Early examples of Native American dice discovered in the United States (Robert Madden) A study suggests that humans were playing with probability during the Ice Age—and that dice were invented 6,000 years earlier than previously thought Smithsonian Magazine

Diffused morning light reflecting on the mud flats of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. As a coastal brown bear forages. Gulls rely on the bears' foraging and powerful digging of razor clams for an easy source of food. #alaska #beach Photo : Deborah Russell / Smithsonian Magazine

A sarus crane parent shares an intimate and moving moment with its one-week-old chick. | Ponlawat Thaipinnarong (Thailand), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year / PETA/Pixal

Salute the positive. Do not succumb to pessimism www.positive.news/society/good...

Love ❤️ Otters 🦦 Asian small-clawed otters groom each other at the London wetland centre in the UK capital Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters/ Guardian

Prayers during a service at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Lahore, Pakistan Photograph: KM Chaudary/AP/Guardian #goodFriday #easter

22nd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest - The American Experience Peter Gargagliano and Ben Stieler, members of the Bread & Puppet Theater, float in the Great Salt Lake on a day off from the national tour of their Apocalypse Defiance Circus. Photograph by Garrett MacLean

A lone bison takes a walk near one of Yellowstone’s more than 500 active geysers. Picture courtesy of photographer Sahil Halim, Wyoming, 2025 / Smithsonian Magazine

A coyote pup pauses at the edge of a dirt road, after a long day of playing with his siblings. #coyote #cute #wildlife #wyoming Photo ; by Chrissy Shammas / Smithsonian Magazine

Notoriously reclusive. The adult female fox, Shadow, was around 5 months old when the photographer first documented and named her in 2022. Photograph : Gretchen Kay Stuart / Smithsonian Magazine

Tokyo, Japan Boats drift along Chidorigafuchi, one of the scenic moats surrounding the Imperial Palace. Photograph: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images/ Guardian

Onlookers capture photos and videos as the Space Launch System rocket carrying the Artemis 2 crew’s Orion spacecraft Integrity lifts off at 6:35 p.m. Eastern time on April 1. Amber Ballard / Courtesy Smithsonian Magazine

Sending humans to the moon for the first time in 50 years. Four astronauts have begun a ten-day mission in which they’ll loop around the moon, laying the groundwork to put humans on the lunar surface as early as 2028 / Smithsonian Magazine

Laaya, a spirit bear in the Great Bear Rainforest, walks along a moss-covered log while searching the stream for fish. Good forest light highlights the pale coat characteristic of these rare bears. #canada Photo by Pierre Rossouw Smithsonian Magazine

Two researchers wore goggles, snorkels and wet suits while exploring the underground stream. (John Young) They found remains of animals that have never been uncovered in Central Texas. The fossils hint that the region was warm, moist and forested | Smithsonian Magazine

A golden-mantled ground squirrel seems to pose in front of the perfect backdrop of the Rocky Mountains. Mahima Iyengar, Colorado, 2015 / Smithsonian Magazine

Coyote jumps high after a fresh October snowfall in Yellowstone National Park. George Sanker, Wyoming, 2021 Established in 1872, Yellowstone has the distinction of being the country’s first national park. Older than even the park service, which was founded decades later : Smithsonian Magazine

The setting sun silhouettes a mature bull elk in Yellowstone. Jake Mosher, Wyoming, 2022 / Smithsonian Magazine

River of Life shows a female longnose gar pursued by several males during the mating season with a diamondback terrapin above them. Photograph: Isaac Szabo/Florida/2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Rows of solar panels stretch across the landscape like ripples on a water’s surface. | by Francesco Russo (UK/Italy), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year

In the fading light of the savannah, one young fox watches the horizon, while its littermates huddle close, relying on each other for warmth and comfort after a day spent underground. #fox #india #mammal #nature #photography #wildlife Photo : Kapil Bhagwat | Smithsonian Magazine

Even the scientists who study them rarely see them except on camera. But Gretchen Kay Stuart spent a season documenting them up close The adult female fox, Shadow, was around 5 months old when she first documented and named her in 2022. Gretchen Kay Stuart / Smithsonian Magazine

The sperm whales gathered around the mother before the delivery. (Y. Aluma et al., Scientific Reports, 2026 under CC-BY- 4.0) Unrelated animals worked with the mother and her relatives, marking the first known evidence of whales from multiple families assisting in a birth Smithsonian Magazine

What a unique duck www.linkedin.com/posts/gretch...

An elusive rufous-vented ground cuckoo plucks up a cicada in the depths of the rainforest in Costa Rica. | by Lior Berman (Costa Rica), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Digging Into the Star of Netflix’s ‘The Dinosaurs’ With an incredible sail and heavy bones that might have acted as ballast, Spinosaurus seems primed for snatching fish. The creature has long captivated the public, from its early mysteries to the recent discovery of a new species Smithsonian Mag

The pygmy marmoset is the smallest primate on the planet. Known lovingly and locally in Colombia as 'Leoncito'. Pygmy marmosets have unique mouths for chewing holes in special trees to drink the sap and feed on insects. #colombia #jungle #monkey #primate Photo Rhys Logan / Smithsonian Magazine

‘Rutting Call’ shows a red deer stag in Bradgate Park, Leicestershire. Taken by Jamie Smart, from the UK, Highly commended in the under-10s category / Jamie Smart/2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Wake-up Call shows a lion and cobra in Tanzania’s Serengeti national park, taken by Gabriella Comi, from Italy, after she spotted a cobra slithering towards two sleeping lions. Photograph: Gabriella Comi/2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Scottish independence means the ability to rejoin the EU, reject Brexit and forge our own destiny #indyref #independence

As the UK enters British summer time, the Guardian photographer Sarah Lee has been focusing on the miracles of springtime and coming

Gazing owlet – birds category Photograph: Louise Norris / Winners of LCE photographer of the year 2026

A rare tiger with wide, dark stripes wanders a tiger reserve in India. | by Prasenjeet Yadav (India), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A group of flamingos stands out against a stark industrial backdrop of power lines. | by Alexandre Brisson (Switzerland), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A brushtail possum joey mirrors its mother climbing a branch while out foraging. | By Charles Davis (Australia), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year

It took nine days of deliberation, 43 hours of argument among jurors, and a seven-week trial that saw the Meta chief executive dragged to the stand in Los Angeles, but the verdict that landed overnight is one Silicon Valley has been dreading for years. The Age /Australia

"Botanica Somnia” is about interconnectedness: how we depend on nature and how nature depends on us. It’s about the living bond that holds us together. Elena Paraskeva / 23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

A leucistic otter feeds on a catfish in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. | By Daniela Anger (Germany), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The Chimbu, also known as the Simbu or Kuman people, are an Indigenous group living in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. They traditionally use mud mixed with natural pigments as a form of body decoration. Roberto Pazzi / Smithsonian Magazine Annual Photo Contest

Fish Tail The salmon had yet to run but this individual coastal brown bear got lucky where a creek met the sea. Very quickly just the fishtail remaining. #alaska #fish Photo Deborah Russell / Smithsonian Magazine

The secret life of whales www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Ken Loach acclaimed film Kes youtu.be/KnaSOYMHg48?...

On a sweltering August afternoon, two cone-headed grasshoppers rest among thistles. Pepe Badia Marrero / 23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

This Spellbinding Exhibition Explores How Ancient Cultures Used Magic to Navigate Life’s Challenges The Toledo Museum of Art is showcasing a treasure trove of masks, amulets, spellbooks and gems dating to between 2000 B.C.E. and 300 C.E. Smithsonian Magazine

Arrested. Overlooked. The Tougaloo Nine, from left: Joseph Jackson Jr., Geraldine Edwards, James Bradford, Evelyn Pierce, Albert Lassiter, Ethel Sawyer, Meredith Anding Jr., Janice Jackson and Alfred Cook (Courtesy of Tougaloo College Archives) Smithsonian Magazine

The Narwhal’s investigation into contaminated military sites is a finalist for the National Newspaper Awards Reporter Leah Borts-Kuperman dug deep to shine a light on the health risks many military members worry are caused by their contaminated workplace : Narwhal

Christmas, US Spoonbill chicks are fed at a nest in the Orlando wetlands Photograph: Ronen Tivony/NurPhoto/Shutterstock / Courtesy The Guardian

Silent sentinel – pets category Photograph: Carole Ann Chambers/Chambers Photographic ; Winner of LCE photographer of the year 2026

The power of being human youtu.be/mQQN2z7uZFQ?...

A new study suggests manatees weren’t permanent residents in the Sunshine State of Florida until around the 20th century, drawn in by a warming climate and construction of power plants : Smithsonian Magazine