Scientists have long suspected that active supermassive black holes can kill their own host galaxies, but new research suggests these cosmic titans are more like serial killers that can extend their murderous rampage across many light-years and destroy neighboring galaxies, too. For scientists, “death” for a galaxy means the curtailing of star formation. Supermassive black
Earlier this month, Coastal Connections, Inc. (CCI) took in a hard-shelled sea creature with an unusually fluffy coat. Typically, the sea turtles they save and rehabilitate from around Vero Beach, Florida, have glistening shells and calloused skin. But this poor guy was different. He was covered in “hair” from head to tail. Coastal Connections, Inc.
The Moon passed directly between the Sun and Earth on 17 February 2026, creating an annular solar eclipse. Because the Moon was at a more distant point along its elliptical orbit around Earth, it didn’t entirely cover the Sun and left a ‘ring of fire’. The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Proba-2 satellite captured this ring
Physicists have made a monumental discovery that sheds light on the early moments of the universe. By recreating conditions resembling the first milliseconds after the Big Bang, researchers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have uncovered evidence of the behavior of quark-gluon plasma. Published in Physics Letters B, this study delves into how the universe’s
We assume that objects are more fundamental than the relationships between those objects. However, philosopher George Webster argues that quantum mechanics upends this common-sense picture. In the quantum world, relations like symmetry are more real than the particles themselves. But neither our everyday language, nor the language of logic favored by philosophers, can make sense
The odds of finding any sort of smoking gun for non-baryonic (or exotic) dark matter — the missing matter of the universe hypothesized to be made up of exotic elementary particles such as WIMPS (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles), seems to get longer with each passing year. People have been looking for this form of exotic
Published February 20, 2026 03:00AM Standing under a starry sky, gazing up at the wonder of the cosmos, is a foundational human experience and one that has shaped our storytelling and cultures for millennia. Looking at the night sky is a mindful activity, one that’s good for the nervous system and produces feelings of awe.
The seafloor beneath Antarctica’s ice has long existed in climate models as a blank space, a featureless plane where deep ocean simply stops at the continental margin. That cartographic convenience has now collapsed. A systematic mapping effort completed last year has revealed that the ocean floor surrounding Antarctica is scored by hundreds of deep submarine
Human tissue collection Human tissue was acquired with written, informed consent under a National Institutes of Health Institutional Review Board-approved protocol (NCT01915225) from two distinct patient populations. Healthy liver samples (N = 14) were obtained from patients undergoing risk-reducing total gastrectomy for germline CDH1 mutation(s), who consented to research liver biopsy during surgery. These patients had hereditary
Beneath the surface of Colombia’s oceans, scientists have uncovered a stunning array of alien-like creatures, previously hidden from view. These ancient marine animals, with their shimmering, rainbow-colored patterns, have roamed the seas long before dinosaurs. Despite their fragile and mysterious nature, they play a crucial role in the delicate balance of marine ecosystems, offering scientists