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The male skeleton's neck and legs were arranged in an unnatural position, while the woman's remains were held in place by large stones.

New Research

DNA Analysis Suggests Mother and Son Were Buried in Famous Viking Grave

Researchers had previously posited that the man was an executed enslaved individual buried alongside the noblewoman he served

California reached another devastating milestone this year: four million acres in total have been burned so far this fire season, more than doubling the state’s previous record from 2018’s Mendocini Complex Fire.

California’s First-Ever Gigafire Blazes Through the State, Scorching More Than One Million Acres

Scientists say that hotter and drier conditions resulting from climate change have fueled this record-breaking fire

Rotten fish contain a smellable chemical found in bad breath, faeces and blood, but some people identified it as sweets or roses.

New Research

If Rotten Fish Smell Like Roses to You, a Genetic Mutation Might Be to Blame

A new study in Iceland found a connection between a person’s ability to sniff stinky fish and a gene called TAAR5

The house that served as Buffalo Bill's lair in Silence of the Lambs is on sale for $298,500.

You Could Own the House of Horrors From ‘Silence of the Lambs’

The property appeared as serial killer Buffalo Bill’s lair in the classic 1991 film

Blue whales are the world’s largest animals, and they can grow to the length of three school buses in a row.

Blue Whales Sing All Day When They Migrate and All Night When They Don’t

Their mysterious songs could be an ‘acoustic signature of migration’

Louise Glück, an esteemed American poet and teacher, won this year's Nobel Prize in Literature.

American Poet Louise Glück Wins Nobel Prize in Literature

The esteemed writer and teacher previously won the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry

A 14th-century latrine in Riga, Latvia

New Research

Archaeologists Mine Medieval Toilets for Traces of Gut Microbiomes

New techniques could help researchers understand human diets in different times and places

Fires scorched the West in last month, the hottest September on record.

We Just Lived Through the Hottest September Ever Recorded

The heat has fueled fires, one of the most active Atlantic hurricane seasons and melting Arctic sea ice

Each bare patch of clay-crusted earth is about 13 feet across.

New Research

The Magical Mathematics Behind ‘Fairy Circles’

Competing theories suggest that the patches come from termite activity, grass competition over water, or a combination of both

An artist's recreation of what the Roman home may have looked like in its prime

Cool Finds

Ancient Roman Villa Discovered Beneath Italian Apartment Complex

Come November, the 2,000-year-old dwelling will open as a multimedia museum

Sarah Forbes Bonetta, as seen in 1856 (left) and 1862 (right). Hannah Uzor's new portrait is based on the 1862 photograph.

The Little-Known Story of Queen Victoria’s Black Goddaughter

A newly commissioned portrait of Sarah Forbes Bonetta is now on view at the monarch’s seaside house, Osbourne

May the heftiest chonk win!

A Jumbo Jet Among Bears, 747 Soars to Top Spot in Fat Bear Week

Bracket, bracket, on the ‘net, which chubby cub is the most heavyset?

This circular witches' mark was thought to ward off evil.

Virtual Travel

Virtually Explore a Forest Filled With Witches’ Marks and Other Tree Etchings

A publicly sourced portal spotlights centuries of graffiti left in England’s New Forest

CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology has the power to improve the lives of millions of people.

Trending Today

Two Scientists Receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for Their Discovery of CRISPR

The award-winning researchers, Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, harnessed the power of gene-editing technology and revolutionized biology

Researchers studying how dog respond to human and dog faces found no difference in brain activity when domestic dogs were shown the back of a dog or human head compared to a dog or person's face.

New Research

Dog Brains Don’t Appear to Pay Special Attention to Faces

Researchers find dog brains show similar levels of activity when shown the back of a dog or person’s head compared to a dog or human face

To qualify for use in the study, videos of the explosion needed to have known locations and include a line of site to the warehouse.

New Research

Beirut Blast Was Among History’s Largest Accidental Explosions

The explosion, fueled by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate abandoned in Beirut’s port, wounded 6,000 people and killed about 200

The second permanent First Baptist Church structure on South Nassau Street in Williamsburg was dedicated in 1856.

Archaeologists Unearth Foundations of One of the Nation’s Oldest Black Churches

A dig in the heart of Colonial Williamsburg revealed sections of the First Baptist Church, which was founded in 1776

A Stonewall Jackson statue is loaded on a truck after being removed from Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, on July 1.

Mellon Foundation Pledges $250 Million to Reinvent America’s Monuments

The organization’s five-year campaign will support the creation of new public works and the reimagining of ones already standing

The contributions of the three Nobel laureates proved that black holes exist and unveiled the nature of these supermassive objects.

Trending Today

Three Scientists Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for Breakthrough Black Hole Discoveries

These Nobel laureates helped discover and describe the mysterious cosmic voids in our universe

Researchers with OCEARCH caught a 17-foot-long great white shark on the morning of October 2.

Researchers Catch and Tag 17-Foot ‘Matriarch of the Sea,’ a 50-Year-Old Great White Shark

The OCEARCH team named the shark Nukumi, the Mi’kmaq people’s word for ‘grandmother’

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