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Human skull fragments found in massive boneyard in hyenas' lava tube caveIn the Umm Jirsan lava tube, the longest such structure in Saudi Arabia, scientists discovered piles bones belonging to animals that hyenas devoured there for thousands of years.
middle-east -
'Mad Max'-like dust storm envelops Brazilian city in cloud of doomUnusually hot and dry conditions fueled a dust cloud and birthed a rare sandstorm of massive proportions.
weather -
Cicadas: Facts about the loud, seasonal insectsCicadas are winged insects that are known for their cyclical lifespans and loud choral songs.
insects -
Dead humpback whale that beached in New York had human-caused injuriesA whale that was found belly-up on a New York beach likely died of injuries caused by interactions with people.
whales -
3 Egyptian mummy faces revealed in stunning reconstructionUsing genetic data, a forensic artist rebuilt the faces of three ancient Egyptian mummies, revealing each individual's likely appearance as a 25-year-old.
ancient-egyptians -
'Grandma' killer whale missing from pod, feared deadOne of the Southern Resident orcas, a 47-year-old female known as L47, hasn't been seen by census takers since February.
orcas -
Giant pyramid built by the Maya was made from rock spewed by a volcanoMaya people who had fled their cities after a volcano erupted returned and built an enormous pyramid from the volcanic debris.
volcanoes -
Underwater views of Antarctic jellies are 'a magic portal to another world'The short film "Life Beneath the Ice" features delicate, illuminated marine creatures living under the sea ice in Antarctica.
antarctica -
Soggy rodents tangle their tails in one big knot in horrifying 'rat king' videoA farmer in Russia's Stavropol region found the waterlogged "king." Specimens of rat kings are preserved in the collections of some natural history museums.
land-mammals -
Baby elephants frolicked in an ancient 'nursery,' fossil footprints showOver 100,000 years ago, extinct relatives of modern elephants lived in matriarchal groups, according to preserved trackways in southwestern Spain.
extinct-species -
Kids discover giant penguin’s fossil skeleton in New ZealandA newly described extinct giant penguin from New Zealand has unusually long legs and a long, slender beak, and it dates to a time when much of the region was underwater.
extinct-species -
Read an excerpt from 'Pump: A Natural History of the Heart'For millennia, the function and importance of this singular organ has fascinated physicians, philosophers and artists around the world.
health -
Why do primates carry around dead infants?In a new analysis, researchers compared hundreds of such cases across primate species.
primates -
If you 'heart' trivia about the heart, enter to win a copy of 'Pump'Our quest to understand how the heart works — in ourselves and in other animals — has inspired philosophers and artists as well as doctors and researchers.
health -
Tick transforms into a glowing alien from a sci-fi nightmare in trippy photoOutstanding examples of stunning microscopy were recently honored in the Nikon Small World contest.
planet-earth -
Milkweed butterflies tear open caterpillars and drink them aliveThese ghastly meals provide male butterflies with chemicals that they use to produce mating pheromones, which female butterflies find irresistible.
insects -
An 18-foot-long sea monster ruled the ancient ocean that once covered KansasA newly described species of mosasaur, an extinct marine reptile, swam through Cretaceous seas 80 million years ago and had a slender snout like a crocodile's.
dinosaurs -
Stunning colorized footage provides a glimpse of the last known Tasmanian tigerThylacines, once widespread in Australia, have been extinct for nearly a century, but newly colorized footage provides a glimpse of what they looked like in life.
cats -
Helmet-headed Cambrian sea monster sucked up prey like a RoombaAn ocean creature that lived around 500 million years ago was the largest predator on the sea bottom.
animals -
Why is the color blue so rare in nature?Of all the colors we can see in nature, blue is one of the rarest.
planet-earth -
Who will buy 'Big John,' the biggest triceratops ever found?The largest triceratops in the world, scheduled to be auctioned on Oct. 21, will be on display to the public in Paris beginning Sept. 16.
dinosaurs -
Artistic giant Michelangelo was actually quite shortA new analysis of shoes that may have belonged to the Renaissance artist Michelangelo revealed his small stature.
arts-entertainment -
Why tiny tardigrades walk like insects 500,000 times their sizeMicroscopic and near-indestructible tardigrades walk as insects do, scientists recently discovered.
animals -
49 million-year-old beetle looks like it was squashed yesterdayMeet "Attenborough's Beauty," an ancient beetle that was so exceptionally well-preserved you can still see the colorful patterns on its wing case.
insects
