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The Sun is seen setting through the Martian atmosphere by the Curiosity rover. Nighttime can bring turbulent snowstorms in the planet's atmosphere

Violent Snowstorms May Rack the Martian Night

Simulations show how the water snow falling on Mars may fall much differently than we’re used to here on Earth

The former bank where four hostages and two robbers spent six days holed up in the vault.

The Six-Day Hostage Standoff That Gave Rise to ‘Stockholm Syndrome’

Although it is widely known, ‘Stockholm syndrome’ is not recognized by the APA

The original name proposed had been “Frankland,” but the counties changed it to Franklin in an attempt to get Benjamin Franklin on their side. No luck, alas.

American South

The True Story of the Short-Lived State of Franklin

Several counties in what is today Tennessee tried to form their own independent state

New Research

X-Rays Reveal Details of Portrait Once Hidden Under Vesuvius’ Ash

Using X-ray fluorescence, researchers have mapped the pigments used on a crumbling painting in Herculaneum

New Research

It May Rain Diamonds Inside Neptune and Uranus

Scientists have finally simulated the long-proposed shower of gems

A group of Giant South American turtles gather in this image taken in the Cantão State Park, in Tocantins, Brazil. Though this is an intensely biodiverse region—perhaps even more so than the Amazon ecosystem—it is poorly known.

Art Meets Science

Photo Competition Highlights Splendor of Earth’s Ecosystems

The winning and commended images of BMC Ecology’s fifth annual photo contest are now available online

A Near Earth Object

Trending Today

Meet Florence, the Giant Asteroid That Will Buzz by Earth This September

The 2.7-mile-long, near-Earth object will give astronomers a chance to study the asteroid up close

An Indian woman holds a bucket and walks to relieve herself in the open, on World Toilet Day on the outskirts of Jammu, India, in 2014.

Indian Court Grants Woman Divorce Over Husband’s Refusal to Install a Household Toilet

Relieving oneself in open fields is common practice in many parts of India, but the government is trying to change that

The battered remnants of Fritz Koenig's "Sphere" will return to the World Trade Center site after years of exile.

Cool Finds

The World Trade Center’s Only Surviving Art Heads Home

Battered, but not broken, Fritz Koenig’s “Sphere” is being reinstalled near its original location at Ground Zero

Munch's painting 'The Scream' is one of Western art's most familiar images.

The Mysterious Motives Behind the Theft of ‘The Scream’

Two versions of ‘The Scream’ have been stolen and recovered in Norway

This slimy green algae is far more complex than the type that helped fuel the formation of modern creatures, but it's a distant relative.

New Research

How Microscopic Algae Kick-Started Life As We Know It

Some 650 million years ago, algae took over the seas, which may have been a needed spark in the formation of complex life

A statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee was removed from the University of Texas at Austin campus, early Monday morning.

University of Texas at Austin Removes Three Confederate Statues

Gregory L. Fenves, the president of the university, says the monuments “have become symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism”

Trending Today

What Should You Do With Your Used Eclipse Glasses?

There are several options, including recycling, upcycling and donating them to children in the path of the next eclipse

"Ignorance = Fear / Silence = Death" by Keith Haring, 1989

New Exhibit Captures Nearly Eight Decades of Protest Art

The show incorporates the various ways artists have responded to the politics and social problems of their times since the 1940s

A bell from the doomed ship

Trending Today

After 72 Years, Wreck of USS Indianapolis Found, Closing Chapter on Tragic Tale

After the ship was sunk by a Japanese torpedo, surviving crew members had to battle dehydration, exposure and deadly shark attacks

This series was captured over the course of three hours from St. Louis Missouri. Look closely at the right edge of the fully eclipsed sun and you can see a large solar flare.

Trending Today

Stunning Photos Capture the Solar Eclipse Across America

This stellar phenomenon delighted millions today as it transited across the United States

Trending Today

The Best Ways to Watch the Eclipse Online (No Viewing Glasses Required)

Don’t worry if you can’t make it to the path of totality. These unique livestreams have you covered

An early adding machine, c. 1890, invented by William Seward Burroughs, grandfather of the beat writer.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

How America’s First Adding Machine is Connected to ‘Naked Lunch’

William Seward Burroughs (no, not that one) was the first man to invent a commercially practical calculator

A Russian scientific institute unveiled a statue in 2013 to an unsung hero of science - the lab mouse

This Russian Monument Honors the Humble Lab Mouse

A peculiar Russian monument praises the scientific achievements of a tiny mammal

Virginia Museum’s Historic Artmobile Will Hit the Road Again

The original artmobile cruised through the state between 1953 and 1994, carrying immensely valuable masterworks in tow

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