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London’s Congestion Pricing Plan Is Saving Lives

By charging $17.34 for a trip downtown during peak hours, London has reduced traffic fatalities by 40 percent

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Why’s Wikimedia Suing the NSA?

Wikimedia Foundation joins Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and others to protest mass surveillance online

A mummified corpse of a Chinchoro girl between 4,000 and 8,000 years old gets a cleaning.

New Research

Saving the World’s Oldest Mummies From Rot in a Warmer, Wetter World

Why are the ancient bodies of the Chinchorro people stored in a Chilean museum rapidly degrading into black ooze?

Smog over Shanghai

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China’s Smog Might Be to Blame for the East Coast’s Rough Winter

A NASA visualization shows how particles from East Asia can swirl into Pacific storms—a source of precipitation for the U.S.

Celebrities: Popular then forgotten. Recognize her? No?Don't worry, this is just a stock photo.

Cool Finds

How Long Do Cultural References Last?

Not forever

Icebergs break off, or calve, from the Dawes Glacier at the end of Endicott Arm in southeast Alaska.

New Research

The Loud Noise of Melting Glaciers May Actually Be Good for Animals

Melting glacier ice has been found to the loudest noise in the ocean—what does that mean for marine animals?

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How Dick Tracy Invented the Smartwatch

The detective’s two-way wrist radio paved the way for the Apple Watch and other wearables

New Research

Here’s What Music Specially Composed for Your Cat Sounds Like

Research shows that cats prefer “species-specific” with frequencies and tempos that mimic the sounds of purring and birds

New Research

Can You Draw the Apple Logo From Memory?

New research shows you probably can’t

An African cotton leafworm moth.

New Research

These Moths Remember Where They Mated for the First Time

The locale of the African cotton leafworm moth’s first experience pairing up forms its future preferences, a new study shows

Screen grab from DIY TV’s "Professional Fort Builder: Jay Nelson"

Cool Finds

This Treehouse Has It All

Salvaged fence boards, given new life, help Jay Nelson create dwellings that blend with nature

In the Argentine village of San Antonio de los Cobres, some people have a genetic mutation that helps them cope with the high levels of arsenic present in their drinking water.

New Research

Centuries of Poison-Laced Water Gave These People a Tolerance to Arsenic

Some citizens of a remote village in the Andes have a genetic adaptation that allows them to quickly process high levels of arsenic, a new study shows

A large band of warmer than average sea surface temperatures, an indicator of El Niño, stretches across the Pacific

Trending Today

Gear Up for a Scorcher of a Year: El Niño Has Officially Arrived

It’s later than usual and weak, but definitely here

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This Is Next-Level Origami

From dancing cranes to protective structures, origami is popping up in science and tech

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UN: Destroying the Ancient City of Nimrud Was a “War Crime”

Global outcry after ISIS razes 3,000-year-old archaeological site with bulldozers

Artist’s conception of Dawn entering orbit around Ceres

Trending Today

Dawn Has Arrived at Ceres

Downlink connection confirms that the spacecraft is in orbit around the dwarf planet

Gustavia, St. Barths

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St. Barts Is Like the Galapagos for Linguistic Diversity

Beyond the glitz of tourism, St. Barts natives speak in unique varieties of French

Elephants perform in Wisconsin in 1980.

Trending Today

Ringling Brothers Is Phasing Out Its Elephant Act

After years of fielding controversy and claims of abuse, “The Greatest Show on Earth” will soon be retiring its trained elephants for good

New Research

NASA’s Next Space Robot Was Inspired by a Baby’s Toy

Meet the Super Ball Bot, a flexible robot that could explore new planets

An artist’s interpretation of an object slamming into the early Earth

New Research

Metal Rain Could Explain Why the Earth Made of Different Stuff Than the Moon

A new study shows that iron-rich asteroids could have vaporized when they hit the early Earth

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