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'Directional Velcro' on birds' feathers prevent gaps from forming between them when hit by a gust of wind.

New Research

‘PigeonBot’ Uses Real Feathers to Fly Like a Bird

The flying robot is better at following directions than its namesake

Untitled image from Restricted Residence

Nearly a Decade After Fukushima, Photos Capture Residents’ Bittersweet Return

A new photo series titled “Restricted Residence” features 42 thermal images of locals and their changed landscape

A wolf puppy named Flea, among 13 pups tested in a new study. Sadly, Flea does not fetch.

Watch Wolf Puppies Play Fetch

New research suggests canines’ love for chasing and returning tossed balls wasn’t purely a product of domestication

Christopher Tolkien at Keble College, Oxford, in 1992

Christopher Tolkien, Son of J.R.R. Tolkien and ‘First Scholar’ of Middle-Earth, Dies at 95

Following his father’s death in 1973, Christopher began editing and publishing the “Lord of the Rings” author’s unseen writings

Ginkgo trees, which produce characteristic fan-shaped leaves, can live for thousands of years.

New Research

A Genetic Elixir of Life Helps Millennia-Old Ginkgo Trees Escape Death

These trees have developed an army of molecular weapons to stay healthy in old age

The classic 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit has always been contested but authors of the new study say the figure is probably right and human body temperatures have actually decreased over time.

Human Body Temperature Is Getting Cooler, Study Finds

Our average normal temperature may no longer be 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit

Photosynthetic bacteria in the concrete make it bright green until it dries and turns brown.

New Research

Scientists Design Bacteria-Based Living Concrete

Its designers hope that it could help with construction in deserts or even on Mars

Betty Pat Gatliff poses next to a facial reconstruction of boy pharaoh Tutankhamen.

Forensic Artist Betty Pat Gatliff, Whose Facial Reconstructions Helped Solve Crimes, Dies at 89

With her detailed reconstructions of missing persons and murder victims, Gatliff helped give identities to the nameless dead

John Duke Kisch collected the Separate Cinema Archive over 40 years.

George Lucas’ New Museum Acquires Major Archive of African American Film History

The Separate Cinema Archive contains more than 37,000 objects dating from 1904 to the present

In 2019, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 0.95 degrees Celsius (1.71 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 20th century average.

The 2010s Were the Hottest Decade on Record. What Happens Next?

The news hasn’t come as a surprise to climate scientists, but all urge immediate action

The Pachacamac Idol, a 1200-year-old wooden carving that held spiritual significance to the Inca

This Inca Idol Survived the Spanish Conquest. 500 Years Later, Archaeologists Are Unveiling Its History

A new analysis suggests the Pachacamac Idol, once thought destroyed, is probably older—and less bloody—than once believed

A wildlife camera trap caught five shots of this bobcat walking by the C&O Canal in Washington, D.C.

Unusual Urban Bobcat Spotted in Washington, D.C.

The closest verified bobcat sighting was 25 miles away, so how this one reached the city remains a mystery

Embedded hooks can restrict eating and may cause internal damage to organs or poisoning.

Fishing Hooks Pose a Long-Term Threat to Tiger Sharks

A new study found that 38 percent of tiger sharks observed off the coast of Tahiti had at least one hook stuck in their body

For decades, researchers have known that mice infected with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii lose their fear of cats. But there may be more to the story.

Brain Parasite Strips Rodents of Fears of Felines—and So Much More

Toxoplasma gondii infections don’t just make mice afraid of cats. They get reckless with all sorts of other stuff, too

The museum's temporary location will close in February ahead of renovations and expansion scheduled for completion in 2022.

A New Holocaust Museum Is Coming to the Netherlands, With Help From Germany

Germany has pledged €4 million to a project that seeks to revamp the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam

This 404-year-old Geneva Bible was one of more than 300 artifacts stolen from Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Library over a two-decade period.

Ex-Librarian and Bookseller Plead Guilty to Stealing Rare Texts Worth $8 Million From Pennsylvania Library

Greg Priore and John Schulman stole and resold hundreds of rare texts over a 25-year period

The front of one of the barb-spring padlocks recovered from the Pictish settlement at Lair in Glenshee, Scotland

Cool Finds

Medieval Padlock Hints at Prosperity of Scotland’s Pictish Farmers

Archaeologists uncovered a thriving farming community whose members wanted to keep their valuables safe

Pierre de Coubertin first publicly proposed reviving the Olympic Games in 1892.

Speech That Inspired the Modern Olympics Is Now the Most Expensive Sports Memorabilia Ever Sold

An anonymous buyer purchased the manuscript, penned by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin in 1892, for $8.8 million

Researcher Alexandra Green, recording cows

Cows Communicate With Unique Moos

A new study has found that the animals use distinct vocalizations across a range of emotional contexts

Brush-tailed rock-wallabies are endangered in New South Wales.

Australia’s National Park Staff Is Now Air-Dropping Food to Wallabies

Wallabies often survive the bushfires, but their natural food sources do not

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