Here’s The Impact That Walkable Neighborhoods Can Have on Your Physical Health

How we plan neighborhoods can shape the health of entire communities. When more than half the world now lives in urban areas, it’s more important than ever to design streets and parks conducive to walking, running, and cycling.   A review of large, population-based studies describes numerous ways walkable, activity-friendly cities are linked to improved … Read more

Curious Kids: Can black holes become white holes?

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Can black holes become white holes? – Remy, age 9, Wangaratta, Victoria Hi Remy! Thank you for this great question. The short answer, unfortunately, is no. White holes are really just something scientists have imagined — they could exist, but … Read more

Elon Musk says SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service is active in Ukraine with more terminals on the way

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said his space company’s Starlink satellite internet service is available in Ukraine and more terminals to use it are on the way.  Musk made the statement on Twitter Saturday (Feb. 26) after being asked by a Ukrainian government official if SpaceX could provide more Starlink services to the country after Russian … Read more

Tonga underwater volcano eruption shattered two records

An underwater volcano in the South Pacific erupted last month and shattered two records simultaneously: The volcanic plume reached greater heights than any eruption ever captured in the satellite record, and the eruption generated an unparalleled number of lightning strikes — almost 590,000 over the course of three days, Reuters reported. “The combination of volcanic heat and the … Read more

Venus’ extreme surface heat drives swirling winds in upper atmosphere, study finds

The surface of Venus, as imaged by NASA’s Magellan spacecraft. (Image credit: NASA/JPL) Scientists have shown how the swirling winds and searing heat on Venus work together in a revealing new study. The surface of Venus is hot enough to melt lead with temperatures averaging 872 degrees Fahrenheit (467 degrees Celsius). This extreme heat is … Read more

Physicists get closer than ever to measuring the elusive neutrino

Ghost-like particles called neutrinos hardly ever interact with normal matter, giving the teensy apparitions supreme hiding powers. They are so elusive that, in the decades since their initial discovery, physicists still haven’t pinned down their mass. But recently, by plopping them onto a 200-ton “neutrino scale,” scientists have put a new limit on the neutrino’s mass. The … Read more

What Freezing Ants Can Tell Us About How Their Memory Works

We humans are versatile and accomplished navigators, but insects might have navigation skills that are even better. For them, it’s literally a matter of life and death – and that’s why we decided to freeze some ants and beetles (don’t worry, they still survived) to learn more about how they remember their way home after … Read more

Gruesome Skull Discovery Contains The Earliest Evidence of Ear Surgery

An ancient skull uncovered at a 6,000-year-old megalithic monument in Spain still holds signs of what would have been a brutal ear surgery. Archaeologists suspect the patient probably had a double-sided acute middle ear infection, which can cause earaches and fevers.    Without treatment, fluid can gather behind the eardrum, possibly causing a visible lump … Read more

This Weirdly Tilted Black Hole Could Upend Our Understanding of How They Form

Black holes could make a strong case for being the most fascinating phenomena in the whole Universe, and scientists are constantly discovering more about the way that they work and behave – including how they’re created in the first place.   Now, a new study of an unusually misaligned one some 10,000 light-years away from … Read more