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This illustration shows the size difference between a European pond turtle and the foot of a straight-tusked elephant.

New Research

Turtles May Have Been Tasty Snacks for Neanderthals 125,000 Years Ago. But Their Shells Were Probably the Real Prize

New research based on fragments discovered at the Neumark-Nord site in Germany suggests Neanderthals may have transformed the shells into tools

The clitoris is larger than most people think, and much of the organ is internal.

Scientists Just Made the Most Complete Map of the Clitoris’s Sensory Nerve Network. Here’s What They Found

Cultural taboos around female sexuality have hindered research on the organ. But a new study provides pivotal insights that can inform important surgeries and health care

A still from “Gugusse and the Automaton” showing the magician and his robot, Pierrot

A Rare 1897 Film Discovered in an Old Trunk in Michigan Features the First On-Screen Appearance of a Robot

Filmmaker Georges Méliès employed some of his signature special effects techniques to create comedy in “Gugusse and the Automaton”

Nearly 200 hippos are estimated to roam in Colombia.

Colombia Plans to Euthanize Dozens of ‘Cocaine Hippos,’ Descendants of Animals Brought by Notorious Drug Trafficker Pablo Escobar

If nothing is done to control the invasive creatures, officials estimate the population could grow to 1,000 animals by 2035. So, they aim to cull about 80 individuals later this year

Pearl Fryar in his topiary garden

Born to a Family of Sharecroppers, This Topiary Artist Overcame Discrimination to Become the ‘Picasso of Plants’

Self-taught artist Pearl Fryar, who died this month at age 86, got his start when he tried to win an award from his local garden club. He ended up becoming a celebrity in the horticultural world

British geologist and naturalist William Pengelly identified the object as a badger tooth.

Long Misidentified, This Seal Tooth Pendant Was Carefully Crafted by a Prehistoric Human Roughly 15,000 Years Ago

Discovered in 1867, the artifact raises new theories about the Magdalenian people who inhabited southwest England during the Late Upper Paleolithic period

When male greater sage grouse attempt to attract a mate, they puff up their chest, droop their wings and fan their tail feathers into a starburst shape.

One of the American West’s Most Iconic Birds Is Attempting to Mate Near a Dangerous Airport. Could Robo-Birds Help Save Them?

Conservationists are deploying dancing animatronic birds to lure male greater sage grouse away from the Jackson Hole Airport, where dozens of the creatures have been struck and killed by planes

Cecilia Oliver makes final adjustments to Quen Elizabeth II's coronation dress, designed by Norman Hartnell

From Sparkling Tiaras to Pastel Hats, New Buckingham Palace Exhibition Celebrates the Fashion of Elizabeth II

In addition to being a world leader, the British queen was a fashion icon. A new show at Elizabeth’s former residence highlights some of the most memorable looks and the history behind them

Across the Continent: “Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way” (1868) by Frances Flora Bond Palmer is one of the artworks in the National Gallery of Art's new exhibition.

The National Gallery of Art Holds an Artistic Mirror Up to the United States for Its Big 250th Birthday

In celebration of the semiquincentennial this year, “Dear America” looks at the country’s land, communities and revolutionary history through artworks dating back to the late 18th century

Traffic fatalities increased by about 15 percent on major album release days, according to a new study.

On Major Music Release Days, Stay Extra Vigilant While Driving. Car Crash Deaths Seem to Spike When Top Artists Drop New Albums

A new study found a correlation between big album release days and traffic fatalities. While the research can’t prove the new music caused the accidents, the work hints at a major distractor while driving

The left page contains a photo of Lee Miller with Pablo Picasso, while the right contains a never-before-seen alternate version of the famous picture of Miller in Hitler’s bathtub

War Can Feel Surreal. See How This American Photojournalist Captured the Horrors—and Dark Humor—of World War II

A rediscovered scrapbook showcases never-before-seen images by Lee Miller, a war correspondent for British “Vogue” who followed American troops through Europe

The altar was found in Hidalgo, Mexico.

This Millennium-Old Sacrificial Altar in Mexico Belonged to a Civilization That Thrived Before the Aztecs

Surrounded by human skulls, the artifact was uncovered at the site of the Toltec people’s capital in central Mexico ahead of construction of a new railway project

An artist's rendition of Captorhinus in its death pose

This Nearly 300-Million-Year-Old Mummified Reptile Reveals the Evolutionary Origins of How We Breathe

Unusually well-preserved fossils have provided the earliest known evidence of a land vertebrate that could pump air in and out of its chest using muscles between the ribs—the same strategy used by modern mammals, reptiles and birds

Gustave Eiffel at the Eiffel Tower in 1889

A Dizzying Spiral Staircase With a Single Guardrail Once Led to the Top of the Eiffel Tower. Now, You Can Buy 14 of the Original Steps

The 1,062 steps connecting the tower’s second and third levels were installed in 1889. Fragments from the 137-year-old staircase can be found at several French museums

A damaged portrait of Mary Magdalene by Artemisia Gentileschi (left) and a similar version of the same scene (right) housed at the Pitti Palace in Florence, Italy

Rolled Up in a Cellar for Decades, This Artemisia Gentileschi Painting Is Now Up for Auction. Why Is Mary Magdalene’s Face Missing From the Portrait?

Found in Berlin, the artwork was probably damaged in the chaotic aftermath of World War II. Despite the gaping hole in the canvas, it could sell for upwards of $180,000 later this month

Modern celebrations of Songkran in Bangkok

Songkran Is Thailand’s Splashing New Year’s Festival, When Everyone Gets Out a Super Soaker and Prepares to Get Drenched

The memorable tradition has a deep cultural history rooted in Buddhism and increasing global notoriety for its rowdy water fights

An artificially colored human B cell, the type of immune cell that caused all three autoimmune diseases in the patient

In a First, This Personalized Cell Therapy Treated Three Life-Threatening Autoimmune Diseases in One Patient

The patient was bedridden and needed daily blood transfusions, and she had tried nine different therapies that didn’t bring lasting effects. So, researchers modified some of her immune cells so they would attack her faulty cells

A mural depicting Pablo Picasso's painting Guernica in the namesake Basque village, where a bombing raid occurred in 1937 

Where Does This Anti-War Masterpiece Belong? In Spain, a Request to Borrow Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ Sparks a Bitter Debate

The artwork depicts the bombing of a Basque village in 1937. Now, the relocation debate is raising questions about how to balance the painting’s cultural significance with conservation needs

Initial excavations last month at Monticello revealed a layer of brick rubble.

Enslaved and Free Workers Built Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Brick by Brick. Archaeologists Just Discovered One of the Kilns They Used

Researchers think the newly unearthed structure was used to fire and cure bricks during construction of the site’s original mansion in the early 1770s

Artemis 2's Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.

Artemis 2 Astronauts Successfully Return to Earth After Completing a Historic Mission Around the Moon

The crewmembers splashed down Friday after breaking a space-faring record and viewing lunar features never seen by human eyes during their ten-day trip. It marks the first time anyone has left Earth’s orbit in more than 50 years

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