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One of many contaminated crabs at the Deepwater Horizon site.

New Research

Deepwater Horizon Site Is Now a Sticky Wasteland Populated by Sickly Crabs

Degrading hydrocarbons attract shrimp and crab to the spill site, where they are contaminated by oil and develop a variety of problems

A William Blake illustration depicting the fall of Adam and Eve

Cool Finds

Student Discovers Secret Acrostic in Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’

A Tufts University undergraduate spotted three interlocking instances of the word “FALL” in Book 9 of the epic poem

Good luck, Tira! You've surely earned your spots.

Spotted in Kenya: A Baby Zebra With Polka Dots

Tira, as the foal has been named, appears to have a condition known as “pseudomelanism”—and it may threaten his survival

The only exceptions to the Ayam Cemani's black coloring are its cream-colored eggs and red blood

These Chickens Have Jet-Black Hearts, Beaks and Bones

The Ayam Cemani owes its unusual coloring to a genetic mutation

Cool Finds

Recently Discovered Neutron Star Is Almost Too Massive to Exist

The star J0740+6620 is 2.14 times the mass of our sun but just 12 miles in diameter, approaching the density of a black hole

The Redemption of Vanity, a work of art by MIT artist in residence Diemut Strebe in conjunction with with Brian L. Wardle, MIT professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, along with Luiz Acauan and Estelle Cohen.

There’s a New Blackest Black in Town

Artist Diemut Strebe covered a $2 million diamond with a substance that absorbs 99.995 percent of any incoming light

Trending Today

American Woman Becomes First Person to Swim English Channel Four Times, Nonstop

Sarah Thomas took 54 hours to cross from England to France and back again twice, just a year after battling cancer

A cow skull being unearthed at the Ipplepen site.

Cool Finds

Upscale Butcher Shop Suggests Romans Were More Widespread in Britain Than Previously Thought

The animal remains at Ipplepen are part of mounting evidence that Roman influence stretched deep into Devon

The explosion does not pose any biological risks to the public, officials say. Reports state there were no disease samples in the laboratory because of the ongoing repairs. And even if had pathogens had been present, the heat of the fire probably would have killed them.

Blast Rocks Russian Facility Storing Smallpox and Ebola Viruses

Officials say that disease samples were not being stored in the affected laboratory, and there is no risk to the public

The Tiger Temple charged tourists to feed, take photos with captive felines

86 Big Cats Rescued From Thailand’s Tiger Temple Have Died in Government Custody

Although the government says inbreeding, stress contributed to the felines’ demise, critics have also cited cramped conditions, inadequate facilities

New Research

Komodo Dragons Have Skin That Looks Like Chain Mail

CT scans show layered bone covers the adult reptile’s body, likely to protect them when fighting for mates and food

Sketches of the salamanders.

New Giant Salamander Species Is the World’s Largest Amphibian

A new study has revealed that Chinese giant salamander consists not of one species, but three

For one night, the real Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle, is opening its doors to overnight guests

Live Like Lady Mary Crawley With a One-Night Stay at Downton Abbey

Highclere Castle, as the real Downton is called, has been listed on Airbnb

Milton's admiration for Shakespeare is well-documented

Is This John Milton’s Annotated Copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio?

A copy of the Bard’s collected plays may contain notes penned by the ‘Paradise Lost’ author

Researchers studied brain mapping in two professional foot painters

Art Meets Science

Inside the Brains of Artists Who Paint With Their Feet

Two artists born without arms possess complex “toe maps” similar to more typical neural “hand maps”

Here is the first sculpted version of the 'plastic army women' collector series.

‘Little Green Army Men’ Will Soon Feature Female Toy Soldiers

“Girls should be able to connect to the toys just as much as boys do,” the toys’ manufacturer says

A copper band found at the McQueen shell ring is similar to ceremonial objects seen at sites in the Great Lakes region

Cool Finds

Grave Hints at Interaction Between Early Humans Living in Great Lakes, American Southeast

Parallels between burial sites in the two regions suggest long-distance networks emerged earlier than previously believed

Courtyard of the Amsterdam Museum.

Why the Amsterdam Museum Will No Longer Use the Term ‘Dutch Golden Age’

The museum contends that the moniker, which is often used to describe the Dutch Republic in the 17th century, ignores the brutalities of the period

Trending Today

Once Thought to Be Extinct, This Lucky Clover Has Recovered Enough to Come Off the Endangered List

Running Buffalo Clover, which once spread on trampled ground left by bison, has made a comeback in the Midwest and Appalachians

Birds given doses of a common pesticide lost significant body mass, fat stores

Common Pesticides Delay Songbird Migration, Trigger Significant Weight Loss

Within six hours of ingesting a high dose of pesticide, sparrows lost six percent of their body weight and 17 percent of their fat stores

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