By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — A new study that examines how kissing evolved suggests that ape ancestors and early humans like Neanderthals probably locked lips with their friends and sexual partners. The behavior may date back 21 million years. Humanity’s earliest kisses were recorded 4,500 years ago in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, but Matilda
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By Taylor Nicioli, CNN (CNN) — Upon the open grasslands of what is now Kazakhstan, there once stood a Bronze Age settlement that may have served as a center of exchange and power around 1600 BC. The settlement — called Semiyarka and nicknamed “The City of Seven Ravines” for its location overlooking a network of
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By Mindy Weisberger, CNN (CNN) — Scientists say they have for the first time unlocked how a parasitic ant uses chemical warfare to take over the nest of a different species, by tricking workers into an unlikely assassination. The deadly scheme unfolds like a Shakespearean drama. In an ant colony, the queen is dying, under
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By Gina Park, CNN (CNN) — Sky-gazers worldwide may get the chance to see a celestial display this week as the annual Leonid meteor shower reaches its peak. The Leonids are set to peak at 1 p.m. ET Monday, according to EarthSky. You may start glimpsing meteors at 11 p.m. Sunday local time, which is
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By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — For the first time, astronomers say they have spotted a giant explosion released by a star beyond our solar system. The eruption was similar in some ways to those unleashed by our sun, such as the solar storms that graced the night skies with auroras last week on Earth,
Continue ReadingBy Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — Scientists have recovered ancient molecules of RNA from a juvenile mammoth named Yuka, who died 40,000 years ago in what is now Siberia. These biological remnants are providing insight into the last moments of the extinct ice age creature’s life. The RNA was extracted from mummified leg tissue that
Continue ReadingBy Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — Iceland’s relatively mild climate is shaped by a crucial network of currents that winds its away around the Atlantic Ocean transporting heat northward — without it, the island would be much icier and stormier. As evidence mounts these currents could be on course for collapse, Iceland’s government has made
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By Amarachi Orie, CNN (CNN) — A scientist in Japan has developed a technique that uses brain scans and artificial intelligence to turn a person’s mental images into accurate, descriptive sentences. While there has been progress in using scans of brain activity to translate the words we think into text, turning our complex mental images
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By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — Researchers have analyzed a sample of DNA believed to belong to Adolf Hitler, which they say reveals the dictator of Nazi Germany had a genetic marker for a rare disorder that can delay puberty, according to a new documentary. The research, which took more than four years to complete,
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By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — Blue Origin, the rocket company founded by Amazon multibillionaire Jeff Bezos, launched its towering New Glenn rocket on a mission that marked its first major test. Carrying a pair of satellites that are destined to take a long, winding trip to Mars, New Glenn took flight from Cape Canaveral
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By Mindy Weisberger, CNN (CNN) — Scientists have newly described three extraordinary species of tree toad that leapfrog over the egg-to-tadpole stage. The females give birth on land to dozens of toadlets, each measuring just a few millimeters long. Live birth, or skipping the egg-laying and larva stage, is extremely rare in amphibians. Among nearly
Continue ReadingBy Jacopo Prisco, CNN (CNN) — Asteroids contain large quantities of both precious and common metals, and despite the obvious challenges in reaching them, a few startups say these celestial bodies could offer a sustainable alternative to Earth-based mineral extraction, which is plagued by issues like diminishing supply and environmental damage. The race is on
Continue ReadingBy Chris Lau, CNN (CNN) — Scientists say they have unearthed Australia’s oldest known crocodile eggshells, a discovery that could shed light on ancient reptiles that may have hunted prey by dropping on them from trees. The eggshells belonged to mekosuchine crocodiles, a prehistoric creature that dominated Australian waters 55 million years ago — a
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By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — For two nights, dazzling auroras delighted sky-gazers in unexpected places, including in the US as far south as Florida. The cause: dual solar storms unleashed by the sun reaching Earth. A severe storm was initially predicted for Thursday as well, with the potential for the northern tier of the
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By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom pulled no punches at the COP30 climate talks in Brazil on Tuesday, calling President Donald Trump an “invasive species” and a “wrecking ball” during discussions about the US absence from global climate action. Newsom, a Democrat widely viewed as a likely presidential candidate in 2028,
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By Jack Guy, CNN (CNN) — Bumblebees can process the duration of flashes of light and use the information to decide where to look for food, a new study has found. This is the first evidence of such an ability in insects, according to doctoral student Alex Davidson and his supervisor Elisabetta Versace, a senior
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By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — The planet’s biggest climate conference, COP30, has kicked off with representatives from more than 190 countries descending on the Brazilian city of Belém. They will spend two weeks deep in negotiations — likely contentious — on how to rein in dangerous global warming. COP30 is supposed to be the
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By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — A 62-page document written by President Donald Trump’s on-again-off-again pick to run NASA, billionaire Jared Isaacman, outlines a sweeping, ambitious, and at times controversial plan for the space agency. Isaacman, who was tapped to be NASA administrator after Trump was elected in 2024, only to see his nomination retracted
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By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — Off Brazil’s northeastern coast, where the sediment-heavy water of the vast Amazon River tips out into the Atlantic, are two very different types of treasure. The first is an ecological gem: a 3,600 square-mile deepwater coral reef discovered less than a decade ago. The second treasure puts the first
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By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — New Glenn, the towering orbital rocket that Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin designed to compete with SpaceX’s dominant Falcon rockets, is back for its second launch ever — this time with a job to send twin spacecraft on a long, winding trip to Mars. The 322-foot (98-meter) rocket was set
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