Explainer

The deadliest nightclub fire in US history killed 492 people at Boston's Cocoanut Grove club in November 1942

This torso matches a head found nearly a century ago at the same site. It is believed to be from the 12th or 13th century

It may be fun to watch astronauts float around inside the International Space Station, but the absence of gravity has its effects on long-duration space travellers

Barnard's Star is a small, dim star, of the type that astronomers call red dwarfs. Consequently, even though it is one of the closest stars to Earth, such that its light takes only six years to get here, it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye

Mudumal Megalithic Menhirs, also known as Mudumal Niluvu Raallu, are among the largest and most enigmatic standing stones located in Telangana. Historians believe this is the only megalithic site in India where a star constellation depiction has been identified

Though Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said he's not interested in talks with a "bullying government,” its struggles with economic woes coupled with internal turmoil, and recent direct attacks by Israel, has put Tehran in a precarious position

Since the discovery, researchers spent more than two years meticulously studying the remains of a million-year-old face. They tried to find out which species of ancient human they belonged to, and understand their lives and environment

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro lost a confidence vote in Parliament. The demise of the minority government marks the worst spell of political instability in 50 years of Portuguese democracy

The International Criminal Court handles allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression, and takes on cases when nations are unable or unwilling to prosecute crimes on their territory. Around 125 States are members of ICC

Ukraine is often recognised for its vast agricultural lands and industrial heritage, but beneath its surface lies one of the world's most remarkable geological formations, the “Ukrainian Shield”

Earthquakes occur when the rock on one side of a fault slips relative to the other. The fault surface can be vertical, horizontal or at an angle

As warming temperatures melt glaciers, the ice loss has repercussions for climate and water cycles. This in turn has significant impact on landscapes, rivers, ecosystems people and economies

The video has provoked an enormously empathetic response on social media, with some seeing the fish as a feminist icon or an Icarus-like figure who swam too close to the Sun

Larger species face higher cancer risks but those that reached that size rapidly evolved mechanisms for mitigating it, such as lower mutation rates or enhanced DNA repair mechanisms

Wholemeal bread is made from flour containing all parts of the original grain (endosperm, germ and bran) in their original proportions

Radio astronomers can study emissions from gas giant planets, blasts from the hearts of galaxies, or even precisely ticking signals from a dying star. In simple words, radio astronomers see what the naked eye can’t

The conflict over Aotearoa, a word increasingly prominent in New Zealand life, arose last month when one lawmaker objected to another’s use of the term. The word means ‘land of the long white cloud’ in te reo Maori, one of the country’s three official languages

Environmentalists argued that the Act weakens environmental protections by allowing easier diversion of forest land for infrastructure projects, particularly in border areas, potentially impacting biodiversity and ecologically sensitive regions

India is the world's sixth largest coffee producer. However, high temperature, heavy rainfall and landslides in the country’s coffee heartlands had made an adverse impact on its production

As the climate heats up, humans will be exposed to more and more heat – and our bodies will respond to these stresses by ageing faster

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is typically called a 1,609-km race as mushers and their dogs battle the most challenging elements an Alaska winter can throw at them

India celebrates National Science Day every year on February 28 to commemorate the discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’ by Sir CV Raman

The species was previously thought to be long extinct, until mammal researcher Hedley Herbert Finlayson led the rediscovery of the animal in the 1930s. But soon after, it vanished again

The refugee programme, created by Congress in 1980, is a form of legal migration to the US for people displaced by war, natural disaster or persecution — a process that often takes years and involves significant vetting