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A new study reveals how Chilean flamingos are so adept at finding food.

Feeding Flamingos Create Underwater Tornado-Like Vortices to Capture Their Prey, Study Finds

Rather than passively filter-feeding, the birds use their heads, beaks and feet to generate motion in the water that funnels invertebrates into their mouths

The two eagle sculptures—including one with the wizard Gandalf riding on its back—have soared over visitors at Wellington International Airport in New Zealand for more than a decade.

Say Goodbye to This Massive ‘Hobbit’-Themed Sculpture of Gandalf Riding an Eagle

For more than a decade, the eye-catching artwork had hung from the ceiling of Wellington International Airport in New Zealand, where “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” were filmed

A new study finds chimpanzees drum against tree roots with rhythm, suggesting they share an evolutionary trait with humans passed down by a last common ancestor.

Researchers Discover That Chimps Drum Rhythmically, Suggesting Human Musicality Originated in Our Last Common Ancestor

Not only do chimpanzees maintain a rhythm while drumming on tree roots, but two subspecies use distinct tempos and techniques, according to a new study

A bed frame shoved against the door served as a makeshift barricade.

New Research

By Shoving a Bed Frame Against the Door, This Pompeii Family Tried to Survive Mount Vesuvius’ Eruption

Archaeologists are learning new details about the four individuals’ futile attempt to hide inside an ancient residence called the House of Helle and Phrixus

Most babesiosis infections are caused by blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks.

A Potentially Life-Threatening Disease Caused by Ticks Is Expanding to New Parts of America

Babesiosis typically occurs in the Northeast and the Upper Midwest, but new research suggests rare cases are emerging in the mid-Atlantic region including Delaware, Maryland and Virginia

Philadelphia children eating a "three-cent dinner" at school, featured in the 1913 book School Feeding: Its History and Practice at Home and Abroad

American Schools Have Been Feeding Children for More Than 100 Years. Here’s How the School Lunch Has Changed

A new exhibition in Philadelphia explores how nutritional science, technological advances and political debates shaped the foods on schoolchildren’s trays

The exterior is made of fruitwood adorned with mother-of-pearl inlay and silver banding.

You Can Buy Novelist Charles Dickens’ Personal Travel Writing Desk and Silverware Set

The ornate desk features a silver plaque with a personal inscription that references the English writer’s family nickname, “Venerables”

The researchers conducted static compression tests to measure the force needed to break the eggs in different positions.

This Is the Best Way to Drop an Egg Without Breaking It, According to Scientists

Experiments challenge the commonly held idea that dropping an egg vertically will help prevent it from cracking in a classic school assignment

The pipe was found during an archaeological survey ahead of new construction.

Cool Finds

Ancient Roman Wooden Water Pipe Made From Hollow Tree Trunks Unearthed Beneath a Street in Belgium

Archaeologists say the muddy soil in the area preserved the artifact, which likely dates to between the second and third centuries C.E.

Dumbo octopuses, like the Opisthoteuthis agassizii seen here during a 2019 dive, are the deepest-living group of octopuses known.

Humans Have Seen Only 0.001 Percent of the World’s Deep Seas, Leaving Most of the Planet a Vast Mystery

Researchers argue that expanding deep-sea exploration is vital to understanding and managing these marine habitats

Located in Northumberland National Park, the Sycamore Gap tree was well-known throughout England and beyond.

Two Men Convicted of Chopping Down England’s Beloved Sycamore Gap Tree in an Act of ‘Mindless Thuggery’

After five hours of deliberation, jurors found Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham guilty of criminal damage for felling the iconic tree that stood near Hadrian’s Wall

Ava DuVernay delivers her acceptance speech for the National Museum of American History’s Great Americans Medal.

Women Who Shaped History

Trailblazing Filmmaker Ava DuVernay Receives the Smithsonian’s Great Americans Medal

DuVernay is the first director, writer and producer to earn the honor, which recognizes “lifetime contributions embodying American ideas and ideals”

Grizzly 399 (left) reigned as the "Queen of the Tetons" until her death in October 2024.

Male Offspring of Grizzly 399—the ‘World’s Most Famous Bear’—Killed by Vehicle in Grand Teton National Park

The 5-year-old boar known as Grizzly 1058 was part of a rare litter of four cubs born in 2020

Researchers reveal that some superb starlings form long-term, friendship-like relationships.

These Colorful Birds Form Long-Term ‘Friendships’ by Helping Out With Babysitting, Study Suggests

While scientists have observed animals assisting their relatives, a new study reveals that many superb starlings also form supportive relationships with non-relatives that can last for years

Tell Abu Saifi features housing units where soldiers and their families may have lived.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Uncover Evidence of Ancient Tree-Lined Road in Egyptian Military Fortress

Located in the northern Sinai Desert, the site is shedding new light on defensive structures built to protect Egypt’s eastern borders

Leo XIV made his first appearance as pope on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on May 8.

The New Pope Is Calling Himself Leo—Just Like 13 Other Pontiffs Who Came Before Him. Who Are They?

When Robert Prevost was elected pope this week, he chose one of the most popular papal names. The lives of the Pope Leos who preceded him may offer insight into his approach to the papacy

The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the world's longest venomous snake, and it's one of the species that can be neutralized with a new antivenom.

200 Snakebites Later, One Man’s Blood May Hold the Key to a Universal Antivenom

Over two decades, Tim Friede has injected himself with snake venom hundreds of times, and subjected himself to more than 200 bites. Now, scientists are working on an antivenom derived from his antibodies

A Brood XIV cicada in 2008, the last time this group of the insects emerged

Watch for Cicadas: Billions From Brood XIV Will Soon Emerge After 17 Years Underground

The insects from this group were last seen in 2008 and will appear across the eastern U.S. for a brief, dramatic frenzy of mating and dying

Pueblo Bonito is one of the largest "great houses" constructed by the Chacoan people at Chaco Canyon.

New Research

DNA Links Modern Picuris Pueblo Tribe to Ancestors Who Lived in Chaco Canyon Hundreds of Years Ago

Tribal leaders partnered with scientists to confirm their connection to the archaeological site in New Mexico

Marine archeologist Andreas Kallmeyer Bloch documents the shipwreck.

Cool Finds

Locals Thought These Shipwrecks Had Belonged to Pirates. They Turned Out to Be 300-Year-Old Danish Slave Ships

The two vessels had been trafficking hundreds of enslaved Africans when a navigational error led them astray. They sank off the coast of Costa Rica in the 18th century

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