New Research

Researchers discovered 87 Neanderthal footprints, as well as a number of tracks left by prehistoric animals.

100,000-Year-Old Fossilized Footprints Track Neanderthals' Trip to Spanish Coast

Some of the imprints appear to have been left by a child "jumping irregularly as though dancing," researchers say

One of the more than 100 earthen mounds preserved at the Mounds State Historic Site

Why Did Cahokia, One of North America's Largest Pre-Hispanic Cities, Collapse?

A new study challenges the theory that resource exploitation led to the Mississippian metropolis' demise

The largest pterosaurs had wingspans like small aircraft and longer necks than giraffes.

Unique Bone Structure Helped Long-Necked Pterosaurs Fly

Bicycle wheel-like spokes connected the vertebrae’s central column to its outer surface, offering serious strength

Archaeologists say the skeletons are in an "average state" of preservation.

Why Were These Ancient Adults Buried in Jars on the Island of Corsica?

Researchers are unsure of the unusual funerary practice's purpose but point out that such burials were typically reserved for children

Decades before Teotihuacán's conquest of Tikal in 378 A.D., the two cities may have enjoyed a friendly relationship.

Were These Ancient Mesoamerican Cities Friends Before They Became Foes?

Ruins found in the Maya metropolis of Tikal appear to be an outpost of the distant Teotihuacán

New research suggests that Swedish Bishop Peder Winstrup was buried alongside the remains of his grandchild, a stillborn fetus delivered at five or six months gestation.

Why Was This Mummified 17th-Century Bishop Buried With a Fetus?

The stillborn baby was likely the grandson of Peder Winstrup, whose well-preserved remains have been the subject of much study

The 50-foot-wide racetrack used to study muons traveled by barge around Florida and up the Mississippi, and then by truck across Illinois.

New Measurements of Muons Might Rewrite Particle Physics

The gap between theoretical predictions and the experimental measurements isn’t a full-blown discovery yet

The National Museum of Natural History’s 146 million objects and specimens are studied by researchers worldwide who are looking to understand all aspects of the natural world.

How Museum Collections Advance Knowledge of Human Health

Surprisingly, mosquitoes, leeches, parasites, birds and minerals can be important sources for research to fight cancer and prevent disease

This is an atomic clock that uses the predictable frequency of ytterbium atoms absorbing and emitting light to tell time. A new experiment paired a ytterbium-based atomic clock with two others that used aluminum and strontium atoms, respectively, to create an even more accurate measure of time.

New Atomic Clocks May Someday Redefine the Length of a Second

Researchers used three atomic clocks to measure time accurately down to the quadrillionth of a percent

Astronaut Scott Kelly shown in October of 2010 in the Cupola of the International Space Station.

How Space Travel Shrank Astronaut Scott Kelly's Heart

While in orbit, the adaptable muscle doesn't need to combat gravity to pump blood

Nurse Sandra Lindsay of Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens, New York City, received the first Covid-19 vaccine in the United States in December 2020. Here, she is pictured receiving her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine in January.

CDC Study of Vaccinated Frontline Workers Shows Covid-19 Shots Effectively Prevent Infection, Not Just Symptoms

The vaccinated group of participants saw 90 percent fewer cases than if they had not been vaccinated

By the time sauteur d’Alfort rabbits are a few months old, they learn how to walk on their front paws to accommodate their uncoordinated back legs.

Thanks to a Genetic Mutation, These French Rabbits Prefer Handstands to Bunny Hops

The unusually acrobatic sauteur d’Alfort rabbits were first discovered in France in 1935

Akhenaten, father of Tutankhamun and husband of Nefertiti, ruled Egypt between roughly 1353 and 1336 B.C.

Is This the Face of King Tut's Father, Pharaoh Akhenaten?

New 3-D reconstruction visualizes what KV55, a mummy long thought to be the ancient Egyptian ruler, may have looked like

A 300-thread count sari woven out of a hybrid Dhaka muslin thread

How Modern Researchers Are Trying to Recreate a Long-Lost Fabric

Dhaka muslin was immensely popular for millennia, but the secrets of its creation faded from memory by the early 20th century

Archaeologists confirmed the find in late 2019 but only announced the news now due to delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. This drawing shows what the St. Mary's Fort may have looked like.

Researchers Discover Ruins of Maryland's Earliest Colonial Site, a 386-Year-Old Fort

A team used ground-penetrating radar to identify the outlines of a defensive outpost at the St. Mary's settlement

'Oumuamua is shaped less like a cigar, as was originally proposed, and more like a pancake, according to recent research.

New Theory Suggests 'Oumuamua Is a Nitrogen Ice Pancake

When the interstellar visitor swept around the sun, it got a speed boost, probably because some of the ice vaporized

The eagle shark's long, slender side fins are one of its "most striking features," says first author Romain Vullo.

Discovery of a 95-Million-Year-Old 'Eagle Shark' Fossil Makes Waves

The ancient creature likely used its six-foot-wide wingspan to move with 'underwater flight'

Life on Earth began to appear at least 3.5 billion years ago; by then, Mars had already lost much of its water into the crust or outer space.

Mars' Missing Water Might Be Hiding in Its Minerals

New research estimates how much water was absorbed into the mineral makeup of Mars' crust

Aedes scapularis are aggressive biters and frequently find ways indoors

For the First Time in 75 Years, a New Invasive Species of Mosquito Was Found in Florida

Last year, entomologists in the state found 121 Aedes scapularis mosquitoes, which can carry yellow fever

Teeth with dental inlays from a nonroyal elite Mayan tomb.

Archaeologists Uncover a 1,300-Year-Old Skeleton of a Maya Diplomat

The remains revealed that the government official was wealthy as an adult, but he had a difficult childhood

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