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New Research

Venus is one of only two planets in our solar system that lack a moon. (Mercury is the other.)

Billions of Years Ago, Venus May Have Had a Moon—Which the Planet Promptly Gobbled Up, Study Suggests

Scientists have puzzled over why the planet dubbed “Earth’s twin” doesn’t have a moon. Computer simulations hint that if Venus ever did have one, it probably would’ve cannibalized its companion

Via Appia is considered the oldest great Roman road.

New Research

Researchers Have Analyzed the Roman Empire’s 190,000-Mile Network of Roads. Turns Out, Not All of Them Led to Rome

For a new study, archaeologists attempted to answer age-old questions about Rome’s roads, including how connected the capital was and whether current motorways trace Roman routes

Wiring diagram of an adult male fruit fly's central nervous system

This New Brain Map Shows Every Nerve Cell in an Adult Male Fruit Fly’s Central Nervous System. Here’s Why That Matters

The recently released “connectome” joins a previously completed map of an adult female fruit fly’s brain. The digital 3D diagrams allow scientists to trace precise neural paths in the bugs’ brains, which can unlock secrets about the organ in humans

A pack of wild dogs in South Africa

Three Wild Dogs Made a Record-Breaking Trek Across Zambia, Traveling More Than 2,500 Miles in Search of Mates

The canines achieved the longest recorded movement by any African mammal. Their journey highlights the importance of having protected corridors for wildlife

Lake sturgeon—massive and long-living fish in the Great Lakes—may survive to much older ages than scientists previously thought, according to a recent study. Here, a juvenile lake sturgeon is captured during a fisheries assessment in the St. Clair-Detroit River System.

Some Fish in the Great Lakes Might Be More Than 400 Years Old, a Study Suggests, Outliving Around 15 Generations of Humans

Lake sturgeon may be among the longest-living vertebrates, second only to Greenland sharks, according to recent research. However, scientists note that follow-up work is necessary to clarify the species’ lifespan

Tasmanian devils used to live across mainland Australia, but wild populations now inhabit only the island state of Tasmania.

Cool Finds

Tasmanian Devils Lived Alongside Humans in Northwestern Australia as Far Back as 45,000 Years Ago, Researchers Find

Fossils and marked bones unearthed in a Juukan Gorge cave suggest that the marsupial species not only once lived in the region but may have been a “garbage compactor on four legs” for its human population

The survey uncovered surviving remnants of structures from the 13th-century convent.

Cool Finds

The Ruins of a Long-Lost Medieval Convent Have Been Discovered Just a Few Feet Beneath a Soccer Field

St. Clare’s Convent closed in the 16th century, and researchers assumed all traces of it had been lost. But a new ground-penetrating radar survey revealed surprisingly intact remains of pillars, rooms, cloisters, a courtyard and a church

Researchers estimate the T. rex was walking at a speed of roughly 3.4 to 4.5 miles per hour.

These Four Giant Dinosaur Footprints Discovered in North Dakota Might Represent the First Trackway Made by an Adult T. Rex Ever Found

A high school teacher first spotted the remarkable trail while volunteering on a paleontological dig. Researchers suspect a hulking, full-grown dinosaur marched through the then-swampy landscape roughly 66.5 million years ago

The maxilla and molars of an individual who lived between 16,000 and 25,000 years ago

New Research

Archaeologists Discover the World’s Oldest Evidence of Habitual Drug Use in the Teeth of a Hunter-Gatherer Who Lived Up to 25,000 Years Ago

This individual may have regularly sucked on betel nuts, known for their mind-altering properties, leading to worsening dental disease. Researchers say the discovery sheds light on addiction in prehistoric environments

Surgeons Leonardo Riella (left) and Tatsuo Kawai (right) talk to patient Tim Andrews after he received a genetically modified pig kidney in early 2025.

A Genetically Modified Pig Kidney Kept a Man Alive for a Record Nine Months, Allowing Him to Wait for a Donated Human Organ

The animal organ kept Tim Andrews off dialysis for 271 days and represents the first time a pig kidney has been used as a bridge to human organ transplantation

Lead author Vera Weisbecker poses with a thylacine snout, alongside models of wolf, fox and crocodile upper jaws. 

The Tasmanian Tiger Was Branded a Livestock Killer. New Research Challenges That Myth

Thylacines had powerful snapping bites suited for catching small and medium-sized prey like bandicoots—not taking down large animals such as sheep and cattle, as European colonists feared

Elongated scales form leg-like structures at the tip of the spider-tailed horned viper's tail, creating a decoy arachnid that the predator can use to attract birds.

The Tip of This Snake’s Tail Looks Like a Spider. But Inside, Its Bones Are ‘Bizarrely Normal’

High-tech scans reveal the first detailed look at the internal anatomy of the spider-tailed horned viper. The findings shed light on little-known snake vertebrae and highlight the difficulty of predicting what an animal looks like from its skeleton

This year's Ig Nobel Award ceremony took place in Zurich, Switzerland.

Stealing Candy From Children, Splash-Proof Urinals and Buried Panties, Oh My! Here Are the Winners of the 2026 Ig Nobel Prizes

The awards are an unaffiliated spoof of the Nobel Prizes. They highlight research achievements that are surprising and silly-sounding—but also make people think

Pygmy raccoons live only on Mexico's Cozumel Island.

These Adorable, Critically Endangered Pygmy Raccoons in Cozumel Are Teaching One Another to Turn Trash Into Toy Balls

The observations offer rare evidence of a skill being passed among raccoons. But the work also highlights the effects of human pollution at the popular tourist destination

If a theoretical dark matter particle interacts with liquid xenon in an underground tank, these light sensors should detect the resulting flash of light. 

Scientists May Have Finally Detected a Hint of Dark Matter, the Mysterious, Invisible Stuff That Holds the Universe Together

A South Dakota-based instrument built to detect theoretical dark matter particles has sensed a particle interaction that’s difficult to explain with known phenomena. But more data is needed to confirm that the strange substance—which scientists have never directly observed—is, indeed, the culprit

Since calorie restriction is known to slow aging, researchers wanted to know if GLP-1s—which curb appetite—could do the same.

GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drugs Can Slow Aging and Extend Life Span, Mouse Study Suggests

Older female mice—equivalent in age to 60-year-old women—given daily injections of the active ingredient in Ozempic lived about 12 percent longer than animals that didn’t receive the drug

Study co-author Lisa Tauxe inserts samples into a thermal demagnetizer.

New Research

Researchers Have Figured Out How to Spot Fake Ancient Pottery Using the Earth’s Magnetic Field

The magnetic North Pole has shifted over the millennia, leaving clues in the minerals that make up clay antiquities

Scientists studied the fossils of prehistoric relatives of katydids.

Scientists Recreated the Long-Lost Chirps of Jurassic Insects. Listen to the Simulated Soundscape of 165 Million Years Ago

With artificial intelligence and careful modeling of fossilized wings, researchers reproduced how some extinct, katydid-like insects might have made noise

Observations by amateur astronomers and imagery from the Hubble Space Telescope have revealed a ten-sided shape around Saturn’s south pole.

A Mysterious Decagon Unexpectedly Appeared Around Saturn’s South Pole. The Ten-Sided Shape Seems to Be a Wave in the Atmosphere

Decades ago, scientists found a hexagon around Saturn’s north pole. Now, recent images reveal a decagon in the planet’s southern hemisphere—and it seems to have recently formed

Egyptian officials announced the new discoveries last week.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover a 4,000-Year-Old Tomb With a False Door at Egypt’s Ancient Saqqara Necropolis

In addition to the tomb, which once belonged to a high-ranking official, excavations revealed a network of burial shafts that still held human remains and funerary objects

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