Humans

A smiling swimmer wearing a cap and goggles in a pool

21 sports science students completed a 10-week swim program, and happiness rose as hopelessness fell compared with 21 classmates who did not enter the pool

Feeling trapped, flat, or discouraged can drain a student long before any exam or competition begins. In a small 2026 experiment, those feelings moved in a better direction after a semester-length swim routine: the students assigned to the pool reported more happiness and less hopelessness, while the comparison group barely changed. The result came from…

Swimmers compete in an outdoor pool race, showcasing athleticism and sportsmanship

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19 teenage swimmers practiced imagery and paced breathing for 15 minutes each night, and after 10 weeks mental toughness rose while any speed advantage remained uncertain

Two women experiencing virtual reality technology

Humans Explainer

30 students watched Earth from orbit for 25 minutes in virtual reality, and their connection to nature rose while scores barely moved among 30 classmates who meditated

A child trying a virtual reality headset with guidance

Humans Explainer

183 children watched Earth rise beneath them during a 14-minute virtual spaceflight, and awe helped predict which students learned the most

A woman in a space helmet during a reflective moment

Humans Explainer

32 volunteers entered NASA’s HERA spacecraft simulation, and 1 night of restricted sleep left some crew members worse at reading emotion on human faces

Service members performing a group creativity task during cold-water immersion

Humans Explainer

Twenty-nine service members stood in near-freezing water as researchers watched cold stress narrow the range of ideas they could produce

The seized tanker Stena Impero at anchor in Iran in July 2019

Humans Explainer

Stena Impero was taken off course by four fast boats and a helicopter in July 2019, leaving 23 merchant sailors confined in Iran for 10 weeks as a Strait of Hormuz confrontation turned one tanker into a test of commercial shipping safety

Mine damage to the hull of USS Samuel B. Roberts in dry dock in May 1988

Humans Explainer

USS Samuel B. Roberts survived an Iranian mine that tore its hull open in 1988 and four days later Operation Praying Mantis led the U.S. Navy into its largest surface action since World War II

The explosion began beneath the hull of a U.S. frigate in the central Arabian Gulf on April 14, 1988. USS Samuel B. Roberts had entered a recently laid minefield while returning from an escort mission. A moored contact mine detonated, punching a vast hole into the ship and turning an ordinary patrol into a fight…

Abstract digital brain illustration representing consciousness and cognition

Humans News

Scientists say consciousness may arise in minds built from alien materials

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside and the University of Lisbon have proposed a bold new argument in a 2026 working paper: consciousness may be able to arise in physical systems far different from the carbon-based biology found on Earth. Their claim reaches across philosophy, astrobiology and artificial intelligence, asking whether minds could exist…

Helmets recovered off the coast of Benicarló were not Roman in origin, but formed part of a Late Medieval military cargo

Humans News

Roman helmets pulled from the sea were hiding a medieval secret

Researchers at University of Alicante have reclassified 43 iron helmets recovered from waters off eastern Spain, showing that the famous underwater cache belongs to the Late Middle Ages. The finding moves the objects from a Roman label into the turbulent world of 14th- and 15th-century Mediterranean trade, warfare and coastal defense. The helmets were found…

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