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The fungus Candida albicans in a patient with pulmonary candidiasis. Humans are home to trillions of harmless cells of bacteria, fungi and other microbes that play an important role in our health.

Scientists Are Finding Fungi in Cancerous Tumors

Experts aren’t sure if the fungi affect the disease’s progression

A wax worm on a piece of plastic with holes

Wax Worm Saliva Is the Unlikely Hero of Fighting Plastic Waste

Their enzymes can break down plastic in a matter of hours

English artist Sam Cox and his wife, Alena, sitting in front of their Kent mansion, which Cox covered in doodles

This Artist Spent Two Years Covering His Mansion in Doodles

Sam Cox—also known as Mr. Doodle—has been dreaming about the project since he was 18

French writer Annie Ernaux

Annie Ernaux Wins Nobel Prize in Literature for Her Unabashed Autobiographical Writing

The French author is the 17th woman to win the prize

Nicole Mann poses for a portrait in a T-38 trainer jet at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas, in 2018.

Nicole Mann Becomes the First Native American Woman in Space

She is the mission commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission that will spend five months on the International Space Station

The Beatles’ George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and original drummer Pete Best play a gig at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.

See Rare Photos of the Beatles Before They Were Famous

The images show the band playing a local gig in Liverpool in 1961

Giraffe drinking with oxpecker birds in the background in South Africa

View 16 Breathtaking Images From the Nature Conservancy’s Annual Photo Contest

The winning shots feature everything from glowing mushrooms to sauntering lions

Members of the Nobel Committee for Physics announce the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics winners. From left to right on the display: Alain Aspect, John Clauser and Anton Zeilinger. 

Breaking Down the Quantum Research That Earned Three Physicists the Nobel Prize

What they revealed could enable ultra-secure computing and new telescope technology

A picture of Saturn's moon Enceladus, with Saturn in the background, taken by the Cassini spacecraft.

A Moon of Saturn May Be More Habitable Than Expected

With the prediction of phosphorus in its oceans, Enceladus has become an even more promising candidate for hosting life

The archaeological site at Himera in Sicily

Mercenaries Were More Common in Greek Warfare Than Ancient Historians Let on

New research finds that many soldiers who fought in the fifth-century B.C.E. battles at Himera were born outside of the empire

Mechanical engineer Xiulin Ruan helped develop the world's whitest paint.    

The World’s Whitest Paint May Soon Help Cool Airplanes and Spacecraft

The ultra-white color reflects up to 97.9 percent of sunlight and may reduce our reliance on air conditioning

The Hubble Space Telescope

Hubble Is Slowly Falling—and SpaceX Wants to Give It a Boost

NASA and SpaceX will jointly study whether the private company could lift the space telescope to a higher orbit

Chess world champion Magnus Carlsen, seen here competing in 2021, has accused 19-year-old Hans Niemann of cheating in recent games.

The Cheating Scandal Rocking the Chess World

Will the evidence back up world chess champion Magnus Carlsen’s allegations against Hans Niemann, a young grandmaster?

Megan Piphus Peace with Gabrielle

Meet the First Black Woman Puppeteer on ‘Sesame Street’

Megan Piphus Peace, 29, plays a 6-year-old Black girl named Gabrielle

Virgin Atlantic’s uniforms

Virgin Atlantic Is Dropping Its Gendered Uniform Policy

The change is part of a growing movement to make travel more inclusive

RoboCap compared to the size of a penny

Robotic Pill Aims to Replace Insulin Shots, Injected Antibiotics

The capsule withstands stomach acid and drills through mucus to deliver medication to the gut

A butte in Gem County, Idaho, is now named Sehewoki’I Newenee’an Katete.

Hundreds of Federal Sites Officially Drop Racial Slur From Their Names

The Interior Department is renaming locations across the country to remove the derogatory word for Native American women

Researchers at Northwestern University examined the brains of six super-agers.

‘Super-Agers’ Might Have Super Neurons

Elderly people with exceptional memories have larger neurons in a brain area responsible for recollection

An artist's rendering of a field of first-generation stars as they would have appeared 100 million years after the Big Bang. 

An Early Star’s Remains May Be Swirling Around a Black Hole

The first stars exploded long ago, but scientists say they’ve detected the chemical fingerprint that one of them left behind

Singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn was applauded—and sometimes banned—for her daring songs about women's lives. 

Country Legend Loretta Lynn Braved Controversy to Tell the Truth About Women’s Experiences

The self-taught singer-songwriter died on October 4 at her home in Tennessee

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