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By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — A site in the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico is providing a rare glimpse into the last days of the dinosaurs. Rocks and fossils at the Naashoibito Member site show an ecosystem that was filled with a diverse population of dinosaurs just before they disappeared from Earth.

By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — Elkhorn and staghorn corals used to carpet Florida’s reef system, rising like antlers from the seabed — but not anymore. These crucial coral species are now “functionally extinct” in the region after record-breaking ocean temperatures, according to a study published Thursday. The corals, which have been dominant reef builders

By Andrew Freedman, CNN (CNN) — Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to meander the Caribbean at an agonizingly slow pace in the coming days, even as it’s forecast to strengthen into a hurricane, covering as little as 2 miles in an hour. This is slower than an average person’s walking speed. Hurricanes are powerful storms,

By Andrew Freedman, CNN (CNN) — The Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters Database, which the Trump administration “retired” in May, has relaunched outside of the government using the same methodology. In its first update at the new site, the database shows that the first six months of 2025 have been the most expensive first six

By Hadas Gold, Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — Elon Musk lashed out at Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a series of insulting posts on his social media platform X on Tuesday, after Duffy suggested NASA may sideline SpaceX from its moon mission. Musk, SpaceX’s CEO, called Duffy “Sean Dummy,” accused him of having a “2

By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — Iceland’s frozen, inhospitable winters have long protected it from mosquitoes, but that may be changing. This week, scientists announced the discovery of three mosquitoes — marking the country’s first confirmed finding of these insects in the wild. Mosquitoes are found almost everywhere in the world, with the exception of

By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — NASA may sideline SpaceX and choose a different company to land its astronauts on the moon later this decade, acting space agency chief Sean Duffy suggested during TV appearances Monday. Duffy emphasized that he believes SpaceX, which has a $2.9 billion contract to provide the lunar lander astronauts would

By Jacopo Prisco, CNN (CNN) — At the center of our galaxy, there’s a mysterious, diffuse glow given off by gamma rays — powerful radiation usually emitted by high-energy objects such as rapidly rotating or exploding stars. NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected the glow shortly after launching in 2008, and the light has puzzled

By Laura Paddison, Andrew Freedman, CNN (CNN) — A fierce Trump administration push to stop the global shipping industry from paying for its own climate pollution appeared to have been successful Friday, as efforts to approve the “world’s first global carbon tax” collapsed. It had been widely assumed the tax would be adopted during a

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — Few city rats have left their mark on the public consciousness — and the urban landscape — like the one responsible for the famed “Chicago rat hole.” (“Pizza Rat” is a notable exception.) But the Windy City’s “rat hole” may not be what it seems.New research into the identity

By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — The first known hand fossils from an extinct human relative have been unearthed in Kenya, revealing a species with unexpected dexterity and a gorilla-like grip. The hand bones, which were discovered alongside skull and teeth fossils, are leading researchers to believe these early humans may have been able to

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — An unusual double-ring structure spotted in space with the help of citizen scientists has turned out to be a cosmic rarity. The celestial anomaly, captured by a radio telescope, is an odd radio circle, one of the scarcest and most mysterious objects in the universe, said Dr. Ananda Hota,

By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — SpaceX’s luck appears to be turning, as the company notched a second straight successful test flight of the Starship launch system — the most powerful rocket ever constructed — on Monday evening. The test mission, which kicked off around 7:23 p.m. ET at SpaceX’s facilities in South Texas, marked

By Ella Nilsen, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration’s cancellation of the largest solar project in the United States has sparked confusion and concern among Republicans and Democrats alike. Known as the Esmeralda 7, the collection of seven solar projects in rural Nevada was set to generate up to 6.2 gigawatts of energy when complete,

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — The total solar eclipse in North America on April 8, 2024, temporarily reset the biological clocks of some bird species, according to new research. The eclipse created a dramatic spectacle as the moon moved between Earth and the sun, plunging midday into a few moments of total darkness along

By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — The planet is grappling with a “new reality” as it reaches the first in a series of catastrophic and potentially irreversible climate tipping points: the widespread death of coral reefs, according to a landmark report produced by 160 scientists across the world. As humans burn fossil fuels and ratchet

By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — Calls for the United States to return astronauts to the moon before the end of the decade have been increasingly loud and frequent, emanating from bipartisan lawmakers and science advocates alike. But underlying that drumbeat is a quagmire of epic proportions. NASA plans to use SpaceX’s Starship — the

By Taylor Nicioli, CNN (CNN) — The bearded vulture, a large bird of prey with an unusual diet consisting primarily of bones, has long fascinated ornithologists. But now, a new study has shown why the bone-eating birds could be even more intriguing than once thought. Their carefully crafted nests, serving multiple generations, may also act