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New type of supernova ‘looks like nothing anyone has ever seen before,’ astronomer says

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — Astronomers have observed what they are calling a new type of supernova, which has provided an unparalleled glimpse into what happens deep within a star just before it explodes. A study detailing the surprising discovery published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Massive stars are like celestial onions: the outermost

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A Neanderthal man at a 2024 London exhibit. Modern humans genetically diverged from the lineage that produced Neanderthals and Denisovans about 600

Humans may have had a competitive edge over our ancient relatives, study suggests

By Mindy Weisberger, CNN (CNN) — Modern humans are evolutionary survivors, thriving generation after generation while our ancient relatives died out. Now, new research into our brain chemistry suggests that an enzyme unique to Homo sapiens may have made us more efficient water seekers than our closest extinct relatives. About 600,000 years ago, modern humans

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Fossils show two types of ancient human ancestors lived at the same place and time. One was possibly an unknown species

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — Ancient, fossilized teeth, uncovered during a decades-long archaeology project in northeastern Ethiopia, indicate that two different kinds of hominins, or human ancestors, lived in the same place between 2.6 million and 2.8 million years ago — and one of them may be a previously unknown species. The discovery provides

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An artwork by Canadian artist

Global plastic treaty talks end in failure as countries remain bitterly divided over how to tackle the crisis

By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — Talks to finalize the world’s first treaty on plastic pollution in Geneva, Switzerland collapsed in failure Friday as countries remained bitterly divided how to tackle the crisis. The summit, held at the United Nations headquarters and attended by delegates from more than 180 countries, was supposed to end Thursday

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A worker points to a monitor displaying current satellites in orbit and real-time communications across the globe at the Iridium Communications Inc. Satellite Network Operations Center in Leesburg

Climate pollution is making GPS and communications satellites even more vulnerable to solar storms

By Andrew Freedman, CNN (CNN) — Satellites, including those used for GPS and communications, will face greater risks in coming decades during solar-triggered geomagnetic storms because of the effect climate pollution has on Earth’s atmosphere, a new study found. The increasing volume of planet-warming carbon dioxide in the upper atmosphere is likely to make the

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An aerial view of Pompeii is pictured with Mount Vesuvius in the background.

The eerie remains of Pompeii seem untouched. But new findings reveal a little-known postscript

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — The once-thriving Roman city of Pompeii resembles an eerie time capsule, seemingly unoccupied since a catastrophic volcanic eruption in AD 79, with the remains of its inhabitants forever frozen under a blanket of ash. But a closer look may reveal another bleak chapter in the tragedy’s aftermath, according to

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A view of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) on the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility of the International Space Station is pictured in June 2019.

The perfectly fine, already-paid-for satellites Trump wants to destroy in a fiery atmospheric reentry

By Andrew Freedman, CNN (CNN) — NASA is planning to decommission premier satellite missions that gather information on planet-warming pollution and other climate vital signs beginning as soon as October, sources inside and outside of the agency told CNN. The destruction of the satellites — which will be abandoned and allowed to eventually burn up

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