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By Taylor Nicioli, CNN (CNN) — For thousands of years, one color rose above all others — and was worth more than its weight in gold, according to a fourth-century imperial edict. Tyrian purple was a highly prized pigment developed in the Bronze Age, and it retained its status into the late medieval period. The ancient

By Angela Dewan, International Climate Editor, CNN London (CNN) — When New Yorkers grab their morning coffee, it’s their electric grid that really needs the kick. Dozens of power plants shift into gear as demand for electricity soars at breakfast time and keeps rising until the city is done with dinner. A huge chunk of

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — Forecasters will soon be able to see real-time mapping of lightning activity on Earth and keep a closer eye on solar storms unleashed by the sun thanks to a new weather satellite. Together, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration launched GOES-U, or the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite

By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — The Antarctic ice sheet is melting in a new, worrying way that scientific models used to project future sea level rise have not taken into account, suggesting current projections could be significantly underestimating the problem, according to a new study. Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey found that warm ocean water

By Mindy Weisberger, CNN (CNN) — An extinct ribbonlike sea creature about the size of a human thumb was one of the earliest animals to evolve a precursor of a backbone. Scientists recently identified the animal’s nerve cord by using a topsy-turvy twist. They turned its fossils upside down. Paleontologist Charles Doolittle Wolcott first encountered fossils of

By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — Two US astronauts abandoned plans to exit the International Space Station to conduct maintenance on Monday due to a spacesuit malfunction. NASA officials called off the spacewalk because of a water leak in the cooling unit of one of the astronauts’ spacesuits. The leak, which affected the suit donned

By Tom Page, CNN (CNN) — For millions of years, mighty baobabs have been standing sentry on three different landmasses, posing each other an existential question: Who came first? The giant trees, swollen of trunk and stubby of canopy, are unmistakable. Baobabs can live for more than 1,000 years, acting as the keystone species in

By Rachel Ramirez, CNN (CNN) — On a strip of land in northern Sweden, not far from the Arctic Circle, a new facility is taking shape which could help revolutionize one of the planet’s dirtiest industries: steelmaking. By 2026, if all goes to plan, the site just outside Boden will be filled with industrial buildings

By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — The snowcapped peak of Mount Rainier, which towers 4.3 kilometers (2.7 miles) above sea level in Washington state, has not produced a significant volcanic eruption in the past 1,000 years. Yet, more than Hawaii’s bubbling lava fields or Yellowstone’s sprawling supervolcano, it’s Mount Rainier that has many US volcanologists worried. “Mount

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — About 67 million years ago, two dinosaurs faced off in a showdown in what’s now Montana before being buried together in a single grave. It’s unclear which dino won the battle. The Triceratops horridus and Tyrannosaurus rex each died sporting battle scars. The Triceratops fossil emerged first as it

By Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — Jupiter’s iconic Great Red Spot is a massive storm that has swirled within the atmosphere of the largest planet in the solar system for years. But astronomers have debated just how old the vortex really is, as well as when and how it formed. Some experts believed it was

By Jackie Wattles and Ross Levitt, CNN (CNN) — Boeing and NASA announced Friday night that mission officials are again delaying the Boeing Starliner capsule’s return to Earth from the International Space Station. The announcement is only the latest in a string of recent delays. Officials have pushed back the Starliner spacecraft’s departure date several

By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — Hundreds of monumental stone heads dot the coastline of the remote Pacific island of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island. Settled by a small group of Polynesian seafarers about 900 years ago, it’s a fascinating place that has been the subject of fierce debate about how complex societies can sometimes ruinously

By Rosa Rahimi, CNN (CNN) — Same-sex sexual behavior has been observed in more than 1,500 animal species, but a new study has found that it is massively underreported by researchers. Observations of this same-sex behavior in animals, such as sexual mounting and genital touching, date back to the 1700s and 1800s. But research on

By Catherine Nicholls, CNN (CNN) — A 3,300-year-old ship has been discovered at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, making it one of the oldest shipwrecks ever discovered and rewriting our understanding of sailing in the ancient world, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority. The vessel is estimated to be from the 13th or 14th

By Taylor Nicioli, CNN (CNN) — Despite its name, June’s full moon will not look like a strawberry. But the bright orb could still turn heads Friday night with an appearance that is bigger and more colorful than the average moon. The full moon — which will reach the crest of its fullness at 9:08 p.m. ET

By Jacopo Prisco, CNN (CNN) — For more than a year, visitors at the Museum of Evolution in Maribo, Denmark, have been in for a treat: admiring a previously unknown species of dinosaur that didn’t have a name. The placard next to the animal’s large, wonderfully ornate skull — reminiscent of a Triceratops — simply

By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — The world consumed record amounts of oil, coal and gas last year, pushing planet-heating carbon pollution to a new high, according to a report published Thursday, shattering climate scientists’ hopes that global energy emissions may have peaked. The growth in fossil fuels drove a 2.1% increase in energy-related emissions

By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft was set to mark its crowning achievement this month: Ferrying two NASA astronauts on a round trip to the International Space Station, proving the long-delayed and over-budget capsule is up for the task. Starliner is halfway to that goal. But the two veteran astronauts piloting this

By Ella Nilsen, CNN (CNN) — Democrats and Republicans in a bitterly divided Congress can agree on one thing: the US needs more nuclear to power America’s rapidly growing energy appetite — and fast. The Senate overwhelmingly approved a major bill Tuesday night to make it easier, cheaper and faster to permit and build new nuclear reactors.