Science & Earth

A sandstone slab found in 1958 with an 18.5 cm fossil footprint has been confirmed as Australia's oldest known dinosaur fossil, dated to about 230 million years ago in the earliest Late Triassic.

NASA's Perseverance rover identified thousands of bleached, kaolinite-rich rocks across Jezero crater, and a December 2025 study reports their chemistry matches Earth clays formed by long-term water exposure; researchers say the rocks' exact source in or beyond the crater is still undetermined.

NASA astronaut Chris Williams will answer prerecorded STEM questions from students in Pennsylvania during an Earth-to-space call at 12:20 p.m. EST on Feb. 5, streamed on NASA's Learn With NASA YouTube channel.

Expedition 74 crew prepared for an upcoming SpaceX Crew-12 Dragon visit and completed maintenance on science hardware aboard the International Space Station.

Researchers at Kyushu University identified a tiny new ladybird beetle, Parastethorus pinicola, on a pine tree at the Hakozaki campus as part of a three-year review of Stethorini; the study also named a second new species, Stethorus takakoae.

Researchers off Vancouver Island matched over 1,000 underwater sounds to eight rocky reef fish species using an acoustic localization array and video, and a machine-learning model identified species from sounds with up to 88% accuracy.

Researchers, including biologist Dr. John Bradshaw, report that several common cat actions reflect parental instincts rooted in wild-cat biology; typical examples include delivering prey, grooming and head-butting, and sleeping close while kneading.

Botanically, hemp and marijuana are generally considered forms of Cannabis sativa, but U.S. law separates them based on THC content; a new federal rule tightening THC limits in finished products is scheduled to take effect in November.

February's night sky includes a full moon on Feb. 1 and evening views of bright planets such as Venus and Jupiter.

No Americans have landed on the Moon since 1972, and NASA's Artemis program — including Artemis II — represents years of work aimed at returning humans to the lunar surface, with a crewed lunar landing goal moved to 2028.

NASA will send four astronauts on Artemis II for a planned 10-day crewed flight around the moon to test Orion's life-support, navigation and communications systems; launch could occur as early as Feb. 6 pending a launchpad fueling test.

World Wetlands Day is observed on Feb. 2 and marks the 1971 Convention on Wetlands; Canadian groups say wetlands store large amounts of carbon and are declining in many developed areas.

Gladys West, 95, died of natural causes, her family announced on X, according to NPR. West spent 42 years at the Naval Proving Ground and helped develop models of Earth's shape that contributed to GPS.

Researchers report that autopsies of camels in the United Arab Emirates found large clumps of plastic, called polybezoars, and the authors say these are linked to about 1% of camel deaths there.

Researchers report that polar bears near Svalbard have shown improved body condition since about 2000, even as sea ice in the Barents Sea has declined sharply.

Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza, and Palestinian authorities reported at least 30 killed; the Rafah border crossing is scheduled to reopen with limited passage and Israeli security clearances.

A young coyote swam about a mile to Alcatraz and is currently on the island; the National Park Service says it plans to trap and relocate the animal before seabird breeding season.

NASA has moved the Space Launch System to the pad at Kennedy Space Center ahead of Artemis II, a planned 10-day crewed lunar flyby with four astronauts; final tests, including a wet dress rehearsal, and a choice from February–April launch windows remain before liftoff.

Four astronauts will fly around the moon on Artemis II, traveling farther from Earth than any humans to date, and the crew reportedly includes firsts for a woman, a person of color and a Canadian on a lunar mission.

A winter storm warning is in effect for the Cape Fear region through 4 p.m. Sunday, with snowfall estimates ranging from a few inches to more than a foot and officials warning of very cold wind chills.

A US survey of 1,009 adults aged 40–75 who were not up-to-date with colorectal cancer screening found two groups: 39.4% prioritized how the test is performed while 60.6% prioritized test accuracy; simulations showed many respondents preferred a hypothetical blood test and that preference grew as test accuracy improved.

An annotated HiRISE image compares the AI-planned and actual paths of NASA's Perseverance rover for an 807-foot (246-meter) drive on Dec. 10, 2025, the second of two demonstrations of generative AI in route planning.

About 160 manatees gathered at Manatee Lagoon on Jan. 29, the largest group seen there this season, drawn to warm water near a Florida Power & Light plant. A strong cold front is expected to bring colder temperatures over the weekend.

Researchers analyzed 770 polar bears captured in Svalbard from 1995–2019 and found that body condition declined then recovered despite longer ice-free seasons; scientists note the change may rely on alternative land-based foods and warn the long-term outlook is uncertain.

In a Nature paper, DeepMind introduces AlphaGenome, a deep learning model trained on human and mouse genomes that can analyze up to 1 megabase of DNA at once and predict thousands of functional genomic signals.

Researchers at the University of Rochester developed a method that etches the inside of aluminum tubes to make them superhydrophobic and trap air, keeping the tubes afloat even when punctured. The team showed connected tubes can form rafts in lab tests and can capture energy from moving water.

February features several notable night-sky highlights, including an annular (ring-of-fire) solar eclipse and a full 'snow moon' that peaks around 5 p.m. ET on Feb. 1.

The National Weather Service says a significant winter storm will affect the region from Jan. 30 into Jan. 31, bringing snow and very cold temperatures, with watches and warnings in place.

An opinion video says the Trump administration favors a more open, skeptical public debate to try to rebuild trust in vaccines while reaffirming support for core childhood vaccines such as MMR, polio and DPT.

The James Webb Space Telescope detected a galaxy named MoM-z14 with a spectroscopic redshift of 14.44, meaning its light left about 280 million years after the Big Bang. The study reporting the result was first posted as a preprint in May 2025 and was accepted into the Open Journal of Astrophysics in January 2026, with NASA issuing a related statement.