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New Research

Astronaut candidate Bobby Satcher during a zero-gravity flight on an aircraft in 2004. The microgravity in space affects the human body and even changes the brain.

Space Travel Can Change Astronauts’ Brains for Years

Fluid-filled cavities in the brain expand during spaceflight, and a new study shows that astronauts may need three years to recover

Thomas Cromwell, Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon all owned a copy of the same Book of Hours.

Cool Finds

Prayer Book Owned by Thomas Cromwell, Adviser to Henry VIII, Was Hidden in Plain Sight for Centuries

The Book of Hours appears in a famous painting of the Tudor statesman

Researchers studied California two-spot octopuses both in the lab and in the wild for the new paper. 

Octopuses Can Rewire Their Brains to Brave Chilly Waters

To handle changing temperatures, the cephalopods make “astounding” RNA edits, researchers find

A researcher scans the negative cavity in the gypsum casing.

New Research

Why Did the Romans Cover Bodies With Gypsum?

Researchers are using 3D scanning technology to learn more about the plaster casts

Mountain goats roam the streets of Llandudno, Wales, in March 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

What Wild Animals Were Really Doing During Covid-19 Lockdowns

Researchers around the world traced mammals’ movements and behaviors when fewer humans and cars were outside in spring 2020

Masturbation may help reduce STIs and increase fertilization in male primates.

Male Primate Masturbation May Have Evolved to Prevent STIs

The behavior originated some 40 million years ago to improve breeding success and protect against pathogens, according to a new study

No known photographs of Swann survive. This 1903 postcard depicts two Black actors, one of whom is dressed in drag, performing a cakewalk in Paris.

LGBTQ+ Pride

The First Self-Proclaimed Drag Queen Was a Formerly Enslaved Man

In the late 19th century, William Dorsey Swann’s private parties attracted unwelcome attention from authorities and the press

Researchers hope that an injection could one day be a faster and safer substitute for surgical cat sterilization.

Scientists Develop New Birth Control for Female Cats—No Surgery Necessary

The one-time injection of a gene therapy could eventually be used to control cat populations

American crocodiles haven't been known to reproduce via parthenogenesis—until now.

Scientists Record the First ‘Virgin Birth’ in a Crocodile

A female American crocodile living in captivity reproduced without a mate—a finding that suggests dinosaurs might have done the same thing

Paleontologist Lee Berger, who led the new research, walks in the Rising Star cave system in South Africa, where the possible burial sites were uncovered.

Ancient Human Relatives May Have Buried Their Dead

Remains in a South African cave system predate the oldest known human burials by about 160,000 years or more

Underwater researchers have encountered many other shipwrecks while studying the Maravillas in the Bahamas.

Unraveling the Secrets of the Long-Lost Shipwrecks in the Bahamas

Using historical records, a new initiative has identified and mapped 176 wrecks in the region

One of the vessels excavated from the funerary site in Carmona, Spain

New Research

What Did the Ancient Romans Smell Like?

Scientists have analyzed the composition of a 2,000-year-old perfume unearthed in Carmona, Spain

A shark swims near two paddle boarders off California's coast.

Great White Sharks Come Much Closer to Swimmers Than Thought in Southern California

Juvenile white sharks and humans overlap 97 percent of the time in some warm Pacific waters, a new study finds

In the Heege manuscript, an English tutor may have copied the text of a medieval minstrel’s repertoire book.

Cool Finds

Medieval Manuscript Reveals 15th-Century Comedy Routine

Written to be performed live, a medieval minstrel’s jokes poked fun at the powerful

The toilet discovered at the House of Ahiel

New Research

Iron Age Residents of Jerusalem Suffered From Dysentery

A new analysis of 2,500-year-old toilets has found early evidence of a harmful parasite

Stronger policies around ill workers could improve food safety, the CDC says.

Sick Workers Connected to 41 Percent of Food Poisoning Outbreaks, CDC Reports

Paid sick leave policies could reduce the risk of spreading disease, notes the agency

By 2030, demand for fuel made from animal byproducts is expected to triple, per a new report.

Using Pig Fat as Airplane Fuel Could Hurt the Environment, Study Says

Though it’s generally seen as sustainable, using animal fat to power planes could force other industries to rely on more harmful palm oil

Paleontologists discovered Oda's remarkably intact fossilized skeleton in Svalbard in 2008.

Unraveling the Mysteries of Oda the Ichthyosaur

Paleontologists used X-rays to identify the 240-million-year-old creature’s flattened and fossilized remains

The Charterhouse Warren site in Somerset, England, in 1972. Researchers detected the DNA of plague-causing bacteria in the 4,000-year-old remains of two people found there.

4,000-Year-Old DNA Is the Oldest Evidence of Plague in Britain

Scientists found DNA of the plague-causing bacteria in the teeth of three Bronze Age people buried at two different sites

After eight months of hibernation, Arctic ground squirrels emerge in the spring hungry and ready to mate.

Climate Change Is a Wake-Up Call for Hibernating Squirrels

As spring arrives sooner, female Arctic ground squirrels are emerging from their burrows earlier, according to a new study

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