Tag Archives: ScienceAlert

On 15 July 1965, NASA’s Mariner 4 spacecraft made Solar System history. As it flew by Mars, the spacecraft’s onboard camera snapped 22 pictures of the planet’s surface, sending them back home to Earth – the first-ever close-up photos of Mars obtained by humans, and the very first photos of another planet obtained from a position in deep space. Those …

In spite of having plagued humans for millennia, typhoid fever is rarely considered in developed countries today. But this ancient threat is still very much a danger in our modern world. According to research published in 2022, the bacterium that causes typhoid fever is evolving extensive drug resistance, and is rapidly replacing strains that aren’t resistant. Currently, antibiotics are the …

In 2024, researchers transformed readings of an epic upheaval of Earth’s magnetic field flipping 41,000 years ago into an eerie, auditory experience. Now a team containing some of those same scientists has sonified an even earlier flip, from epochs ago. The resulting cacophony is an unnerving translation of geological data on the Matuyama-Brunhes reversal, a switching of the planet’s magnetic …

Perseverance is hitting the ‘open road’ on Mars like no other rover. On June 19, the six-wheeled explorer officially completed the longest road trip of any robot vehicle on another planet. In a single drive, the rover rolled over 411 meters of Mars‘ rocky surface (more than a quarter mile). Related: Perseverance Found a Zebra-Striped Rock on Mars, And NASA …

A pet cat in Florida may have made scientific history by enabling the discovery of not one but two new strains of viruses. The cat in question, called Pepper, is like many cats, in that he likes to bestow affection on his human companion with thoughtful gifts of dead animals (surprisingly, orcas do this too). So Pepper’s owner, University of …

Significant brain defects known as Chiari malformations could be down the genes some of us have inherited from Neanderthals, according to a new study, causing a mismatch between brain shape and skull shape. The study focuses on Chiari malformation type I (CM-I), where the lower part of the brain extends too far into the spinal cord – typically linked to …

After centuries of mapping the human body in ever-finer detail, scientists are still making discoveries. Here we are, in 2025, and a previously unknown cellular structure that could be vital to our health has just been added to the anatomy books. The membrane-bound organelle appears to play a huge role in helping cells sort, discard, and recycle their contents. It’s …

Emergency vaccination during outbreaks of diseases like cholera, Ebola and measles have over the past quarter-century reduced deaths from such illnesses by nearly 60 percent, according to a new study. A similar number of infections are also believed to have been prevented, while billions of euros have been generated in estimated economic benefit. The Gavi vaccine alliance, which backed the …

Volcanic eruptions can destroy essential infrastructure, ground air traffic for days, wipe out entire cities, disrupt the climate for years, and even wipe out life on Earth, so it’s important to know what causes them to blow. New research has revealed that specific features deep within Earth can be linked directly to such cataclysmic eruptions. Thousands of kilometers below Earth’s …

New research highlights a crucial time window very early on in life, during which the introduction of eggs and peanut butter into the diets of babies significantly reduces the chances of them becoming allergic to these foods later on. The findings run counter to previous advice given to parents to avoid giving these foods to their kids until they’re at …