New Research

Researchers studied roughly 50 numbats over the course of a year.

As the Planet Warms, Australia's Numbats Are at Risk of Overheating

The endangered, squirrel-sized marsupials forage for termites during the day—but they can become too hot after just ten minutes in direct sunlight, according to new research

A group of grey reef sharks and blacktip reef sharks at La Vallée Blanche in French Polynesia in 2018.

Sharks Are Being Killed at Rising Rates Despite Increased Regulations

Global bans on finning have inadvertently opened up shark meat markets, prompting demand for threatened species, a new study reveals

The 160-year-old pelt of the woolly dog Mutton in the Smithsonian’s collection

What Happened to the Extinct Woolly Dog?

Researchers studying the 160-year-old fur of a dog named Mutton in the Smithsonian collections found that the Indigenous breed existed for at least 5,000 years before European colonizers eradicated it

Researchers measure California snowpack levels at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada on January 2.

Climate Change Is Melting Snowpack, Pushing Some Regions Past a 'Snow-Loss Cliff'

Some of the Northern Hemisphere's most populous areas are at risk of warming past a critical threshold, after which snowpack melts rapidly with even small rises in temperature, study finds

The area was surveyed using lidar technology, which revealed a large-scale network of roads and platforms.

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Cities Hidden in the Ecuadorean Amazon

Laser imaging has revealed an extensive network of settlements and roads that challenge historical understandings of the area

An artist's rendering of the newly identified species, called Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis. The species may be the closest known relative of T. rex.

Fossils Reveal a Possible New Tyrannosaur Species, the Closest Relative of T. Rex

The remains, dug up in the 1980s, might shed light on T. rex's mysterious origins, according to a new paper

Genes that significantly increase risk of developing multiple sclerosis were introduced to northwestern Europe by herders who migrated from the east around 5,000 years ago.

Ancient DNA From Eurasian Herders Sheds Light on the Origins of Multiple Sclerosis

Genetic variants linked to the risk of MS were brought to Europe during a migration around 5,000 years ago, a new study finds—and they might have helped herders survive

An artist's impression of Gigantopithecus blacki near a forest in southern China.

What Caused the Mysterious Extinction of 'Giganto,' the World's Largest Ape?

The massive primates were unable to shift their diet to keep pace with a changing climate, according to a new study, forcing them to eat less nutritious bark and twigs

A California grizzly bear specimen at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The brown bear subspecies went extinct around 1924.

California Grizzlies Weren't as Big—or Bloodthirsty—as People Once Thought

The now-extinct bears were mostly vegetarians and measured about the same size as today's North American grizzlies

Leaves from the iboga plant, collected in 1933 from Angola. The psychedelic drug ibogaine can be derived from the plant's root bark.

A Lesser-Known Psychedelic Drug Shows Promise for PTSD Treatment

Ibogaine, derived from a central African shrub, has been used in rituals for two millennia. But in a small study, it appeared to reduce symptoms of PTSD among veterans

These fossilized teeth belonged to a Propliopithecus chirobates, a type of early primate that lived between 29 million and 35 million years ago.

Early Primates May Have Feasted on Soft, Sweet Fruits

An analysis of more than 400 fossilized teeth suggests the creatures weren't eating many seeds, nuts or other hard foods

Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, on the surface of a lake. Bacteria were the first organisms to photosynthesize, creating the oxygen essential for the evolution of life on Earth.

Scientists Uncover the Earliest Fossil Evidence of Photosynthesis

Ancient cyanobacteria contained structures for producing oxygen around 1.75 billion years ago, according to a new study

Matabele ants will tend to the wounds of their nest-mates that have had their legs bitten off by termites.

These Ants Can Diagnose and Treat Their Comrades' Infected Wounds

Matabele ants in sub-Saharan Africa often sustain injuries while hunting termites—and their survival strategy may help humans fight infections, too

An illustration of Nanotyrannus attacking a juvenile T. rex

Decades-Long Debate on 'Teenage' Tyrannosaur Fossils Takes Another Turn

A new paper adds to evidence suggesting a group of disputed fossils, identified by many scientists as young T. rex, are actually another species

The capsule has a gelatinous coating that dissolves in stomach acid.

Engineers Design a Vibrating Pill for Weight Loss That Could Create a Feeling of Fullness

The capsule is the size of a multivitamin, and in an experiment with pigs, it appeared to reduce the animals' appetites

Volunteers repairing and refreshing the 180-foot-tall giant in 2019

This Mysterious Hillside Carving Is Actually Hercules, Researchers Say

England's 180-foot-tall Cerne Abbas Giant may have served as a landmark for gathering troops

What makes cheddar so good? A community of microorganisms working in harmony.

What Makes Cheddar Cheese Taste So Good?

After a year-long cheddar-making experiment, scientists have unraveled the microbial underpinnings of the cheese's buttery flavor

Human tears may contain an odorless chemical substance that reduces aggression, a new study finds.

Sniffing Women's Tears May Reduce Aggression in Men, Study Finds

The findings, which may extend to all humans, suggest emotional tears might serve an evolutionary purpose

Fascinating finds unveiled in 2023 ranged from a 12-sided object that may have been used for sorcery to a lost Rembrandt portrait.

117 Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2023

The year's most exciting discoveries included a stolen Vincent van Gogh painting, a hidden medieval crypt and a gold-covered mummy

Turquet’s octopus

Octopus DNA Reveals Clues to When the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Last Collapsed

Understanding the ice sheet's past could help researchers shed light on its future melting

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