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Calmer seas in this 2015 picture of an albatross flying toward Campbell Island.

Record-Breaking Wave Reaches Height of 78.1 Feet

A buoy recorded the wave in the Southern Ocean last week

Russell and his partner Maureen Enns befriended wild bears, spending months each year living among them—romping, swimming, and fishing.

Charlie Russell, a Naturalist Who Lived Among Bears, Has Died at 76

He hoped to show that bears are not inherently aggressive animals

Skeletal remains showing evidence of leprosy from the Odense St. Jørgen cemetery in Denmark, which was established in 1270 and existed until 1560.

Did Leprosy Originate in Europe?

A new study suggests the disease was far more diverse in Europe than previously believed

The Kilauea volcano’s Halema’uma’u lava lake as it appeared on Monday.

Trending Today

“Explosive” Eruptions Possible at Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano

Steam-powered bursts could fling multi-ton boulders half a mile away, but the USGS says wide-scale destruction is not likely

New Research

Study Looks at Why We All Spew So Much BS

The social pressure to have an opinion and a lack of accountability are what lead to the mix of truth, half-truth and outright falsehood known as bullshit

California becomes the first state to require new homes to include solar panels.

California Now Requires Solar Panels on Most New Homes

It is the first state to implement a solar panel requirement

Future of Art

New Court at the Hague Will Deal Exclusively with Art Disputes

Cases brought before the Court of Arbitration for Art will be decided by specialist art lawyers

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Oaxaca’s Pre-Hispanic Monte Albán Ruins to Be Restored

World Monuments Fund raised $1 million to help repair 15 structures at the World Heritage Site that were impacted by a 2017 earthquake

Plastic ice bag found by a NOAA expedition to the Marianas in 2016

New Research

Even the Deepest Parts of the Ocean Are Polluted With Startling Amounts of Plastic

A review of data from 5,010 ROV dives reveals and abundance of single-use plastics littering the seas

Panga ya Saidi

New Research

People Lived in This Cave for 78,000 Years

Excavations in Panga ya Saidi suggest technological and cultural change came slowly over time and show early humans weren’t reliant on coastal resources

Shipwrecks discovered off the coast of Western Australia.

Two 19th-Century Shipwrecks Discovered During Search for Flight MH370

The Western Australian Museum has put forth several suggestions for the identities of the sunken vessels

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Watch This Pine Tree Unleash a Huge, Fluffy Pollen Cloud

A viral video of the pollen explosion has touched a nerve among sufferers of seasonal allergies

Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell

Dorothy Parker’s FBI File Is Available to Public for First Time in a Decade

Parker was blacklisted by Hollywood just as she was reaching her peak as a screenwriter

The South Georgia pipit has been one of the hardest-hit species by the island's rodent population. The government announced Monday that the island is now rodent free.

South Georgia Island Is Officially Free of Its Bird-Killing Rodents

After 250 years plagued with rats and mice, the island’s birds will hopefully now have the chance to bounce back

Louise Brooks

Cool Finds

Rare Technicolor Snippets of Lost Films Discovered

The fragments from the 1920s films were found taped to the beginnings and ends of other movies

Archaeologists in Alexandria, Virginia, have unearthed three 18th-century ships that were buried to extend the city's land.

Three 18th-Century Ships Found in Old Town Alexandria Tell a Story of Colonial-Era Virginia

Another intentionally buried ship was found just a block away from the newly discovered finds in 2015

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin walks on the moon surface in July of 1969.

New Research

Lunar Dust Might Pose Severe Health Risks to Future Human Colonies on the Moon

Prolonged exposure to lunar dust can cause illnesses like bronchitis and cancer, according to a new study

Venus shines brightly in the distance in this picture taken on the International Space Station.

New Research

Venus and Jupiter May Meddle With Earth’s Orbit and Climate

In 405,000-year cycles, the tug of nearby planets causes hotter summers, colder winters and drier droughts on our home planet

Cool Finds

Meet Freddy, the Runaway Bison Who Inspired a Choral Arrangement

The piece references Manitoban history, a small town’s celebrity animal and includes distorted bison noises

Visualized vibrations

Earthquake-Monitoring Technology May Help Protect Elephants from Poachers

A new study suggests that tracking the distinct seismic vibrations generated by elephants could help conservationists know if trouble is afoot

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