Want to find distant planets? Our own sun offers clues

A new study teaches us about the formation of our own solar system, and might also aid in the search for other stars orbited by habitable planets.

An environmentally friendly battery made from wood

Scientists have developed a battery made from a sliver of wood coated with tin that shows promise for becoming an environmentally friendly energy source.

Spitzer sees long tail, strong gas emissions from Comet ISON

Although the comet is behind the sun now - not visible from Earth - a space telescope has seen dust and carbon dioxide steadily “fizzing” away from it, in a tail about 186,400 miles long.

Ancient snowfall likely carved Martian valleys

Researchers at Brown University have shown that some Martian valleys appear to have been caused by runoff from orographic precipitation.

Tracking the rapid evolutionary rise of ray-finned fish

A University of Michigan evolutionary biologist has shown that the previously known but misclassified Fouldenia was the first recorded shell-crushing ray-finned fish.

Cosmic whirl

The center of galaxy NGC 524, 90 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Pisces, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Earth seen from Saturn July 19, 2013

NASA has released the images of the Earth and moon taken on July 19, 2013, otherwise known as "the day Earth smiled."

Greening of the Earth pushed way back in time

A new study has presented evidence for life on land that dates back 2.2 billion years and almost half way back to the inception of the planet.

Photo essay: Adapting to climate change in arid Chile

Scientists are working together with local authorities to learn more about the Elqui River Valley's persistent drought and how to mitigate its effects.

For a healthy brain, don’t let the trash pile up

A study using rat cells indicates that clearing out defective proteins in the brain quickly may prevent a loss of brain cells.