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A meridian is an imaginary line that runs north to south and is used for astronomical purposes. It can mark zero degrees longitude and divide the Earth into the Western and Eastern hemispheres, as well as set time zones. In 1637, the Scottish astrono...
Satellite data holds the key to addressing critical societal needs. The OPERA project, launched in 2021, aims to harness this power and deliver impactful observational products to federal agencies.
A ball-shaped embryo burrows into the uterine lining, marking the start of pregnancy. But this scene unfolds not in a body, but in a Beijing lab, on a transparent microfluidic chip.
Unearthing Harvard's Past: Archaeology Project members scour the Yard, seeking artifacts from the 1764 blaze that consumed old Harvard Hall.
Feast your eyes on the largest protoplanetary disk ever observed - a celestial sandwich spanning 400 billion miles, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
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Nestled in the Pacific's abyssal depths, a newly discovered deep-sea limpet holds secrets that could transform our understanding of life in the ocean's darkest reaches.
NASA's Hubble Reveals Largest Found Chaotic Birthplace of Planets Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have imaged the largest protoplanetary disk ever observed circling a young star. For the first time in visible light, Hubble has rev...
Childhood memories of "This Little Piggy" conceal a curious question: Why do humans have five digits on each limb? Tracing the evolutionary origins of our familiar fingers reveals an intriguing story.
Explore the wonders of NASA's Curiosity rover as it navigates the Martian landscape, uncovering scientific secrets and paving the way for future space exploration.
Clouds Drive Earth's Growing Heat Imbalance More Than Pollution A new study has found that recent changes in air pollution are not the main reason the growing energy imbalance fueling global warming has increased. Instead, the researchers discove...
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A transformative $20 million gift from the Leinweber Foundation has birthed the Leinweber Institute for Theoretical Physics at Harvard, poised to revolutionize fundamental physics research and collaboration.
Fossils hold secrets of ancient life - from diseases to diets. Preserved molecules in old bones unlock insights into the climates and creatures of bygone eras.
NASA's Carruthers mission will capture Earth's mysterious exosphere, unveiling insights into space weather, atmospheric escape, and the potential for planetary habitability.
In the quarter century that humans have lived and worked aboard the International Space Station, astronauts and visitors from around the world have celebrated countless holidays more than 250 miles above Earth while traveling 17,500 miles per hour. C...
Since 2020, scientists have installed monitoring instruments around the Barry Landslide in Alaska's Prince William Sound to closely track seismic activity in the area. Their goal is to detect warning signs early, before a sudden landslide could trigg...
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Swearing Can Boost Performance by Lowering Inhibitions A new study has found that swearing can enhance physical performance by lowering inhibitions and pushing the brain into a "flow state." "In many situations, people hold themselves back – con...
Powerful Electric Thrusters for NASA's Lunar Gateway A Melbourne-based company, L3Harris Technologies, has completed testing and delivery of three 12-kilowatt Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) thrusters. These thrusters will be used for ...
Wind-Sculpted Landscapes: Investigating the Martian Megaripple 'Hazyview' While much of Perseverance's work focuses on ancient rocks that record Mars' long-lost rivers and lakes, megaripples offer a rare opportunity to examine processes that are ...
Why do people in Italy, specifically, live longer than most? According to DNA samples, it's their genetic ancestry. A recent study reached into the prehistoric past to uncover why people currently 100 or older are still living. Previous studies iden...
Astronomers have discovered huge dust clouds from violent collisions around a nearby star called Fomalhaut. These events - the first detected in 2004 and a second imaged in 2023 - are the first collisions between large objects directly observed in an...
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Feathered Dinosaurs That Didn't Fly Challenge Long-Held Ideas About Wing Evolution A Rare Glimpse Into Ancient Flight Evolution A recent study led by a scientist from the [School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel...
Challenging Long-Held Theories: Evolution Isn't One-and-Done, New Study Suggests Repeated environmental changes can lead evolution in unexpected directions Repeated environmental changes can lead evolution in unexpected directions, and resea...
A team at UNIGE has uncovered a geometric structure once thought to be purely theoretical at the core of quantum materials, opening the door to major advances in future electronics. How can information be processed almost instantly, or electrica...
A new study shows that promising single-crystal battery materials degrade for reasons scientists hadn't fully recognized before. Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory and the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) h...
A major advance in spintronics came with the discovery of unusual magnetoresistance (UMR). This effect occurs when the electrical resistance of a heavy metal changes as the magnetization rotates within a plane perpendicular to the electric current. ...
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How Mars' Atmosphere Shapes Its Landscapes New research digs into how Mars' atmosphere shapes its sedimentary landscapes. The surface and atmosphere of Mars have seen many changes over its 4.5-billion-year history. While the planet's current atm...
Colliding Objects Spotted in Neighboring Star System Scientists have captured the first direct images of colliding objects in a neighboring star system. Astronomers have observed the aftermath of two powerful collisions within a 20-year period ar...
Google plans to take a tangible first step in a new AI and computing moonshot by launching two prototype satellites to orbit in early 2027. The tech giant's Project Suncatcher aims to build a data center in space, using a constellation of solar-power...
Explore NASA's Most Detailed Map of the Night Sky Yet NASA's SPHEREx orbital space telescope has completed its inaugural infrared scan of the entire sky, creating the most detailed 3D map of the cosmos to date. In just six months of operations, t...
What happens when a star dies? In 2019, the red supergiant star Betelgeuse dimmed in brightness, sparking speculation that it may soon explode as a supernova. While it likely won't explode quite yet, we can preview its fate by observing the nearby Cr...
Brightcast is dedicated to restoring faith in humanity by highlighting the progress, solutions, and kindness that often go unnoticed. We believe in a balanced worldview.
Read our full mission →
Robots today can perform many impressive feats, from recognizing objects to navigating complex spaces. However, when it comes to touch, the limits of robotic capabilities become immediately apparent. As a researcher in soft robotics, the author has f...
Targeting the Protein Viruses Use to Break In Washington State University scientists have uncovered a method to interfere with a key viral protein, stopping viruses from getting inside cells where they can cause disease. The discovery points tow...
3D-Printed Christmas Tree Made of Ice Particles To get into the holiday spirit, a group of physicists in the Netherlands recently crafted a tiny, 3D-printed Christmas tree from ice particles. This novel method isn't just for decorative projects -...
The Top "Science of Happiness" Podcast Episodes of 2025 Every year, we come back to the same question: What actually helps people feel more connected, grounded, and human? On The Science of Happiness podcast, we continue to explore what research ...
Rare, Complete Dinosaur Skull Fossil Acquired by Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History has added a rare fossil to its collection: a dome-shaped skull of a Pachycephalosaurus, a type ...
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NASA Science encourages all people to actively participate in science through activities and resources developed by a collaborative network of project teams drawing on NASA SMD assets (science content, experts, data, etc.). Your team can apply to be ...
The universe has delivered a rare breakthrough for researchers chasing one of the hardest effects to catch in the night sky. In findings reported in Science Advances, scientists describe the first observations of a spiraling swirl in spacetime lin...
Dropping a well-timed swear word might be the simplest way to unlock extra strength and focus when you need it most. Blurting out a swear word when things get tough often brings a sense of relief. Research now suggests it may do more than ease f...
Improving Nuclear Fuel Efficiency and Reducing Waste Researchers at the University of Mississippi have developed a novel approach to enhance the performance and safety of nuclear fission reactors. By embedding metallic fission fuel with uranium n...
Over the past ten years, T cell immunotherapy has emerged as one of the most promising developments in cancer treatment. These therapies work by training a patient's own immune system to detect and destroy dangerous cells. Despite their success, scie...