Smart News

Noctilucent clouds.

New Research

Climate Change Is Responsible for These Rare High-Latitude Clouds

A study shows that methane emissions are responsible for the increase of noctilucent clouds, which glow eerily at night

Researchers used 1,000 years’ worth of built-up sediment found at the bottom of the valley’s Lake Huilla to create a timeline of the area’s population—and depopulation

This Lake Tells the Story of Ecuador’s Decimated Indigenous Quijo Civilization

In 1541, roughly 35,000 Quijos lived in the valley. By the 1580s, they had vanished, leaving little evidence of their existence behind

The Cairns Broch site in Orkney, Scotland

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Find 2,000-Year-Old Wooden Bowl, Strands of Hair in Northern Scotland

The Iron Age artifacts were sealed in a subterranean chamber of the Cairns Broch, a tower-like stone structure

Cool Finds

Egyptian Authorities Open Sealed Ptolemaic-Era Sarcophagus

Rampant speculation about what was inside the black granite tomb has swirled since the relic was first discovered at a building site in Alexandria

Some of the finds from the excavated building, which because of its size, decorations and location archaeologists speculate is a church.

An Early Christian Church May Have Been Found in Rome

The structure, inlaid with beautiful colored marble, was built around the time that Christianity began to gain widespread acceptance

Trending Today

Chicago Says Goodbye to Its Last Tiny Waterfall

Niagara, it was not

The historic cemetery where remains of 95 individuals, believed to be African American prisoners forced to work on a plantation, were discovered.

Remains of 95 African-American Forced Laborers Found in Texas

The deceased are believed to have been among thousands of black prisoners who were put to work as part of a post-Civil War “convict-leasing system"

Two tacos, extra ghost pepper sauce, please!

New Research

Tree Shrews Love Hot Peppers Because They Don't Feel the Burn

A genetic mutation prevents Chinese tree shrews from feeling the heat of capsaicin, making them the only other mammal besides humans that enjoys hot foods

The Meghalayan Age’s “timestamp” is an isotopic shift found in a single stalagmite growing from the floor of the Mawmluh Cave in Meghalaya, India

Welcome to the Meghalayan Age, the Latest Stage in Earth’s 4.54-Billion-Year History

Geologists say the stage began 4,200 years ago, when a global mega-drought devastated agricultural societies

Trending Today

Plans for the Emanuel Nine Memorial Unveiled

The monument to the nine black parishioners slain in Charleston in 2015 will include two wing-like benches that arc around a marble fountain

Combing Through the Fishy Origins of Human Hair

New research from UVA suggests the first vertebrates to colonize dry land carried scaly souvenirs with them

Cool Finds

Jupiter Officially Has 12 New Moons

The new satellites are mostly tiny and include one oddball that is on a collision course with some of the 78 other moons orbiting the planet

To create her dazzle camouflage design, Auerbach used a process known as marbling, or swirling pools of ink on paper to generate fluid patterns

Art Meets Science

NYC Fireboat Rebranded in Vibrant Dazzle Camouflage to Commemorate WWI

Vessels cloaked in clashing colors, patterns attempted to confuse U-boat commanders by distorting their perception of a ship’s speed, size and location

Trending Today

Indian Supreme Court Orders Government to Restore the Taj Mahal — or Demolish It

After the government failed to file plans for restoring the monument, which is discolored by bug poo and pollution, the court has demanded action

Tsar Nicholas II and his family

DNA Analysis Confirms Authenticity of Romanovs' Remains

Will Russia's fallen royal family finally receive a full burial from the Orthodox Church?

Babies’ Cries May Predict What They Will Sound Like as Adults

A new study has found that vocal pitch arises very early in life

Archaeologists unearthed the 14,400-year-old breadcrumbs while excavating a pair of stone fireplaces in northeast Jordan

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Evidence of Bread Baked Before Advent of Agriculture

The bread, which was found in northeast Jordan, dates back about 14,400 years and likely resembled modern-day wraps

Stanley Kubrick filming Spartacus four years after writing the screenplay for the novella Burning Secret. The screenplay of Stefan Zweig's work was believed to be missing until it was discovered earlier this year.

Professor Discovers ‘Lost’ Stanley Kubrick Screenplay

Kubrick wrote the script for <i>Burning Love</i> in 1956, but the film never made it to the big screen

"Wheat Field with Cypresses," based on Vincent van Gogh

Art Meets Science

This Is What Robotic Art Looks Like in 2018

The 2018 RobotArt competition fielded more than 100 submissions entered by 19 teams from all over the world

Covering the tūpuna (Māori ancestral remains) with the leaves of the kawakawa

Preserved Māori Head Returns to New Zealand

The sacred items were once widely collected by Europeans. In recent years, New Zealand has worked to secure the repatriation of these ancestral remains

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