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By Lex Harvey, CNN (CNN) — Microplastics are everywhere. They have been found on the peak of Mount Everest and in creatures inhabiting the deepest trenches of the sea. They’re in bottled water, human placentas and breast milk. These tiny plastic particles choke wildlife, disrupt ecosystems, and threaten human health – and they are notoriously

By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — Flying slowly and silently through the night sky, barn owls are majestic nocturnal hunters that successfully prey on rodents scurrying along the ground below. Scientists have long puzzled over a feature that would appear to handicap the bird during its midnight hunts. The plumage on its underbelly and wings

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — Thousands of ancient butchered human bones found in a deep shaft in southwest England have pointed archaeologists to a grim chapter of British prehistory that occurred during the Early Bronze Age. Analysis of the more than 3,000 bones has suggested that unidentified assailants violently killed at least 37 men,

By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — A group of 38 scientists working in nine countries has sounded an alarm about the potential creation of mirror bacteria — synthetic organisms in which the molecular structure found in nature is reversed and could put humans, animals and plants at risk of exposure to dangerous pathogens. While the

By Issy Ronald, CNN (CNN) — The world’s largest iceberg is on the move again, drifting through the Southern Ocean after months stuck spinning on the same spot, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have said. Spanning an area of 3,672 square kilometers (1,418-square-miles) when measured in August – slightly bigger than Rhode Island

By Taylor Nicioli, CNN (CNN) — As the winter nights grow longer, those in the Northern Hemisphere will want to keep an eye out this weekend for the last full moon of the year. The silvery orb will shine bright in the sky for a hair more than 16 hours on Saturday evening into Sunday

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — “Even though you want to try to, never grow up,” Peter Pan said in the titular novel by J.M. Barrie, echoing a sentiment long expressed by the human race in an effort to cheat death. The quest to unlock the secrets of longevity has been the topic of scientific

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — Flybys of Jupiter’s fiery moon Io, carried out by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, are helping to solve the enduring mystery of why the small moon is the most volcanically active body in our solar system. Similar in size to Earth’s moon, Io has an estimated 400 volcanoes that continuously release

By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — Scientists say they have recovered the oldest known Homo sapiens DNA from human remains found in Europe, and the information is helping to reveal our species’ shared history with Neanderthals. The ancient genomes sequenced from 13 bone fragments unearthed in a cave beneath a medieval castle in Ranis, Germany,

By Chris Lau and Lisako Neriki Ancheta, CNN Tokyo (CNN) — A Japanese sake maker is going where no sake maker has gone before: space. Asahi Shuzo, the company behind popular Japanese sake brand Dassai, plans to blast sake ingredients to the International Space Station (ISS) to ferment a very special brew. If it works,

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — After a steep monthslong trek, the Perseverance rover has reached the top of Jezero Crater on Mars. The site is a region unlike anything Perseverance has encountered during its 3 ½-year journey on the red planet. Now, the robotic explorer is preparing to observe some of the oldest rocks

By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — The nearly 3 million rivers that weave across the world are experiencing rapid and surprising changes, with potentially drastic implications for everything from drinking water supplies to flood risks, according to a new study. Scientists mapped the flow of water through every single river on the planet, every day

By Julianna Bragg, CNN (CNN) — A male humpback whale has made an extraordinary journey from South America to Africa — traveling more than 13,046 kilometers (8,106 miles) — the longest migration recorded for a single whale, a new study found. The intrepid marine giant’s trek also marks the first documentation of an adult male

By Gina Park, CNN (CNN) — It’s that time of the year again. Sky-gazers may get the chance to glimpse some of the dozens of meteors that will streak across the sky as the annual Geminid meteor shower reaches its peak. The Geminids are expected to be most active between noon and 8 p.m. ET

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — A type of bacteria called Deinococcus radiodurans, nicknamed “Conan the Bacterium” for its ability to survive the harshest of extremes, can withstand radiation doses 28,000 times greater than those that would kill a human being — and the secret to its success is rooted in an antioxidant. Now, scientists

By Rachel Ramirez, CNN (CNN) — Every winter, millions of monarch butterflies journey thousands of miles across North America to spend winters in the forests and mountains of central Mexico. But over the years, the beloved butterfly has seen such a troubling decline in its population that US wildlife officials on Tuesday announced a proposal

By Lex Harvey, CNN (CNN) — Anton van Helden, an expert on some of the world’s rarest whales, was sitting on the couch in July recovering from surgery, when a photo flashed on his phone that would change the course of his career. But this was no ordinary whale. “I immediately went, ‘Oh my goodness,

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — A mineral trapped within a Martian meteorite that fell to Earth has revealed traces of water on Mars that date back 4.45 billion years, according to new research. The zircon grain may contain the oldest direct evidence of ancient hot water on the red planet, which may have provided

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — An enduring mystique surrounds the Voyager 1 and 2 probes. Launched two weeks apart in 1977, the twin probes changed the way we see our solar system, sending back stunningly detailed views of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus. More than 47 years later, both spacecraft are still exploring the

By Mindy Weisberger, CNN (CNN) — Fashion is fickle and styles come and go — even for orcas, apparently. In 1987, a group of killer whales off the northwestern coast of North America briefly donned salmon “hats,” carrying dead fish on their heads for weeks. Recently, a male orca known as J27, or “Blackberry,” was