4,000-year-old clay tablets inscribed with magical spells… and beer tabs
For over 100 years, the National Museum has housed a large collection of inscribed tablets from the earliest civilizations of the Middle East—many over 4,000 years old and written in languages that are now extinct. The tablets have led a quiet existence, but now researchers have deciphered them and discovered fascinating texts about magic, kings and good old-fashioned bureaucracy.
Can naked mole rats peacefully hand over power?
Naked mole rats keep kingdoms underground. One queen bears all the children, while others maintain complex subterranean tunnels, forage for food, take care of newborns, and perform other necessary upkeep. This society hinges on the central pillar of a singular queen. What happens when her fertility declines or is impaired?
Anarchy Pigeon is my new superhero name
“Pigeons tend to respond 'at the edge of chaos,' study finds”
https://phys.org/news/2026-04-pigeons-tend-edge-chaos.html
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Pigeons tend to respond 'at the edge of chaos,' study finds
If you were rewarded for following a particular pattern of behavior, wouldn't you keep doing it? The answer turns out to be more nuanced than you might think. In a new study, University of Iowa researchers report that pigeons rewarded with food after pecking five buttons in any order did, indeed, decrease the variety of their sequences. However, the birds kept their options open, never gravitating toward a single sequence and consistently electing to try different sequences.
How gossiping mushroom networks share your public urination secrets
Psst, have you heard that mushrooms can "gossip" and spread information to their neighbors? Underneath the umbrella-like shapes we see on the forest floor is a hidden underground network that allows mushrooms to communicate. This interconnected network we often overlook—called a mycelial network—is actually the main body of a mushroom.
How a new diet of penguins is changing puma behavior and social lives in Patagonia
Penguins in the coastal steppes of Argentina have a new enemy to worry about: the increasing numbers of pumas in Monte León National Park (MLNP). These powerful mountain cats were once on the brink of disappearing from this region due to hunting and the loss of their natural prey, but have been brought back through dedicated conservation efforts that protect their habitat.
“World's first known butt-drag fossil trace was left by a rock hyrax in South Africa 126,000 years ago”
https://phys.org/news/2025-10-world-butt-fossil-left-hyrax.html
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World's first known butt-drag fossil trace was left by a rock hyrax in South Africa 126,000 years ago
Rock hyraxes, known in southern Africa more often as "dassies," are furry, thickset creatures with short legs and no discernible tails. They spend much of their time sunning themselves on rocky outcrops.
'Ghost sharks' grow forehead teeth to help them have sex, study suggests
Male "ghost sharks"—eerie deep-sea fish known as chimaeras that are related to sharks and rays—have a strange rod jutting from their foreheads, studded with sharp, retractable teeth. New research appearing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals these are not merely lookalikes, but real rows of teeth that grow outside the mouth.
Prehistoric cow tooth supports Welsh origin of Stonehenge stones
A Neolithic cow tooth discovered at Stonehenge dating back to its construction offers new evidence of the stone circle's Welsh origins, according to a new study involving UCL researchers.
Jurassic fish choked to death on squid-like cephalopods
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