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New Research

Scientists built this synthetic fish using paper, plastic, gelatin and human heart cells.

Scientists Build an Artificial Fish That Swims on Its Own Using Human Heart Cells

The experiment could advance pacemaker technology and bring science closer to developing artificial hearts for people

A replica of Lt. James Cook's H.M.B. Endeavour docked in Sydney. Australian reserachers say they have identified the real shipwreck off the coast of Newport, Rhode Island. 

New Research

Why Researchers Are Clashing Over Proposed Identification of Captain Cook’s ‘Endeavour’

Australian archaeologists say they’ve found the wreck of the British explorer’s research vessel. American scholars called the announcement “premature”

Scientists examine the first-known pregnant Egyptian mummy.

New Research

What Preserved This Pregnant Egyptian Mummy’s Fetus for Millennia?

The combined effects of decomposition and embalming basically “pickled” the fetus, sealing it in its mother’s womb

Ancient people might have used these elongated tubes to drink beer from the same pot during ceremonial feasts or gatherings. 

New Research

Ancient People May Have Sipped Beer Through These 5,500-Year-Old Drinking Straws

Eight gold and silver tubes might be the oldest known drinking straws, according to a new study from the Russian Academy of Sciences

The multidisciplinary team suggests that Arnold van den Bergh, a notary and member of Amsterdam's Jewish Council, gave the Secret Annex's address to the Nazis to avoid deportation.

New Research

Did a Jewish Notary Betray Anne Frank to the Nazis?

A six-year investigation posits that Arnold van den Bergh disclosed the diarist’s hiding place to protect his family from deportation

Dogs may even be able to suss out which sounds are words and which are just nonsense.

Good News

Dogs Can Tell the Difference Between Human Languages

Canines in the study could differentiate between Spanish, Hungarian and nonsense words

New research suggests Celtic people—and their sheep—arrived on the Faroe Islands more than 300 years before the Vikings.

Ancient Sheep Poop Tells the Tale of the Faroe Islands’ First Inhabitants

New analysis suggests the Celts arrived on the archipelago hundreds of years before the Vikings

A photographer captured Thomas Edison asleep in his workshop in 1904. 

Need a Creative Boost? Nap Like Thomas Edison and Salvador Dalí

Waking up just after dozing off seems to be a science-backed source of inspiration

Catching problems through replication early on can prevent cancer patients from getting their hopes up about early studies dubbed "promising."

Why Replicating Cancer Research Is Important—but Often Unsuccessful

An eight-year-long study reveals that only about half of early-stage cancer experiments are able to produce the same results as the initial experiment

In each of the extant nine accounts, the victim is captured in battle and has an eagle of some sort carved into their back.

New Research

Did the Vikings Actually Torture Victims With the Brutal ‘Blood Eagle’?

New research reveals the feasibility of the infamous execution method

Archaeologist Anastasiia Stupko-Lubczynska at work in the Chapel of Hatshepsut.

Master Artisans Fixed Mistakes Made by Apprentices at Ancient Egyptian Temple

New research reveals how reliefs on the walls of the Temple of Hatshepsut in Thebes were crafted—and corrected

Early humans were likely exposed to mercury through cinnabar, a sulfide mineral that produces a bright red powder when pulverized.

New Research

Earliest Evidence of Mercury Poisoning in Humans Found in 5,000-Year-Old Bones

Researchers discovered the toxic element in remains buried across the Iberian Peninsula between the Neolithic period and antiquity

Karakorum served as the capital of the Mongol Empire during the 13th century. In the 16th century, the Buddhist Erdene Zuu monastery (pictured) was erected on the ruins of the city.

New Research

Archaeologists Map Ruins of Karakorum, Capital of the Mongol Empire, for the First Time

Genghis Khan founded the city, located in what is now central Mongolia, around 1220 C.E.

DNA analysis of a lock of hair taken from Sitting Bull confirms that a South Dakota man is the Lakota leader's great-grandson.

New Research

DNA Analysis Confirms Claim of Sitting Bull Descendant

Formerly in the Smithsonian collections, a lock of hair taken from the Lakota leader verifies South Dakota man is his great-grandson

A view of the schooner-barge Michigan, which sank in Lake Superior on October 2, 1902, alongside the M.M. Drake

Cool Finds

Three 19th-Century Shipwrecks Discovered in Lake Superior

”[W]e have never located so many new wrecks in one season,” says the director of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society

Archaeologists have discovered the foundations of a major medieval tannery at a former monastery in northern England.

New Research

Large Medieval Tannery Discovered at Monastic Abbey in England

A sizable community of monks made leather for paper and printing at the major industrial site

Researchers discovered Khuwy's richly painted tomb in 2019.

Cool Finds

Richly Adorned Egyptian Tomb Could Rewrite the History of Mummification

A new analysis of a Fifth-Dynasty official’s mummy suggests sophisticated embalming techniques are 1,000 years older than previously believed

New research suggests these human-like footprints found in Crete may by 6.05 million years old.

New Research

New Research Suggests Human-Like Footprints in Crete Date to 6.05 Million Years Ago

The findings could upend scientists’ understanding of human evolution—but the paper has proven controversial

Fishers gather rope and nets on a fishing boat in Gaza in May 2021. 

New Research

With Ropes and Nets, Fishing Fleets Contribute Significantly to Microplastic Pollution

Synthetic ropes release ‘substantial amount’ of plastic particles into the sea during each use, according to new research

The researchers used carbon dating of seeds above and below the footprints to determine their age.

Cool Finds

Prehistoric Footprints Push Back Timeline of Humans’ Arrival in North America

Found in New Mexico, the fossilized impressions date to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago, a new study suggests

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