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The annual average concentration of PM 2.5 expected in 2050. 

New Research

Wildfire Smoke Will Likely Kill Thousands More Americans Each Year

A new analysis finds that 30,000 more Americans are expected to die from wildfire-smoke exposure annually by 2050

A Brandt's cormorant carries red grape algae and seagrass in La Jolla, California.

See 15 Breathtaking Bird Images From the 16th Annual Audubon Photography Awards

This year’s competition expanded to Chile and Colombia and introduced new prizes focused on migratory species, habitats and conservation

Nigerian chef Hilda Baci stirs rice in a giant pot in an attempt to set a world record.

This Nigerian Chef Just Set the World Record for the Largest Pot of Jollof Rice

Hilda Baci, whose winning dish weighed more than 19,000 pounds, had previously been awarded a Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon

The whistle, pictured here, reminded researchers of Stone Age bone whistles found in Europe.

New Research

This Drilled Cow Bone May Have Been an Ancient Egyptian Cop’s Whistle

The artifact, found 17 years ago, was recently replicated and tested by researchers

Unknown thieves stole native gold from the French National Museum of Natural History's geology and mineralogy gallery, which is closed until further notice.

Rare Gold Nuggets Worth $700,000 Stolen From Paris’ Natural History Museum in Brazen Heist

Discovered in their pure metallic form, the specimens were taken by “an extremely professional team,” the museum’s director said

Bull elk are fighting and bugling during their annual mating season in Rocky Mountain National Park and neighboring Estes Park in Colorado.

Amorous Elk Are Looking for Love Across North America in an Annual Spectacle Called the Rut

Fall is mating season for the large, antler-adorned ungulates—and you can catch a glimpse of them at several national parks in the United States and Canada

A healthy volunteer takes the Fastball test in his home alongside lead researcher George Stothart.

Three-Minute Take-Home Test May Identify Symptoms Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease Years Before a Traditional Diagnosis

Researchers say the experimental tool has huge implications for public health, especially in conjunction with Alzheimer’s drugs that are most effective in the disease’s early stages

Ned (right) likely won't be able to reproduce unless another left-coiling snail is found.

A Rare, Left-Coiling Snail Needs Help Finding a Mate. New Zealanders Are Looking for Its 1-in-40,000 Match

Known as Ned, the creature needs a fellow left-coiling garden snail to reproduce—but the species almost always has shells that coil on their right side

An illustration of a Pterodactylus hatchling struggling in a tropical storm

Baby Pterosaur Fossils Reveal Mid-Flight Injury and Watery Death, Helping Solve a Paleontological Mystery

A 150-million-year-old fossil hotspot in southern Germany yields an astounding number of well-preserved juvenile pterosaurs, and scientists wondered why it contained fewer adults

The hats collected in 2025 are worth nearly $6,000.

More Than 300 Hats Have Been Pulled From Yellowstone’s Geothermal Features So Far This Year

Debris, garbage and clothing often ends up in the park’s hot springs, geysers, fumaroles and mudpots

The National Archives is the permanent home of the United States Constitution.

America's 250th Anniversary

See the Entire U.S. Constitution on Display for the Very First Time in History

The National Archives in Washington, D.C. will be showcasing the four pages of the historic document, plus a rarely shown “fifth page,” the Bill of Rights and the 17 other amendments

Subtly different brain areas light up in response to viewing certain colors, a new study suggests.

Do We See the Same Colors as Others? Study Suggests Brains Respond to the Same Hues in Similar Ways

Using MRI scans, researchers found that participants’ patterns of brain activity were alike when looking at certain colors. But people can still experience those colors differently

Excavations have uncovered 40 tombs made of Hellenistic-era ceramics, along with various artifacts and ceramic vessels.

Cool Finds

Severe Drought in Iraq Reveals Dozens of Ancient Tombs Created 2,300 Years Ago

The tombs, which likely date to Iraq’s Hellenistic period, were discovered along the Mosul Dam reservoir

Alsek Glacier disconnected from the shoreline of Alsek Lake sometime this summer, transforming a mountain known as Prow Knob into an island.

Glacial Melting in Alaska Has Created a New Island

Alsek Glacier disconnected from a mountain called Prow Knob sometime this past summer, making way for Alsek Lake to surround the landmass

Researchers directly dated dinosaur eggs, which had filled with calcite crystals, in China.

Paleontologists Directly Date Dinosaur Eggs for the First Time, Shedding Light on the Cretaceous World 85 Million Years Ago

Using uranium-lead dating, researchers calculated the age of the eggs, rather than the sediments around them, at the Qinglongshan site in China

An adult spotted lanternfly on a leaf in Pittsburgh

Swarm of Invasive Spotted Lanternflies Shows Up on Weather Radar Around Washington, D.C., Meteorologists Say

Using a variety of radar characteristics, scientists suggest the irregular detection was caused by bugs, instead of normal weather patterns

The Louvre has stopped offering its Nintendo 3DS museum guides.

The Louvre Stops Renting Out Nintendo 3DS Consoles, Which Helped Visitors Navigate the Massive Museum for 13 Years

Available since 2012, the handheld gadgets are being retired in favor of a new system—but so far, the Paris museum hasn’t revealed any details about the replacement

Saturn will be at its brightest on September 21. 

Here’s How to See Saturn at Its Best and Brightest This Month

The giant planet will enter opposition, when the Earth will be between Saturn and the Sun, this weekend

The bodies were arranged into crouched positions, then propped over or placed near a fire to slowly dehydrate.

New Research

The World’s Oldest Mummies Might Be These Smoke-Dried, 12,000-Year-Old Skeletons From Southeast Asia

The human remains predate Chile’s Chinchorro mummies and the famously preserved pharaohs of ancient Egypt by millennia

Christ on the Cross at the Osenat auction house

Cool Finds

Long-Lost Rubens Painting of Jesus Christ’s Crucifixion Discovered in a Paris Mansion

The Baroque artwork stopped an auctioneer in his tracks during a routine property visit. The newly discovered piece will go to auction in November

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