Science

Geology, paleontology, physics, space and the natural world

In Science, ECOnews reports on new discoveries in geology, paleontology, physics, space, health and the natural world. We explain the latest studies from universities and labs worldwide in plain language.

Chimpanzee examining a crystal object, reflecting observed attraction to geometric and transparent materials

What these chimpanzees did with some pieces of glass suggests a story that began millions of years ago

By ECONEWS

—

April 25, 2026 at 6:30 AM

Advanced aluminum material structure representing a new catalyst alternative to rare and expensive critical metals

King’s College London chemists create a three-atom aluminium molecule that could replace scarce metals in catalysts

By ECONEWS

—

April 24, 2026 at 3:00 PM

A female chimpanzee in the wild carefully using a modified stick as a tool to fish for termites in a mound.

The big clue to a very human ability may lie with female chimpanzees

By Adrian Villellas

—

April 24, 2026 at 6:30 AM

A yellow-chevroned parakeet with unusual blue plumage caused by a rare genetic mutation known as cyanism

A rare blue parakeet with cyanism, a genetic mutation, photographed in the wild in Brazil

By ECONEWS

—

April 23, 2026 at 8:45 AM

Artist’s impression of a blue jet lightning discharge rising from a thunderstorm as seen from the International Space Station.

How NASA studies blue jets, sprites and ELVES above storms from the International Space Station

By ECONEWS

—

April 22, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Concept illustration of a warp drive spacecraft bending space-time for faster-than-light travel

Scientists believe they’ve found a way to travel at the speed of light, but there’s one detail dampening the excitement: humanity would have to wait 1,000 years to test it

By ECONEWS

—

April 22, 2026 at 8:45 AM

Prehistoric animal paintings inside Lascaux cave in southwestern France

In 1940, a boy followed his dog through a clearing in the trees and ended up entering a cave that had remained sealed for millennia, where he found more than 2,000 images and animals painted 17,000 years ago

By Adrian Villellas

—

April 21, 2026 at 1:24 AM

Illustration of NASA’s DART spacecraft approaching the Dimorphos and Didymos asteroid system in space

For the first time, humanity significantly altered the orbit of a celestial body

By ECONEWS

—

April 20, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Astronaut photo of Salinas Las Barrancas in Argentina, a heart-shaped pink salt lake seen from the International Space Station

NASA observes Argentina from the International Space Station and detects a gigantic pink heart nearly 10 kilometers wide, whose color does not have as romantic an origin as it seems

By ECONEWS

—

April 20, 2026 at 12:30 PM

Interior view of Scărișoara Ice Cave in Romania, where scientists recovered an ancient bacterium from millennia-old ice

Scientists extract a bacterium over 5,000 years old from the ice and discover something disturbing: it was already resistant to ten modern antibiotics long before our medicine existed

By Adrian Villellas

—

April 20, 2026 at 10:15 AM

Ian González Santos during a university degree ceremony with academic recognition in Mexico

Ian Emmanuel González Santos, the Mexican teen studying bacteria that break down PET plastic

By ECONEWS

—

April 20, 2026 at 8:45 AM

Cladosporium sphaerospermum fungus growing in a high-radiation environment linked to Chernobyl research

A form of life has been detected in Chernobyl that not only resists radiation, but seems to use it to grow

By ECONEWS

—

April 20, 2026 at 6:30 AM

Solar storm activity affecting satellites in low Earth orbit with potential impact on GPS and communications

The new threat that worries scientists does not come from Earth, but from the Sun, and could affect satellites, GPS, and communications

By ECONEWS

—

April 19, 2026 at 6:30 PM

Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton showing foot structure linked to bird-like toe walking gait in new study

T. rex walked on its toes like an ostrich, not flat-footed like in Jurassic Park, a new study argues

By ECONEWS

—

April 19, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Seismic map of Northern California showing earthquake activity near the Mendocino Triple Junction and hidden fault structures

What appeared to be a simple union of plates in California hides a much more chaotic system, and these small earthquakes have just exposed it

By ECONEWS

—

April 19, 2026 at 3:00 PM

The Hubble Space Telescope is tracking the four icy fragments of Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) as they travel through space, while a puzzling 48-hour delay in the increase in brightness is forcing theorists at Auburn University to rethink all their hypotheses about the timeline of its disintegration

By Adrian Villellas

—

April 19, 2026 at 2:08 PM

Fossilized reptile skin impression with visible scale patterns from the Early Permian discovered in Germany

The oldest reptile skin prints ever seen have been discovered in Germany, and what is most surprising is that they are almost 300 million years old

By Adrian Villellas

—

April 19, 2026 at 12:30 PM

Birdwatcher using binoculars observing birds in nature linked to brain changes in attention and memory

Birdwatching for years not only changes what you see, but it could also be reshaping your brain in ways that surprise neuroscientists

By ECONEWS

—

April 19, 2026 at 8:45 AM

Astronauts photograph from the ISS a red electrical phenomenon exploding above storms at altitudes of up to 89 kilometers (about 55 miles)—a phenomenon that for decades seemed nothing more than a pilot’s legend

By ECONEWS

—

April 18, 2026 at 6:30 PM

Satellite view of the horseshoe-shaped Yilan impact crater in China, showing the forested rim and central farmlands.

NASA observes China from space and discovers a giant structure hidden in plain sight that not even an entire forest has managed to conceal from the crater

By ECONEWS

—

April 18, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Previous Next

Science

What these chimpanzees did with some pieces of glass suggests a story that began millions of years ago

King’s College London chemists create a three-atom aluminium molecule that could replace scarce metals in catalysts

The big clue to a very human ability may lie with female chimpanzees

A rare blue parakeet with cyanism, a genetic mutation, photographed in the wild in Brazil

How NASA studies blue jets, sprites and ELVES above storms from the International Space Station

Scientists believe they’ve found a way to travel at the speed of light, but there’s one detail dampening the excitement: humanity would have to wait 1,000 years to test it

In 1940, a boy followed his dog through a clearing in the trees and ended up entering a cave that had remained sealed for millennia, where he found more than 2,000 images and animals painted 17,000 years ago

For the first time, humanity significantly altered the orbit of a celestial body

NASA observes Argentina from the International Space Station and detects a gigantic pink heart nearly 10 kilometers wide, whose color does not have as romantic an origin as it seems

Scientists extract a bacterium over 5,000 years old from the ice and discover something disturbing: it was already resistant to ten modern antibiotics long before our medicine existed

Ian Emmanuel González Santos, the Mexican teen studying bacteria that break down PET plastic

A form of life has been detected in Chernobyl that not only resists radiation, but seems to use it to grow

The new threat that worries scientists does not come from Earth, but from the Sun, and could affect satellites, GPS, and communications

T. rex walked on its toes like an ostrich, not flat-footed like in Jurassic Park, a new study argues

What appeared to be a simple union of plates in California hides a much more chaotic system, and these small earthquakes have just exposed it

The Hubble Space Telescope is tracking the four icy fragments of Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) as they travel through space, while a puzzling 48-hour delay in the increase in brightness is forcing theorists at Auburn University to rethink all their hypotheses about the timeline of its disintegration

The oldest reptile skin prints ever seen have been discovered in Germany, and what is most surprising is that they are almost 300 million years old

Birdwatching for years not only changes what you see, but it could also be reshaping your brain in ways that surprise neuroscientists

Astronauts photograph from the ISS a red electrical phenomenon exploding above storms at altitudes of up to 89 kilometers (about 55 miles)—a phenomenon that for decades seemed nothing more than a pilot’s legend

NASA observes China from space and discovers a giant structure hidden in plain sight that not even an entire forest has managed to conceal from the crater

In Romania’s Brașov County, brown bears number about 1,329 by a national genetic estimate, the highest density of any county, and one bear relocated from Poiana Brașov was back within 3 days

More than 40 Magellanic penguins born in captivity arrived by court order from Mar del Plata at a river island in Argentina’s Río Negro province, and at first they had not explored even a third of their new home

In Japan, researchers led by Tohoku University used an inexpensive blue pigment to turn carbon dioxide into methane with 79.5% Faradaic efficiency, and methane selectivity stayed above 60% for about 80 hours

At 8.2 feet on Oct. 13, the Lake Constance water level in Konstanz, Germany, fell below a 1947 record for the date, and it now sits 10 inches under last winter’s low

A simulated AMOC collapse in an unreviewed preprint cut wheat, corn and rice harvests in Germany and Ukraine by roughly 16 to 19 percent, and cereal prices could climb up to 40 percent in the worst case

A landslide in Alaska’s Tracy Arm fjord sent a tsunami 1,578 feet up the opposite wall, and a Science study found small tremors striking every 30 to 60 seconds in the hours before the collapse

A company won a mining license for a magnesium deposit it estimates at more than 50 million metric tons near Rășinari, in Romania’s Sibiu County, and the EU gets 97 percent of its magnesium from China

Leap seconds will end on May 20, 2027, under a rule the General Conference on Weights and Measures adopted in Versailles, France, and a new study finds Earth’s solid surface turning slightly rounder as polar ground rises

Science

Latest Post

Get the most relevant environment stories as soon as we publish them

Sections

Our editions

Contact