Smart News

The letters were kept under wraps for 50 years.

Emily Hale Was T.S. Eliot's Confidante—and More, Suggest Newly Unsealed Letters

Despite Eliot’s assertions to the contrary, the letters point to a passionate love between the duo

Maat Mons, Venus' highest volcano, one of several that may still be active in present day

Active Volcanoes May Still Exist on Venus

Scientists baked volcanic minerals in a box furnace to model how quickly lava ages on the planet’s harsh surface

Formalin-fixed lung collected in 1912 in Berlin from a 2-year-old girl who died of measles-related pneumonia

Century-Old Lungs May Push Origin of Measles Back 1,500 Years

The viral infection may have made its first hop into humans when large cities arose

Athena, a two-toed sloth who recently made her debut at the National Zoo.

Will Love Bloom Between Two Sloths at the National Zoo?

Keepers are gradually introducing Athena, who made her debut at the zoo in December, to fellow two-toed sloth Vlad. Sparks have not flown—yet

A scholar spotted the long-overlooked image (its horns and face are at left, its legs on the right) while conducting research at a Berlin museum.

Cool Finds

This Demon, Immortalized in 2,700-Year-Old Assyrian Tablet, Was Thought to Cause Epilepsy

The damaged drawing was hidden on the back of a clay cuneiform tablet

Most of the newly discovered warriors were sculpted into one of two positions: either clutching pole weapons, with their right arms bent and fists partially clenched, or carrying bows, with their right arms hanging at ease.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Excavate 200 More Chinese Terracotta Warriors

The clay figures are part of the vast subterranean army built to protect the formidable emperor Qin Shi Huang in the afterlife

Otzi carried 14 arrows in his quiver, but only two had arrowheads and feather fletching.

What We Can Learn From Ötzi the Iceman's Hunting Pack

The famed Copper Age mummy's bowstring is the world's oldest known specimen

Engineered with genes that boost its beta-carotene content, golden rice (top) comes with a yellowish hue that makes it stand out from typical white rice (bottom)

Golden Rice Approved as Safe for Consumption in the Philippines

The genetically modified crop could help combat the country’s vitamin A deficiency

John Addington Symonds, whose 1873 essay "A Problem in Greek Ethics" helped lay the foundation for the modern gay rights movement

Cool Finds

Researchers Recover an Early Copy of a 19th-Century Gay Rights Essay

This once-lost copy of "A Problem in Greek Ethics" is only the sixth of its kind

Thousands were evacuated this week as bushfires continue to blaze across East Gippsland in Australia.

Raging Wildfires Have Prompted a State of Emergency in Australia—Again

This is the third time that such a declaration has been made since the conflagrations began last year

Iridescent spots found on the dot-underwing moth suggest that even nocturnal insects might rely on visual cues

New Research

How These Nocturnal Moths Sparkle at Night

The nocturnal insect might flash its reflective spots at a potential mate

An artist's illustration of juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex, which were more fleet-footed than their adult counterparts

Teenage T. Rex Fossils Reveal Haphazard Growth Spurts

A new study reaffirms that two debated dinosaur fossils named Jane and Petey weren’t a separate species

A sign reading "No Entrance!" is seen at the burned-out monkey house of the zoo in Krefeld, western Germany, on January 1, 2020.

More Than 30 Animals, Among Them 'Highly Endangered' Species, Killed in Fire at German Zoo

Authorities say the blaze was likely started by floating lanterns illegally released into the sky on New Year's Eve

The October 31 fire destroyed seven buildings and was probably started by an electrical fault.

Volunteers Digitally Revive Japan's Shuri Castle Following October Fire

The group is seeking one million images in order to create a high-quality reconstruction

Composer and pianist George Gershwin, whose 1924 composition "Rhapsody in Blue" entered the public domain on January 1, 2020

Start of 2020 Ushers Thousands of Once-Copyrighted Works Into the Public Domain

After 95 years of exclusivity, these films, books and compositions are now free for use by everyone

On December 28, 2019, Christina Koch broke the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, according to NASA.

Astronaut Christina Koch Breaks Record for Longest Spaceflight by a Woman

By the end of her mission in February, Koch will have spent 328 days in space

Chinese authorities found that He's team falsified regulatory paperwork.

Scientist Behind First CRISPR-Modified Babies Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

He Jiankui faced backlash immediately after announcing the twins’ birth late last year

The irony of trucking fake snow into a city that typically has to spend millions on snow removal was not lost on locals in Moscow.

Moscow Brought in Fake Snow for New Year's Eve Festivities to Counter an Unseasonably Warm December

A lack of festive atmosphere isn't the only issue; the city's snowless New Year's points to the serious effects of climate change on Russia

Researchers now have video evidence that Atlantic puffins can use sticks as tools to scratch their backs.

In a First, Scientists Film a Puffin Scratching Itself With a Stick

Behold the first evidence of tool use in seabirds

Co-founder Rino Dubokovic says his intention is not to glorify alcoholism, but to represent the experience of sharing light-hearted, boozy stories with friends.

Croatia's Museum of Hangovers Is an Ode to Boozy Shenanigans

But critics have raised concerns that the museum makes light of alcohol abuse

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