Oxygen controls on magmatism in rocky exoplanets(PNAS, 2021) FeO2 and FeOOH under deep lower-mantle conditions and Earth’s oxygen–hydrogen cycles(Nature, 2016) Mantle data imply a decline of oxidizable volcanic gases could have triggered the Great...

A major study reveals how ethnic Tibetan women living above 3,500 meters maintain high oxygen delivery in their bodies and achieve exceptional reproductive success in one of the harshest environments on Earth. Most humans gasp for breath when visiting...

Tiny chemical clues inside Moon dust show what kinds of asteroids hit the Earth–Moon system for billions of years, and why those impacts added very little water to Earth. Earth has a short memory. Its surface is always changing as continents move,...

Uncovering the microbial diversity of wastewater. Exploring the hidden world of microorganisms in wastewater and sewage. Harnessing the power of microbes. How they can help treat wastewater and sewage. All living organisms require water as a...

A new model published in Nature Geoscience predicts when Earth’s oxygen-rich atmosphere will eventually collapse, marking a turning point for life. Our planet’s hospitable, oxygen-rich atmosphere is a fleeting luxury in the grander timeline of the...

Scientists propose a bold plan to protect Earth from the Sun’s deadly expansion billions of years in the future. In roughly a billion years the Sun will exhaust its nuclear fuel and swell into a red giant, a transformation that could strip Earth of its...

Scientists discover a mysterious batch of space dust that defies known sources, sparking a hunt for its elusive asteroid origin. Analysis of microscopic particles recovered from Antarctic ice and city rooftops has uncovered a new class of cosmic dust...

Mysterious oxygen production in the deep Pacific is challenging scientific norms, as researchers investigate if metal-rich nodules spark hidden reactions. In 2012, deep-sea ecologist Andrew Sweetman of the Scottish Association for Marine Science placed...

New research reveals the environmental factors that allowed prehistoric giant insects to reach astonishing sizes millions of years ago. Three hundred million years ago, the skies above Earth’s prehistoric wetlands were dominated by gargantuan insects,...

A new observing technique has allowed scientists to identify carbon dioxide in the atmospheres of distant giant planets from Earth’s surface, offering a powerful alternative to space telescopes. More than 5,000 planets have now been confirmed beyond...

Scientists have used extreme laboratory experiments to uncover strange, previously unobserved behavior hidden deep within Earth’s mysterious inner core. Deep within the heart of our planet, the intense conditions of the inner core may be inducing a...

Japan aims to encircle the Moon’s equator with a massive solar power belt, a bold sci‑fi‑style plan to harvest lunar energy. A proposed lunar solar array would encircle the Moon’s equator for roughly 11,000 kilometers (6,800 miles), expanding in...

Astronomers uncover clues that a massive white dwarf’s concealed core could be composed of oxygen and neon, reshaping stellar evolution theories. Astronomers have identified a compact stellar remnant roughly half the diameter of Earth that carries a...

NASA’s first lunar fire experiment may transform astronaut safety and shape future Moon missions. NASA is gearing up for a unique test that will light a flame in the Moon’s weak gravity, a step that could prove decisive for the agency’s Artemis agenda...

Quantum chemical models show that gas grain interactions in the early solar system naturally enriched planetary water with deuterium. The origin of our planet’s oceans remains one of the most fundamental unresolved problems in planetary science. Any...

A bizarre image from orbit sparked alien jokes online, but the truth behind the purple “tentacles” reveals how astronauts are quietly learning to grow food far from Earth. The image spread quickly online. A purple object floated inside a spacecraft,...

New research uncovers surprising dynamics inside Earth’s core, shedding light on the planet’s deepest mysteries. Computer models now indicate that the planet’s solid inner core may host a rare form of hydrogen that behaves like a liquid while retaining...

NASA is developing a 99-meter starshade designed to block starlight, allowing ground-based telescopes to capture images of Earth-like rocky exoplanets. Detecting an Earth-like world remains one of the most formidable challenges in modern astronomy....

NASA trials Artemis hardware against harsh lunar dust while pioneering tech to convert Moon resources into oxygen and rocket fuel. Before astronauts can set foot on the Moon for months at a time, the gear they rely on must survive a pervasive...

Scientists discover a massive water reservoir 700 km deep in Earth’s mantle, locked in rock and unlike any known ocean. At a depth of roughly 700 km beneath the planet’s crust, a massive slab of rock stores water bound within its mineral crystals under...