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The black parasitic ant tricks the workers into attacking their amber queen.

These Parasitic Ant Queens Found a Sneaky Way to Stage a Coup: Trick a Colony Into Killing its Mother

While ant queen violence is well-known, scientists recently documented the first evidence of parasite-induced matricide

New research suggests multilingualism may slow cognitive aging. 

Neuroscientists Studied More Than 80,000 People and Found That Speaking Multiple Languages Might Slow Down Brain Aging

An enormous analysis of data from a broad array of participants found an association between multilingualism and cognitive aging

The museum is located on an 11-acre campus in Los Angeles' Exposition Park.

George Lucas’ Sprawling Museum Dedicated to the ‘Universal Language’ of Illustrated Storytelling Finally Gets an Opening Date

Located in Los Angeles, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will feature a permanent collection of more than 40,000 illustrations, movie posters, murals, film artifacts and other artworks

A 3D model of the skull likely belonging to Béla, Duke of Macsó

New Research

Forensic Analysis Identifies Skeleton as a Medieval Hungarian Duke Who Was Brutally Murdered 750 Years Ago

Based on DNA evidence and numerous cut marks on the bones, scientists think that multiple assailants attacked Béla, Duke of Macsó, in 1272. The victim was likely unarmed and unprotected by armor

The Garden of Les Mathurins, property of the Deraismes Sisters, Pontoise, Camille Pissarro, 1876

The Paintings of Camille Pissarro, the ‘First Impressionist,’ Are Finally Getting the Attention They Deserve

“The Honest Eye: Camille Pissarro’s Impressionism,” the first major U.S. exhibition of the artist in 40 years, is now open at the Denver Art Museum

Members of the Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) Nation caught the crafty female wolf on camera.

Watch a Wolf Cleverly Raid a Crab Trap for a Snack. It Might Be the First Evidence of a Wild Canid Using a Tool

Footage from British Columbia shows just how intelligent wild wolves can be, but scientists are divided as to whether the behavior constitutes tool use

Elephant seals on South Georgia island

Bird Flu Wiped Out Nearly Half of the Females in the World’s Largest Elephant Seal Population, Drone Images Suggest

Scientists recorded a 47 percent drop in breeding females in South Georgia’s three largest elephant seal colonies after bird flu hit. Scaled to the whole island, that’s a potential loss of more than 50,000 of the animals

Many fans have developed parasocial relationships with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, pictured here in January 2025 at the AFC Championship Game in Kansas City, Missouri.

Trending Today

Feel a Connection to a Celebrity You’ve Never Met? Your Bond May Be ‘Parasocial,’ Which Is Cambridge Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2025

The term is used to describe “a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know,” according to the dictionary

Researchers used drones to capture high-resolution aerial imagery of the Band of Holes.

New Research

Thousands of Mysterious Holes Dot the Landscape in Peru. Archaeologists Say They May Finally Know Why

New research suggests the Band of Holes functioned as a barter marketplace before becoming an accounting system for the Inca

A team of doctors at NYU Langone transplanted a pig kidney into a brain-dead patient and reversed its rejection twice during the 61-day study.

Scientists Reverse Human Rejection of Pig Organ Transplant for First Time

A new study reversed transplant rejection twice, uncovering the reasons for transplant rejection on a cellular level

Concrete Coral by artist Leandro Erlich features 22 concrete cars submerged roughly 20 feet deep about 780 feet off the coast of Miami Beach.

Art Meets Science

Miami Beach’s Newest Art Installation Is Underwater—and It Doubles as a Habitat for Fish and Coral

Crews lowered 22 concrete cars to the ocean floor to create “Concrete Coral,” an installation by artist Leandro Erlich. The piece is the first phase of a project called REEFLINE

One of the woolly mammoth's legs

Scientists Extract the Oldest RNA Ever Found, Revealing How a Woolly Mammoth’s Genes May Have Functioned 40,000 Years Ago

The frozen remains of a juvenile woolly mammoth named Yuka preserved details about the animal’s last moments alive

 Margaret Hamilton wore the hat when she played the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz.

You Can Buy the Wicked Witch’s Hat That Actress Margaret Hamilton Wore in ‘The Wizard of Oz’

Heritage Auctions is selling several pieces of memorabilia connected to the land of Oz, including the witch’s hat from the 1939 film and a 1903 edition of the book signed by Judy Garland

Amabala, a 5-year-old female who was born in captivity, is raising four healthy cubs.

Watch Four Furry and Adorable Cheetah Cubs on the Smithsonian National Zoo’s Online Feed

The “strong, active” and “vocal” babies were born during the government shutdown, and they and their 5-year-old, first-time mother, Amabala, are thriving

An artist's impression of a coronal mass ejection on a star

In a First, Astronomers Saw a Distant Star Shoot Some of Its Plasma Into Space

The powerful coronal mass ejection would have likely destroyed the atmospheres of any potentially habitable planets nearby

The "digital twin" of the House of Thiasus, with a reconstructed wooden ceiling

New Research

Ancient Pompeii’s Elite May Have Built Lavish Towers on Top of Their Villas. Here’s What They May Have Looked Like

Digital reconstructions are bringing structures to life that may have collapsed during Mount Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 C.E. Researchers think these towers symbolized their owners’ wealth and influence

Modern-day crocodiles like this one arrived in Australia about 3.8 million years ago. But a distant branch of them that lived there tens of millions of years ago included some members that dropped from trees onto prey. 

Paleontologists Unearthed Australia’s Oldest Known Crocodile Eggshells. The Reptiles’ Relatives May Have Hunted From the Trees

The eggshells belonged to an extinct group of crocs, some members of which were “drop crocs” that plunged onto prey

Wales' National Museum in Cardiff, where an artist quietly hung an A.I.-generated work on a gallery wall in October

Artist Sneaks Framed A.I. Portrait and Accompanying Label Onto a Museum’s Gallery Wall

The artificial-intelligence-generated image hung in Wales’ National Museum in Cardiff for a few hours before staffers and museumgoers noticed its presence

Syria's National Museum reopening to visitors in Damascus on January 8

Six Ancient Roman Statues Have Been Stolen From Syria’s National Museum

The theft is a serious loss for the country’s cultural heritage, which had already sustained extensive damage during a long civil war

Remoras hitch a ride on a humpback whale.

Watch Suckerfish Hitch a Wild Ride on Humpback Whales in Rare Video Footage

Suckerfish—also known as remoras—are harmless, but the whales didn’t seem to be fans of their hitchhiking

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