This week in science, 3–9 November
Science news this week, 3–9 November: NASA's Swift telescope re-entry, new AI research and November skywatching dates, explained in plain English.
This week in science, 27 October – 2 November
Science news this week, 27 Oct to 2 Nov: alcohol and health studies, faster warming, an Egyptian ape fossil, a spacewalk and the November sky.
Spirit Photography: William Mumler and the 1869 Trial
In the 1860s William Mumler sold photos of the living posed with ghosts. How he did it, why P. T. Barnum testified against him and why he walked free.
The Vanishing Commissar: Photo Fakes Before Photoshop
Nikolai Yezhov ran Stalin's purges, then vanished from a photo beside him. How Soviet censors edited pictures by hand, and how the edits were found out.
The Tunguska Event: What Flattened a Siberian Forest in 1908
In 1908 an explosion over Siberia flattened millions of trees across 2,150 square kilometres. What happened at Tunguska, and why no crater was found.
The Piltdown Man Hoax: The Fake Fossil That Fooled Science
In 1912 a skull from a Sussex gravel pit was hailed as the missing link. It took 41 years to prove it a fake. How the Piltdown hoax worked and who did it.
This week in science, 20–26 October
Science news this week, 20–26 October: a 150-million-year-old bird fossil, Perseverance's driving record, a claimed exomoon and an AI-found PHP flaw.
What Is a Large Language Model? A Plain Guide
The technology behind ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, explained without jargon: how large language models are built, what they do well and where they go wrong.
Why Is the Sky Blue? Rayleigh Scattering Explained
Why the sky is blue, why sunsets turn red and why clouds are white: the physics of light scattering explained, from Tyndall and Rayleigh to today.
The Turing Test Explained: Can a Machine Pass for Human?
Alan Turing's 1950 imitation game, the chatbots that tried to pass it, the AI that passed in 2025, and why passing does not prove a machine can think.
How Lightning Works, and How to Stay Safe
How a thunderstorm builds up enough charge to make lightning, why thunder follows, where lightning strikes most, and the one safety rule that matters.
This week in science, 13–19 October
Science news this week, 13–19 October 2026: the main space, AI, health, Earth and archaeology findings, explained with how strong the evidence is.
What Causes Radar Ghosts in UFO Sightings?
Radar ghosts in UFO sightings are often false echoes from temperature inversions, birds, insects, auroras or equipment faults.
What Were the 1942 Los Angeles Searchlight UFOs?
The 1942 Los Angeles searchlight UFOs were an unidentified object that drew a blackout and about 1,430 shells. Here is what the record shows.
Famous Hoax Photos: The Fakes That Fooled the World
Famous hoax photos explained: the Cottingley fairies, the Surgeon's Photo, the Reichstag flag and Baby Adolf, and how each fake was exposed.
Famous UFO Cases Explained: What Investigators Found
Were famous UFO cases explained? Mostly yes. Official studies traced most reports to planes, balloons, stars and weather, and a small share stayed unknown.
Why Redacted Files Fuel Conspiracy Theories
Why blacked-out government pages invite cover-up theories, how redaction works, and what the 2025 JFK release does and does not prove.
Shag Harbour 1967: What Happened, and What Is Still Unknown
A lit object reportedly fell into Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia, in October 1967. What the records show, and why the case remains officially unidentified.
Lunch atop a Skyscraper: A Real Photo, a Staged Moment
The ironworkers and the building were real, but the lunch was staged. Here is what historians have confirmed and what is still unknown.
How Experts Check If an Old Photo Is Fake
Experts trace where an old photo came from, then test its light, reflections, copied areas and digital traces. The Cottingley case shows why.
The Cottingley Fairies: How Two Cousins Fooled Conan Doyle
In 1917 two cousins photographed cut-out fairy drawings. Arthur Conan Doyle championed the pictures. Here is how the hoax worked and how it ended.
Artemis II Results and the Moon Hoax Claims
Artemis II's heat shield and splashdown data can be checked, but they do not directly test the Apollo hoax claims. Here is why.
AI in Archaeology: Real Discoveries or Hype?
What AI has actually found in archaeology, from carbonised Herculaneum scrolls to Nazca lines and Maya lidar, and where the claims still need checking.
How to Evaluate a Claim: A Practical Checklist
Carl Sagan's baloney detection kit, updated for a feed full of claims: nine questions to ask before you believe or share something.
What Scientific Consensus Means, and When It Was Wrong
How scientific agreement forms, why it deserves weight, and two famous cases where the consensus was wrong and changed: continental drift and ulcers.
Crop Circles: The Hoax That Fooled the World
Two men, a plank and a baseball cap: how crop circles began in 1978, why experts were fooled, and how a prank turned into an art form.
The Loch Ness Monster and the Surgeon's Photograph
A 1933 newspaper story, a famous 1934 photo of a toy submarine, and a 2018 DNA survey full of eels: how the Loch Ness legend was made, and tested.
The Antikythera Mechanism: An Ancient Greek Computer
Found in a shipwreck in 1901, a lump of corroded bronze turned out to be a 2,000-year-old machine for predicting the sky. How we know what it did.
Roswell 1947: What Actually Happened
A rancher, a scatter of foil and tape, a press release retracted within a day, and the secret balloon project behind the most famous UFO story.
Area 51: What the Government Admits
Spy planes, Soviet MiGs and stealth jets: the declassified history of the Nevada base, and why its secrecy grew into the world's biggest UFO legend.
The Moon Landing: Testing the Hoax Claims
A self-published 1976 book, a 2001 TV special and a few odd-looking photos: the main hoax claims about Apollo, and what the evidence shows.
The Warren Commission: What It Found and What It Missed
What the 1964 inquiry into Kennedy's assassination concluded, the doubts it left out, and what every later review confirmed or overturned.
The Bermuda Triangle: Separating Fact from Myth
A legend built by magazine articles and a 1974 bestseller. What really happened to Flight 19 and USS Cyclops, and why insurers charge no extra.
Why People Believe the Earth Is Flat
Flat Earth belief is newer than you think, and medieval people never held it. Where the idea came from, why it spreads, and evidence you can check.
Who Actually Built the Pyramids
Gang graffiti, a 4,500-year-old logbook, a workers' town and their tombs: the evidence that tells us who built the Great Pyramid, and how.
Climate Consensus: Where the 97 Percent Comes From
The famous 97 percent is not one poll. Here is what each major study counted, what critics said, and what the scientific record shows.