“The Earth is round, and is also a shifting, squashed spheroid.”

Views expressed in this science and technology update are those of the reporters and correspondents.

Accessed on 23 December 2025, 1434 UTC.

Content and Source:  “Discover Magazine.”

URL–https://www.discovermagazine.com/

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Russ Roberts (https://hawaiisciencejournal.com).

Today’s top stories

The Sciences

The Earth Is Round, and Is Also a Shifting, Squashed Spheroid

Learn how we know the Earth is round, and the science behind the shape of our gravitational field.

The Sciences

The World’s Oldest Botanical Art Reveals How Humans Were Doing Math 8,000 Years Ago

The Sciences

Weird Lemon-Shaped Exoplanet Discovered Orbiting a Bizarre Star

The Sciences

Prehistoric Elephant Footprints Trace Their Movements Through Spain 125,000 Years Ago

The Sciences

Thousands of Dinosaur Footprints Found Close to Where Italy Will Host Winter Olympics

Health

What Makes the Subclade K Strain Different? Here’s What to Know About the “Super Flu”

Planet Earth

Do Animals Hold Funerals for Their Loved Ones Like We Do, or Are We Just Projecting Grief?

Planet Earth

Whale Breath May Reveal a Deadly Virus Circulating in Arctic Waters

Planet Earth

Ants Make Individuals Weaker to Build Bigger Societies

Planet Earth

Fresh Icelandic Lava Reveals How Life Takes It’s First Footsteps — On Earth and Beyond

The Sciences

Saying Goodbye to Comet 3I/ATLAS, the Interstellar Visitor That Briefly Called Our Solar System Home

The Sciences

Ancient Sewers Reveal Intestinal Parasites Sickened Roman Soldiers Near Hadrian’s Wall

Mind

Swearing May Unlock Strength You Didn’t Know You Had

Health

Simulation Shows That Bird Flu Could Become a Public Health Crisis After Only Two Days

Planet Earth

Like Jurassic Park, Mosquitoes Can Capture an Entire Ecosystem in Their Blood Meals

The Sciences

Violent Space Rock Smashups Caused a Dusty Wreck in a Nearby Planetary System

Planet Earth

Rare Footage Reveals the Mysterious Seven-Arm Octopus Eating Its Prey

Winter 2026

The Year in Science 2026

The Winter 2026 Issue of Discover Magazine

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More From Discover

The Sciences

An Explosion of Twin Dead Stars May Signal the First Superkilonova Ever Seen in Space 

Health

Some Compostable Dishes Contain Gluten and Can Transfer It into Food

The Sciences

What a 1.5-Million-Year-Old Face Reveals About Early Human Migration

Planet Earth

The Moss in Your Christmas Decorations Could Be Storing DNA From Rare Species

The Sciences

160-Million-Year-Old Fossils Rewrite the Story of Dinosaur Flight

Technology

Light Powers the World’s Smallest Programmable Robot, at About 0.3 Millimeters Long

Planet Earth

Like Kindergarten Buddies, Male Dolphins That Keep Friendships Can Live Longer

Planet Earth

Colorful Phytoplankton Blooms Can Cover Ocean Area the Size of Minnesota — Here’s Why

The Sciences

Ancient Bees Found Nested Inside Fossilized Bone — A Behavior Never Seen Before

The Sciences

The Mysterious Little Foot Fossil May Rewrite Hominin History, Representing a New Human Relative

Mind

Why Worry-Prone Personalities May Face a Higher Risk of Dying Earlier

Planet Earth

This Rare Deep-Sea Squid May Trick Predators and Prey by Sticking Its Head in Mud