Magpie News Collector

animal

Huge relatives of white sharks lived earlier than thought

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 12/8/2025 3:00 PM

Lamniform sharks such as great whites and tiger sharks are famous for their size. The first such giants evolved 15 million years earlier than thought. ... Read full Story

animal

How male seahorses tap into their mothering side

By Science News | Elizabeth Pennisi | 12/5/2025 9:00 AM

By studying the genes responsible for the seahorse’s brood pouch, researchers uncovered a new route to “motherhood.” ... Read full Story

animal

Ancient DNA reveals China’s first ‘pet’ cat wasn’t the house cat

By Science News | Bethany Brookshire | 12/3/2025 1:00 PM

The modern house cat reached China in the 8th century. Before that, another cat — the leopard cat — hunted the rodents in ancient Chinese settlements. ... Read full Story

animal

Cuddly koalas had a brutal, blade-toothed close cousin

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 11/25/2025 12:00 PM

Ancient collagen preserved in the bones of extinct Australian mammals is revealing their evolutionary relationships, leading to some surprises. ... Read full Story

animal

Rats are snatching bats out of the air and eating them

By Science News | Gennaro Tomma | 11/24/2025 11:00 AM

The grisly infrared camera footage records a never-before-seen hunting tactic. It may have implications for bat conservation. ... Read full Story

animal

Here’s how Rudolph’s light-up nose might be possible

By Science News | Maria Temming | 11/21/2025 8:00 AM

Simple chemistry could give the reindeer his famously bright snout. But physics would make it look different colors from the ground. ... Read full Story

animal

Lions have a second roar that no one noticed until now

By Science News | Elie Dolgin | 11/20/2025 7:01 PM

A machine learning analysis of wild lion audio reveals they have two roar types, not one. This insight might help detect where lions are declining. ... Read full Story

animal

A wolf raided a crab trap. Was it tool use or just canine cunning?

By Science News | Elie Dolgin | 11/17/2025 12:00 PM

Video from the Haíɫzaqv Nation Indigenous community shows a wolf hauling a crab trap ashore. Scientists are split on whether it counts as tool use. ... Read full Story

animal

This parasitic ant tricks workers into committing matricide

By Science News | Erin Garcia de Jesús | 11/17/2025 11:00 AM

Newly mated parasitic queen ants invade colonies and spray their victims with a chemical irritant that provokes the workers to kill their mother. ... Read full Story

animal

40,000-year-old woolly mammoth RNA offers a peek into its last moments

By Science News | Meghan Rosen | 11/14/2025 11:00 AM

Ancient RNA from Yuka, a 40,000-year-old woolly mammoth preserved in permafrost, can offer new biological insights into the Ice Age animal’s life. ... Read full Story

animal

Deep-sea mining might feed plankton a diet of junk food

By Science News | Carolyn Gramling | 11/13/2025 11:00 AM

An analysis of mining plumes in the Pacific Ocean reveals they kick up particles sized similarly to the more nutritious tidbits that plankton eat. ... Read full Story

animal

AI eavesdropped on whale chatter. It may have helped find something new

By Science News | Kathryn Hulick | 11/12/2025 11:00 AM

Some “clicks” made by sperm whales may actually be “clacks,” but marine biologists debate what, if anything, that means. ... Read full Story

animal

This fly’s flesh-eating maggot is making a comeback. Here’s what to know

By Science News | Carly Kay | 11/12/2025 10:00 AM

After a decades-long hiatus, new world screwworm populations have surged in Central America and Mexico — and are inching northward. ... Read full Story

animal

Woodpecker hammering is a full-body affair

By Science News | Anna Gibbs | 11/6/2025 11:00 PM

The birds grunt like tennis pros when generating their rat-a-tat, a performance strategy that may help stabilize core muscles. ... Read full Story

animal

Mosquitoes infiltrated Iceland. Will they survive the winter?

By Science News | Erin Garcia de Jesús | 11/3/2025 6:31 PM

Mosquitoes have reached Iceland, a place once thought too harsh for them to survive. Climate change may play a role in this shift. ... Read full Story

animal

Deep Antarctic waters hold geometric communities of fish nests

By Science News | Carly Kay | 10/29/2025 4:00 AM

Scientists found thousands of patterned fish nests in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea, boosting calls for marine protected areas. ... Read full Story

animal

Polar bears provide millions of kilograms of food for other Arctic species

By Science News | Gennaro Tomma | 10/28/2025 9:00 AM

A new study shows how much food polar bears leave behind — and how their decline threatens scavengers across the Arctic. ... Read full Story

animal

Subway mosquitoes evolved millennia ago in ancient Mediterranean cities

By Science News | Jake Buehler | 10/23/2025 6:00 PM

A variety of subway-dwelling mosquito seems like a modern artifact. But genomic analysis reveals the insect got its evolutionary start millennia ago. ... Read full Story

animal

Which venomous snakes strike the fastest?

By Science News | Erin Garcia de Jesús | 10/23/2025 2:43 PM

Vipers have the fastest strikes, but snakes from other families can give some slower vipers stiff competition. ... Read full Story

animal

Scientists and fishers have teamed up to find a way to save manta rays

By Science News | Melissa Hobson | 10/22/2025 1:00 PM

Thousands of at-risk manta and devil rays become accidental bycatch in tuna fishing nets every year. A simple sorting grid could help save them. ... Read full Story

basketball

What's next for Cavaliers? No one is safe after going all in, so what does that mean for LeBron James?

by CBS Interactive Inc | May 26 2026

book

The Lesbian Bar Chronicles

by BookPage | May 26 2026

entertainment

Gianna Corvino of The NY Archive Thinks Getting Dressed 'Should Feel Like Making a Sandwich'

by ET Online | May 19 2026

fashion

Best dressed Knicks! Die-hard fans bring stylish heat to playoff games against Cavaliers

by NY Post | May 25 2026

knowledge

13 Horse Racing Facts Even Die-Hard Fans Might Not Know

by Reader's Digest | May 22 2026

lifestyle

Ivanka Trump showcases her incredible body in sun-soaked bikini photos from brother's ultra-private wedding

by Hello! Magazine | May 26 2026

nation

Body of missing Ky. college student Alexis Foust found after search

by upi.com | May 25 2026

new_jersey

Sea-level rise, sunny-day flooding — and Shore building boom

by NJ Spotlight | May 25 2026

opinion

Vatican tech flop: Pope Leo’s AI crusade needs Trump — not the UN

by New York Post | May 25 2026

politics

John Bolton: US, Iran peace talks are ‘a mistake’

by The Hill | May 25 2026

retirement

Trump signs order aiming to help expand access to retirement accounts

by Fox News | Apr 30 2026

shopping

This Ultra-Affordable, 1960s-inspired Chronograph Gets Even More Tempting

by Gear Patrol | May 25 2026

soccer

McTominay backs 'great man' Clarke for Scotland stay

by Yahoo Sports | May 26 2026

travel

Best value city break destinations rated and revealed

by The Travel Magazine | May 26 2026

upstate

How Memorial Day weekend was treating travelers at the airport

by NEWS10 ABC | May 25 2026

Word of the Day

Gordian knot

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 26, 2026 is:

Gordian knot • \GOR-dee-un-NAHT\ • noun

Gordian knot refers to a complicated and difficult problem. It is often used in the phrase cut the Gordian knot, which means “to solve a difficult problem in a very direct way by doing something forceful or extreme.”

// The organization’s change in leadership is being widely applauded as a step toward stability, but many are less than optimistic about the new director’s ability to cut the Gordian knot at the center of its troubles.

See the entry >

Examples:

“Meanwhile, officials are having high-level conversations about the long-term effectiveness of Michigan’s aging dam infrastructure and the growing need for effective flood mitigation measures. Whitmer noted a Gordian knot of complexity around the state’s dams, many of which are operated through murky public-private arrangements.” — Byron McCauley, The Holland (Michigan) Sentinel, 23 Apr. 2026

Did you know?

According to legend, when the peasant Gordius became king of Gordium, capital of the ancient district of Phrygia (in what is now modern Türkiye), he fastened the yoke of his wagon to a beam with a very complex knot. Centuries later, when Alexander the Great arrived on the scene, he was told that he couldn’t conquer and rule Asia unless he proved himself worthy by untying the knot. Alexander quickly solved his problem—and gained a new kingdom—by slicing the knot in half with his sword. Since then, Gordian knot has been a term for a difficult problem, and the phrase “cut the Gordian knot” has been a way to describe a direct and forceful solution to an apparently insurmountable difficulty.

Huge relatives of white sharks lived earlier than thought

How male seahorses tap into their mothering side

Ancient DNA reveals China’s first ‘pet’ cat wasn’t the house cat

Cuddly koalas had a brutal, blade-toothed close cousin

Rats are snatching bats out of the air and eating them

Here’s how Rudolph’s light-up nose might be possible

Lions have a second roar that no one noticed until now

A wolf raided a crab trap. Was it tool use or just canine cunning?

This parasitic ant tricks workers into committing matricide

40,000-year-old woolly mammoth RNA offers a peek into its last moments

Deep-sea mining might feed plankton a diet of junk food

AI eavesdropped on whale chatter. It may have helped find something new

This fly’s flesh-eating maggot is making a comeback. Here’s what to know

Woodpecker hammering is a full-body affair

Mosquitoes infiltrated Iceland. Will they survive the winter?

Deep Antarctic waters hold geometric communities of fish nests

Polar bears provide millions of kilograms of food for other Arctic species

Subway mosquitoes evolved millennia ago in ancient Mediterranean cities

Which venomous snakes strike the fastest?

Scientists and fishers have teamed up to find a way to save manta rays

What's next for Cavaliers? No one is safe after going all in, so what does that mean for LeBron James?

The Lesbian Bar Chronicles

Gianna Corvino of The NY Archive Thinks Getting Dressed 'Should Feel Like Making a Sandwich'

Best dressed Knicks! Die-hard fans bring stylish heat to playoff games against Cavaliers

13 Horse Racing Facts Even Die-Hard Fans Might Not Know

Ivanka Trump showcases her incredible body in sun-soaked bikini photos from brother's ultra-private wedding

Body of missing Ky. college student Alexis Foust found after search

Sea-level rise, sunny-day flooding — and Shore building boom

Vatican tech flop: Pope Leo’s AI crusade needs Trump — not the UN

John Bolton: US, Iran peace talks are ‘a mistake’

Trump signs order aiming to help expand access to retirement accounts

This Ultra-Affordable, 1960s-inspired Chronograph Gets Even More Tempting

McTominay backs 'great man' Clarke for Scotland stay

Best value city break destinations rated and revealed

How Memorial Day weekend was treating travelers at the airport

Word of the Day

10 Odd & Fun

1.Cheese-rolling legend beaten by German YouTuber

2.Watch: Alligator snapping turtle found in Massachusetts pond

3.Look: Equine extraction: Stuck pony rescued from tractor tire

4.Watch: Man puts on a record-breaking 32 T-shirts in one minute

5.Look: Loose llama wrangled in Texas one day after kangaroo capture

6.Look: Mystery emu found wandering city streets in Louisiana

7.Long line leads Maryland man to $50,000 lottery prize

8.Watch: Bear wanders onto New Jersey porch, rings doorbell

9.Watch: Meteor lights up the sky over Australia's New South Wales

10.Research: 'Favorite,' 'niece' among America's most misspelled words