SpaceX launches 4 people on a polar orbit never attempted before - CNN

The four-person crew, led by cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang, will spend three to five days on a rare flight path around Earth’s poles.

Wild New Study Suggests Buttholes Once Had a Very Different Purpose - ScienceAlert

If the genes of a tiny, bumless invertebrate are anything to go by, our anuses might be repurposed sperm chutes.

Einstein Didn't Think This Stunning Picture Was Possible. We're Glad He Was Wrong. - ScienceAlert

One of the first verified predictions of general relativity is the gravitational deflection of starlight.

Not quite jumping to hyperspace, but Star Wars-esque spacecraft propulsion isn't all sci-fi - Boing Boing

The laws of physics may not apply in the Star Wars universe. But just because it's highly unlikely we'll ever make the jump to lightspeed as seen in the films,…

NASA pulls graphic novels about female astronauts from website - Chron

NASA deletes graphic novel series about a female astronaut exploring the moon from its website.

Everyone has 'responsibility' for Starliner test flight failures, NASA astronaut says - ABC News

New study validates lower limits of human heat tolerance - Medical Xpress

A study from the University of Ottawa's Human and Environmental Physiology Research Unit (HEPRU) has confirmed that the limits for human thermoregulation—our ability to maintain a stable body temperature in extreme heat—are lower than previously thought.

No technical obstacles to new giant particle collider in Europe: CERN - Phys.org

Europe's CERN laboratory said on Monday that a detailed analysis revealed no technical obstacles to building the world's biggest particle collider, even as critics took issue with the "pharaonic" $17-billion project.

4 astronauts to be the first to orbit the poles on a privately funded SpaceX mission - NPR

SpaceX is planning a launch as early as Monday evening. If successful, it will mark the first crewed mission to polar orbit and the first mission to cultivate mushrooms as a crop

Costa Rica's mudball meteorite: A cosmic survivor that avoided collisions in the pinball world of asteroids - Phys.org

In April 2019, rare primitive meteorites fell near the town of Aguas Zarcas in northern Costa Rica. In an article published in the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science, an international team of researchers describes the circumstances of the fall and show t…

Research roundup: 2,400-year-old clay puppets; this is your brain on Klingon - Ars Technica

Also: testing the efficacy of WWI “dazzle” camouflage; how the male blue-lined octopus survives deadly mating ritual.

Lithium-ion battery waste fires are increasing, and vapes are a big part of it - Ars Technica

Tiny batteries and “disposable” e-cigs remain big risks for waste handlers.

UNC researchers develop new way to recycle tires - WRAL.com

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers developed a low-energy method to break down tire rubber into building blocks for epoxy resins, offering a cleaner alternative to traditional recycling.

Stone tool discovery in China shows people in East Asia were innovating during the Middle Paleolithic, like in Europe and Middle East - The Conversation

Discovery in China of tools called Quina scrapers suggests the people of East Asia were as inventive and flexible with technology during the Middle Paleolithic era as those in other parts of the world.

Scientists discover ancient wasp that snatched prey like a Venus flytrap, name it after mythological sea monster - CBS News

"I've seen a lot of strange insects, but this has to be one of the most peculiar-looking ones I've seen in a while," said one entomologist.

Europe’s quest to finally land on Mars takes another turn - Ars Technica

Nearly 20 years have passed since the European Space Agency committed to ExoMars.