Boeing has called off its first-ever astronaut launch at the final moment after discovering a valve problem in the Atlas V rocket. The two NASA test pilots had just strapped into Boeing‘s Starliner capsule at Cape Canaveral space station for a flight to the International Space Station on Monday night (US EST) when the countdown stopped – two hours before ...
Prehistoric plant DNA is being dug up from deep below the Arctic to see if it can help modern-day crops cope with the effects of climate change. Researchers from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh are working with European scientists to analyse microbes from the palaeolithic period, when, like today, the planet was becoming warmer. The university team has been awarded £500,000 ...
You may have noticed an unusual German rap song in the background of an increasing number of videos on your TikTok feed. But what is it – and how did it spread so fast? What is Barbara Rhubarb Bar? What sounds like a rap is in fact a German tongue twister written by musical comedian Bodo Wartke and his content ...
Scientists fear bird flu has spread from mammals to humans for the first time, marking another step in the evolution of the deadly virus. New analysis concludes there is “strong evidence” that a Texas farm worker who tested positive for the H5N1 virus caught it from sick dairy cattle. Although there have been other people infected with the virus in ...
These are bees as you’ve never seen them before. There are more than 20,000 known species of bee and they are vital to life on Earth, as they help keep plants thriving. A new immersive exhibition in Liverpool explores their lives, and the threats they now face. A collaboration between artist Wolfgang Buttress and World Museum, Liverpool, it uses close-up ...
Meteors will be streaking across the sky this weekend as Earth passes through the debris of Halley’s Comet. The annual Eta Aquariid meteor shower peaks on Sunday night into Monday morning but should be visible, weather-permitting, all weekend. Where to watch the show You should see the meteors low in the sky if you look to the east before dawn. ...
An AI-controlled warplane has taken a senior air force leader for a ride in a groundbreaking test flight over California. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall sat in the cockpit as the experimental F-16 jet, called Vista, flew lightning-fast manoeuvres at more than 550mph over Edwards Air Force Base. It went nearly nose to nose with a second human-piloted F-16 as ...
The far side of the moon is rugged and mysterious. Always hidden from Earth, it wasn’t until the space probe Luna 3 took the first pictures in 1959 that we got to see its mountains and deep craters. And 65 years on, we still don’t know much about it. That’s why China’s Chang’e 6 mission is so exciting. It aims ...
An orangutan has been observed using a plant with healing properties to treat a wound on its face, in what scientists say is a first for wild animals. Biologists witnessed the male Sumatran orangutan – named Rakus – chewing the leaves of a climbing plant known as Akar Kuning. He applied the juicy mixture that was produced on to a ...
China’s Chang’e-6 robotic spacecraft is due to blast off today, hoping to become the first mission to collect rock and soil samples from the far side of the moon. It is the next step in a tense race between NASA and China to create bases on the moon, and from there, lift off to Mars. Since the first Chang’e mission ...