New Research

The Maya played games like pok-a-tok, in which players hit a rubber ball through a stone circle such as this one in the ancient city of Chichen Itza.

Hallucinogenic Plant Unearthed Beneath an Ancient Maya Ball Court

Researchers have found evidence of a nearly 2,000-year-old ceremonial offering at the site in present-day Mexico

Sperm whales communicate by making clicks.

Scientists Discover a 'Phonetic Alphabet' Used by Sperm Whales, Moving One Step Closer to Decoding Their Chatter

Researchers used artificial intelligence to spot patterns in recordings of the marine mammals' vocalizations, uncovering the "building blocks of whale language"

Memorable, large images and scenes are associated with a longer perception of time, a new study suggests.

Are Days Passing Too Quickly? Memorable Experiences Might Help Dilate Your Sense of Time, Research Suggests

How we process time is linked to things we see, according to a new study, which found memorable, non-cluttered imagery can make moments seem to last longer

An MRI of a brain of a person with Alzheimer's disease. A new study suggests having two copies of a genetic variant called APOE4 is a cause of the disease, not just a risk factor for it.

Almost All People With Two Copies of This Genetic Variant Develop Signs of Alzheimer's Disease, Study Finds

The research focused on a variant called APOE4 and largely looked at people of European ancestry—risk levels are different for other groups, the authors say

Bumblebees, on the whole, are better adapted for cooler temperatures than for heat—one species, Bombus polaris, even lives in the Arctic.

Bumblebee Nests May Be Overheating With Rising Global Temperatures, Study Finds

Across various species and regions, bumblebee nests thrive between 82 and 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit—and climate change could make it harder to find habitats in that range

Shanidar Z likely stood 5 feet tall and was around 40 years old when she died.

Meet Shanidar Z, a Neanderthal Woman Who Walked the Earth 75,000 Years Ago

After carefully piecing her skull back together, archaeologists and paleoartists have created a lifelike 3D reconstruction of the woman's face

Scientists experimented with planting tomatoes, peas and carrots together and separately in several types of soil.

An Ancient Maya Practice Could Be the Key to Growing Vegetables on Mars

Researchers are exploring whether intercropping—a technique of growing different types of plants in close proximity to one another—could be the secret to agriculture on the Red Planet

In more than 20 years of field research, Rakus is the first orangutan to be observed using a medicinal plant to treat wounds.

In a First, an Orangutan Healed His Own Wound Using a Known Medicinal Plant

The primate named Rakus chewed up yellow root and applied it to an open facial wound, closing the sore within days

The driverless race cars were controlled with cameras, advanced processing units and sensors.

World's First Race of A.I.-Driven Cars Was Filled With Spins, Swerves and Stops

Though the cars could not compare to human drivers, the event may help improve self-driving technology, experts say

To create mouse-rat "chimeras," researchers injected rat stem cells into mouse embryos that lacked some genes for brain development.

Researchers Breed Mice With Hybrid Brains Containing Cells From Rats

In one experiment, rat neurons helped mice restore their senses of smell—the first time any animal has perceived the world through the sensory hardware of another species

Previous research suggested that anger can increase people's risk of heart attacks. In the new study, researchers found that part of the reason why could be that anger briefly reduces blood vessels' ability to widen.

Can Anger Affect Your Heart Health? Scientists Find the Strong Emotion Impacts How Blood Vessels Function

The results could even help explain why stress from anger may trigger a heart attack

While penguins have feathers that shield their skin from radiation, their eyes remain unprotected. Increased ultraviolet radiation exposure could also have harmful effects for Antarctic organisms like seals, krill and plankton, per a new paper.

Antarctica's Ozone Hole Is Persisting Later Into the Year, Raising Concerns for Wildlife

As a result of the longer-lasting hole, harmful ultraviolet radiation is reaching Earth during a time when young penguins and seals are more vulnerable, scientists say

The Greek philosopher Plato was a student of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle.

This Newly Deciphered Papyrus Scroll Reveals the Location of Plato's Grave

The mysterious site is mentioned in a text buried by Mount Vesuvius' eruption 2,000 years ago

A close-up of the "mane" of the Horsehead Nebula, located some 1,300 light-years from Earth. This view was captured by the James Webb Space Telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument.

See New Images of the Horsehead Nebula, Captured in Striking Detail by the James Webb Telescope

The beautiful infrared imagery features one of the best known locations in space to study the evolution of stars and interstellar matter

Researchers are recruiting some 1,100 people globally to participate in the trial's third phase.

Personalized Melanoma Vaccine Could Be a 'Game Changer' by Teaching the Body to Fight Cancer Cells

The mRNA therapy, designed to prevent treated skin cancer from returning, is entering its third phase of trials

Scientists are at odds about how intelligent T. rex was.

How Intelligent Was T. Rex? Scientists Suggest the Dinosaurs Were Like 'Smart, Giant Crocodiles'

A new paper refutes the idea that T. rex was as brainy as a baboon, furthering the debate on the extinct reptile's intellect

The tracks were found at site that was once a muddy river plain.

Paleontologists Discover Massive Dinosaur Tracks in China, Hinting at One of the Largest Known Raptors

The footprints, left behind by a 16-foot-long creature some 96 million years ago, represent the biggest raptor tracks ever found

A golden figure from the 7th century found at the Avar cemetery in Rákóczifalva, Hungary

New DNA Analysis Unravels the Marriage Practices of an Ancient Warrior People

Researchers examined over 400 skeletons to uncover secrets from the Avar empire

This illustration shows how the two-inch-long, curved teeth may have protruded from the extinct salmon's face.

These Massive, Extinct Salmon Had Spiky Teeth Like a Warthog's Tusks

For decades, scientists thought the teeth pointed downward, similar to those of a saber-toothed cat, but now they believe the fish's chompers jutted out sideways

A carved pendant plaque of a human head found at the Ucanal burial site.

Ancient Maya Royals' Remains Were Burned in a Public Ceremony to Mark a New Political Regime

Archaeologists discovered charred remains of former rulers tossed "haphazardly" into a tomb in present-day Guatemala, suggesting they had been removed from their original burial sites

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