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New Research

The three-inch-long pottery shard contains only parts of a passage from Virgil's Georgics.

Cool Finds

Virgil Quotation Found Etched on 1,800-Year-Old Roman Jar

Researchers say the ancient inscription is the first of its kind ever discovered

The white spots on the edges of a monarch butterfly's wings might give it an advantage while migrating, according to new research.

Monarch Butterflies’ Signature White Spots May Help Them Fly

These long-distance migrants could get a boost from their striking coloration, which may reduce drag by heating and cooling air unevenly

A boy looks at a water pump on a street in New York City. Between 1993 and 2010, researchers estimate that humans have pumped over two trillion tons of water out of the ground.

Humans Have Shifted Earth’s Axis by Pumping Lots of Groundwater

Removing water from the ground has led to sea-level rise and caused Earth’s axis to shift by about 2.6 feet between 1993 and 2010, per a new study

One of the mysterious boats painted in an Australian cave several hundred years ago

New Research

New Study Identifies Mysterious Boats Painted in Australian Cave

Researchers say the rock art may be a record of “fighting craft” from present-day Indonesia

An illustration of a predator decapitating Tanystropheus hydroides

These Long-Necked Marine Reptiles Were Decapitated

Tanystropheus fossils reveal how predators may have snapped the creatures’ necks with a powerful, swift bite from above

Blacktip reef sharks are one of five common species of reef sharks that are disappearing.

Reef Sharks Are Disappearing Around the World

A massive new study found a staggering decline of these top predators, which help balance vulnerable coral reef ecosystems and their food chains

Enceladus spews material from its ocean into space, which spacecraft from Earth can study to learn more about what lies below.

Scientists Find Phosphorus—a Key Element for Life—on a Saturn Moon

This is the last of six essential elements for life to be detected on Enceladus, giving the strongest indication yet that its ocean is habitable

Researcher Laurent Davin plays a replica of one of the 12,000-year-old bird bone flutes recently discovered in northern Israel.

Cool Finds

These 12,000-Year-Old Flutes Mimic the Sound of Prehistoric Birds

The remnants of seven small bird bone instruments were discovered in northern Israel

The new research sequenced the genomes of more than 230 primate species, 58 percent of which are threatened with extinction.

What the Largest-Ever Study of Primate DNA Reveals About Ourselves

The findings cover not only conservation and primate evolution, but also human health and diseases

Researchers take sediment samples in the excacation pit in the Tam Pà Ling cave in Laos, where two newly uncovered human bones—part of a skull and a shin bone—were found.

Archaeologists Uncover Earliest Evidence of Modern Humans in Southeast Asia

The fossils from a cave in Laos, which date to between 68,000 and 86,000 years ago, challenge several ideas about early human migration

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

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