Mars Rover Spots Complex Carbon on the Red Planet, Marking Yet Another Detection of a Building Block of Life Along with other recent discoveries, the new finding from Perseverance boosts the case that Mars once hosted conditions that could support living things—but it isn’t a definitive sign of ancient organisms…

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Mars Rover Spots Complex Carbon on the Red Planet, Marking Yet Another Detection of a Building Block of Life

Along with other recent discoveries, the new finding from Perseverance boosts the case that Mars once hosted conditions that could support living t...

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These Male Fruit Flies Have Sperm That Are Nearly as Long as Their Bodies. Here's How the Cells Don't Become a Tangled Mess Males of the species Drosophila melanogaster pack thousands of almost two-millimeter-long sperm cells into significantly smaller storage organs. A new study reveals how they move in an orderly manner…

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These Male Fruit Flies Have Sperm That Are Nearly as Long as Their Bodies. Here's How the Cells Don't Become a Tangled Mess

Males of the species Drosophila melanogaster pack thousands of almost two-millimeter-long sperm cells into significantly smaller storage organs. A ...

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This Ancient Monolith That Archaeologists Unearthed in Mexico May Depict People Receiving ‘Divine Liquid’ in a Ritual The stela was found with a large, decorated platform and remnants of offerings in the state of Veracruz…

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This Ancient Monolith That Archaeologists Unearthed in Mexico May Depict People Receiving ‘Divine Liquid’ in a Ritual

The stela was found with a large, decorated platform and remnants of offerings in the state of Veracruz

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As France Prepares to Light Up the Statue of Liberty for America's 250th, Peek Into the History of the Symbol of Trans-Atlantic Friendship Here’s how three French idealists—an abolitionist, a sculptor and the engineer behind the Eiffel Tower—brought the representation of freedom to life…

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As France Prepares to Light Up the Statue of Liberty for America's 250th, Peek Into the History of the Symbol of Trans-Atlantic Friendship

Here’s how three French idealists—an abolitionist, a sculptor and the engineer behind the Eiffel Tower—brought the representation of freedom ...

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After Decades of Debate, Scientists Say These Fossils Belong to the Largest Known Scorpion, Which Lived 415 Million Years Ago Researchers have wondered whether Praearcturus gigas was a giant crustacean called an isopod or some other creature. A new analysis of museum specimens suggests that it was a scorpion that stretched more than three feet long…

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After Decades of Debate, Scientists Say These Fossils Belong to the Largest Known Scorpion, Which Lived 415 Million Years Ago

Researchers have wondered whether Praearcturus gigas was a giant crustacean called an isopod or some other creature. A new analysis of museum speci...

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Earth Might Be Home to 20 Million Insect Species—More Than Three Times as Many as Previously Thought, a Study Suggests Recent estimates have come to the consensus that our planet hosts roughly six million species. But new research reveals that those counts may be drastically underestimated…

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Earth Might Be Home to 20 Million Insect Species—More Than Three Times as Many as Previously Thought, a Study Suggests

Recent estimates have come to the consensus that our planet hosts roughly six million species. But new research reveals that those counts may be dr...

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An Archival Discovery Became a Treasure Map Leading a Diver to a 17th-Century Shipwreck Carrying Coins and Gold Jewelry See artifacts recovered thanks to a clue about the last resting place of a lost captain from an East India Company ship that went down near the Isles of Scilly…

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An Archival Discovery Became a Treasure Map Leading a Diver to a 17th-Century Shipwreck Carrying Coins and Gold Jewelry

See artifacts recovered thanks to a clue about the last resting place of a lost captain from an East India Company ship that went down near the Isl...

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The Oldest Black Church in the U.S., the Wright Brothers' Home and a New York Hospital Are Among the American Heritage Sites in Urgent Need of Preservation For its “Irreplaceable America” list in honor of the 250th birthday of the U.S., the World Monuments Fund chose endangered historic sites of innovation, creativity and spirituality to publicize and support…

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The Oldest Black Church in the U.S., the Wright Brothers' Home and a New York Hospital Are Among the American Heritage Sites in Urgent Need of Preservation

For its “Irreplaceable America” list in honor of the 250th birthday of the United States, the World Monuments Fund chose endangered historic si...

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Puzzled by Mark Rothko's Captivating Color Field Paintings? Look to the Renaissance Masters Who Inspired Him During trips to Europe, the American painter developed a fascination with how 15th- and 16th-century artists and architects had designed their work to evoke specific feelings…

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Puzzled by Mark Rothko's Captivating Color Field Paintings? Look to the Renaissance Masters Who Inspired Him

During trips to Europe, the American painter developed a fascination with how 15th- and 16th-century artists and architects had designed their work...

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3D Printing Gives New Life to an Ancient Game Board Discovered at a Roman Fort Near Hadrian's Wall in England Soldiers and civilians alike enjoyed strategy game Ludus Latrunculorum in the Roman Empire, especially in Roman Britain…

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3D Printing Gives New Life to an Ancient Game Board Discovered at a Roman Fort Near Hadrian's Wall in England

Soldiers and civilians alike enjoyed the strategy game Ludus Latrunculorum in the Roman Empire, especially in Roman Britain

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Scientists Say They've Made Cells That Feed, Grow and Reproduce, Bringing Them One Step Closer to Building Life From Scratch The human-made cells show many hallmarks of life, but they can't make all their necessary internal structures or divide for that many generations…

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Scientists Say They've Made Cells That Feed, Grow and Reproduce, Bringing Them One Step Closer to Building Life From Scratch

The human-made cells show many hallmarks of life, but they can't make all their necessary internal structures or divide for very many generations

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An A.I.-Generated Alexander Hamilton Chats About Economics at the Museum of American Finance, Opening This Weekend in Boston The museum, which started in New York and hasn't had a permanent exhibition space in several years, depicts the history and influence of U.S. financial institutions…

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An A.I.-Generated Alexander Hamilton Chats About Economics at the Museum of American Finance, Opening This Weekend in Boston

The museum, which started in New York and hasn't had a permanent exhibition space in several years, depicts the history and influence of U.S. finan...

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Vintage ‘READ’ Posters Adorning Libraries and Classrooms for Decades Go on Auction as the American Library Association Turns 150 Taylor Swift, Serena Williams and famous fictional characters lent their iconic faces to encourage people to pick up a book…

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Vintage ‘READ’ Posters Adorning Libraries and Classrooms for Decades Go on Auction as the American Library Association Turns 150

Taylor Swift, Serena Williams and famous fictional characters lent their iconic faces to encourage people to pick up a book

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'The Greatest Cosmic Movie Ever Made': The World's Largest Digital Camera Begins a Historic, Decade-Long Survey of the Night Sky After a year of testing, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile has started capturing data as part of the much-anticipated Legacy Survey of Space and Time…

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'The Greatest Cosmic Movie Ever Made': The World's Largest Digital Camera Begins a Historic, Decade-Long Survey of the Night Sky

After a year of testing, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile has started capturing data as part of the much-anticipated Legacy Survey of Space a...

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Alexander Hamilton's First National Bank Revolutionized the U.S. Economy. After Sitting Shuttered for Years, the Philadelphia Landmark Reopened as a Museum A controversial idea right after the American Revolution, the First Bank of the United States proved prescient. Visitors can now check out its historic home after a $43 million makeover…

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Alexander Hamilton's First National Bank Revolutionized the U.S. Economy. After Sitting Shuttered for Years, the Philadelphia Landmark Reopened as a Museum

A controversial idea right after the American Revolution, the First Bank of the United States proved prescient. Visitors can now check out its hist...

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Why Did Neanderthals Go Extinct? Inbreeding Probably Wasn't to Blame for Their Demise in Northwestern Europe, a Study Suggests In contrast to those who resided in Siberia, Neanderthals who lived in what's now Belgium and France shortly before the species vanished seem to have been genetically diverse and healthy…

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Why Did Neanderthals Go Extinct? Inbreeding Probably Wasn't to Blame for Their Demise in Northwestern Europe, a Study Suggests

In contrast to those who resided in Siberia, Neanderthals who lived in what's now Belgium and France shortly before the species vanished seem to ha...

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As the Ocean Warms, a 'Cold Blob' in the Atlantic Has Puzzled Scientists. It Might Be a Warning Sign About a Key Current System A patch of water south of Greenland and Iceland has cooled by nearly 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since 1900. A new study suggests that it shows a crucial system of ocean currents is weakening, which could alter Earth's climate…

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As the Ocean Warms, a 'Cold Blob' in the Atlantic Has Puzzled Scientists. It Might Be a Warning Sign About a Key Current System

A patch of water south of Greenland and Iceland has cooled by nearly 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since 1900. A new study suggests that it shows a crucia...

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Sold for Just £5,588, This Amber Pendant Turned Out to Be a Rare Tudor-Era Portrait of Elizabeth I. Now, It's Going on Auction for £100,000 A master craftsman carved the likeness around 1600, possibly as a commission from the English monarch herself. A parrot on the back of the heart-shaped object symbolizes Elizabeth's status as a "virgin queen"…

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Sold for Just £5,588, This Amber Pendant Turned Out to Be a Rare Tudor-Era Portrait of Elizabeth I. Now, It's Going on Auction for £100,000

A master craftsman carved the likeness around 1600, possibly as a commission from the English monarch herself. A parrot on the back of the heart-sh...

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Two sloth bear cubs born at the National Zoo — the first there in more than a decade.

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Meet the National Zoo’s Adorable 1-Month-Old Sloth Bear Cubs—the First Born There in More Than a Decade

The cubs will spend the next few months with their mother before debuting to the public

See Visions of the Past and Future in This New York City Exhibition on the Renaissance Roots of Tarot Cards The Morgan Library & Museum traces the history of beautifully illustrated tarot cards from their origins as a card game to modern occult fascination…

Smithsonian Magazine

See Visions of the Past and Future in This New York City Exhibition on the Renaissance Roots of Tarot Cards

The Morgan Library & Museum traces the history of beautifully illustrated tarot cards from their origins as a card game to modern occult fascination

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