A passage from Homer’s Iliad has been discovered inside the abdomen of a Roman-era Egyptian mummy
A snippet of text from Homer’s famous epic recounting the siege of Troy was apparently placed inside this body as part of the mummification process
A volcanic mystery reveals that rising magma has a stealth mode
In 2022 a swarm of earthquakes in the Azores suggested that an eruption was imminent, but none happened. Now we know why, and it means magma can be sneakier than we knew
How did humans evolve language? It may be far more ancient than scientists realized
A new study links genetic regions that predate the divergence of modern humans and Neanderthals to language
Half of New York City’s population is at risk of ‘extreme’ flood damage
While New York City leads in terms of the absolute number of people threatened by flood, more than 98 percent of New Orleans’ population is at risk, according to a new study
RFK, Jr., set to overhaul key committee that issues disease screening recommendations
Lawmakers grilled Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., on cuts and changes to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which focuses on preventive health screening
NASA’s Roman Space Telescope will begin its revolutionary mission in September
Ahead of schedule and under budget, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will launch in early September. The mission aims to map the universe in unprecedented detail
The solar system’s first solids formed in a rush
Rather than slowly condensing over millions of years, the first building blocks of Earth and other planets may have formed rapidly in a chaotic disk at the dawn of the solar system
A smoking ban for people born after 2008 may be on the cusp of becoming law in the U.K. Here’s what to know
This ban applies to various tobacco products and also seeks to beef up existing laws that restrict the sale and marketing of vapes to children
Plants can ‘hear’ rain coming, spurring them into action
Even before water reaches them, the sound of droplets triggers germination in rice plants
A robot ran a half marathon faster than a human. Here’s why folding laundry is still harder
A premapped course, a crew of handlers and a world-beating time: here’s what this Beijing half marathon reveals about how far humanoid robots have come—and how far they haven’t
Earth Day in the Artemis era: Can NASA’s moon missions spur a new environmental movement?
Fresh takes on Apollo’s famous “Earthrise” and “Blue Marble” images showed off our planet’s beauty just weeks before Earth Day
Whatever happened to the ozone hole, acid rain and DDT?
The environmental crises of the past often seem to disappear—have problems like acid rain and smog been solved?