A new book examines the tools in humankind's arsenal and what’s still needed In 2022, NASA’s DART spacecraft (illustrated) successfully shoved the distant asteroid moonlet Dimorphos off course. The mission tested a potential strategy to deflect any asteroid that might someday threaten Earth. NASA, JHUAPL, Steve Gribben How to Kill an Asteroid Robin George Andrews

The image of an extragalactic star looks different than astronomers expected This image of the star WOH G64 was taken by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer, which combined information from four telescopes. WOH G64 resides inside the bright egg-shaped oval, which is likely a cocoon of its own gas and dust emissions.

The role of play among adult chimpanzees has been understudied. New research aims to fix that Play behavior among adult chimpanzees may have many benefits such as reducing group tension or boosting cooperation. Cyril Ruoso/Minden Pictures You are never too old to play — a maxim that even adult chimpanzees seem to follow. Young chimpanzees

The toxicity of the by-product, created by some chlorine-based treatment, hasn’t yet been studied Around one-third of U.S. residents may be exposed to a newly identified breakdown product of some chlorine-based water treatments, a new study reveals. Shiiko Alexander/Alamy Stock Photo Roughly one-third of Americans could be exposed to a long-sought, newly identified breakdown product

Earth’s space junk may be wreaking havoc on the stratosphere. The rapid surge in satellite megaconstellations is connecting much of the world to broadband internet. But each year, hundreds of those satellites die, burning up in the atmosphere as they fall. And each year, more and more satellites are being launched to replace them. The

The fish-trapping network fed the growth of early Maya centers Remote sensing techniques enabled researchers to identify a massive fish-trapping network, including a pond (shown here) and earthen channels, constructed in Central America around 4,000 years ago. Starting around 4,000 years ago, an elaborate fish-trapping system nourished expanding human populations in lowland Central America, a

The used devices could expand access to the lifesaving technology This used pacemaker is in the process of being refurbished in the lab, so doctors can implant it into a new patient. Robert Miller CHICAGO — One person’s used pacemaker is another person’s treasure. A program to refurbish used pacemakers could expand access to the

Scientists found memory’s molecular machinery at work in cells outside the nervous system Human embryonic kidney cells (seen in this false-color scanning electron micrograph) share some of the same molecular mechanisms as memory-forming neurons. David McCarthy/Science Source Kidney cells can make memories too. At least, in a molecular sense. Neurons have historically been the cell

The town of Borbón in northern Ecuador is home to several government and religious offices and a regional hospital. Nonetheless, Ecuador classifies Borbón as rural. That designation implies that Borbón’s residents should be relatively safe from dengue, a disease carried by a species of mosquito that, according to the World Health Organization, “lives in urban

If we learned anything from 2024, it’s that climate change is rapidly reshaping our world. We’re on course to set the hottest year on record. In just the past few months, supercharged hurricanes, 1-in-1,000-year floods and drought-fueled wildfires have devastated parts of the United States. It’s a very bad time to put the brakes on