National Geographic News

New Ultradense Planet Found; Astronomers Baffled

Rachel Kaufman — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:03:13 -0500

An odd Jupiter-like world is so compact that it defies established theory—and may even represent a new class of planet, astronomers say.

Shifting Ocean Current Made Earth Spin Faster?

John Roach — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:51:52 -0500

A slower Antarctic current, possibly linked to El Niño, made our planet spin slightly faster in November 2009, a new study suggests.

Extreme Scientific Imaging: Best of 2011 Named

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:49:46 -0500

An underwater city in 3-D and the sharpest picture of an atom yet are among winners of the 2011 Australian Extreme Imaging competition.

32,000-Year-Old Plant Brought Back to Life—Oldest Yet

Rachel Kaufman — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:54:56 -0500

The oldest plant ever to be regenerated has beaten the previous recordholder by some 30,000 years, a new study says.

Pictures: New Amphibians Without Arms or Legs Discovered

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:18:05 -0500

They aren't worms or even snakes. They're burrowing, limbless amphibians, and they're completely new to science, a new study suggests.

New Scars Found on Moon, Hint at Relatively Recent Activity

Jason Major — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:53:59 -0500

Long trenches spotted on lunar highlands suggest that the moon has been recently active, geologically speaking.

Uganda's Power Drive Stills the Headwaters of the Nile

Andrew Green in Jinja, Uganda — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:17:49 -0500

Uganda, where 90 percent of the people lack electricity, taps deeper into waterpower, by eliminating cascading rapids on the Victoria Nile.

Pictures: See and Hear Last Speakers of Dying Languages

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:50:35 -0500

Faces and recorded voices tell the stories of endangered languages, thanks to new "talking dictionaries."

Why Some Poison Frogs Taste Bittersweet When Licked

Dave Mosher — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:15:52 -0500

It's a discovery perhaps only a frog-licking scientist could make: Toxic frogs secrete sugars and bile acids in addition to their poisons.

Space Pictures This Week: Rocket Launch, Saturn "Snowman"

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:50:37 -0500

Nebulae punctuate the sky, Europe lifts up a new lightweight, Saturn moons get stacked, and more in the week's best space pictures.

Mummy Pictures: Secrets of Stunning 19th-Century Heads Revealed

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:15:25 -0500

Their heads may be peeled like onions, and they may be 150 years old, but these Italian mummies are oddly lifelike. Now we know why.

Echoes of Monster Star's "Great Eruption" Found—A First

Dave Mosher — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:52:13 -0500

For the first time, astronomers have glimpsed reflections of light from a "supernova impostor"—the 19th-century eruption of Eta Carinae.

Pictures: Miniature Chameleons Discovered—Fit on Match Tip

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:50:43 -0500

Four new chameleon species found in Madagascar—some tiny enough to fit on a match tip—are among the smallest known reptiles.

Is Dark Energy Really "Repulsive Gravity"?

Ker Than — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:32:51 -0500

"Repulsive gravity"—a powerful repulsion between matter and antimatter—could explain the force known as dark energy, a new theory claims.

Best News Pictures of 2011: World Press Winners

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:07:49 -0500

See the painterly picture that won this year's World Press Photo Contest—plus a cliff-climbing polar bear, a record-breaking cave, and more.

Pictures: A Rare Look Inside China's Energy Machine

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:56:09 -0500

A photographer gains an inside look at China’s massive power complex, and at efforts by the world’s largest energy consumer to spur cleaner future growth.

Venus Spinning Even Slower Than Thought—What It Means

Jason Major — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:20:26 -0500

Planet lovers take note: Venus is rotating 6.5 minutes slower than it did 16 years ago—and scientists are stumped.

Artificial Glaciers Water Crops in Indian Highlands

Ker Than — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:31:04 -0500

Villagers discover that it is easier to store water in ice than in a reservoir, and less is lost to evaporation.

Pictures: Shark Swallows Another Shark Whole

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:38:21 -0500

Divers on Australia's Great Barrier Reef recently snapped rare pictures of a wobbegong, or carpet shark, swallowing a bamboo shark whole.

Valentine's Day: Why Do We Celebrate It? (Hint: Naked Romans)

John Roach — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:01:45 -0500

Where did Valentine's Day come from? (Think naked Romans, paganism, and whips.) What does it cost? And why do we fall for it, year after year?

Life on Earth Began on Land, Not in Sea?

Dave Mosher — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:57:06 -0500

The first cellular life on Earth probably arose in a vat of volcanic mud akin to Darwin's idea of a "warm little pond," a new study says.

Amid U.S.-China Energy Tension, "Clean Coal" Spurs Teamwork

Catherine Yang — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:55:51 -0500

China's next president visits the White House amid tension on energy. But U.S.-China collaboration is emerging on projects to clean up coal.

Shark-Attack Deaths Highest in 19 Years—Travel Trends to Blame?

Brian Handwerk — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:32:47 -0500

Though down in the U.S., shark-attack deaths rose worldwide, perhaps due to increased tourism on far-flung shores, experts say.

Italian "Disco Ball" Probe to Test Einstein's Relativity

Davide Castelvecchi — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:40:30 -0500

Italy's LARES spacecraft, launched today, will test an effect of general relativity with unprecedented accuracy, mission managers say.

Dwarf Galaxy Found Secretly Feasting on Smaller Dwarf

Rachel Kaufman — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:21:34 -0500

For the first time astronomers have captured highly detailed pictures of a dwarf galaxy consuming a smaller companion, a new study says.