CNN – World

By Ashley Strickland, CNN Astronauts have been venturing into space for 61 years to unlock the human potential for exploration. But the floating freedom offered by a lack of gravity also presents a number of limits when it comes to the human body and mind. Short trips to space from the early Mercury and Apollo

By Kathleen Magramo, CNN Almost half of the Earth’s land surface must be protected to stop the biodiversity crisis, according to a new report published Friday in the journal Science. The research found some 64 million square kilometers (24.7 million square miles) — 44% of the Earth’s land — needs “conservation attention” to prevent major

By Megan Marples and Ashley Strickland, CNN Don’t forget to look up this weekend to see the start of a rare, five-planet alignment grace the night sky. Beginning in the early morning hours of Friday, June 3, the five planets of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will align in planetary order. This rare phenomenon

By Ashley Strickland, CNN A strange early relative of the giraffe was perfectly adapted for some serious headbutting 17 million years ago, according to new research. The oddball giraffoid didn’t have the signature long neck of today’s giraffe. Instead, the ancient animal, built for fierce fighting, sported helmet-like headgear and the most complex head-neck joints

By Ashley Strickland, CNN New spacesuits made by Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace could be worn by astronauts that land on the moon later this decade through NASA’s Artemis program, the agency announced Wednesday. The suits will also be worn by crew members living and working on the International Space Station. The orbiting laboratory is

By Katie Hunt, CNN The world’s largest living plant has been identified in the shallow waters off the coast of Western Australia, according to scientists. The sprawling seagrass, a marine flowering plant known as Posidonia australis, stretches for more than 112 miles (180 kilometers) in Shark Bay, a wilderness area protected as a World Heritage

By Rob Picheta and Hafsa Khalil, CNN At first glance, the news all seems a bit too familiar. A new virus outbreak is detected. It starts spreading around the globe, case by case, country by country. Health authorities launch into action, tracking infections and issuing guidance. After a tortuous two years, it’s understandable that the

By Katie Hunt, CNN Megalodon, the giant shark that lived more than 23 million years ago and was inspiration for the movie “The Meg,” was almost four times bigger than the great white shark that cruises our oceans today. However, the two shark species, which once coexisted, likely hunted some of the same prey. This

By Ashley Strickland, CNN The Hubble Space Telescope has looked straight into the heart of a stunning galaxy. The observatory captured this head-on view of a grand design spiral galaxy, called NGC 3631, located about 53 million light-years away from Earth. The celestial system can be found in the direction of the Ursa Major constellation.

By Katie Hunt, CNN Some lucky night sky watchers caught a glimpse of a brand new meteor shower on Monday night, as Earth passed through the debris trail of a crumbling comet. The meteor shower peaked around 1 a.m. ET, with 10 to 25 meteors an hour spotted falling through the night sky, according to

By John Blake, CNN Sports, it’s been said, reveals character. It also reveals something else: philosophy. There’s no better example of this than Rafael Nadal, the 35-year-old professional tennis player who’s competing this week at the French Open. Nadal is not just a gladiator on the court — he’s a philosopher at heart. You may

By Ashley Strickland, CNN Ancient volcanic eruptions on the moon could provide an unexpected resource for future lunar explorers: water. Between 2 billion and 4 billion years ago, the moon was a volcanic hotspot. Tens of thousands of volcanoes were erupting on the surface, releasing hundreds of thousands of square miles of lava across the

By Paula Newton, CNN Toronto Police fatally shot a man who was seen carrying a firearm near three schools in the Scarborough area Thursday, police said. Officers responded to reports of a man carrying a firearm and “there was an interaction” between officers and the man, according to the Special Investigations Unit in the Canadian

By Ashley Strickland, CNN More than 100 previously unknown Iron Age settlements have been found during a survey of the region north of Hadrian’s Wall in the United Kingdom. The 134 sites correspond to Indigenous settlements that date to Roman occupation. A study detailing the findings published Tuesday in the journal Antiquity. Construction of Hadrian’s