Researchers have zoomed in on the area surrounding the supermassive black hole lurking at the center of our galaxy, and made a fascinating discovery: a structure of "strange filaments" driving a cycle of gas emissions and replenishment.

The Eye of Horus—not to be confused with the Eye of Ra—was a powerful symbol of royal protection and kingship in ancient Egypt. Egyptian religion was filled with magical symbols, amulets, and totems. The Eye of Horus, often called the Wadjet or Wedjat Wye, was one of the most significant.

An exquisitely decorated 7,500-year-old antler from central Sweden was first used as a battle ax and later probably as a fishing harpoon during the Stone Age, a new study suggests. Researchers found the antler eight years ago, but had not been able to study it with new technology until now.

Iran's folded rocks are rugged mountain ridges and valleys to the southwest of the Caspian Sea. They are an extension of the Greater Caucasus mountain belt, which also stretches along Russia's border with Georgia and Azerbaijan.

A recent study published in the journal Atiqot described a tomb found at the Motza archaeological site in the hills of Jerusalem, dating back to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period.

Stimulating either of a pair of crucial nerves that carry messages from the brain to several major organs could be an effective way to treat people with severe depression.

The universe's largest structure, the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall, was already a challenge to explain with models of the universe due to its incredibly vast size — and now, using the most powerful blasts of energy in the universe, Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), astronomers have discovered this s

Easter-egg decorating is an ancient tradition with deep roots extending at least into the medieval period of European history. But archaeological evidence of them is scarce due to the delicate nature of eggshells.

Determining the passage of time in our world of ticking clocks and oscillating pendulums is a simple case of counting the seconds between 'then' and 'now'.

Joshua Shavit is a Los Angeles-based science and technology writer with a passion for exploring the breakthroughs shaping the future.

With so many ancient texts around the world, you might wonder which alphabet was the first to be developed. In other words, what is the oldest confirmed alphabet in the world?

If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. Learn more. The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine.

Marks on 4,000-year-old skeletons reveal that Bronze Age women in Nubia were carrying goods and young children on their heads using tumplines, a type of head strap that can hold a basket, a new study finds. The discovery reveals the oldest known use of head straps in the world.

A collection of tools made of bone discovered in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania have turned out to be 1.5 million years old, demonstrating early hominin abilities that impressed a group of researchers no end.

I am a glyph-breaker. I confess. Guilty as charged.

The mathematician Tai-Danae Bradley is using category theory to try to understand both human and AI-generated language. Introduction Growing up, Tai-Danae Bradley had no love for math.

A close-up shot of the cuneiform script on an ancient column (below) The Trustees of the British Museum The Mesopotamian Riddle Joshua Hammer (Simon & Schuster) What does it take to decipher an extinct writing system? If Joshua Hammer’s new book The Mesopotamian Riddle: An archaeologist, a soldier

Archaeologists have uncovered an ancient Egyptian settlement beneath Hellenistic ruins in the north-western Nile delta that may be as many as 3500 years old. The find provides new evidence of Egyptian expansion during the New Kingdom, a thriving period that lasted from 1550 to 1069 BC.

A mysterious human jaw discovered off the coast of Taiwan doesn't belong to our species or Neanderthals, but to another extinct relative, Denisovans.

Do you like old timey music? You can’t get more old timey than Hur­ri­an Hymn No. 6, which was dis­cov­ered on a clay tablet in the ancient Syr­i­an port city of Ugar­it in the 1950s, and is over 3400 years old.

Based in Los Angeles, Joseph Shavit is an accomplished science journalist, head science news writer and co-founder at The Brighter Side of News, where he translates cutting-edge discoveries into compelling stories for a broad audience.

Humans can effortlessly talk about an infinite number of topics, from neuroscience to pink elephants, by combining words into sentences.

Newton's famous first law is widely stated as "a body at rest stays at rest, and a body in motion stays in motion unless acted on by an outside force." While poetically succinct, this statement fails to include a third scenario — that of an object with a force already acting upon it.

The "Eye of Horus," a depiction of a single stylized eye looking straight ahead, is found throughout ancient Egypt. The symbol is frequently seen in ancient burials — especially on a type of amulet known as the wedjat (or udjat).

The origin of syphilis, a disease that has shaped human history, remains one of science’s most debated mysteries. Recent discoveries involving ancient DNA may bring us closer to uncovering the truth about where this infamous disease originated.

As far back as the 8th century B.C.E., the city of Corinth served as the beating heart of the Mediterranean’s commerce. Lechaion, its sea port, was at the very core of its success. A new study has revealed that the port may be even older than previously thought.

In the Aztec mythos, Huitzilopotchli sought revenge on his sister Coyolxauhqui for attacking their mother, throwing her head into the sky to become the moon watching over. In the Maya mythos, Buluc-Chabta wore a necklace made of human eyes.

DNA studies suggest that Neanderthals underwent a steep decline in genetic diversity around 110,000 years ago—a forbidding omen of the species’ disappearance approximately 70,000 years later.

For over 20 years, archaeologists in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu have been unearthing clues to the region's ancient past.

Little is known about Cernunnos, but his depictions have been found across Europe and scholars suspect that he was closely connected to nature. In 1710, workers constructing a crypt underneath Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France discovered a curious Roman artifact.

A scientific study with important implications for archaeology in Britain and France was published in January.

When it was made: A.D. 1 to 300 Two millennia ago, a group of people who were highly skilled in metallurgy flourished along the northern Pacific Coast of South America.

The history of medicine is filled with remedies that, viewed through a modern lens, seem perplexing, misguided or downright macabre. Among these is "mumia" – a medicinal substance derived from mummified human remains.

Concealed by thick summer grass, Dmanisis Gora, a 3,000-year-old fortress in the mountains of Georgia, had been hiding its immense size during initial excavations by archeologists.

Most modern structures are built to last 50 years or so, but ingenious ancient engineering has kept this watery city afloat for more than 1,600 years – using only wood. As any local knows, Venice is an upside-down forest.

Scientists have long tried to understand the human brain by comparing it to other primates. Researchers are still trying to understand what makes our brain different to our closest relatives.

Scientists from Princeton University and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have invented a device that seemingly generates electricity from the Earth’s rotation.

Five millennia ago, Bronze Age people in Mesopotamia built elaborate stone tombs full of spectacular grave goods and human sacrifices.

An Egyptologist believes he has identified evidence that a rite known as the "Awakening of Osiris" was performed in Tutankhamun's burial chamber.