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China launches new rover aimed for the dark side of the moon

The natural satellite, not the 1973 album by Pink Floyd. Sadly.

Research identifies a gene that makes our brains (and those of primates) unique

Smarts, we got'em!

Researchers repurpose wasp venom peptides as antibiotics

Finally, a use for wasps.

InSight beams back first recording of Martian wind

It sounds like a flapping flag.

Archaeologists find 50,000 year-old tiara, made from wooly mammoth ivory

It's still beautiful to this day.

WHO says tackling climate change will reduce infectious diseases and save millions of lives

Countries need to account for health in all cost-benefit analyses of climate change mitigation.

Nutritional study taking a jab at "Joy of Cooking" withdrawn -- among many others

There's still some joy in cooking.

Novel AI can master games like chess and Go by itself, no humans needed

How do you spell "checkmate" in binary?

Microplastics found in the guts of all sea turtles across the oceans

More than 100 turtles were tested -- all had synthetic fibers in their guts.

Scientists find oldest evidence of black plague in 5,000-year-old human remains

The remains of a 20-year-old woman found in Sweden may help scientists retrace the origin of the deadly disease.

252 million years ago, climate change nearly wiped out life on Earth; something similar is happening today

If this sounds a bit alarming... it should.

New AI solves most Captcha codes, potentially causing a "huge security vulnerability"

Please prove that you are human.

Christmas dinner launched towards the ISS

It's hearty space food.

Geckos can walk on water: here's how (with a video)

Another mystery solved my science!

The Large Hadron Collider shut down for upgrades -- until 2021

This time, it's all going according to plan

Finland's 100-year gift to itself: a beautiful, futuristic, and free library

What better gift could there be?

Ichthyosaur may have had blubber, which means the 'sea monster' may have been warm-blooded

Blubber is extremely rare among reptiles.

Greenland melting is 'off the charts' -- It's unprecedented in the last 400 years, scientists warn

In the past 20 years, Greenland's ice sheet has been melting at six-fold the rate seen before the Industrial Revolution.

Rats and pigeons are slowly replacing iconic species, and it's our fault

The "losers" are exactly the ones you want to protect.

Oxford scientist may have finally solved dark matter riddle -- the universe might be made out of a 'negative mass' fluid

If proven right, this theory could be one of the most important developments in 21st-century physics.

MIT designs and builds a plant-robot plantborg that can move towards light

Its name is Elowan and it probably comes in peace.

There's actually a neurological basis for the urge to pinch extremely cute babies or puppies -- it's called 'cute aggression'

'It's so cute, I'm gonna die!'

Scientists zoom in on more realistic plant-based meat substitutes

Yay or nay?

Ancient haute cuisine -- Mesolithic people had caviar feast

It was a fishy affair.

There's a new AI assistant on the International Space Station, and god is it annoying

That was creepy...

Volcanoes are fed by 'mush reservoirs' instead of magma chambers, study suggests

We mush talk about this.

Humor and acceptance oust conflict and bickering in long-time marriages

The old that is strong does not wither!

"Wearable microbrewery" could serve as radiation exposure marker

Yeast badges could be the radiation sensors of the future.

Are near-death experiences just hallucinations?

Seeing a ‘bright light’ was probably just your brain hallucinating.

Smartphone app detects anemia from pictures of your fingernails without drawing blood

It's almost as good as the state of the art point-of-care diagnosis.

Young drinkers beware: binge drinking is bad for you. Real bad

You might wanna reconsider getting hammered at that party.

Supermassive black holes like to wear gas donuts -- and we found out why

In all honesty, I'd wear a donut if I could get away with it, too.

Most people who think they have a penicillin allergy don't -- and it can be a problem

The good news, researchers say, is that there's a simple allergy test you can take.

The recipe for life may have another ingredient

Scientists are cooking life.

"Collapse of civilization is on the horizon", David Attenborough tells UN climate summit

Time, he stressed, is running out.

Worldwide measles cases jump by 31% fueled by Venezuelan outbreak

In other places, such as Europe, measles is resurfacing because parents are refusing to vaccinate their children.

Scientists sequence Lonesome George's genome, find genes associated with long life and giant size

Lonesome George is dead -- but his story is still alive, written in a genome whose secrets we are just beginning to explore. 

Google's AI algorithm could usher in new age of protein understanding

We're entering a new age of scientific breakthrough, and this could be absolutely huge.

Blue-blooded crustacean could pave the way for greener biofuels

The unusual creature is able to extract sugars from wood.

Scorpion venom protein might be used to ferry drugs to the brain

A brilliant way to use a natural danger to our advantage.

Green roofs can be effective against climate change -- in the right climate

Green roofs are making a comeback -- at least in some parts of the world.

Scientists measure all the starlight ever produced in the Universe

The number of photons emitted into space is 4 followed by 84 zeroes. Now, that a moment to wrap that figure around your head.

China pulls the plug on rogue scientist who genetically modified twin human babies

The whole odd affair is unprecedented.

New atomic clocks could measure distortions in space-time itself

The new clock could be used to detect gravitational waves and even dark matter.

One bacteria lives on everybody's skin -- and it's becoming resistant to antibiotics

Could you... please not, bacteria?

New deep-water microbes have the skills to help fight climate change

Unexpected but not unwelcome!

Buried Celtic chariot discovered by amateur treasure hunter in Wales

An unprecedented finding in the area.

Progress in meningitis lags behind other preventable diseases

The global disease burden of meningitis remains unacceptably high.

Tesla's Autopilot reaches one billion miles driven: that's 10 times the distance from Earth to the Sun

The auto-maker is just a few steps away from making its fleet fully autonomous.

Widely used insect repellent also kills off salamander larvae

Careful with that insect repellant.