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Researchers excavated a crypt in Milan and found human remains containing evidence of cocaine use.

New Research

Europeans Were Using Cocaine in the 17th Century—Hundreds of Years Earlier Than Historians Thought

Scientists identified traces of the drug in the brain tissue of two individuals buried in the crypt of a hospital in Milan

One eagle fights another for a midshipman fish in a behavior called kleptoparasitism.

‘Pirate Seabirds’ Could Become a Pathway for Deadly Avian Flu to Spread to Australia, Study Finds

Kleptoparasitism, in which a bird harasses another to steal its food, might introduce avian flu to the continent, currently the only one without the severe H5N1 strain

A view from the webcast of the 34th First Annual Ig Nobel Ceremony.

Anus-Breathing Animals and Pigeon-Guided Missiles: Ig Nobel Prizes Reward Unusual but Valuable Science

The annual award ceremony featured costumes, songs and paper airplanes as scientists recognized comedic research across ten disciplines

Napoleon in Burning Moscow, Adam Albrecht, 1841

On This Day in History

To Strike Fear Into Napoleon’s Occupying Army, These Retreating Soldiers Burned Down Their Own City

When the blaze in Moscow subsided on September 18, 1812, the French—who had traveled hundreds of miles into Russia—were left without vital resources as a brutal winter approached

The barracks were designed as a series of mudbrick rooms.

Cool Finds

These Ancient Egyptian Barracks Paint a Vivid Picture of Military Life During the Reign of Ramses II

Archaeologists unearthed a series of mudbrick rooms filled with religious tributes, soldiers’ personal effects, engraved weaponry and animal bones

Deaths attributable to antimicrobial resistance could reach 39 million between 2025 and 2050.

Deaths From Antibiotic-Resistant Infections Could Reach 39 Million by 2050, Study Suggests

A new paper analyzes three decades of fatalities around the world and predicts how “superbugs” will affect human health in the future

Knight, Death and the Devil, Albrecht Dürer, 1513

Cool Finds

An 11-Year-Old Boy Rescued a Mysterious Artwork From the Dump. It Turned Out to Be a 500-Year-Old Renaissance Print

Experts have confirmed that the image of “Knight, Death and the Devil” is a real master engraving by the renowned German artist Albrecht Dürer

A Soldier's Journey by Sabin Howard was unveiled at the new National World War I Memorial on September 13.

The Sprawling Sculpture at the Center of the National World War I Memorial Has Been Unveiled in Washington, D.C.

“A Soldier’s Journey,” a 58-foot-long bronze artwork depicting vivid scenes from the war, was illuminated for the first time at a ceremony on September 13

Lindor Mehmetaj, the manager of London's Grove Gallery, with Banksy's Girl With Balloon

See Footage of a Thief Breaking Into a London Gallery and Stealing Banksy’s Iconic ‘Girl With Balloon’

Officials launched an investigation and recovered the $360,000 print less than a week after it vanished from Grove Gallery. Two men have been charged for the crime

The hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin, is thought to be one of the world's rarest penguin species.

Rare Yellow-Eyed Penguin Wins New Zealand’s Bird of the Year Contest

The noisy-but-shy bird, known as the hoiho, has earned the most votes for a second time amid threats to its survival

Joe Mazraani fans away sand to get a better look at part of Le Lyonnais.

Divers Discover the Long-Lost Wreckage of a Passenger Steamship That Sank in a Hit-and-Run in 1856

“Le Lyonnais” descended into the depths off the coast of Massachusetts after colliding with the “Adriatic,” a sailing vessel that left the floundering steamship to fend for itself

Divers saw nine species of game fish and soft coral starting to grow on the submerged cars last month.

No Longer Full of Commuters, Atlanta’s Old Subway Cars Are Now Filled With Fish

Two Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority railcars were added to an artificial reef off the coast of Georgia to create more wildlife habitat

A mountain in the Dickson Fjord after 33 million cubic yards of its rock and ice collapsed in a landslide.

A Mysterious Seismic Signal Lasted Nine Days Last Year. It Was a Mega-Tsunami Caused by Climate Change, Researchers Say

A melting glacier caused a mountain in Greenland to collapse into a narrow fjord, setting off an oscillating wave that rattled seismic detectors around the world

The Roaring Lion, Yousuf Karsh, 1941

A Thief Replaced This Iconic Churchill Portrait With a Fake. Two Years Later, the Original Has Been Recovered

Investigators discovered that the original print of “The Roaring Lion” had been sold to a buyer in Italy

Extremadura spans more than 16,000 square miles and is home to roughly one million residents.

This Remote Region in Spain Could Pay You Up to $16,000 to Move There

Officials in Extremadura are hoping to attract digital nomads and tech workers in a bid to boost the region’s shrinking population

Construction of the famous stone statues of Rapa Nui, called moai, was previously thought to have contributed to the island's population collapse.

Easter Island’s Ancient Population Never Faced Ecological Collapse, Suggests Another Study

New DNA analysis adds to growing research indicating the famous Pacific island did not collapse from overuse of resources before the arrival of Europeans

Another partial lunar eclipse, like this one from October 2023, will take place in September.

How to See a Stunning Supermoon and Partial Lunar Eclipse on Tuesday

September’s full moon delivers a rare trifecta for lunar enthusiasts: a supermoon, a partial eclipse and a harvest moon

This rare copy of the Constitution was signed by then Secretary of Congress Charles Thomson.

Cool Finds

This Forgotten Copy of the Constitution Discovered in a Filing Cabinet Could Sell for Millions

The historic text, which bears the signature of Secretary of Congress Charles Thomson, was one of 100 copies ordered on September 28, 1787

Venus, seen in three views as it approaches a conjunction with Earth and the sun, won the planets, comets and asteroids category.

See 11 Breathtaking Space Images From the Astronomy Photographer of the Year Contest

From a solar eclipse to a dolphin-like nebula, these winning shots by astrophotographers from around the world depict the cosmos in sharp detail

Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump, Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1982.

Basquiat and Banksy Take Center Stage at the Hirshhorn

At an upcoming exhibition, the Smithsonian museum will display works by the two boundary-breaking artists for the first time

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