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Ruffo’s installation features rolled botanical prints filling 17th-century wooden bookcases.

The Vatican, Home to Centuries-Old Masterpieces, Opens a Contemporary Art Gallery

Pope Francis calls for a "new beauty" that is reflective of a new, more diverse world

The sea eagle, native to Asia—specifically China, Japan, Korea, and Eastern Russia—has been spotted thousands of miles away from its range in places as far south as Texas and as far North as Alaska.

Thousands of Miles Away From Home, This Steller's Sea Eagle Couldn't Be Any More Lost

Now in Nova Scotia, the Asian raptor has been spotted several times in North America in the past year and a half

For a tiny, soft-bodied worm, seeking shelter by way of hermiting behavior likely protected it from predators.

Penis Worms May Have Been the First Real Hermits

Hermit crabs may have evolved hermiting behavior 180 million years ago, but penis worms beat them by more than 300 million years

If humans want to establish a long-term presence on Mars, the ability to grow food in the planet’s harsh conditions is key.

Heinz Debuts 'Marz Edition' Ketchup Made With Tomatoes Grown in Mars-Like Conditions

Scientists grew the tomatoes under the same temperature and water levels found on the surface of the Red Planet

This 16th- or 17th-century copper alloy plaque—one of the ten Benin Bronzes removed from view—depicts a high-ranking warrior flanked by musicians and a page holding a ceremonial sword.

History of Now

Why the Smithsonian's Museum of African Art Removed Its Benin Bronzes From View

Displaying the looted artworks does "a huge amount of harm,” says director Ngaire Blankenberg, who has affirmed her commitment to repatriating the objects

Freddy Goodall started looking for the passageway after noticing a doorway—now hidden by a bookshelf—in an 1870 photograph.

Cool Finds

Property Developer Discovers Secret Passageway Behind Bookshelf in 500-Year-Old House

Freddy Goodall of Brighton, England, detailed his finds in a series of social media videos

The three-inch Joros can weave their massive webs almost anywhere, including porches, gardens and mailboxes.

'Like a Scene Out of 'Arachnophobia,'' Invasive Spiders Take Over Northern Georgia

Scientists are torn on whether the Joro spider could have positive or negative effects on the native ecosystem

Though experts emphasize that vaccines are the primary defense against Covid-19, antiviral medicines could be another tool that doctors can use reduce the severity of infections, especially for high-risk Americans.

Pfizer Says Covid-19 Pill Cuts Hospitalization and Death Risk by Nearly 90 Percent

Though vaccines are still the best line of defense against the virus, the antiviral drug could help high-risk Americans once symptoms appear

A supporter of the doomed Tudor queen may have hidden the falcon following Anne's downfall.

Cool Finds

Wooden Falcon Sold for $101 Originally Belonged to Anne Boleyn

The discovery is striking because Henry VIII removed almost all traces of his second queen following her execution in 1536

Cervical cancer rates in women who received the vaccine when they were between 14 and 16 were reduced by 62 percent. Women who received the vaccine in their late teens between 16 to 18 had a 34 percent reduction in cervical cancer rates.

U.K. Study Finds HPV Vaccine Reduced Cervical Cancer Rates by 87%

When children are inoculated between 12 and 13 years old, the vaccine is most effective

The 17-pound spud could earn the top spot in the Guiness Book of World Records.

At 17 Pounds, 'Doug' the Ugly Potato Could Be the World’s Biggest Spud

Colin and Donna Craig-Brown of New Zealand named the giant tuber and have been taking it for walks

The room's sparse furnishings led archaeologists to suspect it served as housing for enslaved people.

Quarters for Enslaved People Discovered at Pompeiian Villa

The plainly furnished room contained three wooden beds, a chamber pot and a chest

Chemical analysis of the glass identified minerals only found in extraterrestrial rocks and minerals, such as cubanite, troilite, pyrrhotite lath, or calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions. These minerals were also found in dust collected from the Wild-2 comet in 2004 by NASA during the Stardust mission.

Ancient Meteorite May Have Created Large Patches of Glittering Glass in South American Desert

An exploding comet may have transformed the sandy landscape into pieces of black and green twisted minerals

Labyrinths of stones form in cold landscapes when water freezes into ice needles that push pebbles to one side. Overtime, the rising and falling of ice needles move the pebbles into intricate shapes—like the ones pictured here in Svalbard, Norway.    

How Ice 'Needles' Sculpt Stone Patterns in Frigid Landscapes

The self-organized natural patterns appear gradually as the ground freezes and thaws in a cycle

New research suggests this portrait of an old man was painted by Rembrandt himself.

A Painting Stolen in East Germany's Biggest Art Heist May Be a Rembrandt

An exhibition at Schloss Friedenstein addresses two art history mysteries: one about the 16th-century Dutch portrait and another about the 1979 theft

The ice stupa project in Chile was inspired by the original one founded in India, where communities in the Ladakh Valley are using the mini glaciers to get them through the dry months.

As Natural Glaciers Recede, Some Communities Are Building Their Own

Each ice stupa holds thousands of gallons of water, providing communities with a freshwater source during dry seasons

A procession overseen by the last Tudor monarch, Elizabeth I

What Did Tudor England Look, Smell and Sound Like?

A new book by scholar Amy Licence vividly transports readers back to the 16th century

In 2015, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck beneath Japan's Bonin Islands.

The Deepest Earthquake Ever Recorded Happened 467 Miles Underground, Surprising Scientists

Because of intense heat and pressure, quakes are rare beyond 186 miles deep beneath Earth's crust

The boat most likely survived intact because it was constantly wet and shielded from sunlight at a depth of about 27 feet.

Cool Finds

Intact, 1,200-Year-Old Canoe Recovered From Wisconsin Lake

The remarkably well-preserved wooden vessel was probably made by the Effigy Moundbuilders, ancestors of the modern Ho-Chunk Nation

Unique trills, calls, chirps, gurgling, and whistles are crucial components in nature's soundscapes. (Pictured: Male Indigo Bunting)  

Spring Soundscapes Are Changing as Bird Populations Continue to Decline

More than 200,000 sites across North America and Europe have become quieter in the past two decades as biodiversity and population numbers dwindle

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