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New Research

Close examination of drill marks on the sculpture shows how carvers created surfaces to evoke the textures of the represented elements, such as skin, wool or linen.

Art Meets Science

Vibrant Paint Once Decorated the 2,500-Year-Old Parthenon Marbles

New research has revealed that ancient artists used color to create highly detailed designs

In the new study, long-tailed macaques, or crab-eating macaques, received kidney tranplants from genetically edited pigs. One of the monkeys survived for just over two years after the transplant.

Monkeys With Transplanted Pig Kidneys Survive for Up to Two Years

The study brings scientists one step closer to conducting trials in human patients, researchers say

More than 52 million birds died in the U.S. because of avian flu outbreaks in 2022.

Editing Chicken Genes Could Slow the Spread of Bird Flu, Study Suggests

Using CRISPR technology, researchers edited a protein gene that increased chickens’ resistance to the virus. But the process is far from practical use

Experts used X-ray and infrared imaging to determine that Rembrandt painted The Adoration of the Kings (circa 1628).

A Painting Originally Valued at $15,000 Turned Out to Be a Rembrandt. Now, It Could Sell for Millions

The hand behind the brush can make or break a painting’s worth—especially when that hand belongs to a legendary Dutch master

Because of their size, cats have relatively short vocal cords—so how are they able to produce such low-frequency sounds when purring?

How Do Cats Purr? Scientists May Now Have an Answer

Domestic cats produce low-frequency vocalizations when purring, an unusual ability for their small size

The mummified remains of James Murphy, known as Stoneman Willie, which lay in a funeral home in Reading, Pennsylvania, for 128 years before being buried last weekend.

Pennsylvania Mummy Gets a Proper Burial After 128 Years in a Funeral Home

Nicknamed “Stoneman Willie,” the man visited the town of Reading for a convention of firefighters in 1895

Patients with the 1918 flu at a barracks hospital in Colorado.

The 1918 Flu Hit Frailer People the Hardest, Study Suggests

Skeletons of people who died before and during the 20th-century pandemic counter the narrative that young and healthy people were targeted by the disease

Jackdaws are social birds that mate for life and breed in colonies.

These Birds Will Switch Companions to Earn Food but Stick With Family, Study Suggests

Jackdaws, cognitively complex relatives of crows, have intricate social dynamics and mate for life

Mammal taxidermy under ultraviolet light: (a) polar bear, (b) southern marsupial mole, (c) greater bilby, (d) mountain zebra, (e) bare-nosed wombat, (f) six-banded armadillo, (g) orange leaf-nosed bat, (h) quenda, (i) leopard, (j) Asian palm civet.

More Mammals Can Glow in the Dark Than Previously Thought

A new study found that 125 different mammal species are fluorescent under ultraviolet light, suggesting the property is widespread

Chilobrachys natanicharum, the electric blue tarantula

See the New ‘Enchanting’ Electric Blue Tarantula Discovered in Thailand

Blue is one of the rarest colors in nature, but this arachnid achieves the bright hue through special structures in its hair

If you want to cut meat out of your diet but are having a hard time, a new study suggests your genetics may be responsible.

Maintaining a Vegetarian Diet Might Be in Your Genes

New research has identified three genes that are strongly linked to vegetarianism and 31 others that might also play a role in sticking to a meatless diet

The now-extinct golden toad in a 1978 picture taken in Costa Rica.

Climate Change Is Pushing Many of the World’s Amphibians Closer to Extinction

Just over 40 percent of amphibian species are at risk of going extinct, and humans’ fossil fuel use is partly to blame, according to a new assessment

A killer whale in the Salish Sea is observed harassing a porpoise.

Why Do Orcas Keep Harassing Porpoises?

An endangered group of killer whales in the Pacific Northwest has been toying with porpoises for decades—and new research offers some possible explanations

The oldest hunter-gatherer basketry in southern Europe, dating to 9,500 years ago.

Archaeologists Uncover 9,500-Year-Old Woven Baskets and Europe’s Oldest Sandals

Items found in a Spanish cave are older than previously thought, a new study suggests, calling into question “simplistic assumptions” about early humans

Researchers studied tree rings to determine that a single earthquake along two fault zones may have occured near Seattle around 1,100 years ago.

A Massive, Two-Fault Earthquake May Have Struck the Pacific Northwest 1,100 Years Ago

The region needs to be prepared for the possibility of more intense quakes than previously thought, a new study of tree rings finds

Scientists found inspiration in octopus suckers, which can hold onto surfaces underwater, to design a new drug-delivery method that sticks to the inner cheek.

New Patch Inspired by Octopus Suckers Could Deliver Drugs Without Needles

Medicine-filled suction cups attached to the inside of the cheek could be an effective alternative to oral tablets or injections, study finds

The life cycle of the parasitic rat lungworm involves rats spreading it to snails and slugs, which pass it back to rats.

Parasitic, Invasive Worm Found in Rats in Georgia

While the worm can sicken people, few human infections have been reported in the U.S., and it typically doesn’t require treatment

Rafflesia kemumu in the rainforest of Sumatra.

The World’s Largest and Smelliest Flower Is at Risk of Extinction, Scientists Say

Researchers are calling for urgent protections for corpse flowers in the Rafflesia genus, which live only in remote rainforests of Southeast Asia

Human bone inside Cueva de los Marmoles, the cave in Spain where the study took place.

Prehistoric Humans May Have Dug Up Bodies to Make Tools

A study of bones from a Spanish cave suggests humans might have fashioned tools from the remains of recently deceased community members or relatives

Warming spurred by Earth's next supercontinent could lead to widespread desert conditions, a new modeling study suggests. Pictured is the Tengger Desert in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of China.

Earth’s Next Supercontinent Could Wipe Out Mammals in 250 Million Years

Termed “Pangea Ultima,” the predicted future landmass might be extremely hot, plagued by volcanoes and largely inhospitable, per a new modeling study

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