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"Shelley" is an artificial intelligence bot who writes stories inspired by a subreddit of aspiring horror writers.
31 days of halloween

An Artificial Intelligence Bot Writes Stories of the Macabre

"Shelley" conjures tales of disembodied mouths, surprise male pregnancies, and a house full of dolls.
Natasha Frost October 30, 2017
Titanium dioxide on Earth.
mines

Found: A Planet Where It Snows Sunscreen's Active Ingredient

Only on the planet's dark side, though.
Sarah Laskow October 30, 2017
White truffles can be found in the Piedmont region of Italy.
food

Italian Truffle Prices Mushroom After a Parched October

A lot of money for a little fungus.
Natasha Frost October 27, 2017
An X-ray of Adrian Vanson’s Sir John Maitland, showing the portrait of a woman believed to be Mary, Queen of Scots.
art

A Ghostly Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots, Was Hidden for Centuries

An X-ray revealed the lost portrait.
Sarah Laskow October 27, 2017
A note from mother.
news

Found: A Schoolgirl's Autograph Book From the 1930s

After finding the book at a yard sale, Keith Maynard tracked down the original owner's family.
Sarah Laskow October 27, 2017
The cranium of the unknown victim.
disasters

This Skull May Have Belonged to the Earliest Known Tsunami Victim

Sediments tell of a disaster in Papua New Guinea 6,000 years ago.
Natasha Frost October 26, 2017
An illustration of a comet passing close to the sun.
telescopes

Found: A Comet on a Weird, Wild Swoop Around the Sun

It may be the first interstellar comet ever observed.
Sarah Laskow October 26, 2017
A bearded seal, sprawled on the runway of the Wiley Post–Will Rogers Memorial Airport.
news

Found: A Bearded Seal Lounging on an Alaskan Airport Runway

This 450-pound dude decided to take a breather at the Wiley Post–Will Rogers Memorial Airport.
Cara Giaimo October 25, 2017
science

Watch Very Old Jellyfish Glide Beneath the Arctic Ice

Life under the ice is long and slow.
Natasha Frost October 25, 2017
A scan of the world's oldest astrolabe.
shipwrecks

Found: The Oldest Astrolabe Ever Discovered

It sank with a Portuguese ship in 1503.
Sarah Laskow October 25, 2017
A pileated woodpecker, who likely resembles the one in question.
cars

A Woodpecker Has Been Attacking Car Mirrors in Snellville, Georgia

"Son of a biscuit," one victim responded.
Cara Giaimo October 25, 2017
A cross-section of an ancient tree fossil shows a much more complicated structure than the rings we know today.
science

Ancient Trees Were Bafflingly Complicated, and Scientists Don't Really Know Why

Tree rings are so much simpler.
Natasha Frost October 24, 2017
Machaeropterus eckelberryi
science

Found: A Bird That Could Be Distinguished Only by Its Song

It looked almost identical to another species.
Sarah Laskow October 24, 2017
Fourth Avenue in Anchorage, Alaska, after a magnitude-9.2 earthquake in 1964. The earthquake was caused by the Aleutian Megathrust, a subduction zone.
disasters

Simulating What Could Happen When the 'Really Big One' Hits the Pacific Northwest

When the Cascadia subduction zone slips, the effects will vary based on where and how.
Kelsey Kennedy October 23, 2017
Look out behind you!
animals

The Doctor Who Fends Off Magpie Attacks With Children's Party Favors

It's magpie swooping season in Australia, and at least one man is sick of living in fear.
Eric Grundhauser October 23, 2017
Lugworms can measure up to nine inches in length in the United Kingdom, while their American cousins are sometimes as much as 13 inches long.
science

Would You Kindly Spy on the Sex Life of the Humble Lugworm?

British researchers need more information about what gets this marine worm in the mood.
Natasha Frost October 23, 2017
One of the notes.
albert einstein

Found: Handwritten Notes With Einstein's Thoughts on a Good Life

The famous scientist gave two notes to a courier in lieu of a tip.
Sarah Laskow October 23, 2017
<em>Vitis vinifera vinifera</em>, the domesticated grape. A good idea is a good idea.
science

Scientists Look to the Grape Genome for Clues About Its Past

Domestication turned out pretty well for grapes, and for us.
Kelsey Kennedy October 20, 2017