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New Research

True's Beaked Whale

New Research

See the First Video of One of the World’s Rarest Whales

The 46 second clip of several True’s beaked whales was taken by students and teachers on a field trip in the Azore Islands in 2013

The beach at Naples, Florida.

Is This the Happiest Place in America?

For the second time in a row, Gallup-Healthways ranked this Florida city first for overall well-being

Space weather may look cool, but it could hurt astronauts.

New Research

When it Comes to Predicting Solar Storms, Space May Not Be the Place

A new study shows that earth-based observations can get warnings out sooner

Woolly mammoth restoration at the Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia.

Genes of the Last Woolly Mammoths Were Riddled with Bad Mutations, Study Finds

Before they died out, they lost their sense of smell and suffered from heartburn

Pluto and its moon Charon

New Research

New Definition Would Make the Moon and Pluto Planets

A suggested update to the International Astronomical Union criteria would add over 100 planets to the solar system

These skull fragments have features that seem to combine human and Neanderthal traits.

New Research

Scientists Think These Skulls May Be New Human Ancestor

Two fossils combine early human, Neanderthal features

An African elephant in Tanzania.

African Elephants Sleep Just Two Hours Per Day, and Nobody Knows Why

That’s less than any other animal on record

First page of the Kempe manuscript

New Research

Researchers Decipher Recipe Believed to Treat Medieval Mystic

The find came to light thanks to a multi-spectral analysis on the manuscript of Margery Kempe’s autobiography

Emissions from steel production in eastern China are fertilizing nearby oceans.

Age of Humans

Human Pollution May Be Fertilizing The Oceans. That’s Not a Good Thing

Our iron emissions from coal and steel may be fuelling ocean life, and trapping carbon in the process

Tanning Beds Cause $343 Million in Medical Bills a Year

A new study has calculated the steep cost of a not-so-healthy glow

These tiny filament-like fossils could be the oldest evidence of life on Earth.

New Research

Scientists Think They’ve Found the Oldest Fossil Ever

The controversial claim suggests that microbes lived on Earth half a billion years earlier than thought

A Roman amphitheater in Bosra, Syria. Bosra, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has been damaged by civil war.

Scientists Shoot Stones to Study War’s Impact on Heritage Sites

The bullets caused hidden networks of fractures beneath the stones’ surfaces

One surprising group is getting colon cancer at rates not seen since the 1890s.

New Research

New Study Shows Sharp Rise in Colorectal Cancers Among Young Adults

Its authors are not sure why the cancers have risen so much—only that they’re increasing every year

New Research

Study Shows 84% of Wildfires Caused by Humans

Over the last 21 years, debris burning, arson and campfires have combined with climate change to make the fire season much longer

During more peaceful times, two female baboons sit next to a collared male baboon holding an infant.

New Research

Baboons Are Ruthless Reproducers

These monkeys do whatever it takes to pass on their genes, including killing others’ offspring

The 38,000-year-old woolly mammoth carving next to Georges Seurat's "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte." Despite the vast amount of time between their respective creations, both use a collection of dots to form a larger image.

New Research

Prehistoric Pointillism? Long Before Seurat, Ancient Artists Chiseled Mammoths Out of Dots

Newly discovered 38,000-year-old cave art predates the French post-Impressionist art form

Smarter than we think.

New Research

Bees Can Learn to Play “Soccer.” Score One for Insect Intelligence

Small as they are, bumblebee brains are surprisingly capable of mastering novel, complex tasks

Neanderthals went extinct 30,000 years ago, taking their precious genetic material with them. But their DNA lives on in their hybrid ancestors: modern-day humans.

New Research

How Ancient Neanderthal DNA Still Influences Our Genes Today

Far from being silent remnants, Neanderthal genes play a profound role in how modern human genes are expressed

The seven Earth-sized planets orbiting the dwarf star TRAPPIST-1.

Think Big

Scientists Spot Seven Earth-Sized Planets Orbiting a Nearby Star

This newly discovered solar system presents the best opportunity yet to study potentially habitable worlds, NASA scientists report

The best defense is a good offense.

New Research

The Real Reason the Turtle Learned to Hide its Head Will Surprise You

Turtles retract their heads for protection, but new research suggests that ability evolved for an entirely different reason

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