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Brainless upside-down jellyfish, like this one in its natural habitat near Eilat, Israel, spend about one-third of their time asleep.

Even Though They Don’t Have Brains to Rest, Jellyfish and Sea Anemones Sleep Like Humans

Sleep may have evolved to help reduce DNA damage in nerve cells long before they became centralized in the brain, a study suggests

A satellite view of a phytoplankton bloom in the Southern Ocean

Earthquakes Deep Below Antarctic Waters Seem to Have Surprising Effects on Life at the Surface

Quakes may cause ocean floor vents to release more nutrients, triggering blooms in plantlike organisms called phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean

A young learner explores an exhibit at the 2024 National Weather Festival, hosted by the National Weather Center, which is located in Norman but unaffiliated with the National Weather Museum.

This Is the Only Museum Dedicated to Weather Artifacts in America. It May Shut Down Due to Funding Shortages

The Oklahoma institution, which preserves and displays historic weather-related objects, is asking for donations from the public

A third-century B.C.E. Greek gold chain necklace similar to some of the missing objects

The British Museum Plans to Hire a Treasure Hunter. Duties Include Recovering Missing Artifacts Before They’re Lost to History

The museum announced in 2023 that 1,500 items were missing. More than 600 have since been found, and officials are now hoping to expand the recovery effort

Male white-tailed deer rub their heads on trees and urinate on scraped-up earth to leave "signposts," which glow under ultraviolet light, a study suggests.

When Male Deer Mark Trees, Those Spots May Glow Like Neon Lights at Dusk and Dawn, Though Humans Usually Can’t See Them

During the breeding season, white-tailed deer might use their eyes and noses to navigate signs—forehead secretions on trees and urine on the ground—left by males of their species, a study suggests

An artistic representation of a galaxy cluster forming shortly after the universe began

Cool Finds

This Early-Universe Cluster of Galaxies Is Way Hotter Than It Should Be

Gas within the cluster, which existed merely 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang, is at least five times hotter than computer simulations predict it should be, a study suggests

The 2026 commemorative coin set, featuring five new designs

See the New Coins Celebrating the Legacies of Elizabeth II, Charles Darwin and the British Grand Prix

Released by the Royal Mint, the designs from this year’s commemorative coin set also honor anniversaries connected to the King’s Trust and the Zoological Society of London

The two cubs in their indoor den 

Meet the National Zoo’s Adorable 1-Month-Old Sloth Bear Cubs—the First Born There in More Than a Decade

The cubs will spend the next few months with their mother before debuting to the public

Many public health experts, immunologists and pediatricians criticized the revised childhood vaccine schedule, arguing that the changes will likely lead to more disease outbreaks.

U.S. Overhauls Immunization Schedule for Kids, Removing Recommendations for Vaccines Against the Flu, RSV and More

Announced on Monday, the revised schedule drops the number of recommended immunizations from 17 to 11. The CDC suggests that only “high-risk” kids should get many of the vaccines that are no longer endorsed

The mansion is located on the Grand Canal.

Claude Monet Painted This Palace Overlooking Venice’s Grand Canal. Now, the Legendary Mansion Is Officially for Sale

The Palazzo Dario has a rich history dating back to the 15th century—and, as the story goes, a succession of unusually unlucky owners

A humpback whale off the coast of Iceland

By Collecting Whale Breath, Researchers Detected a Deadly Virus in the Arctic for the First Time

Flying a drone with Petri dishes above exhaling whales helped scientists identify a dangerous pathogen that can damage the animals’ respiratory, immune and nervous systems

Archaeologists unearthed a fresco depicting a peahen that mirrors a peacock found on another part of the same wall.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover ‘Sumptuous’ Frescoes at Ancient Villa Preserved by Mount Vesuvius’ Eruption

Fragments of a peahen, a comedic theatrical mask and other intriguing finds are providing new insights into the history of the Villa of Poppaea

Bones from a chimpanzee on the left, Sahelanthropus tchadensis in the center, and an Australopithecus species on the right

New Fossil Analysis Suggests This Seven-Million-Year-Old Primate Walked on Two Legs, Potentially Making It the Oldest Known Human Ancestor

Fresh findings about arm and leg bones advance the debate over whether Sahelanthropus tchadensis was bipedal, but not everyone is convinced

The U.S. military will no longer shoot live goats and pigs to help combat medics learn to treat battlefield injuries.

U.S. Military Ends Practice of Shooting Live Animals to Train Medics to Treat Battlefield Wounds

The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act bans the use of live animals in live-fire training exercises and prohibits “painful” research on domestic cats and dogs

The newfound "fairy lantern" species in its natural habitat in Malaysia

A Rare, Parasitic ‘Fairy Lantern’ Plant Species Was Discovered in Malaysia. It Might Be Critically Endangered

The plant was first spotted near a popular picnic site within a forest. But subsequent surveys have found fewer than 20 individuals of the species, named Thismia selangorensis

Volunteers have discovered more than 400 shoes while cleaning up rock pools.

Cool Finds

Hundreds of Mysterious Victorian-Era Shoes Are Washing Up on a Beach in Wales. Nobody Knows Where They Came From

The leading theory is that the black leather boots, which were discovered by volunteers, were traveling on a cargo ship that sank nearby roughly 150 years ago

A rendering of how The Light That Shines Through the Universe will look on the High Line

A Stunning Sculpture of the Buddha Modeled After a Destroyed Sixth-Century Statue Is Coming to New York City’s High Line

Known as “The Light That Shines Through the Universe,” the 27-foot-tall artwork created by Tuan Andrew Nguyen will be installed on the Plinth this spring

A supermoon rises over Washington, D.C., on December 3, 2017.

The Year’s First Bright Supermoon and the Colorful Quadrantid Meteor Shower Coincide This Weekend

The dual celestial events will ring in the new year, although the luminous “wolf” supermoon may hamper skywatchers’ view of the shooting stars

The manumea is the national bird of Samoa, but it's on the brink of extinction.

Elusive, Critically Endangered Bird—and One of the Closest Living Relatives of Dodos—Was Spotted for the First Time in Five Years

Conservationists are racing to save the manumea, a chicken-sized bird that lives only on two Samoan islands, from extinction

The Bayeux Tapestry was moved into temporary storage in September ahead of its transfer to the British Museum for an exhibition in 2026.

When the Bayeaux Tapestry Makes Its Historic Return to England, the British Government Will Insure It for More Than $1 Billion

Created in the 11th century, the delicate, 230-foot-long embroidered textile has been in France since 1077

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