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SpaceX released an updated rendering of the Big Falcon Rocket launching into the solar system

Art Meets Science

Elon Musk Is Sending a Japanese Billionaire to the Moon, and He’s Taking a Group of Artists With Him

Yusaku Maezawa hopes to recruit six to eight artists for the week-long mission, which is expected to launch as early as 2023

New genetic evidence confirms that ivory poaching in Africa involves only a few powerful players who consolidate the goods for illegal trade abroad.

How DNA Testing Could Bring Down Ivory Trade’s Biggest Criminals

Genetic testing exposes three major cartels illegally trafficking ivory out of several African countries

New Research

This Pulsar is Giving Off Weird Infrared Light and We’re Not Sure Why

Researchers believe a disk of dust from a supernova or a pulsar wind nebula could explain the strange energy signal

Pope Joan allegedly enjoyed a brief tenure as the Catholic Church's leader during the mid-800s

Why the Legend of Medieval Pope Joan Persists

The mythical female pope is back in the news as an academic uses medieval coins to look for physical evidence of her reign

Monty, the dog that found the Bronze Age relics, unearthed 13 sickles, two spear points, three axes and several bracelets.

Who’s a Good Archaeologist? Dog Digs Up Trove of Bronze Age Relics

While on a walk outside a small Czech village, Monty the dog and his owner found nearly two dozen 3,000-year-old artifacts

Pembroke Castle's outer ward, seen from the south.

Excavation at Welsh Castle May Shed Light on the Mystery of Henry VII’s Birthplace

Archaeologists say the Tudor king was likely born in a high-status residence in the castle’s outer ward

Trending Today

Five Baby Squirrels Saved From Truly Knotty Predicament

Five gray tree squirrels in Wisconsin were found with their tails hopelessly knotted together, requiring some help from a wildlife rehab

Freddie Oversteegen was a teenager when she joined the Dutch resistance

Freddie Oversteegen, Teenage Resistance Fighter Who Assassinated Nazis, Has Died at 92

Oversteegen and two other young women used their unassuming charms to ensnare Nazi collaborators

Humans' CMAH gene mutation may enable them to exhibit higher endurance over long periods of exercise

Human Gene Mutation May Have Paved the Way for Long-Distance Running

Mice with engineered versions of the CMAH gene exhibited 30 percent better endurance than those without

The Bard's early life continues to be illuminated.

Cool Finds

Docs Show Shakespeare’s Father Had Legal and Financial Trouble Throughout the Bard’s Teen Years

Twenty-one documents found in the U.K.’s National Archives add context to the Bard’s feelings toward power and monarchy

The wolf cub is the better-preserved of the two specimens, with everything from its fur to its tail and curled upper lip still intact

Cool Finds

Gold Miners Unearth 50,000-Year-Old Caribou Calf, Wolf Pup From Canadian Permafrost

Both animals’ fur, skin and muscle are almost perfectly preserved

Group of Belugas May Have Adopted Young Narwhal

The narwhal was seen frolicking with its beluga buddies some 600 miles south of its normal range

Trending Today

‘It Wasn’t Aliens’: Solar Observatory That Was Mysteriously Evacuated Will Reopen Tomorrow

The Sunspot Observatory in New Mexico was closed for ten days due to a ‘security threat,’ though aliens and solar flares have been ruled out

"Self-portrait" (1837)

Delacroix, the Visionary Romantic Artist, Gets First Major North American Retrospective

A new exhibition at the Met features nearly 150 of Delacroix’s paintings, drawings and prints

An amphipod with its victim clamped on its back.

Kidnapper Crustaceans Use Tiny Mollusks as Unwitting Shields

Amphipods wear the so-called sea angels, which secrete chemicals that keep certain predators at bay, like backpacks

Venting frustrations

Trending Today

Cannibalism, Roller Coasters and Self-Colonoscopies in the News? It’s Ig Nobel Season

The satirical awards celebrate some of the strangest scientific research

The master female ceramicist likely created large vases, known as pithoi, similar to these

Her 3,000-Year-Old Bones Showed Unusual Signs of Wear. It Turns Out, She Was a Master Ceramicist

After analyzing the woman’s skeleton, researchers unlocked her past as an ancient Greek artisan

New Research

How Much Plastic Does It Take To Kill a Sea Turtle?

A new study suggests one piece of plastic has a 22 percent chance of killing a turtle that eats it, and 14 pieces will kill half

Diane Leather winning the women's 880 yards in 2:15.8 on May 12, 1956.

Record-Breaking Distance Runner Diane Leather Never Let Lack of Opportunity Slow Her Down

The first woman to run a mile in less than five minutes has died at age 85

A popular 19th-century slide depicts rats jumping into the throat of a sleeping man

Art Meets Science

Before There Was Streaming, the Victorians Had “Magic Lanterns”

New research finds these early image projectors, which brought world landmarks, fairytale favorites to life, were a regular part of middle-class life

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