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New Research

About 47 percent of wolves in Italy are considered wolf-dog hybrids, according to a recent genetic analysis.

Nearly Half of Italy’s Wolves Are Part Dog Now, Thanks to Hybridization. Is That a Threat to the Species?

Wolf-dog hybrids are growing far more common in Italy, raising scientists’ concerns for the future of the wolves

For centuries, the sketch on the left has been identified as Anne Boleyn, while the identity of the woman on the right has been unknown.

Did Facial Recognition Find a Lost Portrait of Anne Boleyn? Scholars Debate Whether A.I. Solved or Merely Muddled an Art History Mystery

Accused of treason, the second wife of Henry VIII lost her head. Now, some researchers argue that she also lost her face among dozens of potentially mislabeled portraits in a royal art collection

The funerary practice of pouring gypsum into ancient coffins means that imprints of clothing and bodies remain in burial sites in York, England.

Cool Finds

In the Ancient World, This Pigment Was Worth More Than Gold. Archaeologists Discovered It Buried With Babies in Roman Coffins

A funerary custom in Roman Yorkshire of pouring liquid gypsum over bodies before burial preserved traces of Tyrian purple

An illustration of lymphocytes, or white blood cells in the immune system, which include T cells and other disease-fighting cells

You’ve Been Told to ‘Feed a Cold.’ Turns Out, Eating May Truly Boost Your Immune System Cells, According to a New Study

T cells, which target infection and disease, can become more effective after a meal. The finding might help improve cancer-fighting therapies and optimize our response to vaccines

A virtual reconstruction of the Berlanga Cup

Cool Finds

This Souvenir Bowl May Have Commemorated an Ancient Roman Soldier’s Service at Hadrian’s Wall. It Was Discovered on a Spanish Farm 1,900 Years Later

The artifact is decorated with an illustration of the defensive fortification in northern England, but it was unearthed some 1,200 miles away. A new study suggests the design reflects a soldier’s achievements at the site

An example of a crannog, in the Loch of Wasdale

This Island in Scotland Is Actually a Man-Made Mini Landmass Resting on a Wooden Platform, New Discovery Shows

Scientists made significant advances in underwater archaeology techniques and photogrammetry while investigating the crannog site

Left: Experimental setup of some chickpeas growing in artificial lunar dirt. Right: A chickpea root covered in the simulated moon soil, which is sharp and glass-like. 

Hummus Made From Moon-Grown Chickpeas Might Be on the Menu for Future Lunar Residents

Researchers successfully grew and harvested chickpeas in simulated moon dirt—with a little help from worm poop and a beneficial fungus. However, they’re still testing whether the legumes are safe to eat

Lava, seen as darker brown rocks, from Methana's most recent eruption flows through ancient limestone into the sea.

This Greek Volcano Seemed Quiet for 100,000 Years. Then It Erupted Again. Should Scientists Take a Second Look at ‘Extinct’ Volcanoes?

By reconstructing a 700,000-year history of Methana volcano, geologists found a prehistoric phase when it appeared inactive on the surface, despite magma building up below ground

A tooth from the Jerash mass grave site

New Research

Dead Bodies Filled a Mass Grave When the First Plague Pandemic Struck This Early Medieval City. New Research Explores the Identity of the Victims

Researchers analyzed isotopes and DNA in the teeth of remains found in a mass grave from the Plague of Justinian, which swept through the Byzantine Empire

Study author Gregory Bonito collects truffles in Australia. 

Australia Has a Surprisingly Successful Truffle Industry. This New Study Could Explain Why

Researchers examined hundreds of soil samples to uncover why the expensive fungi are thriving in the country

The man in his 30s was found just outside Pompeii's gates.

New Research

This Man Fled Pompeii as Mount Vesuvius Erupted. Archaeologists Found Him 2,000 Years Later, Holding a Bowl to Protect His Head and a Lamp to Light His Way

Recent excavations revealed two skeletons just outside the ancient city’s walls. Researchers also created an A.I.-generated reconstruction of one of the victim’s harrowing final moments

African fattail scorpion (Androctonus amoreuxi)

Scorpions Are So Metal—Literally. New Images Reveal Patterns in How Their Weaponry Is Fortified With Iron, Zinc and Manganese

Scientists knew the stingers and pincers of these arachnids generally contained metals, but a new Smithsonian-led study maps out how these components are distributed

Undetectable infrasound might explain why some people report paranormal experiences, a new study suggests.

Worried Your House Is Haunted? The Spooky Sensation Might Arise From a Surprisingly Simple Source

Infrasound—noise below the range of typical human hearing—from power, heating and mechanical systems within buildings can make people feel irritated and induce a stress response, according to a new study

After researchers aboard the Okeanos Explorer ship couldn't figure out the orb's identity, they sent it to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History for a more thorough investigation.

Cool Finds

Scientists Found This Mysterious Golden Orb on the Seafloor Nearly Three Years Ago. Now, They Finally Know What It Is

After a long, winding road of tests, researchers at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and other institutions determined that the strange blob once attached a large sea anemone to a rock

Scientists now think humans settled South America in three waves.

A New Big Database of DNA From Indigenous Americans Shakes Up Scientists’ Theories About Human Settlement of South America

Genomic data provides evidence for a previously unknown wave of migration, with Indigenous groups living in central and southern Mexico spreading into South America and the Caribbean starting around 1,300 years ago

Comet 3I/ATLAS has much more "heavy" water than comets that formed in the solar system, according to a new study.

Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Came From an Extremely Cold, Lonely Region of the Milky Way Galaxy, New Research Suggests

Astronomers analyzed the vapors coming off the comet when it neared the sun and found it had a lot of “heavy” water. That hints it grew up in a frigid planetary system, possibly before its home star formed

Illustration of the giant ancient octopus

Cool Finds

This Bone-Crunching Octopus Was Nearly the Size of a Semitruck and May Have Feasted on Giant Reptiles 100 Million Years Ago

The massive invertebrates may have been top predators, according to an analysis of their fossilized jaws. The work suggests that ancient oceans weren’t completely ruled by spine-bearing creatures, as previously thought

New research indicates that Neanderthals had the genetic hardware for language.

Did Neanderthals Have Language? New Research Suggests They Had the Genetic Hardware for It, Like Humans

Specific genomic regions that seem to play a role in human language development evolved hundreds of thousands of years ago, before humans and Neanderthals diverged from a common ancestor, a new study finds

The new Smart Cinema theater collects biometric data to track in-the-moment reactions to on-screen action.

Why Do We Love Movies? This New ‘Smart’ Movie Theater Tracks Viewers’ Brain Waves and Heart Rates to Find Out

Researchers at the University of Bristol are studying the appeal of the cinema-watching experience by turning one theater into a biometric laboratory

The researchers studied a wetland shaped by Eurasian beavers in Switzerland.

Beavers Are Ecosystem Engineers—and They Might Be Helpful Allies in the Fight Against Human-Caused Climate Change

New research suggests that wetlands created by the industrious rodents are carbon sinks, meaning they store a lot of heat-trapping carbon dioxide—the human-produced gas largely responsible for today’s global warming

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