The –est

  1. Paleontology

    Earliest sea scorpion discovered in Iowa

    Earliest sea scorpion discovered in impact crater in Iowa.

    By Meghan Rosen
  2. Anthropology

    Oldest humanlike hand bone discovered

    Found at Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge, pinkie bone is 1.84 million years old.

    By Bruce Bower
  3. Paleontology

    50-million-year-old fossil sperm discovered

    Ancient worm sperm preserved in 50-million-year-old cocoons from Antarctica set age record.

    By Meghan Rosen
  4. Astronomy

    Brightest galaxy discovered

    The brightest known galaxy is about 350 trillion times as bright as the sun, and a supermassive black hole is to blame.

    By Christopher Crockett
  5. Paleontology

    Oldest known avian relative of today’s birds found in China

    Fossil find suggests modern birds’ oldest avian relative lived about 6 million years before previous record holder.