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Early Puebloans wove turkey feathers into yucca fiber to make the blanket.

In the Ancient American Southwest, Turkeys Were Friends, Not Food

An 800-year-old blanket made out of turkey feathers testifies to the bird’s significance in Pueblo culture

A great blue heron seen wading in front of an oil refinery. Burning and producing fossil fuels are major sources of air pollution. A new study estimates that over the last four decades environmental regulations aimed at improving air quality have saved the lives of some 1.5 billion birds across the United States.

New Research

Study Estimates Clean Air Act Has Saved 1.5 Billion Birds

Over the last 40 years, bird populations across the U.S. did the best in places with the most stringent air pollution regulations

A map of Doggerland, which once connected Britain to mainland Europe

Study Rewrites History of Ancient Land Bridge Between Britain and Europe

New research suggests that climate change, not a tsunami, doomed the now-submerged territory of Doggerland

Over the last 30 years, rainfall on Hawai'i's islands has decreased by 18 percent while the number of residents has doubled since the late 1950s, leading to a high demand for an already scarce resource.

New Research

Newly Discovered Underground Rivers Could Be Potential Solution for Hawai’i’s Drought

The reservoirs could provide twice as much fresh water to tap into

The Chicken Soup Manifesto features delightful dishes from Ethiopia, Vietnam, Greece and other countries across the globe.

A Journey Around the World, as Told Through Chicken Soup

In her latest book, Portland-based chef Jenn Louis catalogs more than 100 recipes from 64 countries

A keyhole wasp can block up an airplane's external sensor in as little as 30 minutes.

New Research

In Australia, Just One Wasp Can Ground an Airplane With a Strategically Placed Nest

Invasive keyhole wasps were building nests in the equipment pilots use to measure how fast they’re flying

Ancient artists created the works between 12,600 and 11,800 years ago.

Cool Finds

Tens of Thousands of 12,000-Year-Old Rock Paintings Found in Colombia

The images—heralded by researchers as “the Sistine Chapel of the ancients”—depict animals, humans and geometric patterns

A male bottlenose dolphin used in the study, seen here with electrocardiogram suction cups attached to monitor its heart rate.

New Research

Dolphins May Be Able to Control Their Heart Rates

New study finds trained dolphins slow their hearts faster and more dramatically when instructed to perform long dives than short ones

Kazumasa Ogawa, Chrysanthemum from Some Japanese Flowers. ca. 1894

Art Meets Science

How Has Photography’s Relationship With Nature Evolved Over the Past 200 Years?

A new exhibition at London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery features more than 100 works documenting the natural world

The wildlife crossing is about 50 feet wide and 320 feet long and is covered in rocks and logs.

Animals Are Using Utah’s Largest Wildlife Overpass Earlier Than Expected

The state will conduct a full analysis of the bridge after three to five years, but early results are promising

Researchers analyze the microbiome of Leonardo's Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk (circa 1490). Housed at the Royal Library of Turin, the detailed sketch is considered by some scholars to be a self-portrait.

Art Meets Science

Hidden Microbes and Fungi Found on the Surface of Leonardo da Vinci Drawings

Researchers used new DNA sequencing technology to examine the “bio-archives” of seven of the Renaissance master’s sketches

This discovery offers a new theory to how the world's most ferocious predator went extinct more than 3 million years ago.

Megalodons, the Ocean’s Most Ferocious Prehistoric Predators, Raised Their Young in Nurseries

The fossils shed light on how these sharks were raised and what led to their ultimate demise

The cold and isolation of the Svalbard archipelago helps preserve the Arctic World Archive's contents.

Norway Preserves ‘The Scream’ for Future Generations by Burying Digital Copy in Arctic Coal Mine

The Munch masterpiece joins digitized art and artifacts from more than 15 countries in the “futureproof” Arctic World Archive

A helicopter crew discovered this odd monolith in the middle of the Utah desert on November 18.

Cool Finds

A Mysterious Monolith in the Utah Desert Vanished Overnight

Theories regarding the 12-foot-tall metal structure’s origins—and ultimate fate—abound

The Langfonne ice patch has shrunk dramatically over the past 20 years.

Cool Finds

Melting Ice in Norway Reveals Ancient Arrows

Finds from reindeer hunts span 5,000 years, from the Stone Age to the medieval era

The giraffe's white color comes from a genetic condition called leucism.

World’s Only Known White Giraffe Now Has a GPS Tracker

The young bull used to be one of a trio of white giraffes, but the two others were found dead in March

A male wrinkle-faced bat (Centurio senex) seen dangling from his perch. Beneath his chin is a furry skin fold that he pulls up to cover the lower half of the face like a mask during courtship.

New Research

These Bats Mask Up to Woo Mates

Male wrinkle-faced bats use a furry neck flap to cover their faces while serenading the opposite sex in never-before-seen behavior

In some states, the odds of having a Covid-positive guest at a ten-person dinner are as high as 80 percent.

Are Small Gatherings Driving Recent Covid-19 Surges? Policymakers and Scientists Are at Odds

Data suggests that universities, indoor dining and large parties may be the bigger culprits

Charles Darwin in 1857, photograph by Maull and Fox

Two Darwin Notebooks Quietly Went Missing 20 Years Ago. Were They Stolen?

Staff at Cambridge University Libraries previously assumed that the papers had simply been misplaced in the vast collections

Monarch butterfly caterpillars will headbutt each other when food is scarce, according to new research.

New Research

Monarch Caterpillars Butt Heads Over Milkweed

A new study finds the colorful butterfly larvae will aggressively lunge at each other in pursuit of an extra mouthful of food

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