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Discoveries

The thermal baths helped preserve the ancient statues.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Find 24 Bronze Statues, Preserved in Tuscan Spa for 2,300 Years

The discovery provides insight into the transition from Etruscan to Roman rule

Visitors look at a restored Rembrandt, previously dismissed as an imitation.

This ‘Crude Imitation’ of Rembrandt Is Actually the Real Deal

Researchers say that the famous artist himself painted “The Raising of the Cross”

The emerald was on the Atocha, a Spanish vessel that sunk in 1622.

Cool Finds

Rare Emerald Discovered in 300-Year-Old Shipwreck Could Sell for $70,000

Proceeds from the sale will go toward humanitarian efforts in Ukraine

Researchers used satellite imagery to help narrow down the location to start digging.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth First-of-Its-Kind Roman Watchtower in Morocco

The military fortification was discovered near the ancient city of Volubilis

Piet Mondrian's New York City I (1941)

Has This Piet Mondrian Painting Been Hanging Upside Down for 77 Years?

Intriguing new observations suggest that it has—but curators are going to leave it the way it is

Äpplet, port side by lower gun deck

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Lost 17th-Century Warship ‘Äpplet’ in Sweden

It is the sister ship to the famous ‘Vasa,’ which sank within minutes of setting sail

Peter Paul Rubens' Salome Presented With the Head of John the Baptist was lost for centuries.

Cool Finds

Lost Rubens Painting, Rediscovered After Two Centuries, Could Sell for $35 Million

A French family found the masterpiece in their collection in 1987

These telesopes in the Atacama Desert in Chile were used to discover the new planet. The project also has telescopes on Tenerife, an island west of Morocco. 

Scientists Discover a Planet With the Potential to Support Life

It orbits a small, cold star about 100 light-years from Earth

A different giant karst sinkhole at Leye-Fengshan Global Geopark in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. A new sinkhole was recently discovered in China earlier this month. 

Ancient Forest Discovered in Chinese Sinkhole

Researchers say the forest may contain small animal species unknown to scientists

The jars vary in shape in size. Some are perfectly round, while others are tall and skinny.

Archaeologists in India Find Dozens of Mysterious Giant Jars

The vessels’ purpose is unknown, but scholars say they may have been used in ancient funerary practices

Endurance, which sank over 100 years ago, hosts filter-feeders like anemones.

Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ Shipwreck Is Teeming With Bizarre Ocean Life

Undersea footage reveals the ship’s diverse collection of sea stars, sponges, anemones, and even a rare deep-sea squat lobster

An illustration of the six-wheeled rover, which has a drill and onboard instruments to sample and analyze the Martian surface. 

Europe’s Mars Rover Unlikely to Launch in 2022 Due to Russian Invasion

The robot designed to search for traces of life on the Red Planet was originally scheduled to ride a Russian rocket into to space this fall

Doctors were performing an electroencephalogram (EEG) on a patient with epilepsy when he unexpectedly passed away.

Brain Scans of Dying Man Suggest Life Flashes Before Our Eyes Upon Death

An elderly epilepsy patient unexpectedly died during a brain scan, revealing bursts of activity associated with memory recall, meditation, and dreaming

An artist’s impression of two Dearc sgiathanach, the newly-discovered species that is a close cousin of dinosaurs

Largest Jurassic Pterosaur on Record Unearthed in Scotland

The giant flying reptile had an eight-foot wingspan and lived around 170 million years ago

An ancient Roman amphitheater that may have been one of the last built was discovered during construction of a new boathouse on the Rhine River in Switzerland.

Cool Finds

A Gladiator Arena, Possibly the Last Ever Built, Discovered in Switzerland

Archaeologists unearth a fourth century amphitheater that stood on the far reaches of the Roman Empire more than 1,400 years ago

Baleen whales like humpbacks use hair-like bristles in their mouth to sieve prey from the water

Scientists Discover How Whales Eat Without Choking on Water

An ‘oral plug’ of muscle and fat could help keep water out of the whales’ lungs

The newly recognized species, Taksinus bambus, is the first known tarantula to nest exclusively inside bamboo stalks.

Good News

A Wildlife YouTuber Discovered This New Species of Tarantula in Thailand

The bamboo-dwelling spider is so distinct from others that it’s been declared a new genus and species

A first-century C.E. mosaic of Hercules and Iolaus

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Identify Possible Location of Lost Temple of Hercules

Experts in Spain used laser scanning technology to locate submerged ruins along the coast of the Bay of Cádiz

Finds unveiled in 2021 included a wooden falcon that originally belonged to doomed queen Anne Boleyn, an intact ancient chicken egg and a dress worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz.

Cool Finds

Ninety-Nine Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2021

The year’s most exciting discoveries include a Viking “piggy bank,” a lost Native American settlement and a secret passageway hidden behind a bookshelf

From amazing firsts on Mars to the impacts of climate change on Earth, these science stories stood out as the most important of 2021

The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2021

Thrilling discoveries, hurdles in the fight against Covid and advancements in space exploration defined the past year

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