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The Step Pyramid stands more than 200 feet tall and is made from stones weighing more than 650 pounds. Some other researchers are not yet convinced by the idea that it was built using a hydraulics system.

Ancient Egyptians May Have Used Hydraulic Lift to Build Pyramid

Researchers propose that a system of water could have lifted heavy stones to the height necessary to construct the Step Pyramid

A rendering of Iván Argote's giant pigeon statue perched on top of the High Line

This 16-Foot-Tall Pigeon Sculpture Is Coming to New York City’s High Line

Artist Iván Argote hopes the artwork, titled “Dinosaur,” will inspire “attraction, seduction and fear”

A new study of giant danios (not pictured) suggests schools of fish save 79 percent more energy in turbulent conditions than fish swimming individually.

Swimming in Schools May Help Fish Save Energy in Turbulent Waters

A new study suggests schooling fish use up to 79 percent less energy in rough conditions than fish that swim alone

Part of the 17th-century foundation will be visible through a glass floor section in the new archaeology center.

Cool Finds

17th-Century Home Unearthed in Colonial Williamsburg

Crews were constructing a new archaeology center when they stumbled upon the historic structure’s foundations and accompanying artifacts

Vultures clean up carcasses quickly, preventing bacteria and pathogens from proliferating. 

When Vultures Nearly Disappeared in India, Half a Million People Died, Too, Study Finds

By being nature’s clean-up crew, the often maligned birds help prevent the spread of diseases, according to a new study

Lava erupts from the Sundhnúkur volcano on June 3, 2024, on the Reykjanes Peninsula near Grindavik, Iceland. The volcano has erupted five times since December 2023, forcing evacuations of Grindavik and the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa.

Hidden Underground Magma Pools Fueled Iceland’s Volcanic Eruptions, Study Suggests

A subterranean plumbing system of magma beneath the island’s Reykjanes Peninsula may have helped set off the recent series of eruptions that could last for centuries

Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland, Arkansas, in 1932.

A Statue of Johnny Cash Is Coming to the U.S. Capitol

Standing alongside civil rights leader Daisy Bates, the singer-songwriter will represent the state of Arkansas in Statuary Hall

The Perseids occur when Earth passes through the debris field of the comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.

How to Watch the Perseids, the ‘Best Meteor Shower of the Year’

The annual celestial event is one of the year’s most anticipated, and it will peak from August 11 to 12

Firefighters in Jefferson County, Colorado, are encountering prairie rattlesnakes as they battle the Quarry Fire southwest of Denver.

‘We Have a Rattlesnake Problem’: Wildland Firefighters in the West Must Also Face a Slithering, Venomous Foe

Nearly 100 large fires are burning in the United States right now, including some in rattlesnake territory

After delays and months of uncertainty, triathletes finally took the plunge into the Seine River in Paris.

The Paris Olympics

Olympians Finally Got to Swim in the Seine River

After months of uncertainty, the women’s and men’s triathlon events kicked off with a dip in the long-polluted waterway that runs through the heart of Paris

Benjamin Franklin lived in London for much of the time between 1757 and 1775.

Why Were There So Many Skeletons Hidden in Benjamin Franklin’s Basement?

During restorations in the 1990s, more than 1,200 pieces of bone surfaced beneath the founding father’s London home

The mummy was preserved with her mouth wide open.

Egyptian Mummy Dubbed ‘Screaming Woman’ May Have Died in Agony

The woman, preserved with an open mouth, went through an expensive mummification process 3,500 years ago

Brahe's mansion, Uraniborg, was located on an island in Sweden. His basement laboratory is represented by the bottom left room in this drawing.

New Research

Was This Renaissance Alchemist Ahead of His Time?

New research suggests that Tycho Brahe isolated tungsten nearly 200 years before the metal was identified as an element

Previous research has looked at the static electricity of bees, but the study authors write that the charges of butterflies hadn't been measured before.

Static Electricity May Help Butterflies and Moths Pick Up Pollen

A new study measured the insects’ electrostatic charges and used computer simulations to show that the charges were strong enough to lift pollen

Six of the 12 islands, including Hiva Oa, are permanently inhabited.

These Remote Volcanic Islands in the South Pacific Just Became a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Marquesas, located some 3,000 miles from their nearest continental neighbor, are some of the most isolated islands on the planet

A woman stands behind a model of a Neanderthal at the Natural History Museum in London. Contrary to the narrative that early humans left Africa roughly 50,000 years ago, a new study finds our species migrated from the continent on multiple occasions.

Early Humans Migrated Out of Africa Several Times, DNA Study Suggests

Homo sapiens interbred with Neanderthals as early as 250,000 years ago and may have ultimately bred them out of existence, according to new research

Peregrine falcons can reach speeds of up to 200 miles per hour when they drop from great heights to catch prey.

Yosemite’s Peregrine Falcons Are Rebounding Thanks to Unlikely Allies: Rock Climbers

After pesticides decimated the birds’ numbers, climbers helped the species regain a foothold in the park

Performance artist Abraham Poincheval stands inside a giant glass bottle on the Canal Saint-Denis.

The Paris Olympics

French Performance Artist Seals Himself in a Giant Bottle for Ten Days Outside Paris’ Olympic Stadium

Abraham Poincheval has become a living message in a bottle, exploring themes of privacy and public space

The cotton candy lobster caught by Joseph Kramer.

Rare 1-in-100-Million ‘Cotton Candy’ Lobster Found off the Coast of New Hampshire

A rare genetic mutation gives the crustacean its unique hues but also makes it more vulnerable to predators

Rembrandt van Rijn completed The Night Watch, a group portrait of Amsterdam's local militia, in 1642.

New Research

What Is the Secret Ingredient Behind Rembrandt’s Golden Glow?

Scientists found arsenic sulfide pigments in “The Night Watch,” arguably the artist’s most famous painting

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