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Sandhill cranes fly over Nebraska's Platte River, where they gather each year during their spring migration, in 2009.

38,000 Sandhill Cranes Flock to Nebraska in a Record-Breaking Start to Spring Migration

Wildlife biologists counted the birds—likely lured by the region’s mild winter temperatures—during their first aerial survey of the season

Short attention spans could be helpful for foragers, since switching quickly between food sources when exploring could lead to a higher yield, researchers suggest.

ADHD Traits Might Have Helped Hunter-Gatherers Collect More Food While Foraging, Study Suggests

Participants who self-reported ADHD behaviors were better at an online berry-picking game than those who did not report such traits

Flights typically soar above the clouds, which means passengers should have an unobstructed view of the total solar eclipse on April 8—regardless of the weather on the ground.

You Can Watch the Solar Eclipse From These Flights Through the Path of Totality

Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines are operating flights on April 8 that could give passengers unobstructed views of the rare celestial spectacle

The Hand of Irulegi

Cool Finds

Words Etched Into an Ancient Bronze Hand Hint at the Mysterious Origins of the Basque Language

Archaeologists unearthed the 2,100-year-old artifact in northern Spain and discovered the inscription contains two words that resemble those of the modern language Euskara

An artist's rendering of the quasar that set the record for the universe's brightest object, with its black hole at its center.

Astronomers Discover the Brightest Known Object in the Universe, Shining 500 Trillion Times as Bright as the Sun

The quasar—a glowing, active core of a galaxy—has a black hole at its center that consumes more than a sun’s-worth of mass each day

A single locust swarm can comprise between four billion and eight billion individual insects.

Giant Locust Swarms Could Expand to New Areas With Climate Change, Study Suggests

In the coming decades, erratic periods of rain and drought could create new hot spots for the ravenous grasshoppers in west India and west central Asia, threatening crops and food security

An illustration of the ERS-2 satellite.

A 5,000-Pound Satellite Is Falling Back to Earth This Week—and Will Likely Land in the Ocean

The reentry of the satellite, called ERS-2, is part of an intentional effort by the European Space Agency to reduce orbital debris

Natural gas flaring emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. The majority of atmospheric methane comes from human activity, with the agricultural sector and the oil and gas sector contributing the most from human activities.

New Satellite Will Track Methane Emissions From Space and Pinpoint Their Sources With A.I.

The mission, set to launch next month, comes as countries and fossil fuel companies pledge to reduce emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas

The world's oldest living wild platypus (not pictured) is nearly 24 years old.

The World's Oldest Wild Platypus Shocks Scientists at 24 Years of Age

The animal was tagged in 2000, when it was estimated to be about one year old, and re-discovered alive in the wild last year

The Treasure of Villena was discovered in Spain's Iberian Peninsula in 1963.

New Research

These 3,000-Year-Old Treasures Were Forged From Meteoritic Iron

New research reveals that two Bronze Age artifacts from the Treasure of Villena contain iron from a meteor that hit a million years ago

Charlotte, a round stingray, was determined to be pregnant, despite not having a male ray companion for at least eight years.

A Female Stingray That Hasn't Had a Mate in Eight Years Is Mysteriously Pregnant. Is a Shark the Father?

Though the round stingray, named Charlotte, shares her aquarium tank with two male sharks, experts say it is impossible for a shark to impregnate a ray

Data from the retired Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a joint venture between NASA and the German Space Agency, led scientists to their discovery.

Scientists Detect Water on the Surface of Asteroids for the First Time Ever

Using data from a retired NASA mission, researchers identified unique signs of water molecules on two space rocks, unlocking new insight into how water may have arrived on Earth

A SpaceX rocket carrying 125 miniature moon sculptures by Jeff Koons launched at 1:05 a.m. on February 15.

Art Meets Science

A Lunar Lander Carrying Jeff Koons' Art Is Flying Toward the Moon

The spacecraft, which finally launched on February 15, is expected to touch down on February 22

An example of the cave art found in northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. Researchers dated the paintings to as early as 8,200 years ago.

This Ancient Cave Art Passed Survival Information Across 130 Human Generations in Patagonia, Study Suggests

Dating to as early as 8,200 years ago, the paintings may have maintained collective memories during an extremely dry period in history

In a study of great apes' playful antics, chimpanzees seemed to enjoy slapping adults, especially those that were dozing off.

Great Apes Love to Tease, Poke and Pester, Suggesting the Urge to Annoy Is Millions of Years Old

The desire to get a rise out of others is a 13-million-year-old trait humans and great apes share with a common ancestor, new research suggests

Phobos passes across the sun's surface on February 8, as captured by NASA's Perseverance rover.

What Does a Solar Eclipse on Mars Look Like? New, Breathtaking Images, Caught by NASA's Perseverance Rover, Give Us an Idea

The robot recently observed each of the Red Planet’s moons passing across the sun in the Martian sky

The proposed changes to isolation guidelines would bring the CDC's approach to Covid-19 closer to California's and Oregon's. Both states amended their isolation guidance within the last year.

CDC Considers Dropping Five-Day Covid Isolation Guideline

While no official decision has been made, symptomatic patients might be able to stop isolating if they are fever-free for 24 hours and are beginning to feel better under the proposed change

Protesters with the activist group Last Generation stand in front of Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus at Florence's Uffizi Gallery on February 13. 

Climate Activists Stage Protest in Front of Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus'

Two men taped images of flooding in Tuscany to the Renaissance painting's protective glass

University of Nebraska engineer Sean Crimmins loads the robotic arm into its case. A surgeon on Earth will remotely guide the robot through a surgical simulation while it is on the International Space Station.

This Remotely Controlled Robot Will Conduct a Simulated Surgery on the International Space Station

Robot surgeons could treat astronauts on long space missions—but they could also be used on Earth in places where surgeons aren't present, such as rural areas or war zones

Cats can be infected with plague by flea bites or by eating infected rodents.

Oregon Resident Catches Rare Case of Plague, Likely From Their Cat

The patient was treated during the earlier stages of disease, so the community faces little risk, according to health officials

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