Without a doubt, since its launch, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revolutionized our view of the early universe, but its new findings could put astronomers in a spin. In fact, it could tell us something profound about the birth of the universe by possibly hinting that everything we see around us is sealed within a black hole.

The $10 billion telescope, which began observing the cosmos in the Summer of 2022, has found that the vast majority of deep space and, thus the early galaxies it has so far observed, are rotating in the same direction. While around two-thirds of galaxies spin clockwise, the other third rotates counter-clockwise.

In a random universe, scientists would expect to find 50% of galaxies rotating one way, while the other 50% rotate the other way. This new research suggests there is a preferred direction for galactic rotation.

Is the Star Manual of Master Shi the oldest known astronomical catalog? Experts are divided.
The oldest star chart in the world was made in China more than 2,300 years ago, a hotly debated preprint study finds.

Researchers at the Chinese National Astronomical Observatories analyzed the "Star Manual of Master Shi," the oldest surviving star catalog in China, using a novel digital image processing technique. The method, called Generalized Hough Transform, uses a type of artificial intelligence known as computer vision to find and mitigate significant errors between similar images.

They found that the ancient star chart actually dates to 355 B.C. — 250 years earlier than previously thought — and that it was later updated around A.D. 125. This would make it the oldest-known star catalog of its kind in the world, predating a star chart by ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus by more than 200 years.

"I think this is pretty definitive,"said David Pankenier, a professor emeritus of Chinese astronomy at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania who was not involved with the research. Pankenier told Live Science that the study confirms previous research — notably, the work of Joseph Needham, a British biochemist known for his expertise on ancient Chinese science and technology. And the new study places the manuscript's origin around the same time the historical Master Shi Shen was thought to have lived.

But other experts are less convinced.

Satellite data revealed that Houston is the fastest-sinking city in the U.S., and that all of the other biggest cities are dropping in at least some areas. Researchers say groundwater extraction is largely to blame for the sink.

All of the biggest cities in the United States are sinking into the ground in places, new satellite data reveal — and 34 million people are affected. However, some cities are sinking faster and over a much larger area than others.

A study found that Houston is the fastest-sinking city, with some areas dropping at a rate of 0.4 inches (10 millimeters) per year, while most major cities have localized zones where the land is sinking faster than 0.2 inches (5 mm).

Cities are sinking for a variety of reasons, but the most common cause is groundwater extraction. The sinking is a problem because it increases the risk of flooding and threatens buildings and other infrastructure, according to the study, published Thursday (May 8) in the journal Nature Cities.

To address the sinking, the researchers suggested measures like flood mitigation, retrofitting vulnerable structures and limiting building in areas at greatest risk.

Astronomers have found new evidence that a mysterious ninth planet may be hiding at the edge of the solar system - rewriting what we know about the cosmos again.

An international team from Taiwan, Japan, and Australia used 40 years' worth of data from two space probes to track down what they believe are signs of this distant planet moving around our sun.

Planet Nine (or Planet X as NASA calls it) first emerged as a real possibility in 2016, when two astronomers from the California Institute of Technology presented evidence of a large gravitational force (a planet) far beyond Neptune.

Now, a new study has whittled a list of 13 candidates down to just one potential object slowly moving around our sun approximately 46.5 billion to 65.1 billion miles away.

In recent months, a group of researchers conducted a secret experiment on Reddit to see how artificial intelligence can be used to influence human opinion. Now, Reddit says it is considering legal action.

Researchers from the University of Zurich deployed a slew of AI bots posing as real people and engaging with users without their knowledge or consent to try to change minds on the popular Reddit forum r/changemyview, where posts often ask users to challenge their views on contentious topics.

The bots, whose accounts are now banned, left more than 1,000 comments throughout the subreddit, taking on identities such as a rape victim, a Black man who opposes the Black Lives Matter movement and a trauma counselor who specializes in abuse.

One AI bot, under the username u/catbaLoom213, left a lengthy comment arguing against the opinion that AI should never interact with humans on social media, according to a full copy of the bots' comments compiled by the subreddit's moderators.

New study reveals Bolivia's Uturuncu volcano remains active without the risk of eruption.

The Uturuncu volcano in Bolivia's Andes Mountains, dormant for 250,000 years, is exhibiting warning signs of a potential eruption that could threaten lives and cause destruction.

Uturuncu, the highest mountain in southwestern Bolivia, caused a region near its summit — about 150 kilometers (93 miles) wide — to rise and fall, creating a sombrero-like shape.

Over 1,700 recent earthquakes have prompted scientists to study Uturuncu.

By integrating satellite data, seismic analysis, and computer models of rock behaviour under pressure, researchers have gained a clearer understanding of the internal workings of Uturuncu, uncovering the cause of its unusual activity. Their findings were published on April 28 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Feast your eyes on the newest coat color and understand the genetics behind its captivating look.

There's always something new to uncover in the world of feline genetics. When that discovery is an eye-catching coat pattern, it draws the attention of geneticists and pet parents alike. That's exactly what happened when a distinctive fur color — now called salmiak — was first identified. Read on to learn about this coat color variant and how the Wisdom Panel team contributed to the understanding of the genetics behind the distinctive look.

A striking new coat pattern

Back in 2007, cats with a unique fur pattern were observed in domestic cats in the central Finland region. These cats, typically found in a feral cat population consisting of black and black-and-white colored cats, displayed a normal black-and-white "tuxedo" coloration with additional gradation of color within hairs on its colored areas. This resulted in hair with a colored base and white hair tips.

Since first observed, cats with this color pattern have remained a rare sight in central Finland. They descend from the same wild population, and only non-pedigreed cats are known to have this coat pattern. And since all cats brought in from the streets were neutered, no one knew if they could reproduce. That is, until recent evidence showed a cat with this coat pattern giving birth to a litter of four kittens.

A federal road map calls for reduced staffing and an expanded role for private companies in space operations.

The US government has confirmed it will begin winding down operations on the International Space Station (ISS), with the goal of retiring the orbiting lab by 2030. The decision is included in the White House's Fiscal Year 2026 Discretionary Budget Request released on Friday.

NASA first detailed the plan to decommission the ISS in December 2021. This was reiterated in follow-up documents published in early 2022.

According to the new document: "The Budget reflects the upcoming transition to a more cost-effective commercial approach to human activities in space as the space station approaches the end of its life cycle."

The 2026 budget request would allocate around $18.6 billion to NASA, down from $24.9 billion in fiscal year 2024, with deep cuts to science programs. The Trump administration stated that crewed and cargo missions to the ISS would be significantly reduced during the transition period. Remaining onboard research will focus on long-duration spaceflight studies crucial to upcoming Moon and Mars missions - efforts that are strongly backed by US President Donald Trump and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

The cloud, named Eos after the Greek goddess of dawn, had eluded researchers because it contains very little carbon monoxide

An international team of researchers has discovered a massive molecular cloud that, if we could see it in our sky, would appear to stretch as big as 40 moons. The cloud had been hiding relatively near to Earth, and the find promises to shed new light on the formation of stars and planets.

Molecular clouds are made up of gas and dust, and they give birth to stars when they collapse under the force of gravity. These regions are often rich in carbon monoxide and hydrogen, and scientists usually spot them with radio telescopes that detect carbon monoxide.

But this new cloud — named Eos after the Greek goddess of the dawn — contains very little carbon monoxide, which is what allowed it to elude researchers for so long. Instead, the crescent-shaped cloud was found using data from a retired instrument on a Korean satellite called the Far-Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph, which detected the ultraviolet light emitted by hydrogen.

The CL1 computer is the first in the world that combines human neurons with a silicon chip. It could be used in disease modeling and drug discovery before it expires after six months.
A new type of computer that combines regular silicon-based hardware with human neurons is now available for purchase.

The CL1, released March 2 by Melbourne-based startup Cortical Labs, is "the world's first code deployable biological computer," according to the company's website. The shoebox-sized system could find applications in disease modeling and drug discovery, representatives say.

Inside the CL1, a nutrient-rich broth feeds human neurons, which grow across a silicon chip. That chip sends electrical impulses to and from the neurons to train them to exhibit desired behaviors. Using a similar system, Cortical Labs taught DishBrain (a predecessor to the CL1) to play the video game Pong.

"The perfusion circuit component acts as a life support system for the cells - it has filtration for waste products, temperature control, gas mixing, and pumps to keep everything circulating," Brett Kagan, chief scientific officer of Cortical Labs, told New Atlas.

The system uses just a few watts of power and keeps neurons alive for up to six months, according to the company's website.

Scientists at Cortical Labs are still working to engineer a system that accurately represents the many types and functions of cells in the human brain with the fewest possible cells. But tools like the CL1 could help researchers develop treatments for brain-related diseases by probing how the system learns and processes information.

"The large majority of drugs for neurological and psychiatric diseases that enter clinical trial testing fail, because there's so much more nuance when it comes to the brain - but you can actually see that nuance when you test with these tools," Kagan added.