Astronomers say they have found the best evidence yet for an elusive class of black hole.

Sediments drilled off the coast of the ice continent reveal a time of great warmth and plant growth.

Researchers say there are good reasons to be optimistic about the future of our oceans.

The first non-American to be added to the crew for a SpaceX Dragon flight to the International Space Station is Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi. Noguchi first visited the space station in 2005 during the first space shuttle flight following the 2003 Columbia shuttle tragedy, and rode a Russian Soyuz spacecraft for a six-month orbital stay on the station in 2009-2010. For his next mission, Noguchi will be teaming up with NASA's Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover Jr. — plus Shannon Walker, who was also named today as a member of the first crew to begin a regular tour of duty… Read More

Rising temperatures may be having a profound impact on one of the world's favourite songbirds.

Scientists have been amazed at the public's response to help digitise the UK's old rainfall records.

University of Washington researchers are among the leaders of a newly announced clinical trial investigating whether hydroxychloroquine, a drug that's commonly used to counter malaria and autoimmune disease, can prevent COVID-19. The multi-site trial, managed by UW in collaboration with New York University's Grossman School of Medicine, aims to determine definitively whether taking the drug can prevent transmission in people exposed to the virus. "We currently don’t know if hydroxychloroquine works, but we will learn in as short a timeframe as possible what the outcome is,” principal investigator Ruanne Barnabas, associate professor of global health in the University of Washington… Read More

A new batch of these ostentatiously coloured and popular arachnids is described in Australia.

Scientists have taken a step forward in their ability to decode what a person is saying just by looking at their brainwaves when they speak.

The incredible history of the UK's heirloom plants and why they're set to make a comeback.

NASA has tapped a type of SpaceX cargo craft that hasn't yet been built to deliver supplies to a moon-orbiting outpost that hasn't yet been launched. SpaceX's robotic Dragon XL, a cylindrical, supersized version of its workhorse Dragon spacecraft, will handle shipments to the Gateway space platform as the first commercial provider to receive a Gateway Logistics Services contract from NASA. The contract is similar to NASA's existing Commercial Resupply Services contracts with SpaceX, Northrop Grumman and Sierra Nevada Corp. for cargo shipments to the International Space Station. NASA's Artemis program calls for the first elements of the Gateway to… Read More

Scientists find out more about the threats of plastic to thousands of fish, whales and other aquatic life.

Public transport and active travel will be the "natural first choice", the Transport Secretary says.

Seattle-based Xplore isn't due to launch its first Xcraft space probe until late 2021, but it's already landed in an educational board game. Xtronaut 2.0, a multiplayer game devised by planetary scientist Dante Lauretta and Xtronaut Enterprises CEO Michael Lyon, will feature Xcraft as one of the deck's playing cards. Players can combine the cards to create their own game-board missions to deep space. The arrangement is part of a sponsorship deal for Xtronaut 2.0's Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. "We are proud to have the Xcraft featured in Xtronaut 2.0, and are delighted that our sponsorship enables us to give 120… Read More

Pre-1960s handwritten rain gauge data can inform drought and flood planning, but only if digitised.

Are you looking for educational activities to occupy the kids while you're cooped up due to the coronavirus outbreak? One option is to make space postcards for the Club for the Future, an educational campaign created by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space venture. Last year, Blue Origin collected thousands of student-decorated cards, and sent them to space and back on its New Shepard suborbital craft. After the flight, the cards were stamped "Flown in Space" (in some cases, by Bezos himself) and then mailed back to their senders. Now Blue Origin is inviting students, educators and parents to… Read More

Solar, wind and hydro electric installations are often built in conservation areas.

Researchers at the University of Washington are launching a study aimed at answering the question that's on a lot of people's minds as the coronavirus epidemic spreads through the Seattle area: How are you holding up? The King County COVID-19 Community Study, a.k.a. KC3S, is recruiting King County residents to tell their stories. The study is scheduled to collect data through April 19. “We want to start collecting this information now — as the COVID-19 pandemic is unfolding — about how families and communities are being impacted, and how they are adapting,” Nicole Errett, a lecturer in the UW Department… Read More

Across wild mammal species, females live over 18% longer than males because of genetics and environment.

A tiny, 555-million-year-old seafloor creature reveals why our bodies are organised the way they are.