Apr 9th, 2026 - The Artemis 2 crew has beamed tons of incredible photos back to Earth. Here's a look at our favorite shots. Reading time 3 minutes Watching NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts fly around the Moon and make spaceflight history brought up a lot of emotions—but mostly, it gave me serious FOMO. Sadly, this Gizmodo science reporter won't be leaving Earth anytime soon. But the crew's incredible photos make me feel like I was along for the ride. The Artemis 2 crew ventured deeper into space than any humans have ever gone and observed parts of the lunar far side never before seen with the naked eye . ... [Read More]

Apr 9th, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google Astronomers have identified a star they claim is the most chemically pristine ever found, a survivor from the early universe now traveling through the Milky Way dubbed SDSS J0715-7334. Its discovery pushes one of astronomy's oldest searches beyond our own galaxy and sharpens the picture of how the first long-lived stars formed. Finding SDSS J0715-7334 Among thousands of survey targets, one faint red giant stood out for carrying almost none of the heavier elements later generations of stars would make. As its unusual light came into focus, Alex Ji at the University of ... [Read More]

Apr 9th, 2026 - While the billion-dollar question is about when quantum computing will become commercially viable , among the problems being tackled at the moment is how to make the most of current technology, where quantum devices experience a high error rate. Although the industry can produce machines with hundreds of physical qubits, the actual number of logical, error-free qubits available in the latest quantum computers remains very small. As the technology improves, researchers are investigating how to get the best out of today's noisy quantum computers and considering the types of problems that ... [Read More]

Apr 9th, 2026 - Google's accelerated post-quantum cryptography (PQC) deadline is spurring other vendors to revise plans. Google's accelerated post-quantum encryption deadline has spurred other leaders in the industry, including Cloudflare, to consider pushing forward their own plans. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has set a 2030 deadline for depreciating legacy encryption algorithms ahead of their planned retirement in 2035. Late last month Google brought forward its own post-quantum cryptography (PQC) deadline a year to 2029 because advances in quantum computers mean that ... [Read More]

Apr 8th, 2026 - Nearly half of all wild mammal species traded for food, fur, research and traditional medicines carry at least one pathogen that causes disease in humans, estimates a study 1 in Science , the first to quantify the role of the global wildlife trade in the transmission of pathogens. Many major disease outbreaks in humans, including the emergence of HIV, the 2014 West African Ebola epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic , have been linked to traded wildlife. "We've known very definitively that viruses do jump from animals to humans," says Arinjay Banerjee, a virologist at the University of ... [Read More]

Apr 8th, 2026 - SARASOTA, Fla. ( WWSB ) - Researchers at the University of Florida are asking the public for help tracking a hard-to-find invasive species spreading through South Florida. It's called the Asian swamp eel, a fish native to East and Southeast Asia that was first discovered in the Everglades back in 2007. "These fish are difficult to find, and that's exactly why we need the public's help," Frank Mazzotti, a professor of wildlife ecology with the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences in Fort Lauderdale, said in a release. Scientists say the eel may be contributing ... [Read More]

Apr 8th, 2026 - A virus with the potential to make vulnerable populations deathly ill is on the rise in California. Higher than normal levels of the virus have been found in the wastewater of several towns across the state, putting public health officials on high alert due to both the contagious nature of the rotavirus and how sick it can make children and infants. Fortunately, with a heads-up about the spreading virus, many families and health agencies can be proactive about the illness. That may mean everything from taking normal precautions when it comes to any illness, which includes increased ... [Read More]

Apr 8th, 2026 - By Birdwatchers and researchers documented five bird species in 2025 that had not been seen, heard or genetically detected in over a decade, according to the 2026 update of the Lost Birds List maintained by the Search for Lost Birds project . The rediscoveries contributed to a notable reduction in the number of species classified as "lost" and underscored ongoing global efforts to locate birds that may still exist in the wild. The Search for Lost Birds project is a collaboration between American Bird Conservancy , Re:wild and BirdLife International. The list tracks species not documented for ... [Read More]