Latest Science News

As thaw accelerates, Swiss glaciers lost 10% of their volume in the last 2 years, experts say

Sep. 28, 2023 03:24 AM EDT

GENEVA (AP) — A Swiss Academy of Sciences panel is reporting a dramatic acceleration of glacier melt in the Alpine country, which has lost 10% of its ice volume in just two years after high summer heat and low snow volumes in winter. Switzerland — home to the most glaciers of any...

At US Antarctic base hit by harassment claims, workers are banned from buying alcohol at bars

Sep. 28, 2023 00:34 AM EDT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — From Sunday, workers at the main United States base in Antarctica will no longer be able to walk into a bar and order a beer, after the federal agency that oversees the research program decided to stop serving alcohol. McMurdo Station will not be...

Three astronauts return to Earth after a year in space. NASA's Frank Rubio sets US space record

Sep. 27, 2023 12:45 PM EDT

A NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts returned to Earth on Wednesday after being stuck in space for just over a year. American Frank Rubio set a record for the longest U.S. spaceflight — a result of the extended stay. The trio landed in a remote area of Kazakhstan, descending...

An old car tire, burnt trees and a utility pole may be key in finding how the Maui wildfire spread

Sep. 27, 2023 12:43 PM EDT

Melted remains of an old car tire. Heavily burned trees. A charred stump of an abandoned utility pole. Investigators are examining these and other pieces of evidence as they seek to solve the mystery of last month’s deadly Maui wildfire: How did a small, wind-whipped fire sparked...

We carry DNA from extinct cousins like Neanderthals. Science is now revealing their genetic legacy

Sep. 27, 2023 11:38 AM EDT

Neanderthals live on within us. These ancient human cousins, and others called Denisovans, once lived alongside our early Homo sapiens ancestors. They mingled and had children. So some of who they were never went away — it's in our genes. And science is starting to reveal just how...

Three astronauts land in Kazakhstan after a longer-than-expected year in space. NASA's Frank Rubio sets U.S. record

Sep. 27, 2023 07:23 AM EDT
MOSCOW (AP) — Three astronauts land in Kazakhstan after a longer-than-expected year in space. NASA's Frank Rubio sets U.S. record.

US aims to create nuclear fusion facility within 10 years, Energy chief Granholm says

Sep. 25, 2023 17:14 PM EDT

VIENNA (AP) — The Biden administration hopes to create a commercial nuclear fusion facility within 10 years as part of the nation's transition to clean energy, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Monday. Calling nuclear fusion a pioneering technology, Granholm said...

Historians race to find Great Lakes shipwrecks before quagga mussels destroy the sites

Sep. 25, 2023 13:04 PM EDT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Great Lakes’ frigid fresh water used to keep shipwrecks so well preserved that divers could see dishes in the cupboards. Downed planes that spent decades underwater were left so pristine they could practically fly again when archaeologists finally discovered them. ...

After summer's extreme weather, more Americans see climate change as a culprit, AP-NORC poll shows

Sep. 25, 2023 08:09 AM EDT

Kathleen Maxwell has lived in Phoenix for more than 20 years, but this summer was the first time she felt fear, as daily high temperatures soared to 110 degrees or hotter and kept it up for a record-shattering 31 consecutive days. “It's always been really hot here, but nothing like...

NASA's first asteroid samples land on Earth after release from spacecraft

Sep. 25, 2023 00:42 AM EDT

NASA’s first asteroid samples fetched from deep space parachuted into the Utah desert Sunday to cap a seven-year journey. In a flyby of Earth, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft released the sample capsule from 63,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) out. The small capsule landed four hours later...