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Smoke rises from a wildfire in the summer of 2019 near Talkeetna, Alaska.

New Research

New-Growth Alaskan Forests May Store More Carbon After Wildfires

Researchers find forests are regrowing with more deciduous trees, which are more resistant to burning and may eventually store 160 percent more carbon

The trove of smuggled artifacts included stone arrowheads, knives and other tools.

U.S. Authorities Return 523 Smuggled Pre-Hispanic Artifacts to Mexico

Investigators seized the cache of illegally imported objects in 2016

Smoke lingers following fires in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest in August 2020.

New Research

Humans Have Altered 97 Percent of Earth’s Land Through Habitat and Species Loss

The study, which did not include Antarctica, also identified opportunities to restore up to 20 percent of land ecosystems

Soon after Ingenuity's lift-off and landing, the drone sent a black and white photo of its shadow during the flight back to engineers on Earth through the rover.

Exploring Mars

NASA’s Mars Helicopter Completes First Historic Test Flight on Another Planet

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory confirmed Ingenuity’s successful lift off into the Martian sky after receiving data from the Perseverance rover

Currently, tourists can only view the archaeological site from street level.

Site of Julius Caesar’s Assassination Will Be Transformed Into Open-Air Museum

Rome’s “Area Sacra,” a sunken square home to the ruins of four ancient temples, doubles as a sanctuary for stray cats

Bronze mirrors like the one pictured here were luxury items in Han dynasty China. Researchers recently discovered a trove of 80 ancient mirrors at a cemetery in Shaanxi Province.

Cool Finds

Trove of 2,000-Year-Old Bronze Mirrors Found in Ancient Chinese Cemetery

The well-preserved artifacts bear inscriptions such as “Eternal Joy,” “Family Wealth” and “Long Memory”

Researchers calculated that the T-Rex population, at any given time was 20,000 adult individuals, continued for 127,000 generations, and each generation lasted for 19 years.

In All of Time, 2.5 Billion Tyrannosaurus Rexes Have Roamed Earth

The study used calculations based on body size and metabolism rate to estimate out how many dinosaurs lived throughout the species existence

Researchers discovered 87 Neanderthal footprints, as well as a number of tracks left by prehistoric animals.

Cool Finds

100,000-Year-Old Fossilized Footprints Track Neanderthals’ Trip to Spanish Coast

Some of the imprints appear to have been left by a child “jumping irregularly as though dancing,” researchers say

The fireball cruising across the sky was most likely a fragment of an asteroid called a 'bolide'.

Fireball Illuminates Skies Across East Coast of Florida

The asteroid fragment weighed 900 pounds and hit Earth’s atmosphere at 38,000 miles per hour

Space Hero will feature 24 contestants in total and will document their lives as they live in a "space village" to prepare and compete for the ISS flight.

NASA Considers Commercial Reality TV Show That Aims to Send One Lucky Civilian to Space

‘Space Hero’ founders hope the series, which may launch as early as 2023, will encourage interest in privatized space travel

An artist's rendering of a newly described species of flying reptile named Kunpengopterus antipollicatus. The Jurassic-era pterosaur may be the earliest animal known to possess opposable thumbs.

New Research

A Prehistoric Flying Creature Nicknamed ‘Monkeydactyl’ May Have Climbed Trees Using Opposable Thumbs

The newly described Jurassic pterosaur may be the oldest animal known to possess opposable thumbs

The letters used in the ancient alphabet bear a distinct resemblance to Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Cool Finds

Pottery Shard May Be ‘Missing Link’ in the Alphabet’s Development

An inscription found on a 3,500-year-old vessel suggests that a standardized script arrived in Canaan earlier than previously thought

One of the more than 100 earthen mounds preserved at the Mounds State Historic Site

Why Did Cahokia, One of North America’s Largest Pre-Hispanic Cities, Collapse?

A new study challenges the theory that resource exploitation led to the Mississippian metropolis’ demise

The largest pterosaurs had wingspans like small aircraft and longer necks than giraffes.

New Research

Unique Bone Structure Helped Long-Necked Pterosaurs Fly

Bicycle wheel-like spokes connected the vertebrae’s central column to its outer surface, offering serious strength

Grace Hartigan, Masquerade, 1954

Sweeping Survey Unites Works by 100 Women Artists of the Past Century

An ongoing exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, features 200 paintings, sculptures, ceramics and more

The Indian jumping ant (Harpegnathos saltator).

New Research

This Ant Can Shrink and Regrow Its Brain

Indian jumping ants shrink their brains when they become their colony’s queen, but they can also grow the brain back if they quit the gig

The rescue team named their giraffe-carrying vessel the "GiRaft."

Last Two Giraffes Rescued From a Disappearing Island in Kenya

The land mass was once a peninsula in Lake Baringo, but rising waters turned it into a muddy island

The villa's unique layout includes a central circular room and a bathhouse.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Sprawling Roman Ruins Unlike Any Found in the U.K.

An ancient complex in Yorkshire may have been a luxury villa, a religious sanctuary or a mixture of both

Blue pieces of microplastic viewed under a microscope alongside dust, minerals and charcoal collected from a park in Idaho.

New Research

Airborne Microplastics ‘Now Spiral Around the Globe’

Researchers find the tiny synthetic particles can stay aloft for nearly a week and travel large distances in the wind

Archaeologists say the skeletons are in an "average state" of preservation.

Why Were These Ancient Adults Buried in Jars on the Island of Corsica?

Researchers are unsure of the unusual funerary practice’s purpose but point out that such burials were typically reserved for children

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