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A picture taken by the Hubble Space Telescope that contains GN-z11, the galaxy with the newly discovered black hole at its center. When GN-z11 was first imaged, it was the farthest galaxy ever seen in the universe.

Astronomers Discover the Oldest Known Black Hole, Breaking a Record Set Last Year

The supermassive structure dates to about 400 million years after the Big Bang, and it’s particularly large for its age

The envelope was sent twice: once on May 2, 1840, and again on May 4, 1840.

First Known Piece of Mail Sent Using a Stamp Goes to Auction

The 183-year-old envelope is a rare example of two early forms of prepaid postage: Mulready envelopes and adhesive stamps

Colored scanning electron micrograph of a water bear, or tardigrade

How Are Tardigrades So ‘Indestructible?’ Scientists Finally Have an Explanation

The tiny animals nicknamed “water bears” can endure extreme conditions by entering a deep hibernation with a switch at the molecular level, a new study finds

To understand Elma's life, researchers cut her tusk lengthwise and took samples to study the elements present in the ivory.

Meet Elma, a Woolly Mammoth Who Roamed Far and Wide More Than 14,000 Years Ago

By analyzing a fossilized tusk, scientists have pieced together the animal’s movements

This reconstruction shows the 4,000-year-old structure in its original form.

New Research

Archaeologists Discover 4,000-Year-Old Wall Built Around Oasis in Saudi Arabia

The nine-mile-long structure surrounding the Khaybar Oasis may have once protected against raiders

The American mink, native to North America, is a semiaquatic mustelid that is often farmed for its fur.

Traps Scented Like Mink Butts Could Be Key to Removing the Invasive Species From the U.K.

A successful eradication trial in East Anglia has raised biologists’ hopes for ridding Great Britain of the destructive creatures, which threaten native wildlife

Before his death, Bobi held two world records: the oldest living dog and the oldest dog ever.

Bobi, Known as the ‘World’s Oldest Dog’ at 31, Has Title Suspended Amid Investigation

The long-lived Portuguese canine broke two world records and captured the hearts of people around the globe, but skepticism surrounds his achievement

Scientists produced the most complete catalog of marine microbe DNA yet, including data from the deeper zones of the oceans.

DNA From the Ocean’s ‘Twilight Zone’ Could Lead to New Lifesaving Drugs, Scientists Say

Researchers catalogued the genes of more than 300 million groups of marine bacteria, viruses and fungi in hopes that the database could lead to breakthroughs in medicine, energy and agriculture

Duncan Grant’s studio

This Museum Is Searching for Lost Artworks by Members of the Bloomsbury Group

The Charleston museum is launching a new initiative to acquire 50 privately owned works by 2030

Fire investigators determined the blaze was an accident, likely set by a fire someone had started to keep warm in the alley behind the building.

Works by Picasso, Rembrandt Damaged in Seattle Gallery Fire

Davidson Galleries had been preparing to move to a new location, so some of its works were especially vulnerable to smoke damage

A photo from a camera on one of Peregrine's payload decks shows some of the spacecraft's payloads, as well as a sliver of Earth in the upper right.

Doomed Lunar Lander Will Burn Up in Earth’s Atmosphere on Thursday

Astrobotic, the company in charge of the mission, says its Peregrine spacecraft will not reach the moon, and burning it will ensure the lander doesn’t end up as space debris

Found by workers during recent restorations, the wall paintings feature three crowned motifs.

Cool Finds

Forgotten Tudor Wall Paintings Discovered in a Cambridge University Loft Space

Unseen for nearly 300 years, the art resurfaced during restorations at Christ’s College

Dogs are one of the few animals that use their tails primarily for communication.

Why Do Dogs Wag Their Tails? Scientists Examine the Endearing Behavior

Dogs communicate through tail-wagging, and humans may have selected for the trait during domestication

An artist's impression of the planet orbiting its star with the trail of gas behind it. The planet, called WASP-69b, completes one orbit in less than four days.

This Distant Exoplanet Has a 350,000-Mile-Long Tail, Like a Comet

A stream of particles flung from the planet’s star is causing its atmosphere to boil away and lose 200,000 tons of mass per second

Elton John performing during his farewell tour at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles

Elton John Just Became an EGOT Winner

With his victory at last night’s Emmy Awards, the celebrated musician is the 19th person in history to take home an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony

Lava flows from a fissure on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern Iceland on January 14.

Iceland Volcano Eruption Destroys Homes, May Signal a New Era of Frequent Activity

Fissures near Grindavík ejected lava for the second time in one month and engulfed three homes in the coastal fishing town

Forensic scientist Joe Mullins created this reconstruction using the victim's skull.

See the Face of Roman Britain’s Only Known Crucifixion Victim

A forensic artist has reimagined what the man may have looked like 2,000 years ago

The new street sign in Paris' 13th arrondissement

You Can Now Walk Down ‘Rue David Bowie’ in Paris

The city’s 13th arrondissement honored the British musical legend on what would have been his 77th birthday

Researchers studied roughly 50 numbats over the course of a year.

As the Planet Warms, Australia’s Numbats Are at Risk of Overheating

The endangered, squirrel-sized marsupials forage for termites during the day—but they can become too hot after just ten minutes in direct sunlight, according to new research

Camille Pissarro's Rue Saint-Honoré in the Afternoon, Effect of Rain (1897) hangs at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid.

Court Rules Against Returning Nazi-Looted Pissarro Painting to Jewish Family

Sold in exchange for exit visas in 1939, the estimated $30 million masterpiece will stay at a Spanish museum

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