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An ancient wooden falcon decorated with Egyptian blue alongside one of the newly developed pigments

New Research

Archaeologists Are Recreating the Long-Lost Recipe for Egyptian Blue, the World’s Oldest Known Synthetic Pigment

Created 5,000 years ago, the mysterious color has been found on artworks and artifacts throughout the ancient world. But the pigment’s recipe was eventually lost to history

The squid species had only been known from dead specimens found in fishing nets or the stomachs of other animals.

Scientists Had Never Seen This Mysterious Squid Alive in the Wild—Until Now. See the First Footage of the Elusive Creature

A three-foot-long Antarctic gonate squid was spotted swimming 7,000 feet below the surface of the Southern Ocean

The wreck of the Joseph Cochrane, a 131-foot-long cargo schooner that sank in 1870, is located 563 feet from the Old Baileys Harbor Lighthouse in Lake Michigan.

Historians Set the Record Straight on This Misidentified 155-Year-Old Shipwreck in Lake Michigan

For years, experts thought a wreck near Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin, was the “Christina Nilsson.” Recently, they realized it’s actually the “Joseph Cochrane,” which sank in 1870

A satellite image captures the trail of destruction running through Kentucky's Daniel Boone National Forest left after a tornado swept across the state on May 16.

Kentucky’s Devastating Tornado in May Left a Trail of Destruction Visible From Space

Satellite imagery released by NASA features a giant brown streak where the storm sliced through the Daniel Boone National Forest

Wildtype's lab-grown salmon is now being sold at Kann, a Haitian restaurant in Portland, Oregon.

Lab-Grown Salmon Hits the Menu at an Oregon Restaurant as the FDA Greenlights the Cell-Cultured Product

The decision clears the way for the first cultured fish to join the small but growing alternative protein market

Artist Curtis Ingvoldstad poses next to the pencil sculpture he created from a damaged oak tree in John and Amy Higgins' yard in Minneapolis.

Thousands of Cheering Spectators Gather to Watch This 20-Foot-Tall No. 2 Pencil Get Sharpened

After a 2017 windstorm toppled the crown of their oak tree in Minneapolis, John and Amy Higgins hired artist Curtis Ingvoldstad to transform their beloved tree into a giant pencil sculpture

Jane Birkin with her original prototype bag

The Original Birkin Bag Was Made After Actress Jane Birkin Spilled Her Belongings on the CEO of Hermès in 1983

The iconic accessory would become one of the most expensive handbags in fashion history. Now, the prototype is heading to the auction block, where it’s likely to fetch an exorbitant sum

Asian needle ants are small, shiny and dark brown, with lighter-colored leg tips and antennae.

Watch Out for These Invasive, Stinging Ants That May Cause Life-Threatening Allergic Reactions

First introduced in the 1930s, carnivorous Asian needle ants appear to be spreading across the United States

Visitors to "Amplified" are surrounded by 1,300 Rolling Stone covers.

This New Immersive Experience Is Built With Hundreds of Photos, Videos and Magazine Covers From the ‘Rolling Stone’ Archives

Narrated by Kevin Bacon, the 50-minute exhibition examines the history of rock music through media projected onto walls across a 4,000-square-foot gallery

In this artist's impression of Diamantinasaurus matildae, the animal feeds from a conifer tree.

First Fossil Evidence That Sauropods Were Herbivores Supports a Widespread Assumption About the Long-Necked Dinosaurs

A recent discovery of a dinosaur’s preserved gut contents offers the first direct proof that sauropods were plant-eaters

The installation aimed to raise awareness about snake bites, an often-overlooked global health issue affecting vulnerable populations.

Art Meets Science

What’s Up With These Slithering Snake Sculptures That Appeared in Switzerland?

Millions get bitten by snakes each year, and tens of thousands of those victims die. Now, global health experts are trying to get those numbers down

Formosan termites (Coptotermes formosanus) are among two invasive termite species that are interbreeding in South Florida.

Two Invasive Termites Are Interbreeding in Florida, Raising Concerns That the Hybrid Pests Could Spread Around the World

Previous research found that Asian and Formosan termites could produce offspring together, and now, scientists have found these creatures established in the wild

Ancestral Menominee farmers grew corn, beans and squash in earthen mounds they built on Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

New Research

Massive Fields Where Native American Farmers Grew Corn, Beans and Squash 1,000 Years Ago Discovered in Michigan

The ancestors of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin built earthen mounds to grow crops. The site could be the largest preserved archaeological field system in the eastern United States

Oklahoma Cheyenne, Joseph Henry Sharp, circa 1915 (left) and Victor Higgins, Aspens, circa 1932 (right)

Stolen Paintings Linked to Retired Couple Who Supposedly Moonlighted as Art Thieves Returned to New Mexico Museum After 40 Years

Victor Higgins’ “Aspens” and Joseph Henry Sharp’s “Oklahoma Cheyenne” had been missing since March 1985, when they were snatched in broad daylight

The fragment belongs to a gold arm-ring composed of eight braided gold rods.
 

Cool Finds

A 1,000 Year-Old Gold Bracelet Fragment Found on a British Isle Dates Back to When Vikings Ruled the Land

Archaeologists believe the piece was made by a skilled goldsmith and was potentially used as currency

Hikers spotted the creature at the 10,882-acre Joseph D. Grant County Park last week.

A Large, Invasive Lizard Was Spotted in a California Park

Hikers at Joseph D. Grant County Park, just outside of San Jose, saw an Argentine black and white tegu last week—and rangers are now searching for the out-of-place reptile

The rare diamond is now the centerpiece of a ring by Joel Arthur Rosenthal, a renowned jewelry designer better known by his initials, JAR.

Smuggled Out of France During a Bloody Revolution, Marie Antoinette’s Shimmering Pink Diamond Is Heading to Auction

The 10.38-carat gemstone, which carries an estimate of $3 million to $5 million, was owned by generations of European royalty

An artistic rendering of the Odyssey spacecraft in orbit over Mars. 

NASA Spacecraft Orbiting Mars Captures Image of Giant Ancient Volcano Just Before Dawn

The perspective is what astronauts would see out their window if there was an International Space Station flying around the red planet

A dehorned rhino walks alongside a calf. 

Dehorning Rhinos Curbs Poaching, New Study Finds

Researchers in South Africa find that cutting the animals’ horns reduces poaching by almost 80 percent

This image, taken by an unknown photographer in 1905, is an example of a cyanotype.

Study the Secrets of Early American Photography at This New Exhibition

“The New Art: American Photography, 1839-1910” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art will feature more than 250 photographs

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