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Scientists Use Cadaver Hands to Study the Dangers of Pumpkin Carving

A rigorous experiment compared pumpkin-carving tools to determine the safest way to carve a pumpkin

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Congratulations to (drum roll…) Jeffrey Davidson!

I’m pleased to announce the winner of the Smithsonian’s Great American History Puzzle

Screenshot of the robot WALL-E from the 2008 Disney/Pixar animated film

And the Winner Is: 2012 Inductees to the Robot Hall of Fame

Much to our chagrin, Rosey did not make it. But who did?

A New Tate Online Exhibit Showcases Lost, Stolen and Destroyed Art

The exhibit includes newspaper clippings, photographs and the last known images of each of the featured works

The 3.3-million-year-old fossils of an Australopithecus afarensis child from Dikika, Ethiopia, suggest the hominid climbed trees. The individual’s right shoulder blade (side view) is visible beneath the skull.

Fossilized Shoulder Reveals Early Hominids Climbed Trees

The shoulder blades of a 3.3-million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis child suggest the species spent at least some time in the treetops

Not only was Ornithomimus feathered, but the dinosaur’s fluffy coat changed as it aged.

Feathery Ostrich Mimics Enfluffle the Dinosaur Family Tree

A trio of feathered dinosaurs tests a longstanding hypothesis and hint that there may be more feathered dinosaur fossils than anyone ever expected

A Massive Field of Frozen Greenhouse Gas Is Thawing Out

Vast stores of methane hydrates off the US east coast are thawing out, but what this means is still up in the air

President Gerald Ford in April 1975 with Dick Cheney (left), who would become the youngest White House chief of staff in history, and Donald Rumsfeld, who would become defense secretary.

A Halloween Massacre at the White House

In the fall of 1975 President Gerald Ford survived two assassination attempts and a car accident. Then his life got really complicated

Spooky fun for everyone at the Zoo

Events October 26-28: Boo at the Zoo, Dinner and a Movie and Trunk Shows

This weekend, trick or treat your way through the Zoo, take a trip to the remote Russian Chukchi community and pick up some crafted fashions

Microscopic bacteria were found to conduct electricity between red surface sediments and deeper, anaerobic black seabed layers.

Live Wires: Newly Discovered Seafloor Bacteria Conduct Electricity

Scientists have found ultrathin multicellular bacteria that create electrical circuits several centimeters long

Can We Excuse Cheating If It Supports a Good Cause?

Is it ever ok for us to bend the rules or cheat in order to achieve a greater good, or to support those who do?

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Q&A: Joe Bataan, The King of Latin Soul

The unmistakeable surface of the classic Hershey bar

Copyright Confection: The Distinctive Topography of the Hershey Bar

After a legal tug-of-war, Hershey’s secured a trademark for the structural design of their classic chocolate bar

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Reviving Heterodontosaurus

Paleontologists have known about Heterodontosaurus for decades, but a new restoration of the dinosaur shows just how freaky it was

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Tropical Storm Sandy Could Bring Extreme Weather to the East Coast for Halloween

A nascent hurricane in the Caribbean could bring flooding and high winds to the East Coast—or could take a turn and head out to sea

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Political Animals: Republican Elephants and Democratic Donkeys

Politicians and parties may flip-flop but for more than 100 years, the political iconography of the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant has remained unchanged

According to the hypothesis, grandmothers can help collect food and feed children before they are able to feed themselves, enabling mothers to have more children.

New Evidence That Grandmothers Were Crucial for Human Evolution

A computer simulation supports the idea that grandmothers helped our species evolve social skills and longer lives

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Should Americans Travel to the Middle East?

Today the area is often perceived as a murky and dangerous blur on the map. But how unsafe, really, is this area for tourists?

A beluga whale

Beluga Whale Learns to Speak Like a Human

Beluga whales can vocalize in a way remarkably close to human speech, according to new observations

A reconstruction of Acrocanthosaurus at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, North Carolina, where this year’s SVP reception was held.

Dinosaurs Rule at SVP

This year’s SVP conference in Raleigh, North Carolina showcased a wealth of new dinosaur science

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