Scientists have observed a never-before-seen form of oxygen, and its behavior could call into question what nuclear physics says about “magic numbers”. Imagine, if you will, that you could see ...

“The existence of galaxies with no elements such as oxygen—formed by stars after Big Bang nucleosynthesis—is a key prediction of the cosmological model,” the researchers write. “However, no pristine ...

New research challenges a long-held assumption about oxygen in the deep sea, with scientists finding oxygen produced without photosynthesis in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.

The discovery of this deep-sea oxygen, dubbed "dark oxygen," is the first time scientists have ever observed oxygen being generated without the involvement of organisms and challenges what we know ...

The most abundant form of oxygen, 16 O, is doubly magic, because of its eight protons and eight neutrons. Oxygen-28, with 8 protons and 20 neutrons, has long been predicted to be doubly magic, too.

But the first observations of oxygen-28, reported in the Aug. 31 Nature, reveal that it is more ephemeral than enduring: Its nuclei crumble after about a zeptosecond (or 0.000000000000000000001 ...

However, oxygen's reactivity can be an issue if it builds up in tissues, where it can damage cellular components like DNA and proteins. That's why antioxidants, in moderation, are good for our health.

Oxygen accounts for about 21% of Earth's air, with the rest of our atmosphere primarily nitrogen. And most living things - including people, as we well know - need oxygen to survive.