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Cool Finds

Researchers used more than 400 samples of materials, such as this carbon-rich substance, to train and test the new A.I. system. 

Cool Finds

A.I. Reveals Signs of Early Life in 3.3-Billion-Year-Old Rocks. Next, It Could Continue the Search in Space

The new approach looks at the distribution of molecular fragments in material, allowing for broad surveys in degraded specimens

The log boats were all made the same way, but each one is unique.

Cool Finds

These Ancient Log Boats Unearthed in England Were Each Carved From a Single Tree Trunk 3,000 Years Ago

First discovered in 2011, three vessels are the centerpiece of a new exhibition about craftsmanship and transportation methods in Bronze Age Britain

Wolfram Weimer, the German culture minister; Peter Wollny, director of the Bach Archive in Leipzig; and Burkhard Jung, Leipzig's mayor pictured with the two compositions

Cool Finds

These Bach Compositions Were Lost to History. They Were Just Performed for the First Time in 300 Years—and You Can Listen to Them

After discovering the two pieces in the 1990s, researchers have finally concluded that they were created by the famous German composer. An organist performed them for audiences on November 17

Well-preserved reindeer antlers found at the site

Cool Finds

A Hiker Discovered a Trove of Artifacts in Norway’s Melting Ice. The Site Turned Out to Be a 1,500-Year-Old Reindeer Trap

Located in the mountains of western Norway, the facility was likely used by Iron Age hunters to trap and kill wild reindeer. Experts say it’s the only site of its kind ever found in the country

Remoras hitch a ride on a humpback whale.

Watch Suckerfish Hitch a Wild Ride on Humpback Whales in Rare Video Footage

Suckerfish—also known as remoras—are harmless, but the whales didn’t seem to be fans of their hitchhiking

A fragment of a ceramic smoking pipe found on the site

Cool Finds

A Fire Ravaged a Historic 200-Year-Old Tavern in Ohio. These Are the Artifacts Archaeologists Found in the Wreckage

Excavations at the Overfield Tavern Museum revealed a treasure trove of objects, including jewelry, dishware, a bottle cork, a smoking pipe and early American currency

Scientists have identified a new species of non-biting midge—a type of small fly—from 151-million-year-old specimens discovered by an amateur fossil hunter.

This Amateur Fossil Hunter Discovered a 151-Million-Year-Old Insect—and It’s a New Species

Retired teacher Robert Beattie, now 82, has been digging up remnants of the past ever since he was a child

Experts think the cross-shaped pit reflects the Maya view of the universe.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Say They’ve Found a 3,000-Year-Old Map of the Cosmos at an Ancient Maya Site in Mexico

New research sheds light on a cross-shaped pit found at Aguada Fénix, a monumental complex discovered several years ago

The ˁAin Samiya goblet, pictured here as a replica, is currently held by the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The real artifact is damaged, with some of the picture missing.

Scholars Thought This Ancient Silver Goblet Told One Myth for 50 Years. Is It Actually Telling Another Story?

A new study asserts that the Bronze Age goblet may be one of the earliest known depictions of cosmology, featuring gods creating celestial order from chaos

Archaeologists discovered an engraved intaglio that a Roman man stationed at Bremenium in northern England likely used to stamp his correspondence.

Archaeologists Excavating a Roman Fort in Britain Discovered a Rare Red Gemstone Engraved With a Surprising Design

The intaglio was likely set in a signet ring and used to stamp correspondence at Bremenium, a military outpost located roughly 25 miles north of Hadrian’s Wall

The giant structure—made up of thousands of individual funnel-shaped webs—spans over 1,000 square feet.

This Massive Web—Home to More Than 100,000 Spiders—Found in a Cave in Europe Could Be the World’s Largest

The cavern along the border of Greece and Albania is home to a terrifyingly high number of two species of arachnids that live together peacefully in complete darkness

A clip from Georges Méliès' 1902 short film, A Trip to the Moon

In an Out-of-This-World Observation, a Museum Curator Filmed the Moon Getting Struck by Meteors—Twice

Lunar impacts could affect plans for future bases on the moon

Debra Brown found the bottle on Wharton Beach near her home in Esperance, Western Australia.

Cool Finds

109-Year-Old Messages in a Bottle Written by Soldiers Heading to Fight in World War I Discovered on Australian Beach

The two letters survived the past century inside a Schweppes-brand bottle, which Debra Brown found on Wharton Beach in early October

While seaching for Ernest Shackleton's lost ship Endurance in 2019, researchers stumbled across clusters of indentations on the seafloor.

Researchers Found Hundreds of Mysterious Dimples on the Seafloor Near Antarctica. Now They Know What Creature Made Them

The indentations are nests of fish called yellowfin notie, and they are not randomly scattered—rather, they appear to have been arranged in distinct patterns

An artist's concept of a supermassive black hole shredding a massive star

Astronomers Detect the Brightest and Most Distant Black Hole Flare Ever Seen

The enormous outburst was likely caused by an unfortunate star venturing too close to a supermassive black hole

The marble fragment is decorated with part of a lotus flower pattern.

A Man Brought His Father’s ‘Piece of the Parthenon’ to Greek Officials. They Said It Was From an Even Older Temple in the Acropolis of Athens

The engraved marble fragment likely came from an archaic temple called the Hekatompedon, making it around 2,600 years old

An ancient ochre fragment that shows signs of re-use 

Remarkable New Research on Ochre ‘Crayons’ Colors in Scientists’ Understanding of How Neanderthals Made Art

A recently published study suggests humans’ creative inclinations go back much further than previously thought

An artist's rendition of a group of Nanotyrannus dinosaurs attacking a juvenile T. rex

This Tiny Tyrannosaur Could Settle a Huge Scientific Debate

A new analysis of a fossil unearthed in 2006 provides a fresh line of evidence that a separate tyrannosaur lineage called Nanotyrannus lived alongside the famous T. rex

The newly discovered carnivorous "death-ball sponge" 

Researchers Discover ‘Death Ball’ Sponge and Dozens of Other Bizarre Deep-Sea Creatures in the Southern Ocean

So far, two expeditions have yielded 30 new species—and researchers say there’s more to come

Common cuckoos are medium-size birds typically found in Europe, Asia and Africa.

Rare, Out-of-Place Cuckoo Sends Birders Flocking to Long Island in Hopes of a Once-in-a-Lifetime Sighting

The common cuckoo spends most of the year in Europe and Asia but migrates to Africa for the winter

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