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The World's Oldest Leavened Bread Is Rising Again

This is the story behind the breads you might be baking in lockdown




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Listen to Hundreds of Free Audiobooks, From Classics to Educational Texts

Audible's new service is aimed at school-age children participating in distance learning but features selections likely to appeal to all




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Explore the World Virtually With These Rare, Centuries-Old Globes

Visitors can get up close and personal with augmented reality versions of historic globes recently digitized by the British Library




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Researchers Find Two Fornicating Flies Enshrined in 41-Million-Year-Old Amber

A treasure trove of new fossils unearthed in Australia reveals some raunchily-positioned bugs




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What Experts Know About Masks and COVID-19

The CDC recommends wearing a fabric mask in public where social distancing is difficult, like at the grocery store




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As COVID-19 Reshapes the World, Cultural Institutions Collect Oral Histories

Universities, libraries and museums are among the organizations seeking personal stories about the pandemic's effects on daily life




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Hear Daily Shakespeare Sonnets Recited by Patrick Stewart

The classically trained actor is reading a sonnet a day on Instagram




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Archaeologists Discover Paintings of Goddess in 3,000-Year-Old Mummy's Coffin

Researchers lifted the ancient Egyptian mummy out of her coffin for the first time in 100 years and, to their surprise, uncovered the ancient artworks




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Quarantined Couple Builds Art Museum to Entertain Pet Gerbils

The story of two bored art lovers who found a way to "a-mouse" themselves




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The Plague Has Been Quietly Killing Yellowstone Cougars for a Decade

Researchers found that almost half of the mountain lions they tested showed signs of plague infection




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Researchers Calculated a Whale Shark’s Age Based on Cold War-Era Bomb Tests

Nuclear bomb tests caused a spike in a radioactive form of carbon that accumulated in living things




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Microbes Living in Deep Sea Rocks Spawn More Hope for Life on Mars

Starved of resources, these hardy bacteria still eke out a living, suggesting life forms could survive in the harsh habitats on other planets




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A Tiger in the Bronx Zoo Tested Positive for COVID-19

Nadia, a four-year-old Malayan tiger, is the first known animal to test positive for coronavirus in the United States




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Saturn's Auroras Could Help Explain the Weird Amounts of Heat in Its Atmosphere

The planet's temperatures spike around the latitudes where auroras show up




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Newly Discovered Portrait Depicts Woman Who May Have Inspired Jane Austen Character

Mary Pearson, who was briefly engaged to the writer's brother, may be the real-life counterpart of Lydia Bennet from "Pride and Prejudice"




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Take a Virtual Tour of Tate Modern's Andy Warhol Exhibition

The show ran for just five days before the London museum closed due to COVID-19




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The Great Barrier Reef Is Now Facing Most Widespread Bleaching Event Yet

The severity of this year's bleaching is second only to 2016, during which a third of the reef’s corals died




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These Artists Used Clay to Build Their Dream Homes in Miniature

Ceramics artist Eny Lee Parker hosted a contest that asked quarantined creators to imagine their ideal rooms




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Meet the Artist Behind Animal Crossing's Art Museum Island

The art within Shing Yin Khor's virtual world represents a sassy response to the game's built-in natural history museum




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The Show Must Go On(line): Watch Free Broadway Musicals Every Friday

Select Andrew Lloyd Webber productions will stream on YouTube for 48 hours at a time




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Why Scientists Created a 'Smart Toilet' That Recognizes Your Butt

The bidet-like suite of devices detects abnormalities in feces that could flag signs of certain cancers




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Ornately Decorated Eggs Have Been Traded Worldwide for Thousands of Years

A new analysis of ancient ostrich eggs at the British Museum underscores the interconnectedness of the ancient world




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This Sound Artist Is Asking People to Record COVID-19 Haikus

Called "Social Distancing, Haiku and You," Alan Nakagawa's project will result in a sound collage that interweaves a multitude of voices




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Watch This Giant, Eerie, String-Like Sea Creature Hunt for Food in the Indian Ocean

Researchers shared a video of this massive siphonophore, one of the longest of its kind ever recorded




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Animals Are Taking Adorable Field Trips During Quarantine

With many zoos and aquariums closed to the public, keepers let animals roam empty hallways to meet their neighbors




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Hand-Reared Monarch Butterflies Are Weaker Than Their Wild Cousins

In the wild, only about one in 20 caterpillars grows up to be a butterfly




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Take a Virtual Tour of Two Recently Excavated Homes in Pompeii

Pompeii Archaeological Park Director Massimo Osanna narrates stunning drone footage of preserved daily life in the ancient city




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Colorful Image Lights Up Microscopic Guts of 'Water Bear'

Biologist Tagide deCarvalho created this award-winning image of the tardigrade using fluorescent stains




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Hares and Chickens Were Revered as Gods—Not Food—in Ancient Britain

New research indicates that Iron Age Britons venerated brown hares and chickens long before modern Easter celebrations




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Digital Reconstructions Reveal 200-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Embryo’s Unusual Teeth

New scans suggest unhatched dinosaurs reabsorbed a set of teeth during development




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Shel Silverstein's Historic Sausalito Houseboat Is Now on Sale

The children's book author and illustrator purchased the repurposed World War II vessel in 1967




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Take a Virtual Tour of This Belgian Sourdough Library

Sourdough librarian Karl De Smedt has traveled the world to gather more than 120 jars of starters




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The Museum of Modern Art Now Offers Free Online Classes

The nine classes span contemporary art, fashion and photography




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Scientists Suggest New Origin Story for 'Oumuamua, Our Solar System’s First Interstellar Visitor

Perhaps the cigar-shaped object is a shard from a shredded planetary body, a computer simulation suggests




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Indonesian Volcano 'Anak Krakatau' Fired Lava and Ash Into the Sky Last Weekend

This eruption is the longest since 2018 when the volcano caused a deadly tsunami




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Wild Dolphins Seem to Have a Range of Personalities

From shy to bold with shades in between, dolphin personalities are surprisingly similar to ours




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Poo-Sniffing Peeps, Miss Ameripeep and More Emerge Victorious in #PeepYourScience 2020 Competition

Blending marshmallows with scientific rigor, the contest offers levity during a difficult time




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Astronomers Spy Brightest Supernova Ever Seen

A star 100-times more massive than the sun exploded with 10-times more energy than a normal-sized supernova




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Traces of Millennia-Old Milk Help Date Pottery Fragments to Neolithic London

These dairy products are no longer edible, but they're still valuable to researchers




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Berlin Artists Turn Their Balconies Into Mini Galleries

Some 50 artists around the Prenzlauer Berg district displayed works of art for passersby to enjoy




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Cook These Quarantine-Friendly World War I Recipes

An online exhibition from the National WWI Museum and Memorial features recipes detailed in 1918 cookbook




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Portrait Project Reveals the Faces Behind Health Care Workers' Protective Gear

Doctors and nurses are attaching smiling photos of themselves to the outside of their protective gear to maintain connections with patients




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Local Bookstores Offer 'Mystery Bags' of Quarantine Reading

Buyers can ask for a mix of their favorite genre or seek booksellers’ recommendations




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How To Watch April’s Lyrid Meteor Shower From Home

Though not as plentiful as the Perseids in summer, the Lyrids can serve up some serious fireballs




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Flamingos in Captivity Pick Favorite Friends Among the Flock

These cliques wear pink every day of the week




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Miniature Gecko Art Gallery Premieres on the Heels of Viral London Gerbil Museum

The creator behind the reptilian repertoire hopes many more pet museums are in the works




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Major League Baseball Players Pitch In for a Major COVID-19 Study

Major League Baseball players and team employees to participate in 10,000-person COVID-19 study




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How Flowers Marvelously Evolved Resilience

Blossoms contort and twist back into optimal pollination position after getting bumped and battered




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Ten Apple Varieties Once Thought Extinct Rediscovered in Pacific Northwest

The "lost" apples will help restore genetic, culinary diversity to a crop North America once produced in astonishing variety




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The Far Side of the Moon May Someday Have Its Own Telescope, Thanks to NASA Funding

The project hasn’t yet been greenlit, but a proposal just got major funding to explore the potential for the lunar observatory