Amateur archaeologists discovered a gold coin in a field, leading to a full-fledged search that revealed 141 Roman-era gold coins from the late fourth century A.D. The coins stretch across the reign of nine emperors, each with their face depicted on the gold “solidi.” The rarest coins come from Emperor Eugenius, who had a short-lived […]
The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. In 2024, superconductivity—the flow of electric current with zero resistance—was discovered in three distinct materials. Two instances stretch the textbook understanding of the phenomenon. The third shreds it completely. “It’s an extremely unusual form of superconductivity that a lot of people would have said is […]
The 4,100-year-old tomb of a doctor who “treated the pharaoh himself” has been discovered at the site of Saqqara in Egypt. The burial belongs to a doctor named “Tetinebefou,” the Swiss-French team that made the discovery reported in a translated blog post. Although the artifacts in the tomb had been plundered, archaeologists were able to […]
A 2,100-year-old hoard of 160 coins has been discovered at an archaeological site in the Jordan Valley. The coins date to the reign of Alexander Jannaeus (circa 103 to 76 B.C.), who was both a high priest and a king of the Hasmoneans — a dynasty of Jewish kings who ruled a kingdom that encompassed […]
The newly discovered Hades’ snake moray (Uropterygius hades) is right at home in muddy river mouths. This moray eel is dark brown and appears to be an expert burrower. Unlike other moray eels that are brightly colored and live in primarily saltwater environments, Hades’ snake moray can be found in estuaries across southern Japan, Taiwan, […]
Although the bubonic plague is most often associated with its deadly impact on 14th century Europe, traces of Yersinia pestis have also been found in skeletons found in modern-day Russia dating as far back as 5,000 years ago. Thanks to recent analysis, however, researchers believe they have confirmed the first known plague case outside Eurasia: […]
A rainfrog, an amphibious mouse, and a “blob-headed” fish are only some of the 27 new species discovered deep Peru’s Amazon rainforest. During a survey in 2022, a team from Conservation International recorded 2,046 total species living in this lush and heavily forested landscape, many of whom are endangered. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, […]
Scientists have discovered that an “alien plant” first found near a Utah ghost town 55 years ago doesn’t appear to be related to any currently living family or genus. Paleontologists first found fossilized leaf specimens of the plant in 1969 and named it Othniophyton elongatumwhich translates to “alien plant.” At the time, they believed the […]
A building renovation in the Netherlands has led to a bone-chilling discovery: a centuries-old tile floor that’s partly filled with sawed-off bones. The bones aren’t human, though — they’re from dozens of cows. The discovery, which has puzzled archaeologists, was made in Alkmaar, a municipality in the Netherlands known for its traditional cheese market. Archaeologists […]
Credit: Salk Institute Joanne Chory was a pioneering biologist and geneticist whose work transformed modern molecular plant biology. Her early discoveries on how plants sense and respond to light, and how they regulate growth through steroid hormones, reshaped our understanding of plant development. Her vision for using plants to mitigate global warming through carbon sequestration […]
