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Stories from Meilan Solly

A trio of air conditioners failed to meet manufacturer recommendations regarding the use of separate circuit breakers and grounding devices

A Faulty Air Conditioning Unit Sparked the Brazil National Museum Fire

The September 2018 blaze destroyed the 200-year-old building and reduced the majority of its 20-million artifact collection to ash

A juvenile male gorilla lingers beside his mother's body

Gorillas Appear to Grieve for Their Dead

Scientists found that expressions of grief even extended beyond members of the same peer group

Thor Heyerdahl photographed with archaeological artifacts from Easter Island

Norway Will Repatriate Thousands of Artifacts Taken From Easter Island

Thor Heyerdahl Jr. says his late father had promised to return the items after they had been analyzed and detailed in published works

The squirrels measure up to 36 inches from head to tail

Yes, Giant Technicolor Squirrels Actually Roam the Forests of Southern India

The colorful creatures can measure up to three feet long from head to tail and weigh in at around four pounds

These illustrations come from a miniature book of classical Persian poetry.

The Library of Congress Has Digitized 155 Persian Texts Dating Back to the 13th Century

Offerings include a book of poetry featuring the epic Shahnameh and a biography of Shah Jahan, the emperor who built the Taj Mahal

"Slow looking" is impossible in Yayoi Kusama's popular "Infinity Mirror Rooms," which enforce a strict 30-second visitor time limit

This Saturday, Museums Across the Globe Are Asking Visitors to Linger for Slow Art Day

166 institutions are participating in the 10th-annual event, which encourages visitors to spend 5 to 10 minutes in front of a single work of art

Some three to five million years ago, the icy environs of Antarctica were replaced by verdant swaths of green

CO2 Levels Are as High as They Were Three Million Years Ago

The last time Earth had this much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, trees were growing at the South Pole

Installation view of "Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock and Roll"

From Buddy Holly to Lady Gaga, the Met’s New ‘Play It Loud’ Exhibit Features the Instruments of Rock and Roll Greats

The show includes more than 130 guitars, drum kits and keyboards, as well as vintage costumes, posters and concert footage

Researchers analyzed blood samples taken from 43 great white sharks captured and released off of the South African coast in 2012

Great White Sharks Thrive Despite Heavy Metals Coursing Through Their Veins

The apex predators likely absorb these toxins by eating fish lower down on the food chain

Skrillex's Grammy-winning “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” could help researchers discourage the spread of mosquito-borne diseases

Playing Skrillex May Help Ward Off Mosquito Bites

The EDM artist’s mix of very high and low frequency beats discourages the insects from biting victims, having sex

Researcher Jack Ashby initially suspected a crow was responsible for the toad's skinning, but after examining the photo, he concluded that an otter was the more likely culprit

Why Otters Disembowel Toads Before Eating Them

The unfortunate amphibian likely fell victim to an otter, which skinned it to avoid ingesting the deadly toxins found in its glands

The royal document was signed by nine witnesses

819-Year-Old Royal Charter Issued by King John Found in University Archives

A visiting historian happened upon the medieval document while conducting research in Durham, England

The Toad mountain harlequin frog is one of more than 500 species endangered by the fungal outbreak

World’s Deadliest Pathogen On Record Devastates More Than 500 Amphibian Species—and We Don’t Know How To Stop It

The powerful fungus essentially ‘eats’ its victim’s skin alive, weakening the system before triggering cardiac arrest

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts hired art therapist Stephen Legari in 2017

Quebec’s Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Sets Example in Arts-Based Wellness

The social prescribing movement involves the treatment of a wide range of ailments with therapeutic art- or hobby-based activities

Mini mum fits comfortably on a human's thumbnail

Meet ‘Mini mum,’ ‘Mini scule’ and ‘Mini ature,’ Three New Frog Species Among the World’s Smallest

The newly discovered amphibians are all about the size of a thumbnail or smaller

Edouard Manet, "Laure," also known as "Olympia," 1863

Musée d’Orsay Renames Manet’s ‘Olympia’ and Other Works in Honor of Their Little-Known Black Models

Marie-Guillemine Benoist’s “Portrait of Madeleine,” previously titled “Portrait of a Black Woman,” hangs alongside Manet’s newly christened “Laure”

Scotty’s skeleton is scheduled to go on view at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in May 2019

Meet Scotty, the Largest and Longest-Lived T. Rex Ever Found

The dinosaur weighed an estimated 19,555 pounds and likely lived into its early 30s

Immature (red) and mature (blue) neurons in the hippocampus of a 68 year-old

The Brain May Actually Keep Generating New Cells Well Into Old Age

An analysis of 58 brain samples found that neurogenesis declines over time and is particularly poor among those with Alzheimer’s

Beyoncé and Jay-Z filmed their "Apeshit" music video at the Louvre, further publicizing the already iconic museum

These Were 2018’s Most Popular Art Exhibitions and Museums

Celebrities including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Rihanna and the Obamas helped galleries achieve record-breaking visitor numbers

Grady's mother gave birth via caesarean section on April 16, 2018

Baby Monkey Born Using Frozen Testicular Tissue, Giving Hope for Infertile Childhood Cancer Survivors

Around 30 percent of pediatric cancer patients are rendered infertile by chemotherapy or radiation treatments

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