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Hormiphora californensis, also called the California sea gooseberry, is a comb jelly common in California coastal waters.

Comb Jellies May Be the World’s Oldest Animal Group

A new study suggests that ancestors of comb jellies, not sponges, were the first to break off from the common ancestor of all animals

Defendants sit next to their lawyers at the Higher Regional Court in Dresden on January 10, 2023.

Five Men Convicted in $100 Million Jewel Heist That Rocked Germany

The thieves who robbed Dresden’s Green Vault in 2019 are members of the Remmo crime family

An artistic rendering of the newly discovered LP 791-18 d exoplanet

Newly Discovered Exoplanet May Be Covered in Volcanoes

Astronomers found an Earth-sized world that could have liquid water on its surface and may be able to support life

The Big Four Bridge crosses the Ohio River between Louisville, Kentucky, and Jeffersonville, Indiana.

Airbnb Names the Top Trending Destinations for Summer 2023

From relaxing beach towns to historic European cities, these popular spots will soon be bustling with vacationers

Researchers Jessica Farrell and Sean Goggin collect water samples at Moultrie Creek in St. Augustine, Florida.

Scientists Can Now Pull Human DNA From Air and Water, Raising Privacy Questions

Environmental DNA helps monitor elusive and endangered animals, but it could be an ethical minefield when used with humans, new study shows

Pablo Picasso's 1900 painting Le Moulin de la Galette, which originally contained a small lapdog

Cool Finds

Small Dog Wearing Red Bow Found Hidden in Picasso Painting

The Spanish painter decided against keeping the cute canine in the foreground of “Le Moulin de la Galette”

Experts at Freeman’s, a Philadelphia auction house, say that the windows were crafted by Tiffany Studios around 1904.

Cool Finds

Bought for $6,000, Grime-Covered Windows Are Actually Tiffany—and Worth Up to $250,000 Each

When a Philadelphia church sold its stained glass windows to a collector, nobody knew how valuable they were

Wildfire during Greece's 2021 heatwave, which experts have linked to climate change

The Next Five Years Will Almost Certainly Be the Warmest on Record, U.N. Says

Earth is likely to pass 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming over pre-industrial levels, a key climate threshold, by 2027, according to a new report

With wingspans of up to nine feet, California condors are the largest birds in North America.

Bird Flu Vaccine Approved in Emergency Effort to Save California Condors

The virus has set back the endangered birds’ recovery, but a newly hatched chick is flu-free and being raised by veterinarians

Paris is working on an ambitious project to clean the Seine river for use during swimming events in the 2024 Summer Olympics.

The Paris Olympics

For the First Time in a Century, Paris Is Making the Seine Swimmable

The city’s ambitious project will allow Olympians, and later the French public, to return to the famous river’s waters

Trichophyton simii, shown here under a microscope, is one of 40 species of fungi that can cause ringworm infections.

First Cases of Drug-Resistant Ringworm Found in the U.S.

The two patients—both in New York City—developed itchy rashes that did not go away with typical antifungal medications

Ski resorts in the Rocky Mountains received record-setting snowfall this year, which likely inspired more people to go skiing and snowboarding.

Ski Areas Reported More Visits Than Ever This Past Winter

Heavy snowfall—particularly in the Rocky Mountains—attracted record numbers of American skiers and snowboarders

A spider hides between its own legs.

See 15 Breathtaking Shots From the Close-Up Photographer of the Year Challenge

This themed contest rewarded minimalism, with clean photographs of insects, spiders and plants earning accolades

Jan Willemsz van der Pluym and his wife Jaapgen Carels, as painted by Rembrandt in 1635

Cool Finds

Auctioneer Unearths ‘Exceptionally Rare’ Rembrandt Portraits Lost Since 1824

The two small paintings depict a husband and wife who were personally close to the Dutch master

Illustration of a black hole pulling in surrounding gas.

Astronomers Identify the Largest-Ever Cosmic Explosion

The burst is ten times brighter than any known exploding star and has lasted for more than three years

The Grand Prismatic Spring at Yellowstone National Park

Art Meets Science

Listen to Music Made From Yellowstone’s Seismic Data

A scientist and a musician performed a live musical rendition of the park’s underground rumblings

Saturn's rings and five of its moons, as captured by the Cassini spacecraft in 2011. The five moons, from left to right, are Janus, Pandora, Enceladus, Mimas and Rhea.

Saturn May Have Just Won the ‘Moon Race’ With 62 More Discovered

It will likely reign supreme as our solar system’s planet with the most moons from now on, astronomers say

The Hunterian is one of few places in the United Kingdom where the public can see specimens prepared specifically to show human anatomy.

See Tables Crafted From Human Tissue, a Toad With Eggs on Its Back and More at This London Museum

The newly reopened Hunterian Museum acknowledges the ethical quandaries posed by its collection of anatomical specimens

Kari Bruwelheide (background) and Douglas Owsley (foreground) of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History take measurements of the remains of the 17th-century skeleton. 

Archaeologists Uncover 400-Year-Old Skeleton in Sister Colony to Jamestown

The remains belong to a teenage boy buried at the historic city of St. Mary’s, Maryland’s first capital

Archaeologists have discovered what appear to be the outlines of three temporary Roman military camps in the Jordanian desert.

Archaeologists Discover Roman Camps in Jordan That May Indicate a Secret Military Invasion

The camps suggest the Roman takeover of the Nabataean kingdom may not have been as peaceful as previously thought

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