The Nepal disaster appears to be a “cascading event,” where one hazard seems to have triggered another, experts say

August 27, 2026Natural Disasters

People stand, looking out at a flooded road.

The disaster has claimed hundreds of lives, and at least 1,400 people are missing

Claire CameronAugust 27, 2026Natural Disasters

This near-total eclipse will be visible from the Americas, Africa and Europe—here’s how to see it

Jackie Flynn MogensenAugust 25, 2026Space & Physics

The Meta folder containing the Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Meta AI, Business Suite and Threads apps is seen displayed on a smartphone screen in this photoillustration taken on July 10, 2026.

Meta agreed to implement new safety measures, including a default two-hour daily limit for using Facebook and Instagram, for users under the age of 18

Adam KovacAugust 26, 2026Social Media

Spirals, ellipticals, irregulars, oh my!

Mary RandolphAugust 27, 2026Galaxies

Daytime overhead view of the Guoxin Salt Cave Compressed Air Energy Storage project facility, a round structure with a rust-colored roof. Image provided by CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images.

Companies are making big bets on technology to solve lingering challenges in the clean-energy rollout. Here are four of the most ambitious projects

Meghan Bartels, Dan Vergano, Cody Cottier, Andrea Thompson

August 18, 2026Alternative Energy Technology

Colored scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of pancreatic cancer cells.

Pancreatic cancer is considered one of the hardest to treat and most serious forms of cancer

Claire CameronAugust 26, 2026Cancer

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

Our subscribers support more than 180 years of science journalism. You get the facts, and you help us ensure that science is shared with rigor and independence.

An illustration of a brain with regions shown in different colors.

A pair of new studies point to the role of early menopause and hormone treatment in cognitive decline, but more research is needed, experts say

Jackie Flynn MogensenAugust 26, 2026Aging

A wide view of buildings partially submerged in muddy water.

A massive flood potentially caused by a chunk of ice breaking off from a glacier has swept away bridges, schools, and other buildings and killed at least 160 people

Andrea ThompsonAugust 26, 2026Natural Disasters

This digitally generated image shows a glowing purple brain on a black background. The abstract brain looks like it’s dissolving to suggest neurodegeneration.

Jaw-dropping patient videos and miraculous testimonials ignited a frenzy in China over a technique that aims to improve drainage from the brain in dementia patients. Now it is entering trials worldwide

Elie Dolgin, Nature magazineAugust 26, 2026Alzheimer's Disease

September 2026 Issue

Around 15,000 satellites currently circle Earth, but nearly two million satellites are planned to launch in coming years. This precipitous rise will bring Internet access to many who lack it but could also have dangerous consequences for astronomy, our planet's atmosphere—and the future use of Earth orbit.

Elsewhere in the issue: The Spy Telescope Hunting for Dark Matter | What Really Happened on Easter Island? | How Clean Tech Became Unstoppable

View Full Contents

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command reported a UAP that resembles a football-shaped body near Japan.

According to a new poll, more Americans also think they have seen a UFO now than they did in the past 53 years

Adam KovacAugust 26, 2026Extraterrestrial Life

Cover of Jill Lepore's book, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, floating above a colorful background

Historian Jill Lepore explains what tech leaders miss in their favorite stories—and why the fight over AI data centers may be where the machine stops

Brianne KaneAugust 26, 2026Books

A full-disk view of Mars from space, as the planet might have been billions of years ago. A blue ocean covers much of the planet’s northern hemisphere.

The Red Planet’s global geography of low-lying northern plains and rugged southern highlands seems to have surprisingly deep roots, with profound implications for Mars’s ancient habitability

Jacek KrywkoAugust 26, 2026Mars

Today in Science newsletter preview

Drops of water beading on a metal surface

New research shows that water becomes electrified as it slides down smooth surfaces, leading to corrosion

Megha SatyanarayanaAugust 26, 2026The Environment

An illlustration of NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in deep space.

The more scientists try to understand dark energy, the more its mysteries seem to grow. NASA’s newest space telescope is custom-built to crack the case

Meghan BartelsAugust 26, 2026Dark Energy

Heidi Overton speaks during a health care affordability event in the South Court Auditorium of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 18, 2026.

In a 2023 podcast interview, Heidi Overton called for the creation of “alternate systems” for publishing research that would back conservative policy

Adam KovacAugust 25, 2026Public Health

An illustration of sperm cells on a blue background

New recommendations spotlight sperm’s role in recurrent miscarriage

August 26, 2026Reproduction

A rocket blasting off against a gray sky with a cloud of exhaust below it.

The new spaceport will support thousands of launches each year, according to SpaceX

Claire CameronAugust 25, 2026Spacecraft

A tiny creature with a large domed back, beady black eyes and eight tiny arms coming off the bottom.

When fully grown, the octopuses that survive could eat up to four blue crabs per day in the Mediterranean Sea

Gennaro TommaAugust 25, 2026Oceans

Discussions

“The US Government should return fully in its support for scientific research. Since World War II the US Government has supported scientific research through a thorough grant process and must return to its previous partnership with research institutions, both private and public. It is vital for the United States to lead the world in research to advance technology and for…”
— Robert Montemurno DMD

A technique that manipulates the video game's random number generator makes rare Pokemón appear, showing how it's not so random after all

Manon BischoffAugust 25, 2026Math

The combination of the Chang’e 7 lunar probe and the Long March-5 Y14 carrier rocket is transferred vertically to the launching area at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on August 19, 2026 in Wenchang, Hainan Province of China.

The search for frozen water is crucial to both China’s and NASA’s plans to establish permanent moon bases

Adam KovacAugust 24, 2026Spacecraft

Glowing red ocean temperatures show a cluster of deep red around the equator.

The world’s oceans hit 21.10 degrees Celsius last Saturday, breaking a record set in 2024

Jackie Flynn MogensenAugust 24, 2026Climate Change

Play daily Killer Sudoku puzzles now—a game with a mathematical twist!

An investigation into the incomprehensibly, unfathomably large amount of money the U.S. owes

Clara MoskowitzAugust 21, 2026Mathematics

An image of the Pacific showing a red band at the equator.

A strengthening El Niño may surpass any seen since the 19th century and will usher in another record hot year or two

Andrea ThompsonAugust 21, 2026Climate Change

Back view of children holding hands together walking to school

Even as cases of diseases such as measles rise, childhood vaccinations are declining, thanks to changes in public health policies and antivaccine sentiment, experts say

Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Sanidhya Sharma

August 24, 2026Vaccines

Winter in Yellowstone

with Andrea Thompson

Spinach is displayed for sale on shelves at a Target store on July 23, 2026, in Austin, Tex.

After a spike in infections in July, this explosive-diarrhea-causing outbreak may be coming to an end

Claire CameronAugust 21, 2026Food

Billowing plumes flow up from a hydrothermal vent on the ocean floor.

A groundbreaking study hints at a hazy boundary between “life” and “non-life,” as well as two distinct origins of biology on Earth

Philip BallAugust 20, 2026Evolutionary Biology

Pluto appears as a blue-silhouetted dark orb in this picture from NASA's New Horizons probe.

On the 20th anniversary of Pluto’s infamous demotion, Mike “Pluto Killer” Brown explains why any reversal of that decision would be driven more by nostalgia than science

Mike BrownAugust 24, 2026Planetary Science

The midsection of an older woman who holds her hands in hand in her lap and wears black short with white straps.

Could this secret cellular weapon be the key to longevity?

Mary RandolphAugust 19, 2026Aging

Snapped on August 23, 1966, by the uncrewed Lunar Orbiter 1, the photo’s legacy lives on in the breathtaking images of Earth taken by the Artemis II crew

Adam KovacAugust 23, 2026Spacecraft

This 3D illustration shows several computer-generated measles virus particles.

Both of the deceased were unvaccinated against measles. The deaths are the first fatalities caused by the preventable disease in the state of Pennsylvania in 35 years

Adam KovacAugust 25, 2026Public Health

Two robots beat Usain Bolt’s 100-meter-dash record—but likely couldn’t survive in the real world

Mary RandolphAugust 25, 2026Robotics

Side view of researcher wearing protective clothing and handling production of solid-state batteries. Image provided by Factorial Energy.

Two American companies are pursuing rival manufacturing strategies for these long-promised cells in an industry China dominates

Alex PasternackAugust 18, 2026Energy

A request for information from the Department of Health and Human Services seeks public input as to how vaccines are categorized

Jackie Flynn MogensenAugust 25, 2026Vaccines

Close up of lying Moai over Rano Raraku Lake, Easter Island, Chile. Image provided by Eric Lafforgue/Getty Images.

For decades, an influential theory blamed the Rapanui for their own downfall—a story made famous by Jared Diamond’s book Collapse. New evidence tells a different tale

Michael MarshallAugust 18, 2026Archaeology

View All Stories