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Berry Gordy plays the piano with Motown stars including Stevie Wonder, at right, and Smokey Robinson, at rear behind the piano.

On This Day in History

Motown Records, Founded on This Day in 1959, Broke Racial Barriers in Pop Music With Its Beloved Hits

Berry Gordy’s record label used the ‘sound of young America’ to bring people together

U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry shocked Americans by announcing that cigarette smoking is a major cause of lung cancer, throat cancer and chronic bronchitis.

On This Day in History

When the U.S. Surgeon General Shocked Americans by Announcing That Smoking Kills

The 1964 disclosure marked the first time many smokers had heard about the health dangers of tobacco

One of the two recaptured lynx—another two are still on the loose

Four Lynx Have Been Illegally Released Into the Scottish Highlands. Officials Think ‘Guerrilla Rewilding’ Is to Blame

So far, only two of the four lynx have been recaptured, leaving authorities scrambling across the snowy woods to find the missing cats

Researchers found the pieces covered in newspaper and tucked beneath a staircase in the crypt.

Cool Finds

Medieval Crowns and Scepters Discovered Hidden Inside the Walls of a Crypt Beneath a Lithuanian Cathedral

The royal treasures were stashed away at the beginning of World War II. Experts knew the trove existed, but previous attempts to find it had failed

An international team of scientists spent four summers working in average temperatures of -25.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

Scientists Drill 1.7 Miles Into Antarctic Ice, Revealing 1.2 Million Years of Climate History

Researchers say a collected sample is the longest continuous record of Earth’s past climate from an ice core

The glymphatic system moves a clear liquid called cerebrospinal fluid around the brain to flush out toxic proteins accumulated during waking hours.

In a Study on Mice, Scientists Show How the Brain Washes Itself During Sleep

The brain’s waste-removal process is “like turning on the dishwasher,” a neurologist says, but common sleep medications may harm it

The endangered Woodville Karst cave crayfish (Procambarus orcinus)

Freshwater Animals Are More Fragile Than Thought, With Nearly a Quarter Threatened With Extinction, Study Finds

Species in Lake Victoria, Lake Titicaca, Sri Lanka’s Wet Zone and the Western Ghats of India are particularly vulnerable to the effects of agriculture, human infrastructure and climate change, per the paper

Two women follow along during the Moby Dick reading marathon at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

Thousands of Book Lovers Gather for a 25-Hour-Long ‘Moby Dick’ Reading Marathon

The annual event takes place in the Massachusetts town of New Bedford, which is where Herman Melville’s celebrated 1851 novel opens

The tomb's walls are painted and carved with images of objects the doctor might have used.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Intricately Decorated Tomb Belonging to a Doctor Who Treated Egyptian Pharaohs 4,100 Years Ago

The chamber holds a stone coffin engraved with the physician’s name and titles, which include “director of medicinal plants” and “chief dentist”

A Surinam golden-eyed tree frog calls for a mate, puffing out its cheeks.

See 25 Incredible Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest

Cast your vote for your favorite of the photographs, which are all contenders for the People’s Choice award, through January 29

Portrait of Thomas Paine by Laurent Dabos

America's 250th Anniversary

America’s First ‘Viral’ Post Was Published on This Day in 1776, When Thomas Paine’s ‘Common Sense’ Sparked a Revolution

The Englishman’s pamphlet helped spur the 13 colonies to declare independence from Britain

A map of bathymetry—or underwater topography—of Axial Seamount, an active volcano some 300 miles off the coast of Oregon.

An Undersea Volcano Near Oregon May Erupt in 2025, Scientists Predict. It Could Help Improve Eruption Forecasts

Axial Seamount doesn’t pose a threat to humans, but observing what happens before and after its potential eruption could help scientists learn about submerged volcanoes and strengthen predictions

People suspected of collaborating with the Nazis were rounded up after American troops liberated the Dutch town of Nijmegen at the end of World War II.

The Netherlands Has Published a List of 425,000 Suspected Nazi Collaborators

In the past, the names could only be viewed in person. But due to expiring access restrictions, they’re now available to anyone with an internet connection

A composite of enhanced color images of Pluto (lower right) and Charon (upper left), taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft on July 14, 2015.

A Novel ‘Kiss and Capture’ Event Gave Pluto Its Largest Moon, Charon, New Study Suggests

Researchers accounted for the previously overlooked structures of the dwarf planet and moon in computer simulations of a celestial collision

The Onodera Group, a Michelin-starred Japanese sushi restaurant chain, placed the winning bid for the massive fish.

Massive Bluefin Tuna the Size of a Motorcycle Sells for $1.3 Million at a Japanese Fish Market

The fish weighed 608 pounds, which is also about the same size as an adult male grizzly bear. It garnered the second highest bid at the Toyosu Market since records began in 1999

The coffin was found in a small Roman cemetery.

Cool Finds

Construction Workers Discover Ancient Stone Coffin Filled With Plaster While Expanding Highway in England

The intricately crafted coffin dates back more than 1,500 years. Researchers say it weighs around 1,650 pounds, “comparable to an adult male polar bear”

Will Rogers' Western Ranch House was on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Historic Landmarks Razed By Los Angeles’ Deadly Fires

Among the destroyed structures are the ranch established by comedian Will Rogers and a motel owned by notorious publisher William Randolph Hearst

Jimmy Carter tries to comfort 6-year-old Ruhama Issah at Savelugu Hospital in Ghana as a Carter Center technical assistant dresses Issah's Guinea worm wound. In May 2010, Ghana reported its last case of Guinea worm disease and announced it had stopped transmission a year later.

Jimmy Carter Worked to Eradicate the Vicious Guinea Worm Parasite, Slashing Cases by the Millions

The 39th U.S. president aimed to quash the debilitating water-based infection before he died. Through the Carter Center’s work, he came tantalizingly close, lowering the number of yearly cases from 3.5 million to just 14

The Danish-Swedish farmdog is now eligible to participate in all the American Kennel Club's events and competitions.

Energetic and Loyal: Meet the Danish-Swedish Farmdog, the Newest Breed Recognized by the American Kennel Club

These small but mighty pups have roots on family farms in Denmark and Sweden, where they helped catch rodents, herd livestock, hunt and watch over the property

View of the Apple iTunes Music Store, which launched in April 2003, two years after the release of iTunes in January 2001

On This Day in History

The Way We Listen to Music Changed Forever When Apple Launched iTunes in 2001

The digital jukebox enjoyed a two-decade reign as the dominant program for storing audio files

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