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Abnormalities identified included misshapen skulls and jaws, bowed femur and arm bones

Did Rampant Inbreeding Contribute to Early Humans’ High Rate of Skeletal Deformities?

Researcher identified 75 skeletal or dental defects in sample of just 66 sets of ancient remains

Ganymedes and the heron.

Cool Finds

Recently Unearthed Roman Latrine Was Full of Dirty Jokes

Mosaics uncovered in a Roman bathroom in modern-day Turkey reminds us that bathroom humor has ancient roots

Species in the Northwest Atlantic, like this red tree coral, are threatened by ocean acidification, which may be causing the dissolution of the sea floor.

Parts of the Ocean Floor Are Disintegrating—And It’s Our Fault

A new study has found that calcium carbonate on the sea floor is dissolving too quickly in an effort to keep up with excess carbon dioxide

A fin whale picked out from satellite imagery

New Research

Researchers Can Now Monitor Whales Via Satellite

The latest high resolution satellites can pick out whales surfacing in huge swaths of ocean, which will aid in conservation

Llama antibodies are smaller than human ones, making them ideal for latching onto hard-to-reach areas of flu virus strains

Llama Antibodies May Be the Key to Flu Prevention

Researchers have created a llama-inspired mega protein capable of neutralizing 59 different strains of influenza

Trending Today

Ambitious Project to Sequence Genomes of 1.5 Million Species Kicks Off

The Earth BioGenome Project promises to revolutionize biology

India is now home to about 2,500 tigers—over half the world’s population.

Weird Animals

Man-Eating Tigress Killed in India, Lured by Calvin Klein Cologne

Indian officials say the hunters initially attempted tranquilizing the animal, but killed her, reportedly in self-defense, in the end

This is the face of a cold-hearted killer...right?

This Petite Cat Is the World’s Deadliest. Mini-Series ‘Super Cats’ Shows You Why

The African black-footed cat weighs roughly 200 times less than the average lion, but it has a predation success rate of 60 percent

Jane Fortune photographed in 2009.

Legacy of Jane Fortune, Champion of Forgotten Women Artists, Lives on in New Initiative

‘A Space of Their Own’ aims to build comprehensive digital database of 15th- to 19th-century women artists

The Milky Way

New Research

The Milky Way Ate One of Its Neighbors 10 Billion Years Ago

Star data shows we gobbled up a galaxy called Gaia-Enceladus about 1/4 the size of the Milky Way, leaving behind telltale signs of the merger

Louis Cha aka Jin Yong

Trending Today

Louis Cha, “Master” of Kung-Fu Novels, Has Died at 94

Under the pen-name Jin Yong, the writer published 14 seminal books that defined the entire wuxia genre and sold more than 300 million copies

Residents of a village on the main island Hokkaido (pictured) didn't realize one of the small, uninhabited islands, Esanbe Hanakita Kojima, off the coast near them had vanished completely.

How a Japanese Island Quietly Disappeared

Esanbe Hanakita Kojima, as the island is called, may have been eroded by wind and ice floes

The lamprey's jawless yet toothy mouth is ideal for hooking onto victims' flesh

Cool Finds

Toothy Medieval Sea Monster Remains Found in London

The lamprey, a jawless fish that uses its teeth to hook onto the flesh of prey, was a favorite delicacy amongst British royals past and present

Assortment of bird eggs and a fossil theropod egg

Dinosaurs May Have Given Birds Their Colorful, Speckled Eggs

A new analysis of fossilized eggshells suggests diversely patterned eggs evolved much earlier than previously believed

New Research

Your Appendix May Be Starting Point for Parkinson’s Disease

Those who have the organ removed have a 20 percent less chance of developing the disease, which is related to protein found in the appendix and the brain

The labyrinthine network stretches roughly 4.5 miles across the ocean floor

Cool Finds

Researchers Unearth Glass Labyrinth Created by Underwater Volcanic Eruption

The unusual formation is situated nearly three miles below the ocean’s surface—a distance greater than Mount Rainier’s height above sea level

Two high schoolers from Akron, Ohio, stumbled upon the tool while sifting through sediment during a dig at the estate

Cool Finds

Students Unearth 6,000-Year-Old Stone Axe at Mount Vernon

The tool, which was likely used for cutting or carving wood rather than as a weapon, was crafted during 4000 B.C.

Trending Today

Why Fall Color Has Been So Meh in Parts of the U.S. This Year

A hot fall and excess rain robbed much of the East Coast of its annual leaf show

Upturned chairs and unmounted table tops lie on the floor inside the historic Caffe Florian, in San Marco square, in Venice, Italy, on Tuesday.

Venice Museums Re-Open After the City’s Worst Flood in a Decade

How Venice and its cultural institutions will battle rising sea levels in the future is a larger question

The Vatican-endorsed game lets you "collect" Catholic saints.

There’s a Pokémon Go-Inspired App for Catholics

The Pope was reportedly impressed by the new game

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