ABC Science

As NASA gets ready to launch humans around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, buckle up and let's see if your space knowledge survives our quiz. Loading Where to find all the ABC's quizzes Want to test yourself even further? Take a squiz at the ABC's New Quiz topic page and see if you're a whiz at our previous quizzes.

Have you ever woken from a dream that felt vividlyreal and thought, "Wow, I was in a really deep sleep"? According to new research, published today in PLOS, the intensity of the dream could have affected your sense of sleep quality. Study author Giulio Bernardi said the research showed that vivid and immersive dreams could create the perception of having slept deeply, even when their brain was in a lighter sleep state.

For centuries ship captains have written accounts about how some of the world's largest animals rammed each other and even sunk ships. The 1820 sinking of the whaling ship Essex by a reported 26-metre sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) even inspired the epic novel Moby Dick. But the sperm whale is a mysterious animal, despite its massive size, and biologists have long debated the extent of any headbutting behaviour.

Aussie students have just been put to the test with NAPLAN. Now it's your turn to see how you'd go in their shoes. There's a portion of the Year 9 maths test where students aren't allowed to use a calculator. See if you can do the same while giving this NAPLAN-inspired quiz a go! Loading

Financial support from governments around the world to industries that facilitate harm to the environment is one of the biggest barriers to stopping biodiversity loss. So much so that an international agreement signed by Australia in 2022 known as the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), called for an annual reduction of $700 billion worth of this support by 2030 globally.

Climate change is putting pressure on many animals and their food chains at the extremes of our planet. Animals that are higher up the food chain, such as penguins, are especially vulnerable to changes in the environment. But research published today in Science Advances shows some penguin species are changing breeding habits in the face of climate change — and it appears to be working for them.

Global air travel is a well-oiled machine, which can be thrown into disarray by unplanned closures. Major international airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha have been closed this week due to the war in Iran and wider conflict in the Middle East, leaving many Australian passengers stranded. This week alone, there were supposed to be more than 10 million seats flying in and out of the three airports, with 123,000 of those held by Australians.

Late at night a few years ago a villager approached a group of mammal-watchers in the remote forests of West Papua, holding a peculiar possum. The mysterious marsupial had a giant finger on each hand. Now its identity has been revealed thanks to a collaboration between scientists and West Papuan elders. The animal was a pygmy long-fingered possum (Dactylonax kambuayai) previously only known in modern science from6,000-year-old fossils.

Formula 1 is back for 2026, and the cars are all sporting new looks. But it won't be just a fresh coat of paint on show at the Melbourne Grand Prix. Former Renault engineer Chris Papadopoulos says this year features one of the biggest regulation changes since the sport's inception. "Tyres, aerodynamics, vehicle dimension and engine rules … so basically, just about everything on the car is changing," he says.

As Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations draw to a close tonight, the Moon will transform into a shade of red. Australia, Asia, and the Americas will be treated to a "blood moon", also known as a total lunar eclipse. Cultural astronomer Duane Hamacher says the event is a great chance for people to connect with the night sky.