Scientists drilling deep into an iceberg off Greenland have discovered a fish with glowing green antifreeze coursing through its veins. The juvenile variegated snailfish (Liparis gibbus) contained the “highest expression levels” of antifreeze proteins ever reported, a new study found. Similar to how antifreeze helps to regulate the temperature of a car’s engine in extreme […]
The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient shoebox-sized device that is sometimes called the world’s oldest computer for its ability to perform astronomical calculations. Discovered by sponge divers off the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901, the remains of the mechanism are now preserved in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Only 82 fragments, consisting of […]
Fossils of a small, prickly dinosaur recently discovered in South America may represent an entire lineage of armored dinosaurs previously unknown to science. The newly discovered species, Jakapil kaniukura, looks like a primitive relative of armored dinosaurs like Ankylosaurus or Stegosaurus, but it came from the Cretaceous, the last era of the dinosaurs, and lived […]
Scientists sent underwater robots into the depths of the Pacific, about 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) beneath the surface, and discovered something unexpected: a football field-size expanse of towering hydrothermal vents that cropped up in an area these underwater chimneys haven’t typically been seen. The vents, shaped like candelabras, stand roughly 35 to 40 feet (10 […]
Archaeologists in Mexico have uncovered two Olmec reliefs chiseled into large, circular stones that are thought to depict local rulers performing ritual contortion. The twin pieces were found in Tenosique, a town located in the state of Tabasco, near Mexico’s southern tip, and are believed to feature rulers from the ancient Olmec civilization, whose name […]
Two of the ghost footprints uncovered in Utah’s Great Salt Lake Desert. (Image credit: U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradhsaw) (opens in new tab) Archaeologists recently stumbled upon a set of mysterious “ghost footprints” in the salt flats of a Utah desert. These unusual ancient tracks get their eerie name not because they […]
The remains of a once resplendent palace built for Hulagu Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan, may have been discovered in Van Province in eastern Turkey, a team of archaeologists suggests. However, researchers not associated with the research urged caution, saying that more information is needed before the structure can be tied to the Khan […]
Nestled in a valley shadowed by mountains in Iraqi Kurdistan sits an ancient fortress that archeologists think may be the lost, royal city of Natounia, based on the discovery of intricately carved rock reliefs depicting an ancient leader, a new study finds. The stronghold, known as Rabana-Merquly, was once part of the Parthian Empire (also […]
Conservators at the National Galleries of Scotland recently experienced quite a surprise after they X-rayed a painting by Vincent van Gogh. Hidden on the reverse side of the painting “Head of a Peasant Woman (opens in new tab),” which Van Gogh completed in 1885, was a previously unknown self-portrait of the Dutch painter staring back […]
A cache of gold coins found buried on farmland in the United Kingdom has caught the attention of coin experts, who have linked the treasure trove to the Roman Empire. So far, metal detectorists have discovered 11 coins on a remote stretch of cultivated field located in Norfolk, a rural county near England’s eastern coast, […]
