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New Research

A Late Neolithic skull. For the recent study, scientists extracted DNA from skulls and teeth to look for traces of diseases.

With Ancient DNA, Scientists Have Mapped 37,000 Years of Disease Across Europe and Asia

Zoonoses—diseases that spread from animals to humans—began to gain prevalence some 6,500 years ago with the rise of animal husbandry, a new study suggests

For the experiments, the scientists worked with plain-body octopuses (Callistoctopus aspilosomatis).

Octopuses Fall for the Rubber Hand Illusion, Just Like Humans, Pointing to a Sense of Body Ownership

The trick that plays with awareness of one’s own limb appeared to fool all six of the cephalopods tested in a series of experiments

Reconstruction and illustration of Mirasaura in its natural forested environment, hunting insects

This Surprising Ancient Reptile Had a Colorful, Corrugated Sail on Its Back. New Research Suggests It Was Used to Communicate

A 247-million-year-old fossil from a German natural history museum reveals the secrets of Mirasaura

Scientists observed the faint companion star, shown in blue, by using a speckle imager mounted on the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii to capture several short exposures.

Astronomers Say They’ve Finally Spotted Betelgeuse’s Companion Star, Long Predicted to Exist but Never Seen

The discovery, if confirmed, could explain Betelgeuse’s mysterious six-year oscillations in brightness

A scan of a Rosenberg's goanna (Varanus rosenbergi) reveals chain mail-like osteoderms and the endoskeleton in the left half of the image.

These Odd Bony Structures Were Hiding Beneath the Skin of Far More Lizards Than Thought, Researchers Find

Called osteoderms, the chain mail-like plates may have helped some species adapt to Australia’s harsh environment

Researchers suggest 140,000-year-old child remains from Israel's Skhūl Cave may have belonged to a Homo sapiens-Neanderthal hybrid.

A Child’s Skull That Has Long Confounded Archaeologists Might Be a Human-Neanderthal Hybrid, Study Suggests

According to new CT scans and models, parts of the 140,000-year-old skull resemble those of modern humans, while the jaw appears to be more similar to those of our extinct relatives

A new study suggests dogs engage differently with TV programs based on their personalities.

How Do Dogs Watch TV? That Might Depend on Their Personalities, New Research Suggests

A survey-based study reveals how different dogs react to elements on TV, suggesting that personalized television enrichment could support animal welfare in shelters or at home

An artist's reconstruction of the giant ichthyosaur Temnodontosaurus (left), featured in the study, and researchers examining part of the creature's flipper at Sweden's Lund University (right).

Fossil Flipper Reveals Ichthyosaurs Hunted in Lethal Silence With Unique Adaptations for Stealth

An analysis of a roughly 180-million-year-old fossil fin reveals serrations and flexibility that might have served to dampen sound as the predator swam

Researchers discover the secret behind Burmese pythons' ability to fully digest the bones of their prey.

Researchers Discover the Trick That Allows Burmese Pythons to Digest the Bones of Their Prey

Special intestinal cells collect excess minerals into particles the snakes can poop out, according to a new study

The population of golden oyster mushrooms has particularly exploded in the Midwest and Great Lakes region.

Invasive Golden Oyster Mushrooms Are Crowding Out Native Fungi and Could Slash Biodiversity in Forests, Study Suggests

Researchers found that trees in Wisconsin that had become hosts to the eye-catching species hosted only half the fungal biodiversity of trees that had not been invaded

The bones were discovered at two caves in the 1990s, but scientists recently revisited them to take a closer look at the cut marks.

Cut Marks on Animal Bones Suggest Neanderthal Groups Had Their Own Unique Culinary Traditions

Neanderthals in two nearby caves used different techniques when butchering animal carcasses in what is now Israel, according to a new paper

Researchers working in the Peruvian Amazon have discovered an unusual partnership between the ocelot (left) and opossum (right).

Video Reveals an Unlikely Bond Between Ocelots and Opossums in the Amazon, Walking Together Like ‘Old Friends’

Researchers captured the footage by surprise, with cameras initially set up to record bird behavior

The manuscript that contains excerpts from The Song of Wade

New Research

A Tiny Typo May Explain a Centuries-Old Mystery About Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales’ and ‘Troilus and Criseyde’

The medieval writer made puzzling references to a story called “The Song of Wade,” which has been lost to history. Only a few lines quoted—or perhaps misquoted—in a 12th-century sermon survive

Researchers announced they have discovered the most massive black hole merger by detecting gravitational waves.

Physicists Detect the Most Massive Black Hole Merger Ever Observed by Studying Gravitational Waves

A short-lived ripple in space-time revealed that two black holes merged into a giant black hole with the mass of 225 suns

Scientists sequenced ancient proteins in a tooth from a prehistoric rhino relative that had been preserved in Canada's High Arctic for up to 24 million years.

Scientists Recover Ancient Proteins From Animal Teeth Up to 24 Million Years Old, Opening Doors to Learning About the Past

Two new papers analyze fossils found in Canada and Kenya, respectively—vastly different environments for the preservation of genetic material

A replica of the T. rex skeleton known as Scotty is on display at the T. rex Discovery Center in Eastend, Canada, which is part of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.

Preserved Blood Vessels Discovered in a Rib Bone From the World’s Largest T. Rex Could Shed Light on How Dinosaurs Healed

Scotty, a specimen unearthed in Canada, was probably injured in a fight, then died several months later

The engraving depicts a boat featuring a palanquin-like structure.

New Research

Does This Ancient Rock Carving Depict One of Egypt’s Earliest Rulers?

New research suggests the engraving, which shows an elite individual sitting in a boat, may be up to 5,100 years old

A Squamellaria plant grows on a tree in Fiji. As an epiphyte, its roots don't attach to the ground, so it needs to find an alternate source for nutrients rather than the soil.

Enemy Ant Colonies Are Peaceful Roommates in Apartment-Like Plants on Fiji. Scientists Discovered How This Delicate Coexistence Works

New research explores the surprising symbiotic relationship between tubers and different ant species at rainforest heights

A western gull like this one surprised researchers by riding on an 18-wheeler to an outdoor composting facility in California.

A California Gull Hitched a Ride on a Garbage Truck and Took an 80-Mile Journey to a Compost Facility. Then It Happened Again

GPS tracking data showed the bird zooming across bridges and interstates at 60 miles per hour on two occasions in 2018

Greenlandic sled dogs, also known as Qimmit, play while resting.

Greenland Sled Dog DNA Reveals a Story of Human Migration and Ancestry of the Unique Breed

Researchers analyzed ancient and modern genetic samples of the Greenlandic Qimmit breed to shed light on the long relationship between the Inuit and their dogs in the Arctic

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