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The Wicked Witch of the West, played by Margaret Hamilton, holding the hourglass

‘Wizard of Oz’ Hourglass Fetches $495,000 at Auction

The Wicked Witch of the West uses the prop to taunt Dorothy in the famous 1939 film

Glass frog photographed during sleep and while active, showing the differences in red blood cells within the circulatory system. 

These Frogs Turn Nearly Invisible While Sleeping

The transparent glass frog can hide 89 percent of its blood in its liver, new research shows

The cave once belonged to a wealthy Jewish family before becoming a Christian pilgrimage site

What’s Within the Burial Cave Dedicated to Jesus’ Midwife?

Archaeologists in Israel are excavating the site that was popular among pilgrims more than a millennium ago

One of the first-ever photos of a young pink iguana

First Recorded Pink Iguana Hatchlings Found on Galápagos Island

After a ten-month effort, researchers discovered the young endangered reptiles on a remote volcano

Pope Francis with Archbishop Ieronymos II in 2021

Pope Francis Will Return Parthenon Sculptures to Greece

The fifth-century B.C.E. artifacts have been at the Vatican Museum for 200 years

Aedes aegypti can carry Zika, dengue, chikungunya and other viruses.

‘Super-Resistant’ Mosquitoes Can Survive Insecticides in Southeast Asia

Researchers found high numbers of a genetic mutation linked to this resilience in Cambodia and Vietnam

Microwear traces on a Bronze Age tool used for smoothing or polishing

New Research

Unearthed Near Stonehenge, This Toolkit Was Used for Goldwork 4,000 Years Ago

The toolkit was discovered in 1801—but until recently, researchers didn’t understand its purpose

“I want people to see the convergence and similarities in all of these Black lives," says Chance the Rapper, who is planning a free music festival in Ghana.

The History Behind Chance the Rapper’s Black Star Line Festival

The event is named after an early 20th-century shipping line created by Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey

The small mammal's foot in the fossil of the microraptor.

This 120-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Fossil Had a Mammal Hiding in Its Stomach

The finding represents only the second recorded instance of a dinosaur consuming a mammal

Pollinators, including bees, are suffering because of human activities.

Shrinking Pollinator Populations Could Be Killing 427,000 People Per Year

New research explores the relationship between human health and crop loss due to pollination deficits around the world

Critics say the portrayal of the Na'avi alien species in Avatar appropriates and homoginizes Indigenous cultures.

Indigenous Activists Criticize ‘Avatar’ Sequel

They say the film romanticizes colonization and reduces Indigenous cultures to vague stereotypes

Kepler-1658b was the first exoplanet discovered by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope in 2009.

This Exoplanet Is Doomed to Be Obliterated by a Star

Kepler-1658b is slowly spiraling toward a fiery demise

The elusive yeast strain had been lurking in the soil at the University College Dublin in Ireland.

Elusive Yeast That Gave Rise to Lagers Found in Europe for the First Time

Students in Ireland discovered the ancestral fungus in the soil on their university’s campus

Travelers won't have to squeeze all of their liquids into tiny containers when traveling through United Kingdom airports starting in 2024.

U.K. Airports Will Ease Restrictions on Liquids and Laptops in Carry-On Bags

Starting in 2024, travelers won’t need to limit liquids to travel-size containers

An artistic rendering of InSight on Mars

What NASA’s Retired InSight Lander Taught Us About Mars

The Red Planet robot was officially decommissioned after dust on its solar panels robbed it of power

Machu Picchu, a 15th-century Inca structure in the Andes Mountains

Helicopters Evacuate Travelers Stranded at Machu Picchu

Hundreds of tourists found themselves trapped at the site as protests spread through Peru

A replica of a Denisovan finger bone fragment. Now extinct, Denisovans were an ancient species of human that mated with ancestors of modern humans.

Denisovan DNA May Have Shaped Immune Systems in Papua New Guinea

The inherited genetic mutations might provide an advantage in fighting diseases

For 25 years, skeptics have been insisting that Jack and Rose could have both survived on their makeshift raft.

Did Jack Really Need to Sacrifice Himself for Rose?

James Cameron commissioned a study to prove that his characters’ tragic ending was inevitable

Defensive response of a male mason wasp to a tree frog

These Wasps Can Fight Predators With Their Spiky Genitalia

The insects jabbed their spines at hungry frogs in a similar way to how females sting

Steven Spielberg on the set of Jaws

Steven Spielberg Regrets How ‘Jaws’ Impacted Real-World Sharks

The movie contributed to a rise in shark trophy hunting

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