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A lava cricket at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
volcanoes

A Peek Inside the Extremely Metal Life of Lava Crickets

The volcanic bugs survive on dead plants, sea foam, and a dangerous sex life.
Sabrina Imbler March 22, 2019
The building.
Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm Observatory

When this 18th-century observatory's meridian was moved, it set Sweden's time back by 0.04 seconds.
Excavation of the slave quarters at Belvoir.
science

How DNA From a 200-Year-Old Pipe Connects Maryland and Sierra Leone

Genetics has many stories to tell about enslaved people.
Evan Nicole Brown March 19, 2019
Fresh wasabi, nature's own fire ant fighter.
science

Scientists Are Fighting Fire (Ants) With Wasabi

What’s good for the sushi is not good for the Solenopsis invicta.
Rohini Chaki March 19, 2019
The oldest mariner's astrolabe ever found, decorated with the Portuguese coat of arms.
world record

It's Official, This Is the Oldest Known Mariner's Astrolabe in the World

More than 500 years old, it was found with the oldest ship's bell.
Matthew Taub March 18, 2019
The facade of the house.
Stockholm, Sweden

Last Home of Descartes

A plaque marks the house in Stockholm where the French philosopher René Descartes lived up until his death.
The Klonglan waterfall in Thailand.
science

Waterfalls Can Just Spontaneously Happen

A new study suggests that creating these natural wonders doesn't require external forces.
Jonathan Carey March 15, 2019
A puma, with prey, caught in a camera trap.
forests

How Puma Leftovers Help Shape the Forest Ecosystem

They feed loads and loads of beetles, in addition to foxes, bears, and more.
Noor Al-Samarrai March 13, 2019
Stonehenge: then and now, a major attraction.
science

Pig Remains Show How Far Prehistoric People Traveled to Visit Stonehenge

Epic Neolithic feasts drew crowds from opposite ends of Britain.
Matthew Taub March 13, 2019
Tübingen, Germany

Tübingen University Paleontological Collection

One of the world's oldest fossil exhibits is on display in a beautiful antique "naturalienkabinett."
Stockholm, Sweden

Berzelius Park

This statue and park honor the Swedish chemist Jacob Berzelius, one of the founders of modern chemistry.
Millions of monarchs descend on the El Rosario butterfly preserve each year.
science

The Tiny Sticker That Traveled More Than a Thousand Miles on the Wing of a Butterfly

Tracking these insects takes a little adhesive and a lot of luck.
Jessica Leigh Hester March 7, 2019
A grape meets a hydrogel bead, and sparks fly.
science

These Physicists Finally Figured Out Why Microwaved Grapes Ignite

They're raisin hell.
Anne Ewbank February 20, 2019
If humans go extinct, mushrooms may rule the world.
disasters

This Engineer Is Preparing to Feed a World Without Sunlight

How do you feed eight billion people during a nuclear winter?
Reina Gattuso February 19, 2019
The rolled up message read "BREAK" on one side, and "BOTTLE" on the other.
science

Found: A 50-Year-Old Scientific Message, Stuffed in a Bottle

Thousands were cast into the waves in the 1960s, and one turned up in Texas decades later.
Jessica Leigh Hester February 18, 2019
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Museum
Warsaw, Poland

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Museum

This biographical museum honors the groundbreaking scientist at her birthplace in Warsaw.
Polotsk, Belarus

Geographic Center of Europe

A monument in the Belarusian city of Polotsk claims to mark the exact midpoint of the European continent.
Silver Spring, Maryland

'Coastline' Wave Pool

Live data is transmitted from the Atlantic coast to instantly recreate the ocean waves in this fountain at the NOAA headquarters.