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Natural tower imaged on rotting pear from orchard in Konstanz, Germany.

Cool Finds

Researchers Discover That Living Worm Towers Exist in Nature, Not Just in Horror Movies

A new study reveals that nematodes assemble into coordinated structures to catch a ride on passersby

Ispace posted a video of Resilience circling the moon shortly before it lost contact with the lander. 

The Resilience Spacecraft Likely Crashed on the Moon

Early reports suggest that an issue with the Japanese lander’s sensors prevented it from sufficiently slowing down

David Lynch at his Los Angeles office in 1984

You Can Buy David Lynch’s Coffee Makers, Behind-the-Scenes Photographs and Early Drafts of Film Scripts

Nearly 450 objects are heading to auction this month. The collection reveals the “Twin Peaks” director’s restless creativity across many decades and art forms

Many sea horse traders operate on the black market.

Sea Horse Smuggling Is a Big Problem, Despite Global Efforts to Protect These Beloved Aquatic Creatures

Between 2010 and 2021, authorities seized around five million individual sea horses worth more than $21 million

View of Olinda, Brazil, with Ruins of the Jesuit Church, Frans Post, 1666

Cool Finds

This 17th-Century Dutch Painting Was Rescued From a Dusty Barn Attic in Connecticut. It Just Sold for More Than $7 Million

Painted in 1666, “View of Olinda, Brazil, With Ruins of the Jesuit Church” is a masterpiece by Frans Post, one of the first European-trained artists to depict the landscapes of Dutch Brazil

A full moon on June 28, 2018, as seen from Manchester, England. The reddish glow is likely due to the 2018 Saddleworth Moor wildfires. 

Catch This Year’s Strawberry Moon Lighting Up the Sky on June 11

The last full moon before summer kicks off is one of the lowest of the year in the Northern Hemisphere

Radiocarbon dating requires destroying small samples of the fragile scrolls.

New Research

The Dead Sea Scrolls Changed Our Understanding of the Bible. Could Some of Them Be Even Older Than We Thought?

A new study combines A.I., radiocarbon dating and handwriting analysis to estimate new dates for some of the ancient scrolls, thought to be some of the earliest surviving fragments of the Old Testament

An estimated 4,000 Leadbeater's possums live in Victoria, split between highland and lowland populations.

A Tiny Endangered Creature That ‘Moves Like Greased Lightning’ Has Been Found in an Unexpected Place

Trail cameras captured an elusive Leadbeater’s possum in the Australian state of New South Wales, where they were thought to be locally extinct

Mary Abbott in her Southampton, New York, studio, circa 1951

Women Who Shaped History

Mary Abbott Worked Alongside Abstract Expressionists Like Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock. Now, She’s Finally Getting Her Due

Abbott was an integral part of New York City’s mid-century avant-garde art scene, but her better-known male colleagues have long dominated the movement’s legacy

An artist's rendition of Resilience on the lunar surface, where it is scheduled to touchdown later today. 

Ispace’s Resilience Spacecraft Is Set to Land on the Moon Today—Here’s How to Follow Along

The Japanese company’s second attempt at a lunar landing can be streamed live this afternoon

The Nazca Lines were made around two millennia ago. 

Nearly Half of the Protected Land Around the Nazca Lines of Peru Is Now Open to Miners

Some environmentalists are concerned about mining operations drawing closer to the ancient landmarks

Divers recovered the watch from Lake Michigan in late 1992.

Pocket Watch Recovered From Lake Michigan’s Deadliest Shipwreck Returns to Owner’s Hometown After 165 Years

The timepiece belonged to Herbert Ingram, a British journalist and politician who died when the “Lady Elgin” sank in 1860. His watch was recovered from the bottom of the lake in 1992

Scientists determined the most effective method of halting the disease was covering a coral colony with a weighted plastic bag, then injecting a seawater solution that contains the probiotic. They left the colony covered for two hours to allow the probiotic bacteria to colonize the coral.

A Deadly Disease Is Eating Away at Caribbean Corals and Wreaking Havoc on Reefs. Could Probiotics Be the Solution?

New research suggests the probiotic McH1-7 could help stop the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease among wild corals near Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Cockatoos in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia, will wait in line for a taste of drinking fountain water.

These Australian Cockatoos Learned to Operate Drinking Fountains With Their Feet to Quench Their Thirst

Birds in Sydney’s western suburbs have figured out how to get a sip from the fountains, even though they have access to nearby streams

Many of the coins are from the United Kingom, but some are from as far away as the United States and Asia.

Tourists Are Stuffing Coins Into the Cracks of the Giant’s Causeway, Damaging the Iconic Site in Northern Ireland

Authorities are urging visitors to stop wedging pocket change between the basalt columns, which are cracking and crumbling as the coins expand

A plume of ash and gas rises from Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily on Monday. The eruption also featured lava fountains and a pyroclastic flow.

Mount Etna’s Spectacular Monday Eruption Marks the Volcano’s Most Intense Activity in Years

The explosion was the strongest since 2021, expelling ash, dust, lava and a pyroclastic flow, but no injuries or deaths were reported

Conservation work at Gran Pajatén

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover More Than 100 Structures Linked to a Mysterious Pre-Columbian Civilization in the Remote Peruvian Andes

Based in high-altitude urban centers, the Chachapoya resisted conquest by the Inca Empire for centuries

In this 2012 visualization, the Andromeda galaxy (left) appears in Earth's skies and begins to distort the Milky Way as the two galaxies merge. This hypothetical scenario was previously expected to play out billions of years in the future—now, astronomers say it might not be inevitable.

Our Milky Way Might Not Crash Into the Andromeda Galaxy After All—New Simulations Suggest a 50-50 Chance of Merging

Scientists previously predicted the pair of galaxies would merge in about five billion years. Now, research suggests that outcome is less certain than thought

Scientists captured the highest-resolution images of the sun’s corona to date. The plasma is artificially colorized in the image, with darker pink colors corresponding to brighter light.

See the Highest-Resolution Views of the Sun’s Corona, as Wisps of Plasma Dance in Crystal Clear Detail

Astronomers have captured videos of the sun without the typical blur caused by turbulence in Earth’s atmosphere

A snapshot of the eastern United States as of June 3, from NOAA's GOES-19 satellite.

A Giant Cloud of Saharan Dust Is Heading to the Southeastern U.S. Here’s What That Means

The plume of dust has already blown over the Caribbean and is expected to reach Florida later this week

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