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Detail from Christ Carrying the Cross, a work newly attributed to Greek painter El Greco

Is This Religious Scene a Long-Overlooked El Greco Painting?

A team of Spanish scholars spent two years assessing the small-scale depiction of Christ carrying the cross

As the fastest sinking city in the world, Jakarta, Indonesia is already experiencing the devastating outcomes of subsidence.

In Many Parts of the World, the Ground Is Literally Sinking

Extracting underground natural resources is causing land to sink in on itself, which will put 635 million people at risk by 2040

Along the Potomac River, somebody spotted a bird so vibrant that it looked splattered as if it was splattered with gobs of bright paint.

A Visit From a Dazzling Bird Drew Crowds of People Into a Maryland Park

A painted bunting was spotted along the Potomac River, far from its home in the south

This 3D version of Schröder's staircase was crowned the best illusion of 2020.

Art Meets Science

See the Most Mind-Bending Optical Illusions of 2020

You can create your own version of the winning design with a free, printable kit

The city of Metropolis features structures from many eras. This theater dates to the Hellenistic period.

Cool Finds

To Survive Under Siege, the ‘Mother Goddess City’ Relied on Enormous Cisterns

The structures, which supplied the Turkish settlement of Metropolis with water, were later converted into garbage dumps

In this newspaper illustration, the Electoral Commission holds a secret candlelit meeting in the courtroom of the Supreme Court on February 16, 1877.

History of Now

Five Things to Know About the 1876 Presidential Election

Lawmakers are citing the 19th-century crisis as precedent to dispute the 2020 election. Here’s a closer look at its events and legacy

The anthem has become part of a conversation about Australia's relationship with its Indigenous citizens.

Australia Changes National Anthem Lyrics to Recognize Its Long Indigenous History

“Advance Australia Fair” no longer calls a nation with a 65,000-year history “young and free”

A metal detectorist discovered the coin, which dates back to the Northern Song Dynasty in China.

Medieval Chinese Coin Found in England Suggests a Vast Medieval Trade Route

A recent discovery dating to the 11th century offers hints of a world that was more connected than previously thought

The study found that the more dramatic changes in color were clustered around dams, agriculture and urban areas.

A Third of the United States’ Rivers Have Changed Color Since 1984, Satellite Images Reveal

The transformation from blue to shades of yellow and green raises concerns that waterways have been increasingly imperiled since 1984

Scientists at the National Black-footed Conservation Center in Colorado inoculated 120 black-footed ferrets against the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

Experimental Covid-19 Vaccine Reaches America’s Endangered Ferrets

Black-footed ferrets are close relatives of minks, which have seen coronavirus outbreaks on fur farms

Look out for the Atlas' "Twist" and Spot's bourre in the nearly three-minute-long video.

Dancing Boston Dynamics Robots Show Off Their Sweet Moves

These bots can’t resist a bop

Mary Lee Bendolph, Blocks and Strips, 2002

National Gallery of Art Adds 40 Works by Black Southern Artists to Its Collections

The “milestone” acquisition includes works by the Gee’s Bend quilters, Thornton Dial, Nellie Mae Rowe and James “Son Ford” Thomas

Kehinde Wiley, Go, 2020

See the Stunning Art Set to Welcome Travelers Back to Penn Station

Opening on January 1, the Moynihan Train Hall features contemporary art and majestic architectural features

The vessel was produced around the time when Liu Zhi’s successor, Ling, was building a mausoleum for the deceased emperor.

Inscription Leads Archaeologists to Tomb of One of the Last Han Emperors

A manufacturing date on a vessel confirmed a Chinese mausoleum’s ties to second-century A.D. ruler Liu Zhi

This small oil-on-panel work by Rembrandt, Abraham and the Angels (1646), is expected to sell for upward of $20 million.

Rare Rembrandt Biblical Scene Could Fetch $30 Million at Auction

In this intimate scene from Genesis, the artist depicts the moment that Abraham’s wife Sarah learns she will bear a son

The coins are worth an estimated £845,000, or roughly $1,150,000 USD.

Cool Finds

British Bird-Watcher Discovers Trove of 2,000-Year-Old Celtic Coins

The cache dates to the time of warrior queen Boudica’s revolt against the Romans

The U.K. has been inching away from its reliance on fossil fuels and towards renewable energy sources, like wind and solar power, after setting a goal in 2019 to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Wind Turbines Generated More Than Half of Great Britain’s Energy on Boxing Day

A powerful storm sent the wind turbines whirling, generating a record-breaking contribution of electricity

Researchers say some of this woolly rhino's internal organs may still be preserved.

Melting Russian Permafrost Yields New Woolly Rhino Specimen

Russian researchers say this may be the best-preserved woolly rhino ever found

A COVID testing site at Echo Park Stadium on December 30, 2020 in Parker, Colorado. This site is nearby Ebert County, where the first case of a COVID-19 variant that is thought to be more contagious was detected in the United States.

Colorado and California Report First U.S. Cases of Highly Contagious Covid-19 Variant

First discovered in England, the variant appears to be more transmissible but does not cause a more severe case of the disease

Dolphins can tolerate freshwater for short periods of time, but they developed painful lesions after the storms as a result of prolonged exposure.

Fatal Skin Disease Outbreak in Dolphins Linked to Climate Change–Fueled Storm Surges

When the porpoises are exposed to freshwater after extreme weather, they develop grisly lesions that can lead to their deaths

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