Japan is close to becoming the 3rd nation to land on the moon in the 21st century. The US isn't one of them.

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a gold rover rests on the moon surface
An illustration of JAXA's SLIM spacecraft on the moon.

JAXA

One country dominated clean energy growth this year, and it isn't the US, UK, or Germany. It's China, by a landslide.

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solar panels stretch across fields with mountains in the distance
A solar farm operates next to Donggou village in northern China's Hebei province. Solar is now the cheapest form of electricity in a majority of countries.

AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

How a Vietnam vet saved his second marriage and overcame years of PTSD with help from MDMA therapy

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Compass Pathways is running a massive clinical trial that will likely help it turn a psychedelic substance into an approved medicine.
MDMA, like psilocybin mushrooms, is being investigated as a potentially therapeutic drug.

Anna Kim/Insider

Very rare rainbow clouds appeared for three days in a row in the Arctic over Christmas

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Rainbow colored clouds are seen strewn in the skies.
Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are seen in the sky over Jukkasjarvi, northern Sweden, on December 17, 2023, in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden.

Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

A bizarre galaxy NASA spotted at the edge of the universe could upend what we know about supermassive black holes

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A picture from JWST shows the location of a distant galaxy called UHT-1 and its black hole.
A picture taken by JWST and Chandra X-ray observatory shows the location of a UHZ-1 and its black hole near the beginning of the universe.

NASA/CXC/SAO/Ákos Bogdán; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare & K. Arcand

Killer whale doctors use dart guns, drones, and dogs to treat their orca patients as population numbers plummet

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An orca swimming up to a cruise boat.
An orca swimming up to a boat.

Chase Dekker Wild-Life Images / Getty Images

AI flood prediction could save lives as increasingly dangerous flooding threatens a fifth of the world

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A man tries to ride a bicycle through a flooded street.
A Brooklyn neighborhood experienced major flooding during Hurricane Sandy.

New York Daily News/Getty Images

Cockatoos dip their crackers in water like cookies in milk, according to a study that shows the parrots are surprisingly picky about texture

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A photo of a cockatoo looking at the camera with its head turned perpendicular to the frame.
Cockatoos might be picky about the texture of their food.

Andrew Holt/Getty Images

A geoscientist explains what would happen if Earth suddenly stopped spinning

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Illustration of Earth, moon, and sun.

ratpack223/Getty Images

Can "golden fiber" from swamp reeds replace plastic?

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About 20 years ago, Bangladesh became the first nation on Earth to ban single-use plastic bags. Since then, plastic pollution has gotten worse. To find a biodegradable replacement, the government turned to jute, a cash crop grown here for centuries.

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