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By Rachel Ramirez, CNN (CNN) — The tallest animal in the world is in trouble. Giraffe populations are declining at such an alarming rate — from habitat loss, poaching, urbanization and climate change-fueled drought — that US wildlife officials announced a proposal on Wednesday to help protect several of the species. The US Fish and

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — New images of the sun captured by the Solar Orbiter mission showcase the highest-resolution views of our star’s visible surface ever seen, revealing sunspots and continuously moving charged gas called plasma. The images could provide heliophysicists with new clues to help unlock the secrets of the sun like never

By Jackie Wattles and Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — SpaceX aborted a highly anticipated booster catch attempt Tuesday during the sixth test of Starship — the most powerful rocket ever built — just weeks after acing the stunning feat on the first try. But the mission went on to soar through new milestones during a

By Mindy Weisberger, CNN (CNN) — A mummified ice age cub from Siberia is the first known mummy of a saber-toothed cat, and its discovery is generating ripples of excitement among paleontologists. The mummy’s exceptional preservation provided the first view of what saber-toothed cats looked like. Written in its soft tissues are clues about where

By Taylor Nicioli, CNN (CNN) — Famously known for its extensive ring system, Saturn is one of four planets in our solar system that have the distinctive feature. And now, scientists hypothesize that Earth may have sported its own ring some 466 million years ago. During the Ordovician Period, a time of significant changes for

By Ella Nilsen and Hien An Ngo, CNN (CNN) — High above the sand dunes of China’s Kubuqi desert, nearly 200,000 solar panels have been carefully placed in rows to create the outline of a galloping steed. The giant horse is a cultural symbol for Inner Mongolia, the northern Chinese region where the massive Junma

By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — The answers to the biggest questions in space science — what happens inside a black hole, how does a galaxy form or what is dark matter — lie in the far reaches of the universe. However, there is still plenty that scientists don’t know about the solar system, our

By Rachel Ramirez, CNN (CNN) — Christmas tree farmers across the Northeast are looking decidedly less merry as they struggle to keep their trees alive amid a weeks-long drought that has left vegetation brown, shriveled and crisp. Nearly 60% of the Northeast was in drought last week, according to the US Drought Monitor, and more

By Mindy Weisberger, CNN (CNN) — A species of marine worm that scientists lost sight of for almost 70 years has finally resurfaced, thanks to some eagle-eyed sleuthing and a seahorse less than an inch long. When researchers analyzed images of tiny seahorses taken by scuba divers, they found evidence of photobombing worms in the

By Issy Ronald, CNN (CNN) — If you saw an enormous, deadly funnel-web spider sitting on her egg sac, your first instinct might be to run away. But the Australian Reptile Park in New South Wales is urging residents of nearby Sydney to suppress that fear, remain calm, and carefully collect both the spider and

By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — The moon has some new stories to tell. Scientists have published the first detailed analyses of the historic cache of lunar soil and rock that China retrieved from the far side of the moon this year. Chang’e-6, the first mission to bring back soil from the moon’s far side,

By Ella Nilsen and Renée Rigdon, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden’s climate law is on the chopping block as Republicans prepare to have full control in Washington. But it’s not just Democrats gearing up to protect the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy policies. President-elect Donald Trump is out on a limb within even his

By Taylor Nicioli, CNN (CNN) — November’s full moon, otherwise known as the beaver moon, shone bright in the sky on Friday as the last supermoon of the year. For sky-gazers observing the golden orb this weekend, the Leonid meteor shower could make for a dazzling bonus feature as it reaches its peak on Saturday

By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — It’s more than 100 feet long, at least 300 years old and visible from space. The world’s largest coral has just been discovered in the southwest Pacific Ocean, scientists announced Wednesday. The mega coral was spotted during a scientific expedition launched by the National Geographic Pristine Seas program in

By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — Global levels of planet-heating pollution from fossil fuels will hit record levels this year, according to new projections, dashing hopes 2024 would be the year they plateau or fall. Fossil fuel pollution is set to rise to 37.4 billion metric tons this year, an increase of 0.8% from 2023,

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — Researchers have discovered an unlikely new species within the ocean’s midnight zone: a glowing “mystery mollusk.” Although the apple-size species, named Bathydevius caudactylus, is classified as a sea slug, the marine animal is unlike any sea slug Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute scientists have seen before. Bathydevius is a

By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — Lucy, a fossilized skeleton unearthed 50 years ago this month, transformed scientists’ understanding of human evolution. The discovery by American paleontologist Don Johanson and graduate student Tom Gray on November 24, 1974, in Ethiopia opened a new chapter in the human story, offering proof that ancient hominins were able

By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — An enormous, rancid-smelling, 52-foot sperm whale has lain beached on the shoreline of the Caspian Sea, the world’s largest lake, since Monday. It’s a jarring sight; no sperm whales live in this vast body of water. Many of the people who gathered to see the giant marine mammal on