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The Larsen Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula has seen vast reaches of ice crumble into the ocean. New research suggests that this and other dramatic episodes of ice shelf collapse might be caused by the ocean below eating away at the ice above.

Antarctica’s Ice Shelves Dissolve Thanks to Warm Water Below

The ocean bathing the underside of massive sheets of floating ice is slowly melting ice shelves, making them vulnerable to collapse

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What to Do With Your Delicious Summer Melons

From salsa to salad to soup, here are some great refreshing dishes to make with these sublime, succulent fruits

Science gives fathers some props.

10 More Things We’ve Learned About Dads

Scientists keep finding reasons why fathers matter. They also think it’s not a bad idea for dads to ask their kids, “How am I doing?”

Biotech Companies No Longer Have the Right to Patent Human Genes

Companies can still patent DNA they build themselves, methods for isolating genes or specialized knowledge they gain through genetic research

Wendy Red Star, enit, 2010. Lithograph on paper with archival pigment ink photograph.

Contemporary Art from Oregon’s Umatilla Indian Reservation

A compact exhibit highlights the work of seven contemporary Native American artists at New York’s Gustav Heye Center

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Cracking the Code of the Human Genome

Scientists Sequence DNA of Bacteria Responsible for Medieval Leprosy

Genetic information gathered from centuries-old exhumed bones reveals that the infection hasn’t changed much in the past 1,000 years

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At Least 400,000 Hungry Seabirds Drown in Fishing Nets Each Year

The gillnets used by local or artisanal fishers are a big threat to seabirds

A tar sands mine in Alberta

2.5 Million Gallons of Toxic Waste Just Spilled in Alberta

Both Alberta and the company responsible, Apache Corp, held off for more than a week on publicly disclosing the information about the spill

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Where Bourbon Really Got Its Name and More Tips on America’s Native Spirit

Michael Veach is Louisville’s unofficial bourbon ambassador. We asked him to give us some history as well as some suggestions on what to drink

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The Desperate Would-be Housewife of New York

Not even a murder trial and the unmasking of her fake pregnancy stopped Emma Cunningham’s search for love and legitimacy

Learn what it takes to fly this Saturday at an aircraft show at the Udvar-Hazy Center.

Events June 14-16: Free Drawing, an Aircraft Show and Signing About Art

This weekend, learn how to draw, see 50 vintage, military and recreational planes and discover art in American sign language

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Watch New York City Come Alive in This Amazing Timelapse

Take a sped-up tour of Midtown Manhattan and its residents, non-stop traffic and historic landmarks

Print. Battle of Gettysburg. AF*65353M.

The Civil War

Gettysburg Artifacts From the Smithsonian Collections

150 years after the battle, the Battle of Gettysburg still looms large over the American imagination

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March on Washington Artifacts from the Smithsonian Collections

A trove of documents, buttons and other memorable tokens carry the memory of the most historic day in the civil rights movement

Languages that evolve at high elevations are more likely to include a sound that’s easier to make when the air is thinner, new research shows.

Do Geography and Altitude Shape the Sounds of a Language?

Languages that evolve at high elevations are more likely to include a sound that’s easier to make when the air is thinner, new research shows

A Survey of Women With Broken Bones Shows the Prevalence of Domestic Abuse

One in three women has been the victim of domestic abuse.

The Beck’s Edison Bottle

Beer Bottle Meets 19th-Century Phonograph, Makes Beautiful Music

Engineers and music experts in New Zealand tinkered with the concepts behind Thomas Edison’s original phonograph to make a beer bottle sing

Bacteria Makes Squid Sparkly and Sleepy

Bacteria sets up shop in squid to make it sparkle, and also might tell it when to go to sleep

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The Architecture of Superman: A Brief History of The Daily Planet

The real-world buildings that may have inspired Superman’s iconic office tower workplace

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Unborn Turtles Actively Regulate Their Own Temperature

Before hatching, a baby turtle can deliberately move between warm and cool patches within its egg—a behavior that may help determine its gender

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