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By 2050, Earth's population is projected to swell to 9.8 billion, placing strain on limited food, resources

Soon, the Average Human Will Be Taller, Heavier. That Will Lead to Increased Food Demand

Between 1975 and 2014, average adult grew 1.3 percent taller and 14 percent heavier, triggering 6.1 percent uptick in energy consumption

January 28, 1972 file photo of Aretha Franklin

Why This Aretha Franklin Documentary Took 46 Years to Make it to Theaters

The documentary was long beset by technical and legal woes, but Franklin’s family members recently gave it their blessing

A "mud pot" like this one in Yellowstone National Park is moving across Southern California, for reasons that are not clear to scientists.

A Gurgling ‘Mud Pot’ Is Crawling Across Southern California

Scientists don’t know why the muddy spring is moving, but it poses a threat to the infrastructure in its path

Cool Finds

Tomb Full of Sacred Cats and Beetles Found in Egypt

The recently opened tomb in the Saqqara necropolis included gilded feline statues and extremely rare mummified scarab beetles

Paramount Ranch hosted an array of Classic Hollywood stars, including Carole Lombard, the Marx Brothers and Bob Hope

100 Years of Hollywood History Lost as California Inferno Destroys Paramount Ranch

The ranch’s Western Town served as the one of the sets of popular HBO drama ‘Westworld’

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Letter Shows Einstein’s Prescient Concerns About ‘Dark Times’ in Germany

In 1922, after fleeing Berlin out of fear for his safety, Einstein wrote to his sister about his new ‘reclusive’ life

Burket's warbler

New Research

This Rare Warbler Is Three Species in One

A warbler discovered in Pennsylvania is the offspring of a hybrid female and a male from a completely different genus

Water found deep within the planet's interior contains different ratio of heavy hydrogen isotopes and normal hydrogen, pointing toward separate point of origin

Where Did Earth’s Water Originate? Solar Nebula, Study Suggests

Researchers say the hydrogen contained in these clouds of gas and dust contributed to formation of one out of every 100 water molecules found on Earth

Cool Finds

It’s True: Ancient Gauls Embalmed the Severed Heads of Their Enemies

Chemical analysis shows that ancient accounts of the warriors preserving heads using pine resin are accurate

New Research

Gravity Map Reveals Tectonic Secrets Beneath Antartica’s Ice

Satellite data shows East and West Antarctica have very different geologic histories

Cool Finds

Listen to the Moment the Guns Fell Silent, Ending World War I

A new exhibit at the Imperial War Museum uses seismic data collected during the war to recreate the moment the Armistice went into effect

The Science and Cell teams sequenced a total of 64 ancient human genomes

This Week Has Offered a Slew of Insights on the Western Hemisphere’s First Humans

Studies reveal rapid yet uneven movement south in at least three migratory waves, complicating story of the Americas’ settlement

A mid-level solar flare captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory in 2017.

Did a Huge Solar Storm Detonate Deep Sea Mines During the Vietnam War?

Dozens of underwater devices seemed to explode without cause in 1972

The Colorado State Capitol Building in Denver.

Why Colorado Had to Vote This Week to Abolish Slavery in All Forms

Previously, the state’s constitution made an exception for slavery as a punishment for convicted criminals

At Fort Sill, Oklahoma, you can see "Atomic Annie," the first and only cannon to ever fire a nuclear shell.

This Veterans Day, Visit America’s Top Military Sites

A new book offers a guide to the museums, bases and once-secret locations that reveal America’s complex military history

The fossilized crania of three long-snouted cetaceans.

The Mystery of Ancient Dolphins’ Super-Long Snouts

A new study suggests the extinct cetaceans used their snouts to hit and stun prey, much as swordfish do

Doug E. Fresh, beatboxing pioneer, lays it down.

New Research

This Is What Happens Inside a Beatboxer’s Mouth When They Perform

MRI scans of vocal percussionists show that beatboxing takes the vocal tract beyond human language

A trip to the British Museum may be one of the social prescribing options outlined by U.K. doctors

British Doctors May Soon Prescribe Art, Music, Dance, Singing Lessons

Campaign is expected to launch across the entire U.K. by 2023

Researchers say the shift in laugh patterns doesn't appear to be linked with any major developmental milestones

Babies Share Same Laugh Patterns as Chimpanzees

Unlike adults, who tend to laugh while exhaling, infants let giggles loose while both inhaling and exhaling

New Research

Ancient Ape Was Just the Size of a House Cat

12.5 million-year-old teeth found in Kenya belonged to a species that ate leaves, but was likely outcompeted by an explosion of monkeys

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