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Learn About the Tiny Aircraft That Turn Sunlight Into Flight!
Of the five layers of Earth’s atmosphere, the mesosphere (the third layer from Earth’s surface) is a height at which traditional aircraft have, thus far, been unable to reach on their own power. Generally beginning about 154,000 feet above sea level, even the world record for highest aircraft altitude falls about 20,000 feet short. However, a newly developing technology may change this reality, and it in...

Learn About the Tiny Aircraft That Turn Sunlight Into Flight!
Of the five layers of Earth’s atmosphere, the mesosphere (the third layer from Earth’s surface) is a height at which traditional aircraft have, thus far, been unable to reach on their own power. Generally beginning about 154,000 feet above sea level, even the world record for highest aircraft altitude falls about 20,000 feet short. However, a newly developing technology may change this reality, and it involves aircraft that punch high above their weight.

Learn About The Newly Discovered Species of Early Humans!
In studying early human ancestors, known as “hominids,” anthropologists have historically found much wider variations from specimen to specimen than expected, particularly among other paleontological fields. A recent study argues that certain groups of hominid fossils previously thought to be an already discovered species constitute a new one entirely.

Learn About Iron Age Mummy Tattoos!
Tattoos have been a popular form of individual and societal expression for centuries around the world, making them a focal point of study for anthropologists and archaeologists. Unfortunately, the oldest examples are rarely preserved well enough for deep study, since skin usually decomposes before fossilization. In one recent case, however, new technology allowed researchers to draw new conclusions about the tattoos of one fascinating specimen: a well-preserved mummy.

Scientists Discover First Ever Ancient Roman Trilobite!
It’s well known among archaeologists that the ancient Romans had a reverence for fossils. For example, it is thought they believed mammoth bones and teeth were those of dragons and cyclopes, and thus, these items were often displayed in places of power. However, researchers in Spain recently uncovered an exceedingly rare Roman fossil artifact from an unlikely place.

Denver Museum Finds Dinosaurs in their Backyard!
For patrons of a popular Denver museum, newly discovered dinosaur fossils are quite literally in their backyard!

Neolithic Vegetarians: Learn About the Wooden Tools Used by Early Humans!
When you think of the Stone Age, scenes of Neanderthals chasing down great beasts of old for food and furs might come to mind. Many studies have shown the invention and development of stone tools were essential to early humans’ efforts to hunt animals, but according to a recent study, that perspective may have an overbearing presence in the perception of the Stone Age.

Viking for a Day: Researchers Recreate Viking Voyages!
For one student at Lund University in Sweden, reading studies and collecting archaeological evidence wasn’t enough to grasp the full picture of an awe-inspiring people of the Nordic region: The Vikings. In a new study, a team of researchers set out to learn more about these nomads of legend by setting off on their own voyage of the seas, complete with historically accurate ships!

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory Releases its First Photos!
The dazzling images in this article are some of the first to be released by scientists using equipment at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in the Elqui Province of Chile. However, these images represent just the tip of the iceberg for the new facility.

Snakestones, Shaligrams, Ammonites, Oh My! All About Ammonites
Ammonites, the aquatic ancestor of cephalopods such as the octopus and nautilus, have captured our imaginations for centuries. Their spiraling fossilized shells have been known by many names throughout history. Here is our roundup of the most fascinating ammonite folklore!

Learn how Scientists Used Zircon Crystals to Date a Meteorite Impact!
In a new study, researchers have observed that a meteorite impact in modern day Scotland, thought to have occurred 1.2 billion years ago, was actually much more recent, at around 990 million years ago. Their method: studying the microscopic zircon crystals that they say “captured the impact.”

Scientists at CERN Are Split-Second Alchemists
Although they won’t be turning a profit anytime soon, scientists at CERN have become split-second alchemists, briefly turning lead particles into gold.

Scientists Capture First Ever Recording of a Live Coelacanth in Indonesia!
A living fossil, the Coelacanth is one of the most elusive and fascinating known sea creatures. Scientists have long known of two main species of Coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae, native to the West Indian Ocean, and Latimeria menadoensis, native to Indonesia. While the Western Indian Coelacanth has been photographed, its Indonesian counterpart was recently photographed for the first time.

Scientists Find Evidence of a Real-Life Tatooine!
Probably the most recognizable landscape in the Star Wars universe is Tatooine, Luke Skywalker’s desolate home planet where his fate finds him in the form of two crash-landing rebellion droids. Twin suns illuminate the desert wasteland, and in a recent discovery right out of George Lucas’s scripts, scientists believe they have found a planet similar to the one Skywalker begrudgingly calls home.

Lyndon Johnson: Architect of the U.S. Space Program
The Space Race is an era etched in the mythos of the United States. The starting gun, fired October 4th, 1957, as the Soviet Union launched the first-ever artificial satellite into space, was quickly answered by President John F. Kennedy a month later. In a special session of Congress, he set forth the goal of landing a man on the moon before the decade was out. If Kennedy was Jason on this voyage to the stars, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was his Argus, constructing the means of transport long before this challenge was issued and long before his superior’s assassination tumbled the nation into darkness.

Scientists Film a Colossal Squid in its Natural Habitat!
One hundred years after its discovery, scientists have captured the elusive colossal squid on film in its natural habitat. The juvenile squid was found around 2,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean near the South Sandwich Islands. Measuring about one foot long, it drifts through the sea with translucent skin, pearly eyes and colorful tentacles.

Archaeologists Discover Tomb of an Unknown Pharaoh!

Did Scientists Resurrect a Dire Wolf or Just Create Colossal Hype?

What was dinosaur armor used for? New fossils help scientists find out!
While teeth and claws are usually the show-stoppers when it comes to fossils, of equal interest to scientists are plates, clubs, and spikes. While originally thought to have been developed by herbivorous dinosaurs to defend against their carnivorous counterparts, newly discovered specimens are leading researchers to draw new conclusions about the purpose of dinosaur armor.

Learn How Scientists Made Woolly Mice!
In an experiment that would make Dr. Hammond proud, researchers at Colossal Biosciences have used Mammoth DNA and gene editing technology to create “woolly mice,” a step towards their ultimate goal of recreating or “de-extincting” a woolly mammoth.

Organic Glass Found Among Remains of Roman Guard
One of the most dramatic events in the history of the Roman Empire was the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. It is unknown how many perished during the eruption and its fallout, however, haunting images of contorted Pompeiians frozen in time by searing gas and ash paints an image of hellish, alien conditions. In a bizarre twist of the otherworldly occurrence, scientists have found the only documented instance of a victim whose brain was turned to glass by flows from the eruption.

The Mysterious Origin of the St. Mark's Square Lion!
Keeping a watchful eye over what Napoleon knew as “the drawing room of Europe,” the winged lion of St. Mark’s Square in Venice, Italy, is a majestic sight. The origin of this iconic statue has been cloaked in mystery, but in September of 2024, a group of chemists, archaeologists, geologists, and art historians shed more light on this sculpture’s story.

The Hun Family Tree

NASA's Telescope Spots a Nebula That Looks Like a Hamburger!

Can an Octopus’s Genome Help Scientists Chart Changes in Antarctic Ice?

Defending a Meteorite in Court?

Explore Great Britain’s “Dinosaur Highway!”

Learn How This 400-Year-Old Company Makes Cymbals!

See Meteors in the night sky tonight!

The Mystery of the Yixian Formation

Explore the Lost Cities of the Silk Road

Antediluvian: A Nuanced look at the Paleoart of Old

Night of 100 Demons: Inside Kyoto’s New Yokai Festival

Stay at one of the Beatles' Childhood Homes!

Were There Subliminal Messages Recorded in Classic Rock Music?

Explore the Myths and Legends of Ghosts Haunting the Smithsonian!
