The future of U.S. space exploration and NASA-funded science is up in the air as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to office. “There’s just so many question marks,” says political scientist Victoria Samson. Where will humans go in space, and when? What will SpaceX billionaire and close presidential adviser Elon Musk’s influence be over

Scientists used the sticky stuff to peel away sheets of diamond less than a micrometer thick  Sticky tape can peel a diamond film off a silicon wafer. The edge of the wafer is first cut (illustrated on left), then the tape is applied and lifted (center), before fully separating the diamond (top right) from the

Pigeons that do somersaults, snakes that fake death with extra flair and surprised canines are among the organisms that enthralled the Science News staff. Beluga whales like this one at Connecticut’s Mystic Aquarium sport a blob of forehead fat called a “melon.” The cetaceans contort the melon into different shapes, possibly to communicate with each

Preserved brains, arthritis in ancient Egypt and other finds made headlines A large stone that lies in the center of Stonehenge, called the Altar Stone (shown center with two rocks lying on top of it), was sourced from northeastern Scotland. The finding surprised scientists because other stones around the Altar Stone have Welsh roots. Adam

A quick swab may tell ranchers if their livestock are eating a sinister salad on the range Free-choice eating sheep like these near Ashton, Idaho can encounter toxic death camas (the sprays of pale yellow flowers) while eating. A simple earwax test could help ranchers protect livestock and identify risky grazing patterns. Clint Stonecipher A

The first full map of fruit fly’s brain charted 139,255 nerve cells and their millions of connections. Tyler Sloan for FlyWire, Princeton University, (Dorkenwald et al/Nature, 2024) Each year, scientists break new ground in their quest to understand life and the mysteries of the cosmos. Here are eight milestones in 2024 that caught our attention

A new way of seeing axons reveals they can be shaped like strings of pearls The mouse axon shown in the center of this electron microscope image has bumps connected by thin tubes, similar to beads on a string. This message-sending part of nerve cells is usually thought to be smooth and cylindrical. Quan Gan

Bones of at least 37 Bronze Age victims found in a shaft had tool incisions and human gnaw marks Marks on nearly half of the 20 skulls pulled from a British mass grave holding the remains of at least 37 people bear marks of lethal blows to the head. R.J. Schulting et al/Antiquity 2024 A

These 7 findings could be game-changing but need more study NASA’s robotic explorer, the Perseverance rover, took this selfie on Mars in April 2021. In the background stands its robotic helicopter sidekick, Ingenuity. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS In 2024, researchers turned up possible evidence of ancient life on Mars, hints that Alzheimer’s disease can spread from person-to-person and

Better treatments have also prevented cancer deaths in the last 45 years Colonoscopies and other cancer screening tests, paired with preventive measures and better treatments helped save nearly 6 million lives from cancer from 1975 through 2020. PonyWang / Getty Images Nearly 6 million deaths from five common cancers were avoided through prevention, early detection