Science

Researchers at Yale University developed a robot that can amputate its limbs, just like a gecko can release its tail when it is grabbed by a hungry predator. That could be useful for navigating treacherous terrain. <strong>Scroll right to see other critter-inspired robots.</strong>

Bilige Yang/Faboratory/Yale University

This gecko-inspired robot amputates its own limbs to survive

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is launched for the Europa Clipper mission to study one of Jupiter's 95 moons, at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. October 14, 2024. REUTERS/Joe Skipper

Joe Skipper/Reuters

NASA launches mission to investigate a potentially habitable ocean world

SuperLimbs could help astronauts recover from falls.

Kalind Carpenter, Preston Rogers, and Mirza Samnani

‘SuperLimbs’ could help astronauts recover from falls

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship lifts off from Starbase for a test flight Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Boca Chica,, Texas.

SpaceX launches its most ambitious Starship test flight yet. Here’s what to know

Onlookers watch as SpaceX's Starship rocket is prepared for a test launch in Boca Chica, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX gets approval for Starship launch amid standoff with FAA

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Lewis Brown/Story Picture Agency/Shutterstock (14766812d)
The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, are seen this evening due to a strong solar storm.
Northern Lights in Durham, UK - 07 Oct 2024

Lewis Brown/Story Picture Agency/Shutterstock

A severe geomagnetic storm causes colorful auroras over Northern California and Alabama

Discovery’s Expedition Unknown

Secret tomb found under ‘Indiana Jones’ filming location in Petra

Screen-Shot-2024-10-10-at-10.26.08-AM.jpg

Falklands Heritage Maritime Trust/National Geographic

See individual artifacts on the deck of sunken Antarctic ship HMS Endurance

The Field Museum

Individual hairs reveal prey of 19th century ‘Tsavo man-eater’ lions

NASA/Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

The largest storm in our solar system is moving unexpectedly, scientists say

Editor's picks

In 1922, American chemist, Thomas Midgley, Jr. discovered tetraethyl, an antiknock agent in gasoline, which led to the establishment of the ethyl gasoline industry. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Corbis/Getty Images

Once celebrated, an inventor’s breakthroughs are now viewed as disasters — and the world is still recovering

3D Illustration Getty Images/NASA

‘Dyson spheres’ were theorized as a way to detect alien life. Scientists say they’ve found potential evidence

KARS, TURKIYE - MAY 18: A view of moon, appearing in the sky in the evening hours in Kars, Turkey, on May 18, 2024. (Photo by Omer Tarsuslu/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Omer Tarsuslu/Anadolu/Getty Images

Why scientists say we need to send clocks to the moon — soon

B8C6TT MEXICAN AXOLOTL

Stephen Dalton/Avalon.red/Alamy Stock Photo

Why axolotls seem to be everywhere — except in the one lake they call home

Space

Show all

Comet rises up over the horizon just before orbital sunrise with aurora streaking by.

Matthew Dominick/NASA

Comet likely last seen when Neanderthals walked Earth could soon dazzle in the night sky

Dark skies will help the Draconid meteor shower shine. Here’s how to see it

European spacecraft launches for ‘crash scene investigation’ of first planetary defense test

Next solar eclipse: When and where to view the celestial event

Archaeology

Show all

2C9JNYC James Fitzjames.

Alamy Stock Photo

‘It went horribly wrong’: DNA analysis sheds light on lost Arctic expedition’s grisly end

Lost biblical plant with medicinal properties resurrected from 1,000-year-old seed

AI helps uncover hundreds of unknown ancient symbols hidden in Peru’s Nazca Desert

DNA from 3,600-year-old cheese sequenced by scientists

Life

Show all

The study investigated the viruses found on showerheads and toothbrushes.

Your showerhead and toothbrush are teeming with viruses. But don’t panic – these microbes could save lives

5 Nobel-worthy discoveries that haven’t won the prize

When a massive asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs, ants began farming fungi

Dolphins ‘smile’ at each other when they play and to avoid misunderstanding, study finds

Paleontology

Show all

Jordan-Pterosaurs-flight-flat-copy-Terryl-Whitlatch.jpg

Terryl Whitlatch

Fossils reveal that some pterosaurs soared like vultures, while others flapped their wings

Prehistoric sea cow was eaten by a croc and a shark, newly discovered fossil reveals

Matching sets of dinosaur footprints found on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean

He stumbled onto a large tusk in a Mississippi creek. It turned out to be a first-of-its-kind discovery