A Rare Glimpse of a Supernova’s First Light Captured 500 Million Light Years Away

Learn more about what the first few moments of a supernova look like and the international collaboration that helped with these findings. 

A 2,500-Year-Old Etruscan Well Began With Bronze Offerings and Ended With Two Human Skeletons

Learn how two bronze statuettes, a bronze plate, and two adult skeletons found in a ritual well in Italy reveal water’s role in founding an Etruscan city.

Beavers Once Parachuted From Planes in 1948 to Relocate — Their Legacy Still Shapes the Idaho Wilderness Today

Learn how, after World War II, a test beaver named Geronimo helped Idaho launch an airborne relocation that created valuable wetland habitat.

New Fossils From Spain's Gran Dolina Cave Reveal Ancient Cannibalism and New Clues About Homo antecessor

Learn more about the newly discovered Homo antecessor fossils from Spain's Gran Dolina cave, which suggest that cannibalism involved adults as well as children.

Some People Carry a Neanderthal Growth Hormone Receptor That Is Linked to Greater Muscle Mass

Learn how small genetic differences derived from interbreeding Neanderthals may equip carriers with an advantage in muscle growth.

A 10-Million-Year 'Holding Pen' Helped Shape Ancient Mammal Life in the Americas Before a Land Bridge Opened

Discover how ancient mammals gathered in Mexico before a massive migration transformed two continents.

One of Africa's Rarest Birds Hatched 5 Chicks at Chester Zoo After Dad Stepped Up, a First in 95 Years

Learn how five chicks from Chester Zoo’s first secretarybird breeding success could help other zoos and habitat protection efforts in Africa.

Earth’s Coldest Temperature in 14 Years Recorded at Antarctica’s Concordia Station

Learn how people and instruments at one remote station endure the conditions behind a negative 119.4 degrees Fahrenheit (negative 84.1 degrees Celsius) reading.

Blood Falls in Antarctica May Harbor Ancient Microbes, Preserving Traces of a Lost Ocean

Learn about the hidden microbial ecosystem that has been living within Antarctica's Blood Falls for over one million years.

Strange Asteroid May Be the First Known With Three Lobes and Its Own Moon

Learn more about (44) Nysa, one of the brightest asteroids in the belt between Jupiter and Mars, which has its own moon and three lobes. 

Viagra May Limit Cancer’s Spread by Trapping Cholesterol Inside Cells

Learn how Viagra trapped cholesterol inside cancer cells and why statins may strengthen the effect.

A New Gene Editing Technique May Reduce Some CRISPR Risks, But Raises Ethical Concerns

Learn more about the medical treatments CRISPR could improve and the ethical concerns it raises. 

A 40-Foot-Long SpaceX Rocket Piece Is About to Slam Into the Moon — Here's What to Expect From the Impact

Learn about the SpaceX rocket piece that is going to crash into the Moon on Aug. 5, 2026, and find out what might be visible from the impact. 

The Tiny Black Dots on Your Oven Door Have Roots in Ancient Egypt

Learn about ceramic frit pattern — the dotty design that makes your household appliances safer and more efficient.

Mad Honey Once Poisoned a Roman Army — Now Some People Take It On Purpose

Learn more about mad honey, how it's made, what it was once used for, and the reasons some people still use it today. 

100-Million-Year-Old Fossil Preserves an Ichthyosaur That Ate a Pterosaur Before Becoming Food for a Giant Predator

Discover a unique fossil find from the Australian Outback detailing how a large ichthyosaur preyed on a pterosaur before it became prey itself, a first of it's kind find. 

Do Animals Smile Because They're Happy? Why a Grin in Nature Doesn't Always Mean What You Think

Experts aren't exactly sure why animals smile. Discover what we do know about animal facial expressions. 

Britain Deliberately Crashed a Train Into a Nuclear Flask at 100 MPH in 1984 — Did the Flask Survive?

More than 40 years ago, British citizens watched as a train pummeled into a flask built to hold radioactive material. Discover what this experiment proved about transporting nuclear materials by train. 

A Young Person’s 200,000-Year-Old Skull Fragment Suggests Diverse Human Populations in Ancient Spain

Learn how a skull fragment from inland Spain is adding to evidence that human evolution in Europe followed no single path.

This Freakish Fungus That Turns Ants into Zombies May Be Hiding Inside Amazon Mosses

Learn how the fungus that turns ants into zombies also overruns mosses, revealing the bizarre way that it manipulates the insects it infects.