Dec 23rd, 2025 - Until around the middle of the third century BC, Celtic people mostly carried out their everyday transactions using a barter or payment-in-kind system. They exchanged items like grains, textiles, metalware, salt, small properties, gold rings, iron bars, bell-shaped tokens, or animals for buying food and essentials. But then, something shifted. The Celtic warriors who ventured out into Greece to fight battles found something that dramatically reconstructed the Celtic economy. These warriors would come back home bringing the idea of money with the wages they were paid for fighting in Greece. ... [Read More]

Dec 22nd, 2025 - Ancient Romans in Britain were riddled with intestinal parasites that spread through human feces. A new analysis of the sewer system at Vindolanda, a Roman fort near Hadrian's Wall, found that residents in ancient times were infected with at least three gut parasites—roundworm, whipworm and Giardia duodenalis . Roundworms and whipworms both live in the intestine and cause various ailments, including abdominal pain, nausea, fever and diarrhea. Roundworms can grow as long as 30 centimeters, while whipworms tend to be smaller. People can get infected by ingesting food or drink ... [Read More]

Dec 22nd, 2025 - Excavations reveal the microscopic enemies plaguing Roman soldiers at Hadrian's Wall. History loves to romanticize the Romans. We see them as the "good" empire — organized, clean, and civilized. They brought us aqueducts, heated floors, and sanitation. But if you zoom in on their nasty business, a different reality squirms into view. Quite literally. Researchers recently did exactly that. They zoomed in on Roman poop and found a trio of intestinal miseries: roundworm, whipworm, and Giardia duodenalis . At the Roman fort of Vindolanda , just south of Hadrian's Wall, the Romans fought ... [Read More]

Dec 22nd, 2025 - Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... SeaWorld Orlando officials announced the death Sunday of a 50-year-old killer whale named Katina. "Her health had begun to significantly decline as she entered her geriatric years," the theme park posted on its social media. "Over the last several weeks, our animal care and medical teams have worked around the clock to closely monitor her declining health and as her condition worsened, the decision was made to prioritize her comfort and welfare." The post stated Katina was known for a habit of sticking her tongue out and enjoyed the "speed swim" ... [Read More]

Dec 22nd, 2025 - On a beach in Patagonia, 40,000 pairs of Magellanic penguins have been running their annual breeding operation like they own the place. Then the pumas came back, looked around, and treated it like a seasonal pop-up buffet. tracking pumas in Argentina's Monte León National Park suggests this penguin-heavy diet is doing something else, too. It's making one of the most famously solitary big cats tolerate each other way more than expected, at least near the colony. This all comes with a backstory. Ranchers pushed pumas out of parts of Patagonia in the 20th century. Monte León ... [Read More]

Dec 22nd, 2025 - An analysis of the expansion of cracks in the Thwaites Glacier over the past 20 years suggests that a total collapse could be only a matter of time. Known as the "Doomsday Glacier," the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is one of the most rapidly changing glaciers on Earth, and its future evolution is one of the biggest unknowns when it comes to predicting global sea level rise. The eastern ice shelf of the Thwaites Glacier is supported at its northern end by a ridge of the ocean floor. However, over the past two decades, cracks in the upper reaches of the glacier have increased rapidly, ... [Read More]

Dec 22nd, 2025 - A wildlife charity has declared 2025 "the Year of the Blooming Octopus" after record numbers were spotted off the south-west coast of England. In its annual marine review the Wildlife Trusts says octopus numbers were this summer at their highest level since 1950. Warmer winters, which are linked to climate change, are thought to be responsible for the population spike, which is known as a "bloom". The charity's findings are backed up by official figures which show that more than 1,200 tonnes of octopus was caught by fishermen in UK waters in the summer of 2025. It's a dramatic increase on ... [Read More]

Dec 22nd, 2025 - Supermassive black holes are an anomaly that sits quietly at the centers of galaxies, holding gas and stars closer with their powerful gravity. But now scientists have discovered a mind-boggling phenomenon: a supermassive black hole skyrocketing through space. According to a new study , NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) captured the runway black hole that measures about 10 million times larger than the sun and moving at a speed of 2.2 million miles per hour. The supermassive black hole pulled away from its galaxy, and is now headed on a potentially endless journey through space. ... [Read More]