Latest Science News

NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft will scour Jupiter moon for the ingredients for life

Oct. 12, 2024 08:33 AM EDT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A NASA spacecraft is ready to set sail for Jupiter and its moon Europa, one of the best bets for finding life beyond Earth. Europa Clipper will peer beneath the moon’s icy crust where an ocean is thought to be sloshing fairly close to the surface. It...

What's behind the northern lights that dazzled the sky farther south than normal

Oct. 12, 2024 02:03 AM EDT

Another in a series of unusually strong solar storms hitting Earth produced stunning skies full of pinks, purples, greens and blues farther south than normal, including into parts of Germany, the United Kingdom, New England and New York City. “It was a pretty extensive display yet...

Experts warn 'crazy busy' Atlantic hurricane season is far from over

Oct. 11, 2024 13:46 PM EDT

Millions of people in the southeastern U.S. still are reeling from the catastrophic damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, but scientists warn that the Atlantic hurricane season is far from over. “As far as hurricane landfalls in the U.S., it’s been crazy busy,” said...

Climate change gave significant boost to Milton's destructive rain, winds, scientists say

Oct. 11, 2024 11:47 AM EDT

Human-caused climate change intensified deadly Hurricane Milton 's rainfall by 20 to 30% and strengthened its winds by about 10%, scientists said in a new flash study. The analysis comes just two weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated the southeastern United States, a storm also fueled by climate...

AI is having its Nobel moment. Do scientists need the tech industry to sustain it?

Oct. 11, 2024 06:14 AM EDT

Hours after the artificial intelligence pioneer Geoffrey Hinton won a Nobel Prize in physics, he drove a rented car to Google's California headquarters to celebrate. Hinton doesn't work at Google anymore. Nor did the longtime professor at the University of Toronto do his pioneering...

A hurricane scientist logged a final flight as NOAA released his ashes into Milton’s eye

Oct. 10, 2024 22:01 PM EDT

As an award-winning scientist, Peter Dodge had made hundreds of flights into the eyes of hurricanes — almost 400. On Tuesday, a crew on a reconnaissance flight into Hurricane Milton helped him make one more, dropping his ashes into the storm as a lasting tribute to the longtime National Oceanic...

Twin boys born conjoined celebrate 1st birthday after separation surgery

Oct. 10, 2024 02:52 AM EDT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Twin brothers who were born conjoined recently celebrated their first birthday after undergoing successful separation surgery. Amari and Javar Ruffin, whose family lives in Philadelphia, were born via cesarean section on Sept. 29, 2023. The brothers — who...

Nobel Prize in chemistry honors 3 scientists who used AI to design proteins — life's building blocks

Oct. 09, 2024 20:18 PM EDT

LONDON (AP) — Three scientists who discovered powerful techniques to decode and even design novel proteins — the building blocks of life — were awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday. Their work used advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, and holds the potential to...

Severe solar storm could stress power grids even more as US deals with major back-to-back hurricanes

Oct. 09, 2024 19:19 PM EDT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A severe solar storm is headed to Earth that could stress power grids even more as the U.S. deals with major back-to-back hurricanes, space weather forecasters said Wednesday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a severe...

Here's what has made Hurricane Milton so fierce and unusual

Oct. 09, 2024 19:04 PM EDT

With its mighty strength and its dangerous path, Hurricane Milton powered into a very rare threat flirting with experts' worst fears. Warm water fueled amazingly rapid intensification that took Milton from a minimal hurricane to a massive Category 5 in less than 10 hours. It...