In a discovery worthy of a Dan Brown novel, archaeologists in Jerusalem say they've found an ancient ritual cup with an intentionally cryptic message.

When forged over burning human bones, swords become filled with "spirit," says the Taiwanese swordmaker behind the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sword and other masterpieces. Video.

Rock rabbit dung heaps in Africa—some dating back tens of thousands of years—are time capsules of climate and vegetation information. Video.

New genetic analysis bolsters the theory that wolves were first domesticated in East Asia, a new study says—and it's possible the canines were tamed to be livestock, not pets.

A thousand "humans" melt in Berlin, golfers use a cuddly caddy, fires ravage Los Angeles, and more in our roundup of the week's best news pictures.

Living apart from the natives, the first farmers in Europe were skilled immigrants from far-off farming cultures, a new study says.

Low water levels at a southern Mexico reservoir have revealed the remains of a 16th-century convent submerged when the lake was created 40 years ago. Video.

In fall 1969, computers sending data between two California universities set the stage for the Internet, which became a household word in the 1990s.Video.

Chinese soldiers practice their singing, a "flydog" takes to the air in Hungary, and Greece's hillsides burn in this week's best news photos.

In underground passageways that snake underneath the French capital, nearly six million people who died of disease in the Middle Ages share a final resting place.

As the world celebrates Galileo's first telescope demonstration on August 25, 1609, take a trip through time with pictures of the telescope's evolution over the past 400 years.

The H1N1 flu strain may infect half the U.S. population this fall and winter, but it will likely be no worse than seasonal flu, experts say.

When Galileo Galilei unveiled what would become known as a revolutionary stargazing tool in Venice on August 25, 1609, he was an obscure professor looking for a career boost, historians say.

It's not just a young Tom Cruise in tighty-whiteys that attracts some women to risky business—those with higher levels of the male sex hormone are more likely to take financial gambles, a new study says.

Five bodies found in Bolivia may be guerrilla soldiers killed four decades ago for their involvement with revolutionary leader Che Guevara, anthropologists claim. Video.