New Research

These skull fragments have features that seem to combine human and Neanderthal traits.

Scientists Think These Skulls May Be New Human Ancestor

Two fossils combine early human, Neanderthal features

An African elephant in Tanzania.

African Elephants Sleep Just Two Hours Per Day, and Nobody Knows Why

That's less than any other animal on record

First page of the Kempe manuscript

Researchers Decipher Recipe Believed to Treat Medieval Mystic

The find came to light thanks to a multi-spectral analysis on the manuscript of Margery Kempe's autobiography

Emissions from steel production in eastern China are fertilizing nearby oceans.

Human Pollution May Be Fertilizing The Oceans. That’s Not a Good Thing

Our iron emissions from coal and steel may be fuelling ocean life, and trapping carbon in the process

Tanning Beds Cause $343 Million in Medical Bills a Year

A new study has calculated the steep cost of a not-so-healthy glow

These tiny filament-like fossils could be the oldest evidence of life on Earth.

Scientists Think They’ve Found the Oldest Fossil Ever

The controversial claim suggests that microbes lived on Earth half a billion years earlier than thought

A Roman amphitheater in Bosra, Syria. Bosra, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has been damaged by civil war.

Scientists Shoot Stones to Study War's Impact on Heritage Sites

The bullets caused hidden networks of fractures beneath the stones' surfaces

One surprising group is getting colon cancer at rates not seen since the 1890s.

New Study Shows Sharp Rise in Colorectal Cancers Among Young Adults

Its authors are not sure why the cancers have risen so much—only that they’re increasing every year

Study Shows 84% of Wildfires Caused by Humans

Over the last 21 years, debris burning, arson and campfires have combined with climate change to make the fire season much longer

During more peaceful times, two female baboons sit next to a collared male baboon holding an infant.

Baboons Are Ruthless Reproducers

These monkeys do whatever it takes to pass on their genes, including killing others’ offspring

The 38,000-year-old woolly mammoth carving next to Georges Seurat's "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte." Despite the vast amount of time between their respective creations, both use a collection of dots to form a larger image.

Prehistoric Pointillism? Long Before Seurat, Ancient Artists Chiseled Mammoths Out of Dots

Newly discovered 38,000-year-old cave art predates the French post-Impressionist art form

Smarter than we think.

Bees Can Learn to Play “Soccer.” Score One for Insect Intelligence

Small as they are, bumblebee brains are surprisingly capable of mastering novel, complex tasks

Neanderthals went extinct 30,000 years ago, taking their precious genetic material with them. But their DNA lives on in their hybrid ancestors: modern-day humans.

How Ancient Neanderthal DNA Still Influences Our Genes Today

Far from being silent remnants, Neanderthal genes play a profound role in how modern human genes are expressed

The seven Earth-sized planets orbiting the dwarf star TRAPPIST-1.

Scientists Spot Seven Earth-Sized Planets Orbiting a Nearby Star

This newly discovered solar system presents the best opportunity yet to study potentially habitable worlds, NASA scientists report

The best defense is a good offense.

The Real Reason the Turtle Learned to Hide its Head Will Surprise You

Turtles retract their heads for protection, but new research suggests that ability evolved for an entirely different reason

Ceres is much more than a rotating rock.

Organic Material Found on Ceres Hints at Potential for Life

Scientists are fired up about these building blocks of life

Seagrass grows near a village in the Spermonde Archipelago in Indonesia. Researchers there recently discovered that coastal areas with seagrass have less bacteria than grassless areas.

Seagrasses Reduce Bacteria in Polluted Waters

A new study suggests the mesmerizing fields could be important for the health of humans and sea creatures alike

New Report Cautiously Supports Some Gene Editing of Embryos

A new report suggests that editing embryos to cure some genetic diseases may be permissable

The woolly arctic moth caterpillar produces alcohols that allow it to avoid freezing at temperatures reaching -70 degrees F.

What Do Insects Do in Winter?

When winter comes, most bugs either migrate or time travel. But some get far more creative

World Health Organization workers gear up to go into an old Ebola isolation ward in Lagos, Nigeria.

Superspreaders Caused Much of the 2014 Ebola Epidemic

Just three percent of infected people caused two thirds of overall infections

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