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When comparing the genomes, the team found that the birds of Stewart Island had less genetic diversity than the mainland birds and had half as many mutations as the birds that dwelled on the mainland.

Thousands of Years of Inbreeding May Have Saved This Flightless Parrot From Extinction

The Kākāpō had fewer mutations in its genome despite a small genetic pool and long history of isolation due to a previous near-extinction event

Alula Pankhurst, a member of Ethiopia’s National Heritage Restitution Committee, calls the objects' return the “single most significant heritage restitution in Ethiopia’s history.”

Looted Maqdala Treasures Returned to Ethiopia After 150 Years

A nonprofit foundation purchased the objects, which were seized by British troops in 1868, with the aim of restituting them

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced plans to remove the sculpture last summer, but a lawsuit filed by locals delayed the process until this week.

History of Now

Richmond Removes Robert E. Lee Statue, Largest Confederate Sculpture in the U.S.

Workers sawed the controversial monument into pieces before transporting it to an undisclosed Virginia storage facility

The dig site at Castel di Guido in Italy featured numerous skeletons of straight-tusked elephants, from which many of the bone tools were produced.

New Research

Hand-Carved, 400,000-Year-Old Bone Tool Used for Smoothing Leather Found in Italy

Found near Rome, the utensil is 100,000 years older than previous finds of this kind

T. gainesi was enormous compared to other ocean creatures living during the Cambrian era, measuring almost 2 feet or half a meter long when most other species measured about the size of a pinky finger.

Ancient Predator With Massive Helmet-Like Shell Unearthed in Canada

The creature was one of the earliest known large predators on Earth

This CGI image shows what the church may have looked like when it was first built. Archaeologists found the church, which dates back to 1080, along with a small number of burials during construction of the HS2 railway system.

Cool Finds

Researchers Unearth a Nearly 900-Year-Old Church in England

Experts made the find ahead of construction of HS2, a controversial, high-speed railway system set to connect much of Great Britain

Some prehistoric stone spheres found in Scotland feature carved ridges and spirals. This one's surface is polished smooth.

Cool Finds

Polished, 5,500-Year-Old Stone Balls Found in Neolithic Scottish Tomb

The rare artifacts were probably used as both weapons and symbols of power

Musk ducks join an elite group of non-human animals that can mimic speech.

Listen to Ripper the Duck Say 'You Bloody Fool!'

New research highlights the rare trait of vocal learning among animals with examples of musk ducks imitating human speech and other noises

Orca will be able to capture the equivalent of the annual emissions made by 790 cars.

Innovation for Good

World's Largest Carbon Capture Plant Opens in Iceland

'Orca' will use geothermal energy to pull thousands of metric tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and pump it underground

Flight 93 fuselage and call button, now housed in the collections of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History

September 11

These Free Online Resources Tell the Story of 9/11 and Its Aftermath

Browse 12 archives, databases and portals that help users deepen their understanding of the attacks

Perseverance drilled into a briefcase-sized Martian boulder named Rochette. The rock is located in the Citadelle location within the Jezero Crater.

NASA's Perseverance Rover Successfully Obtains First Martian Rock Sample

The sample is stored inside an airtight titanium tube that will be sent back to Earth in a future mission in the early 2030s

An Israeli study finds that Covid-19 immunity is significantly improved by a third Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination.

New Research

Israeli Study Finds Third Shot Provides Significant Boost in Covid-19 Immunity

Israeli study finds infection rate drops dramatically with third Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination

For the study, researchers analyzed three shoes found in the Renaissance artist's house.

How Tall Was Michelangelo? Surprisingly Short, Study Suggests

New analysis of the artist's (probable) shoes indicates that he stood 5 feet 2 inches tall

The mounds still rise as much as 66 feet above ground, more than 3,000 years after they were constructed.

Cool Finds

Louisiana's Poverty Point Earthworks Show Early Native Americans Were 'Incredible Engineers'

A new study finds that enormous mounds and concentric earthen ridges were built in a matter of months

Hammerhead sharks have are considered critically endangered.

More Than a Third of Shark Species Are Now Threatened With Extinction

Overfishing, habitat loss and climate change are behind the 'desperate' decline

Scientists suspect that the vultures have expanded into Indiana in the past few decades because of climate change and changes in land use.

Federally Protected Black Vultures May Be 'Eating Cows Alive' in the Midwest

Farmers are seeking permits to cull any raptors harming their livestock, but experts say reports of vicious attacks are exaggerated

Once fall armyworms attack, lawns can go from green to brown in less than 48 hours.

Trending Today

Fall Armyworms Are Attacking Lawns and Crops on 'Unprecedented' Scale

These bug battalions turn grass yards from green to brown in less than 48 hours

Frederick Hurten Rhead, panel for overmantel, 1910

First Museum Dedicated to American Arts and Crafts Movement Opens in Florida

Proponents of the artistic philosophy pushed back against industrial production and embraced handcraftsmanship

The snail darter, a small fish that stopped construction of a federal dam project, is no longer threatened with extinction and can come off the Endangered Species List, wildlife officials say.

Trending Today

This Tiny, Endangered Fish Stopped Construction of a Federal Dam in 1975. Now, the Species Has Finally Recovered

The snail darter is no longer in threat of extinction and can be removed from the Endangered Species List

Workers discovered a trove of rare gold coins, pictured here, in the walls of a historic French mansion in 2019. Now, the coins are going up for auction.

Cool Finds

Trove of 239 Rare Gold Coins Discovered in Walls of French Mansion

Renovators discovered a hidden box and pouch stuffed with rare gold coins, minted during the reigns of French Kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV

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