, the moon's orbit and the mission's objectives. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

What is the universe expanding into if it's already infinite?

The universe is constantly expanding, but how do scientists think about what it's expanding into? | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

New RSV drug for babies is over 90% effective at preventing hospitalization

In a new study, the RSV drug nirsevimab was 93% effective at preventing young children from being hospitalized for the respiratory infection. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Possible bust of Cleopatra VII found at ancient Egyptian temple

A small statue of a woman wearing a royal crown may depict Cleopatra VII, an archaeologist claims. Other archaeologists think it is likely someone else. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

New study reveals how ancient 'sky disc' was made, squashing claims it was a forgery

The research details the elaborate process used to manufacture the Nebra Sky Disc during the Bronze Age. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

13 proteins tied to brain aging seem to spike at ages 57, 70 and 78

A new study claims to have identified 13 proteins associated with either accelerated or decelerated brain aging. However, experts have questioned the practical implications of the findings. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Google's new quantum chip has solved a problem the best supercomputer would have taken a quadrillion times the age of the universe to crack

Google's new 105-qubit 'Willow' quantum processor has surpassed a key error-correction threshold first proposed in 1995 — with errors now reducing exponentially as you scale up quantum machines. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

1,500-year-old Anglo-Saxon burial holds a 'unique' mystery — a Roman goblet once filled with pig fat

The sixth-century burial of an Anglo-Saxon teenage girl surprised archaeologists when they discovered a small third-century Roman goblet full of pig fat near her head. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

James Webb telescope confirms we have no idea why the universe is growing the way it is

A dense cluster of bright stars, each with six large and two small diffraction spikes, due to the telescope’s optics. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Philippines volcanic eruption: Kanlaon volcano 'may progress to further explosive eruptions'

The Kanlaon volcano in the Philippines erupted today (Dec. 9) at 3:03 p.m. local time, spouting an eruption column of up to 1.86 miles (3 kilometers) into the sky and triggering the evacuation of 87,000 people. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Roman scutum: An 1,800-year-old shield dropped by a Roman soldier who likely died in battle

A wood and leather shield dating to around A.D. 250 is one of only a few complete Roman scuta ever found. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

'An existential threat affecting billions': Three-quarters of Earth's land became permanently drier in last 3 decades

A car driving by a raging wildfire in Orange County, California. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Cold Moon 2024: How to watch the year's final full moon rise with Jupiter this week

The Cold Moon — the 12th and final full moon of 2024 — will rise on Dec. 15 and ascend higher into the night sky than any other, to sit alongside the planet Jupiter. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Mysterious fast radio bursts could be caused by asteroids slamming into dead stars

An asteroid hitting a neutron star could release enough energy to power humanity for 100 million years, more than enough to explain fast radio bursts. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Scientists reveal genes that make cats orange

Two new studies have revealed why some cats are orange — an enduring enigma of genetics, until now. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

'It explains why our ability to focus has gone to hell': Screens are assaulting our Stone Age brains with more information than we can handle

Modern technology has fundamentally changed how our ancient minds work. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Did Venus ever have oceans to support life, or was it 'born hot'?

"We would have loved to find that Venus was once a planet much closer to our own, so it’s kind of sad in a way to find out that it wasn't." | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Space photo of the week: Astronaut spots 2 nearby galaxies from SpaceX capsule

NASA astronaut Don Pettit imaged the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds as the International Space Station cruised 260 miles above the Pacific Ocean. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

What does a weather report of 30% chance of rain mean?

A percent chance of precipitation shows the probability there will be at least 0.01 inch of rain, snow or sleet at a given location. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Solar system quiz: How well do you know our cosmic neighborhood?

Test your knowledge on our solar system, from the biggest and smallest planets to the behemoth mountain on Mars. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

You're born with most of your neurons — but the brain makes some mysterious new ones in adulthood

Understanding how new neurons affect brain function throughout adulthood can offer new approaches to treating epilepsy and dementia. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Turuchan pika: The adorable ball of fluff that just loves to play

Turuchan pikas play all sorts of games, including swinging from branches, throwing food around and hiding them jumping out at each other. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

World's 1st mechanical qubit uses no light or electronics. It could lead to ultra-precise gravity-sensing tech.

Scientists have created a single unit of quantum information using a superconducting circuit and a vibrating sapphire crystal. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Destroyed observatory helped SETI unlock the secrets of 'cosmic lighthouses' powered by dead stars

"Even years after the Arecibo Observatory's collapse, its data continues to unlock critical information that can advance our understanding of the galaxy." | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Tiny, portable 'laboratories' sort germs using electricity

Pathogens have distinct electrical charges, shapes and sizes. Measuring how quickly they move through an electric field can help researchers separate different species in a sample in minutes. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Do cats communicate with their tails?

From tail up to tail down, what do different cat tail positions and movements mean? | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

'A challenge and an opportunity for evolution': The extreme, hidden life thriving in Earth's most acidic and alkaline lakes

"The most acidic natural inland waters are the lakes that lie in the craters of volcanoes, like Kawah Ijen in Indonesia. These lakes are so rich in sulfuric acid that they may have a pH as low as 0.1. To put this in context, fresh battery acid has a pH of about 0.7. " | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Raw milk from US dairies must now be tested for bird flu

A new federal order requires that U.S. dairies provide milk samples to the USDA so the agency can test the milk for bird flu prior to pasteurization. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Rock found by a 6-year-old on a beach is actually a 50,000-year-old Neanderthal ax

The 6-year-old boy found the rock and then didn't tell anyone for three years. But a new examination reveals it was made by some of the last Neanderthals. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Gut microbiome may have fueled the growth of humans' big brains, study suggests

A new laboratory study in mice suggests that primates like humans evolved large brains with a helping hand from microbes that live in the gut. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

NASA delays historic Artemis missions — yet again

The Space Launch System blasts off from its Florida launchpad. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

'Eight billion bucks or bust': From pirates to 'stupid mistakes' — the wild story of how James Webb Space Telescope almost failed to launch

"Budget overruns, bureaucratic malfeasance, congressional oversight, review-board reckonings, the whole process of rethinking how to test a space telescope from the ground up: Webb had survived them all. One other factor, however, continued to create havoc with the budget and the … | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

100th woman in space, Emily Calandrelli, stands up to 'small men' on the internet: 'I should have expected this.'

The astronaut and MIT engineer's monumental milestone was marred by misogyny: "Instead of being on cloud nine, I’m crying in my seat." | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Most expensive dinosaur skeleton ever now on display in New York City

'Apex,' one of the most complete stegosaurus fossils ever found, is on display at the American Museum of Natural History. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

'Mega momma' great white shark killed on drumline may reveal secrets about iconic predator

Scientists hope the body of a pregnant great white shark killed on a drumline will reveal some of the mysteries of the species' reproduction. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Fossil Forest, Dorset: England's 145 million-year-old tree stump fossils preserved by ancient microbes

The Fossil Forest in Dorset is a stretch of southern English coastline peppered with living mounds of limestone that hide the remains of cypress trees from the late Jurassic period. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

World's 2nd fastest supercomputer runs largest-ever simulation of the universe

The simulations will be used by astronomers to test the standard model of cosmology. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Tiny spoons could have measured out ancient Roman drugs, researchers suggest — but evidence is sparse

Spoon-like metal objects attached to Roman-era belts may represent drug dosing equipment, researchers suggest. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Why do worms come out in the rain?

Earthworms commonly come out when it's wet outside, but why? | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

Massive magnitude 7 earthquake strikes off California coast, triggering tsunami warning

A magnitude 7 earthquake struck off the coast of Petrolia, California on Thursday (Dec. 5), triggering a tsunami warning in the Pacific ocean. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

A single gene mutation could enable H5N1 to spread between people, study finds

A new laboratory study pinpoints a way H5N1 could evolve to spread from person to person. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago

'It looks like smoke': Mysterious chimneys spewing shimmering liquid discovered at the bottom of the Dead Sea

The strange structures could serve as early warning signs of life-threatening sinkholes, scientists say. | Continue reading


@livescience.com | 1 year ago