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New Research

Gaia's all-sky view of our Milky Way Galaxy and neighboring galaxies, based on measurements of nearly 1.7 billion stars.

New Research

New Star Map Could Change Everything We Know About the Milky Way

The map includes 1.7 billion stars and is already revealing new details about star evolution and the formation of our galaxy

Why Researchers Believe These 100,000-Year-Old Etchings Weren’t Symbolic

In a new study, the markings — which resemble hashtags —were not found to be distinctive based on time and geography

New Research

Did a Prehistoric Surgeon Practice on This Cow?

Though an early human likely created the hole, the reason why remains less clear

The gut flora of dogs and humans is incredibly similar, a new study finds.

A Surprising Way Dogs Are Similar to Humans

We share more than snuggles and and a love of walks; canines and humans have similar gut microbiota

Weaver ants demonstrating exploding behavior in experimental setting

‘Exploding’ Ant Ruptures Its Own Body to Defend Its Nest

It’s the ultimate act of self-sacrifice

Cool Finds

Murder Most Fowl: Forensic Scan Shows the Legendary Oxford Dodo Was Shot

Micro-CT scans shows lead scattered across the back of the skull of what is believed to be the taxidermied remains of the dodo brought to Britain

The group of Muuscoctopus found on the Dorado Outcrop.

Cool Finds

Colony of Beautiful, Doomed Purple Octopuses Found Off Costa Rica

Hundreds of unidentified cephalopods were found nursing their eggs near a deep-sea vent

Three color morphs of bleached corals on the Great Barrier Reef

New Research

2016 Ocean Heatwave Killed 30 Percent of the Great Barrier Reef

Combined with a 2017 temperature spike, half of the 2 billion corals on the reef have died since 2015

Creating a phylogeny of all bird life will help researchers map birds' evolutionary relationships and create conservation plans.

New Research

What We Can Learn From a New Bird Tree of Life

Sequencing the DNA of more than 10,000 birds could reveal how best to conserve our feathery friends—and when they evolved from dinosaurs

The man's limb appears to have been removed by blunt force trauma and a knife was later secured in its stead.

This Medieval Man Used a Knife as a Prosthetic Limb

The man’s skeleton bears signs of frequent ‘biomechanical force,’ according to a new study

Picture from Hans Asperger's personnel file, circa 1940.

Hans Asperger ‘Actively Assisted’ Nazi Eugenics Policies, Study Claims

Historian Herwig Czech has uncovered evidence revealing that the renowned doctor sent children to a notorious ‘euthanasia’ clinic

Immune system natural killer cell

Trending Today

Human Cell Atlas Releases First Major Data Set

The information includes data from over half a million immune cells from human cord blood and bone marrow

A piece of the Almahata Sitta in Sudan

New Research

Diamonds Trapped in Strange Meteorite Came From Solar System’s Earliest Planets

Impurities in the diamonds could only have formed within a planet the size of Mercury or Mars

A new study reveals at which temperature the Giant Causeway were formed.

Europe

How Giant’s Causeway Formed Its Spectacular Array of Columns

Scientists recreated the process behind the formation’s near-perfect hexagonal columns

Fossil ostracods on a slide from the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The science team behind the recent Nature paper relied heavily on this collection for their analysis.

What the Large Penises of Tiny Crustaceans Tell Us About Evolution

Massive male sex organs have their perks, but in the long run, a little modesty pays

New Research

Massive Gathering of Mysterious Basking Sharks Found in Aerial Photos

In 2013, nearly 1,400 of the normally solitary filter feeders had a party off the coast of southern New England

Ataqeloula stele

Cool Finds

Large Cache of Texts May Offer Insight Into One of Africa’s Oldest Written Languages

Archaeologists in Sudan have uncovered the largest assemblage of Meroitic inscriptions to date

New Research

Ocean Current That Keeps Europe Warm Is Weakening

Two new studies show the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation has decreased 15 to 20 percent over the last 150 years

Going to bed early is part of getting a good night’s sleep.

Bad News, Night Owls: You Might Have a Higher Risk of Dying Early

Researchers found a 10 percent higher risk of early death in late night sleepers, but aren’t sure why

What Causes the Cringe-Inducing Sound of Knuckle Cracking?

A new study suggests the sound comes from the collapse of bubbles that form in the fluid-filled spaces of the joints

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