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A wild Asian elephant in Sri Lanka

Watch This Elephant Peel a Banana With Her Trunk

Pang Pha likely learned to de-skin the yellow fruits while observing her human caretaker in her youth

Archaeologists unearthed the foundation of the original 1818 church.

DNA Evidence Sheds Light on One of America’s Oldest Black Churches

New research links human remains in Williamsburg, Virginia, to the first permanent building of the First Baptist Church

Now extinct, thylacines are carnivorous marsupials that once roamed freely around Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea.

Extinct Tasmanian Tigers May Have Survived Longer Than Previously Thought

Though the last documented thylacine died in 1936, a new study based on alleged sightings suggests the species lived for decades more

The bow of the Vasa displayed at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm

Who Was the Woman Aboard This Famed 17th-Century Swedish Warship?

DNA analysis has revealed that a woman was among the 30 who died when the ‘Vasa’ sank on its maiden voyage

After Yellowstone National Park faced an unusually harsh winter, a large number of its nearly 6,000 bison migrated to find food and more temperate climates.

Controversial Yellowstone Hunt Kills More Than 1,100 Bison

The hunt is an effort to control the animal’s population and protect cattle outside the park

The hair strands were found inside decorative tubes.

New Research

Ancient Europeans Took Hallucinogenic Drugs 3,000 Years Ago

Hair strands from the Bronze Age reveal the first direct evidence of drug use in Europe

A zoomed-in image of Uranus captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. Eleven of the planet's 13 rings are visible, though some are so bright they appear to blend into one ring.

James Webb Telescope Captures Detailed Image of Uranus’ Rings

The high-tech observatory also observed two storm clouds on the planet, a polar cap, six moons and distant galaxies

This Andy Warhol portrait of Marilyn Monroe, which brought in $195 million, was one of many high-profile sales last year. 

The Art Market Is Rebounding—but Only at the Top

Sales increased in 2022, but growth was concentrated largely at the high end of the market

Agnieszka Pilat has been creating art using Boston Dynamics' robot dogs for years.

Art Meets Science

These Robot Dogs Are Learning to Paint. Soon, You Can Watch Them Work

Agnieszka Pilat and her automated artists will be featured in the National Gallery of Victoria’s Triennial

Lab-raised cockroaches adapted to maintain their glucose-focused sex lives while still avoiding sugary baited traps set by humans.

Cockroach Sex Is Evolving in Response to Pesticides

A new study highlights the insects’ resiliency in spite of human attempts to kill them

Though this particular Arctic ground squirrel died during the Ice Age, these rodents still live in the Yukon Territory and Alaska today.

Cool Finds

This Mummified Ice Age Squirrel Was Found Frozen in Canada

Scientists identified the curled-up creature as an Arctic ground squirrel that likely died while hibernating some 30,000 years ago

One of the 12 antiquities that U.S. authorities returned to Turkey last month

U.S. Returns $33 Million of Looted Antiquities to Turkey

The collection of 12 items included a headless bronze statue dating to 225 C.E.

A Colorado checkered whiptail

These Lizards Stress-Eat When Loud Military Aircraft Fly Overhead

Colorado checkered whiptails on a U.S. Army base show increased stress levels and altered behavior after noisy jets and helicopters pass by, a study finds

Elyn Zimmerman's Sudama in its new location at American University in Washington, D.C.

How to Move a 450,000-Pound Sculpture

After a tumultuous six years, ‘Sudama’ has settled into its new home at American University in Washington, D.C.

An offshore drilling and production platform in the Gulf of Mexico, which is the largest offshore fossil fuel production basin in the United States.

Methane Emissions Are Higher Than Thought From Gulf of Mexico Drilling

The climate impact of oil and gas production in the Gulf is double what government agencies estimate, according to a new study

A microscopic Robin Hood

You’ll Need a Microscope to See These Miniature Masterpieces

Sometimes painted with a single eyelash, Willard Wigan’s tiny sculptures fit in the eye of a needle

Austen lived at Steventon House in Hampshire, England, until she was 26.

You Can Now Buy the Estate Where Jane Austen Wrote ‘Pride and Prejudice’

The writer spent more than half her life on the property, where she drafted some of her most famous novels

Seabirds catch fish swimming near the ocean's surface, but in the process, they also ingest microplastics.

Microplastics Linked to Changes in Seabirds’ Guts

Birds that ingested more microplastics had more microbes linked to diseases and antibiotic resistance in a new study

In partnership with the Choctaw Nation, country music star Reba McEntire has opened a dining and entertainment venue in Atoka, Oklahoma, hoping to revitalize the town's economy.

Country Star Reba McEntire Wants to Revitalize a Small Town in Oklahoma

Atoka is now home to Reba’s Place, a restaurant that has already attracted half a million guests

Edgar Degas painted Édouard Manet and His Wife in the 1860s, but his friend was not a fan.

Manet and Degas Were Dear Friends—and Spirited Rivals

The complex relationship between the two French painters is the subject of a new exhibition in Paris

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