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La Caverne du Pont Neuf under construction in Paris

The Oldest Bridge in Paris Was Swallowed Overnight by a Giant, Inflatable Cave in the Latest Artwork by the ‘French Banksy’

French street artist JR chose the Pont Neuf bridge as the canvas for his latest larger-than-life art installation, created with audio accompaniment by a Daft Punk musician

An immunity necklace from the 50th season of “Survivor”

As ‘Survivor’ Finishes Its 50th Season, the Smithsonian Acquires the Sought-After Immunity Necklace and Other Props From the Iconic Reality TV Show

Items from the first and most recent seasons of the hit program will be added to the permanent collection of the National Museum of American History

Around 90 percent of people are right-handed.

Why Is Nearly Every Person Right-Handed—but Not Every Ape and Monkey? New Research Explores the Evolutionary Origins of Human Handedness

Brain size and bipedalism are the most likely drivers of our species’ right-hand dominance, according to new research

Museumgoers can read the labels on the backs of the paintings, which may provide clues about each work's provenance.

Who Are the Owners of These Nazi-Looted Masterpieces—and Could Displaying Them at One of France’s Most Popular Museums Help Track Them Down?

A new permanent display at the Musée d’Orsay showcases artworks that may have been stolen or sold under suspicious circumstances during World War II. Officials are still hoping to find the families of their rightful owners

The exterior of the reconstructed chapel in Historic St. Mary's City, Maryland

Groundbreaking DNA Analysis Identifies 1.3 Million Living Relatives of Colonial Maryland’s Earliest Settlers

Experts compared DNA from 49 skeletons buried in a cemetery in St. Mary’s City to genetic data shared by 11.5 million 23andMe users. They also identified what may be the remains of the colony’s second governor

Mediterranean monk seals are among the rarest pinnipeds in the world.

Mediterranean Monk Seals Hide in Underwater ‘Bubble Caves’ to Avoid Tourists During the Busy Summer Season, a Study Suggests

Researchers caught the rare pinnipeds resting and sleeping in a secluded chamber on the Greek islet of Formicula. The findings suggest that these small caves should be included in efforts to protect the animals’ habitat

Researchers collected groundwater in boreholes up to 1.8 miles underground. The water contains dissolved natural hydrogen.

This Canadian Mine Might Release Enough Natural Hydrogen Each Year to Power 400 Homes, Hinting at an Untapped Source of Clean Energy

Many of the country’s metal mines are embedded in an ancient rock formation that probably also houses a lot of the resource, referred to as “white hydrogen”

The Plain of Jars is an archaeological site with thousands of stone jars in Laos.

A Discovered Trove of Bones and Teeth Yields New Clues to the Century-Old Mystery of ‘Death Jars’ in Laos

Scientists found bones of 37 people inside a giant stone jar at one of Southeast Asia’s most puzzling archaeological sites. The find suggests a multigenerational burial practice

A conservator holds the wood and wax booklet. 

Cool Finds

From a Medieval Latrine in Germany, Archaeologists Extracted a Pristine Leather Notebook That Preserved Latin Cursive for Centuries

The writing in the booklet suggests it belonged to an upper-class merchant, who may have had a mishap while using the toilet 800 years ago

Gentoo penguins have been considered a rare beneficiary of climate change due to their population growth on the Antarctic Peninsula. Splitting the birds into four species brings to light regional threats and declines.

Gentoo Penguins Are Actually Four Different Species, Scientists Say, Revealing They’re Not Quite ‘Winners’ of Climate Change After All

A new study indicates that the adaptable birds evolved into distinct lineages as isolated populations shifted to match their environmental conditions over time. The work has implications for how conservationists assess threats to gentoos

Tuerkayana hirtipes, a true crab species examined in the study

When Did Crabs Evolve Their Iconic Sideways Scuttle? Scientists Traced It to a Common Ancestor That Lived 200 Million Years Ago

The findings suggest that their famous lateral movement evolved just once. It may have helped the animals rapidly spread and diversify because moving in two directions meant they could easily escape predators

The researchers say this is one of the first studies looking at the effects of cold exposure over a prolonged period of time in people who are overweight or have obesity.

Regularly Wearing a Cooling Vest Might Help You Lose Body Fat, According to a New Study

Participants who were overweight or living with obesity wore the accessories for two hours every morning for six weeks and lost an average of two pounds. The researchers suspect showering or swimming in frigid water could have similar effects

The skeleton first emerged from an eroded road cut in 2000 or 2001.

Likely Kicked by a Kangaroo, This Dingo Healed a Millennium Ago Thanks to Help From an Aboriginal Community That Continued to Honor It for 500 Years

New research shows that the ancestors of the Barkindji people in Australia ritually added river mussel shells to a burial site for centuries after the dingo died, suggesting they cared for it deeply

The death of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry Takes a Journey for a Fresh Perspective as the British Museum Prepares to Lay the Masterpiece Out Flat

After spending centuries in France, the 1,000-year-old tapestry depicting the Norman Conquest of England is traveling to its home country

A chick hatches around 18 days after embryo transfer to the artificial egg, according to the company.

‘De-Extinction’ Company Says It Hatched Chicks From Artificial Eggs, Paving the Way for Resurrecting Dodos and Other Bygone Birds

Colossal Biosciences announced that 26 live baby chickens have emerged from 3D-printed honeycomb structures. But the company does not plan to detail the system in a paper, and its mission has faced criticism

The Roman funerary marker in the custody of FBI New Orleans in November 2025

Cool Finds

Why Was This Ancient Roman Soldier’s Gravestone Hidden in a Louisiana Backyard? Archaeologists Solved the Mystery—and Helped Return the Artifact to Italy

The funerary marker, which surfaced on a New Orleans property last year, once belonged to a Roman soldier who died nearly 2,000 years ago. Officials repatriated the stone in a recent ceremony in Rome

An aerial view of the Grande Colonnade rendered redesign

‘Mona Lisa’ Is Moving to a New Home. The Louvre Just Announced the Architects Who Will Design Her Private Suite

Visitors will be able to view Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece without touring the rest of the Louvre, and visitor traffic at the museum will be able to grow by three million people annually

"Night at the Remarkables" 

These Ten Breathtaking Images From the 2026 Milky Way Photographer of the Year Contest Capture the Beauty of Our Galaxy

The gorgeous astrophotographs highlight the dazzling night sky and remind viewers what we risk losing to light pollution

Each by-the-wind sailor is made of a community of genetically identical organisms called "zooids" that perform different tasks.

Millions of Bright Blue Blobs Called ‘By-the-Wind Sailors’ Are Littering Beaches Along the West Coast

The strange creatures are washing up on shores across California, Oregon and Washington this spring—and making the coast smell especially fishy

Researchers tracked children's reactions to particular food exposure when they were fetuses, newborns and then 3-year-olds.

Want to Avoid Having a Picky Eater? Start Exposing Your Kids to Veggies Super Early—in the Womb

In a new study, 3-year-olds who were repeatedly exposed to the taste of bitter kale as fetuses appeared to be less averse to the leafy greens’ scent than they were to a food smell they hadn’t experienced in utero

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