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By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — When four astronauts begin a historic trip around the moon as soon as February 6, they’ll climb aboard NASA’s 16.5-foot-wide Orion spacecraft with the understanding that it has a known flaw — one that has some experts urging the space agency not to fly the mission with humans on

By Jacopo Prisco, CNN (CNN) — Space junk falling out of orbit and crashing toward Earth is a growing threat. Indeed, old satellites and spacecraft parts reenter our planet’s atmosphere more than three times a day. When these objects burn through the atmosphere, they can release harmful substances, and if they reach Earth’s surface, they

By Andrew Freedman, CNN (CNN) — The frigid temperatures, massive snow and deadly ice storm taking shape east of the Rockies might seem to conflict with life on a rapidly warming planet. But all of these things still happen, even with climate change, and some of them could be even more severe than before when

By Ella Nilsen, CNN (CNN) — As an electricity crunch drives bills higher around the country, big tech companies building power-hungry data centers are increasingly offering to pay for more of the energy they consume, so everyday people don’t get stuck with the bill. At least, that is the message from seven large tech companies

By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — The outline of a hand made with red pigment on the wall of a cave in Indonesia at least 67,800 years ago may be the world’s oldest rock art, according to a new study. The faded hand stencil, along with other spectacular cave paintings on the island of Sulawesi,

By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — Longtime NASA astronaut Suni Williams announced her retirement Tuesday — officially making the unexpectedly long Boeing Starliner test flight her final foray to orbit as a member of the astronaut corps. Williams, who has set multiple spaceflight records since joining the agency in 1998, did not give insight into

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — Astronomers have long searched for clues that a hidden companion star sits out of view near the red supergiant star Betelgeuse. Now, they’ve uncovered a new piece of evidence: a trail like the wake behind a boat, cutting through Betelgeuse’s upper atmosphere, likely forged by the unseen companion. Betelgeuse’s

CNN, ANTONIO J. OSUNA-MASCARÓ, CURRENT BIOLOGY By Taylor Nicioli, CNN (CNN) — How does a cow scratch an itch on its back? An Austrian cow named Veronika has a solution that could change how we view livestock. For the past decade, Veronika has been observed by her owner occasionally picking up sticks with her mouth,

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — Powerful solar activity released by the sun reached Earth Monday, causing colorful auroral displays and GPS issues for aircraft, according to the National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center, or SWPC. A solar radiation storm, ranked at a level four out of five on a severity scale, was tracked

By Taylor Nicioli, CNN (CNN) — How does a cow scratch an itch on its back? An Austrian cow named Veronika has a solution that could change how we view livestock. For the past decade, Veronika has been observed by her owner occasionally picking up sticks with her mouth, maneuvering the ends to reach areas

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — Artist, inventor and anatomist Leonardo da Vinci was the definition of a Renaissance man — and scientists are aiming to unlock the secrets of his genius on a genetic level. But there’s just one wrinkle: More than 500 years after his death in 1519, Leonardo’s DNA has proved virtually

By Jasmin Sykes, CNN (CNN) — Images of plants painted on pottery made up to 8,000 years ago may be the earliest example of humans’ mathematical thought, a study has found. Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem examined pottery produced by the Halafian people of northern Mesopotamia, who lived between 6200 BC and 5500

By Jack Guy, CNN (CNN) — Tyrannosaurus rex lived longer and took more time to reach its maximum size than previously thought, according to a new study. Scientists have long counted annual growth rings in fossilized Tyrannosaurus rex leg bones to calculate both their age at death and how fast they grew to adult size.

By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — On the vast expanse of the Siberian steppe 14,000 years ago, a 2-month-old wolf pup gobbled down some woolly rhinoceros flesh. Moments later, its underground den collapsed, killing the pup and its sister. The wolf’s stomach contents, frozen in permafrost along with its corpse, have allowed scientists to sequence

CNN By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — Four astronauts aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule splashed down early Thursday in the Pacific Ocean, ending a weeklong effort to get an unnamed crew member home to evaluate a medical issue. “NASA was ready. The team responded quickly and professionally, as did the teams across the agency,

By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — Four astronauts aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule splashed down early Thursday in the Pacific Ocean, ending a weeklong effort to get an unnamed crew member home to evaluate a medical issue. “NASA was ready. The team responded quickly and professionally, as did the teams across the agency, working

CNN By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — Four astronauts are now en route home from the International Space Station, marking the first time NASA has brought a crew home prematurely amid a health concern. And their unprecedented early departure leaves behind a bare-bones staff to look after the outpost. Only three people remain on the

By Jack Guy, CNN (CNN) — Horses can detect fear in humans by smell, becoming more likely to startle and more wary of people who are scared, a new study has found. Researchers collected samples of odor compounds from the armpits of human study participants and then observed how the horses behaved when they were

By Andrew Freedman, CNN (CNN) — Congress is poised to reject President Donald Trump’s “astounding” proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as well as NASA’s Earth science programs. Trump sought to slash spending in scientific research at NOAA and NASA, among other agencies. The administration’s budget request would have eliminated all of