Prehistoric human relatives, nicknamed hobbits due to their short stature, may have been scavengers, rather than skilled hunters capable of taking down big game or building cooking fires, according t… [+7432 chars]

Instead of hunting big game or wielding fire, the hobbit-like hominin Homo floresiensis likely scavenged leftovers of prey taken down by Komodo dragons.

Hobbit-like human relatives may have been on a less advanced evolutionary path - CNN

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) A three-armed spacecraft rocketed into orbit Friday to rescue a NASA telescope thats in danger of crashing back to Earth. 
Northrop Grumman launched Katalyst Space Technolo… [+1946 chars]

A three-armed spacecraft is rushing to the rescue of a NASA telescope that’s in danger of crashing back to Earth. Northrop Grumman launched Katalyst Space Technologies’ Link spacecraft on Friday from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific. The Pegasus rocket bla…

Associated Press

Rescue mission launches to save NASA telescope that’s falling back to Earth - AP News

<li>López-Otín, C., Blasco, M. A., Partridge, L., Serrano, M. &amp; Kroemer, G. The hallmarks of aging. Cell153, 11941217 (2013).
</li><li>López-Otín, C., Blasco, M. A., Partridge, L., Serrano, M. &… [+13365 chars]

Exercise has an important role in healthy aging, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms are incompletely understood. Here the authors consider age, physical function and acute exercise in the context of the multiomics of human skeletal muscle, linking fitnes…

Nature.com

Delayed molecular aging, preservation of energy metabolism and enhanced exercise response in exercise-trained human muscle - Nature

Science News: For decades, Antarctica has been treated as a kind of frozen time capsule, a place where evidence of Earth's deep past sits preserved, undisturbed, be.

The Times of India

Scientists discover giant fan-shaped structure beneath Antarctica's ice sheet: The hidden structure rewri - The Times of India

China has tested a satellite engine with a record-breaking operating life, a key technology that could help propel the worlds largest communications, military and deep-space spacecraft into their int… [+1027 chars]

Forced to develop the technology from scratch, a Chinese team says it achieved 14 hours of continuous operation in space.

Post Magazine

China’s satellite engine smashes record, leaves US rival far behind - South China Morning Post

Sandwiched between the Californian cities of San Francisco, Santa Cruz and San Jose are the Santa Cruz Mountains. This biodiverse region contains redwood forests, watersheds and mountain lions.
Also… [+4000 chars]

A powerful trophic cascade occurred when mountain lions began frequenting a small preserve south of San Francisco

Discoverwildlife.com

Mountain lions moved into a tiny Californian preserve. What happened next astounded scientists - BBC Wildlife Magazine

NASA awarded Rocket Lab deals for three dedicated launches using the company's Electron rocket.

Ars Technica

Rocket Report: Indian startup nears first launch; SpaceX’s millenary milestone - Ars Technica

When polar ice sheets melt, the effects ripple across the world. The melting ice raises average global sea level, alters ocean currents and affects temperatures in places far from the poles.
But mel… [+7402 chars]

Understanding what happens to Antarctica’s ice matters, because as it melts, sea levels rise, affecting lives and economies around the world.

The Conversation Africa

Sea level doesn’t rise at the same rate everywhere – we mapped where Antarctica’s ice melt would have the biggest impact - Yahoo News UK

One of the best places to search for life outside the Solar System may be practically right next door.
A planet initially identified in 2024 orbiting a red dwarf star named GJ 3378 may be even more … [+5640 chars]

One of the best places to search for life outside the Solar System may be practically right next door.

ScienceAlert

Potentially Habitable Super-Earth Found Just 25 Light-Years Away - ScienceAlert

Walkthrough experience includes visits to stars, exoplanets, and observatories.

Smithsonian Starstruck VR exhibit lets you stroll through the stars - Ars Technica

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has officially begun its Legacy Survey of Space and Time, a 10-year mission to map the entire southern sky many times over. Chief Scientist Tony Tyson tells us why the survey could be remembered 100 years from now.

Live Science

'It's more than a hope, it's a guarantee': The Rubin Observatory's 10-year movie of the universe is about to 'blow our minds,' chief scientist says - Live Science

Looking so far into the future is so difficult as to be a fool's errand. But it's fun!

Space.com

America at 500: Where will we be in space in 2276? - Space

A postdoctoral researcher recently identified a 5-million-year-old saber-toothed cat fossil but the discovery didn't happen in the field. Instead, the previously unrecognized specimen was found tucke… [+2379 chars]

"Those upper canines were extremely efficient but also break very easily."

Yahoo Entertainment

Labeled just 'feline,' skull in a New York museum drawer turns out to be a 5-million-year-old saber-toothed cat - Yahoo

A cold ocean anomaly is returning to the far North Atlantic, in the same region where past large-scale cooling events have appeared. Latest ocean analysis shows the cold “blob” expanding again, with … [+15317 chars]

A cold North Atlantic anomaly is returning as Super El Niño strengthens, together shaping early predictions for Winter 2026/2027 across the United States and Canada

Severe-weather.eu

A Cold Atlantic Anomaly Returns as Super El Niño Shapes Winter 2026/2027 Early Forecast Signals - Severe Weather Europe

Early-career scientists in China face intense competition for entry-level jobs. Credit: Xinhua/Shutterstock
Chinas main research funding agency will increase its number of prestigious grants for ear… [+4019 chars]

The National Natural Science Foundation of China says it will fund an extra 12,000 projects from this year.

China boosts prestigious grants for young scientists — will it ease competition? - Nature

NOAAs Space Weather Prediction Center has forecast up to G3-class geomagnetic storm conditions for Friday, July 3, through Saturday, July 4, with aurora most likely on the northern horizon in U.S. st… [+4524 chars]

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has forecast up to G3-class geomagnetic storm conditions for Friday, July 3, through Saturday, July 4, for northern U.S. states.

Forbes

Northern Lights Alert: 26 States May See Aurora On July 4 - Forbes

Nearly every galaxy in the universe is wrapped in far more dark matter than starlight. The invisible stuff outweighs the stars by ten or a hundred to one, and in the smallest galaxies its grip is sup… [+7194 chars]

The stars inside a faint galaxy called DF9 drift so slowly that its whole mass matches its visible stars alone. It is the third dark-matter-poor galaxy found strung along one narrow trail in the same patch of sky.

Space Daily

Astronomers found a third galaxy with almost no dark matter, and all three sit on the same straight line — pointing to a collision that tore ordinary matter loose - Space Daily

The honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) is also known as thorny locust and for good reason, because this tree can produce branched clusters of huge spikes, some growing to 20 cm (8 in) long. These s… [+1365 chars]

The honey locust gets its name from the sweet pulp within its fruit – but apart from that, there’s nothing sweet about this thorny tree.

"These lethal 20cm thorns cause severe puncture wounds & painful infections." The tree that's still armed against monsters last seen 12,000 years ago - BBC Wildlife Magazine

Scientists at the University of Minnesota say they have built the most life-like synthetic cell yet, creating a laboratory-made system assembled entirely from nonliving components that can grow, repl… [+3644 chars]

University of Minnesota researchers say "SpudCell" is the most life-like synthetic cell yet, able to grow, divide and pass traits to offspring.

Fox News

'Milestone': Scientists claim to build synthetic cell, raising concerns in step toward artificial life - Fox News

Modern weight loss medications have transformed obesity treatment, helping many people lose significant amounts of weight. But these drugs often come with an important drawback: They can also reduce … [+7023 chars]

A protein called “Mitch” may hold the key to a new generation of obesity treatments. Researchers found that disabling it in human cells boosts fat burning, increases energy use, and makes it harder for new fat cells to develop. The findings help explain why m…