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New Research

One of the scrolls being scanned by the Diamond Light Source and digitally deciphered.

New Research

Light Billions of Times Brighter Than the Sun Used to Read Charred Scrolls From Herculaneum

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. carbonized papyrus scrolls, which may now be readable

Artists reconstruction of Phoebodus sharks.

Cool Finds

This Ancient Shark Looked Like an Eel and Swallowed Its Prey Whole

Scans of a rare 360-million-year-old shark skeleton shows the beasts used hunting techniques similar to modern sharks and fish

How Drones Are Helping Scientists Figure Out Whales’ Weight

Because it is so difficult to weigh the huge marine mammals, whale body mass is often not included in studies

Previously, researchers believed giraffes' spots grew darker with age

Color of Giraffes’ Spots Reflects Social Status, Not Age

New research suggests male giraffes with darker coloring are more solitary, dominant than lighter-hued counterparts

New Research

In Ukraine, Megastructures Help Chart the Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization

The arrangement of large public spaces at the sprawling Maidanetske site suggests the culture became less democratic before collapse

New Research

If We Connect Fragmented Habitat, New Species Will Come, Study Shows

An 18-year study of longleaf pine savannah showed a 5 percent species increase per year when isolated plots were reconnected

That's the tea.

Your Soothing Cup of Tea May Contain Billions of Microplastics

That’s ‘several orders of magnitude higher than plastic loads previously reported in other foods,’ according to a new study

Mother walruses like this one on a waterfront near Svalbard, Norway, are very protective of their young.

An Angry Walrus Mother Derailed a Russian Naval Expedition

The hulking marine mammal was likely trying to protect her calves

Too cute to be nameless.

Help the Shedd Aquarium Name Its Rescued Otter Pups

The aquarium hopes the contest will help raise awareness about southern sea otters’ ongoing conservation needs

One 23-year-old supermom gave birth to 17 pups over her lifetime

New Research

Select Elephant Seal ‘Supermoms’ Produce Most Pups

The most successful seal mothers were those that ‘bred at every opportunity and lived long’

Artist's conception of a watery Venus.

New Research

Venus Could Have Been Habitable for Billions of Years

New simulations show the planet could have maintained moderate temperatures and liquid water until 700 million years ago

Even Shy Cats Are Bonded to Their Human Caregivers

A new study suggests that cats form ‘secure attachments’ to their owners, just like dogs and human babies do

Birds are considered an indicator species, representing the health of entire ecosystems.

North America Has Lost Nearly 3 Billion Birds Since 1970

The staggering population loss of 29 percent of North American birds could signal an ecological crisis

One of many contaminated crabs at the Deepwater Horizon site.

New Research

Deepwater Horizon Site Is Now a Sticky Wasteland Populated by Sickly Crabs

Degrading hydrocarbons attract shrimp and crab to the spill site, where they are contaminated by oil and develop a variety of problems

New Research

Komodo Dragons Have Skin That Looks Like Chain Mail

CT scans show layered bone covers the adult reptile’s body, likely to protect them when fighting for mates and food

Remnants of Greater Adria in the Taurus Mountains

Cool Finds

Study Reveals Lost Continent Demolished by Europe

Painstaking research recreates the history of Greater Adria, which slipped under the Eurasian plate 120 million years ago

The skull of the 1.77-million-year-old Stephanorhinus rhino.

New Research

1.7-Million-Year-Old Rhino Tooth Provides Oldest Genetic Information Ever Studied

Researchers read the proteins preserved in the tooth enamel of an ancient rhino, a trick that may allow them to sequence fossils millions of years old

Found: A Hub Where Humpback Whales Share Their Songs

A new study has found that whales from diverse locations gather at the Kermadec Islands, where they seem to transmit unique ditties

Cool Finds

Massive ‘Ice Dragon’ Ruled the Skies Above Ancient Alberta

The newly described pterosaur with a wingspan over 30-feet was one of the largest flying creatures to ever exist

NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor mixes cement samples for the MICS mission aboard the International Space Station.

New Research

Why Astronauts Are Mixing Cement Aboard the International Space Station

Experiments show that cement will set in space, but moon colonists may have to tweak the mixture to make it work in low gravity

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