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Imagine this scenario happening at a school: a student playing a game during gym class falls and hits their head on the ground—hard. So the gym teacher moves the student aside and puts a headset over the student’s eyes. A few minutes later, the student rejoins the group and continues to play. What did the headset do? It confirmed the student didn’t have a concussion, or head injury, and that continuing to play was safe.

A concussion can be more than a head rattle. In the United States, approximately one in 10 children or teenagers will get a sports-related concussion each year, and most concussions will not be identified until well after the injury happened.

You wouldn’t eat a plastic cookie, but what about a cookie made with ingredients that used to be plastic? Scientists have found a way to turn upcycled plastic back into food ingredients, which they then 3D-print into “cookies,” a method that could one day feed astronauts in space.

If this sounds like it’s from a science fiction book, just wait, because truth can be stranger than fiction. The project began as a part of NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge, which invites scientists to figure out how to feed astronauts traveling on long space missions. Lahiru Jayakody, a scientist who creates technology to upcycle, or repurpose, plastic, had an idea. 

“We thought, why not look into food? Plastic is carbon and food is carbon,” said Jayakody in an interview with The Guardian.

In Bolivia’s cloud forests walks a small, mysterious cat that, until now, has kept its identity hidden from the world. Called tilcayo, this animal is not only a new species of wild cat but also the first to be discovered in more than a century. 

Like some of its feline relatives, the tilcayo has black and brown spots, called rosettes, on light brown fur. The adult tilcayo, which weighs about three or four pounds, is smaller than the typical house cat.

The tilcayo’s discovery was almost accidental. As the story goes, a local man found what he thought was a lost kitten along a forest road. He raised it in his home until he realized it was not a domestic cat at all, but likely a wild animal. According to National Geographic, the man gave the cat to an animal sanctuary, who then called biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz about the arrival of a “weird cat.”

In April 2026, singer Taylor Swift filed a trademark application for her voice and image in a move to prevent artificial intelligence (AI) impersonations. While Swift may be one of the biggest stars to take this kind of action, she is joining others who are trying to legally protect their voices and faces from being used in AI-generated content.

A trademark is typically used to legally protect someone’s name, symbol, or creations by preventing anyone but the trademark holder from making money from them. Many brands have trademarked logos and slogans, like Nike’s “Just Do It” and the signature swoosh symbol that appears on their clothing and shoes. But with the rise of deepfakes, which are AI-generated images, videos, and audio clips that can reproduce the way someone looks and talks, an increasing number of celebrities want to protect their unique voices and features from being copied. The hope is that a trademark will prevent AI from using these stars’ likenesses or the phrases associated with them.

You have probably heard of sports like wrestling and archery, but can you imagine doing those sports while also riding a horse? The competitors at the 2026 World Nomad Games do this and more, showing off skills required for a nomadic life—a life on the move. 

The World Nomad Games, which took place September 1 to 6 in the country of Kyrgyzstan, are an international sports competition much like the Olympics. There is one key difference: all the sports come from the nomadic cultures of Central Asia. Nomadic sports frequently feature animals like horses and eagles. Other competitions focus on skills with tools or weapons, like the bow and arrow, which are still a major part of life in these cultures.

There are countless nomadic groups in Central Asia with roots that span countries like Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Turkmenistan, to name a few. Historically, these groups would move seasonally to find fresh pastures for their livestock, such as sheep. Moving frequently meant their homes, tools, and clothing needed to move with them. Everything in their lives was designed around movement. While the groups had similar lifestyles, each one developed its own traditions, languages, and clothing. 

One thing many of the groups shared is a close relationship with horses. The horses helped herd cattle, move supplies, and fight battles. As a result, the nomadic people of this part of the globe are known for their incredible horsemanship. 

At the World Nomad Games, horsemanship is on full display. The 2026 opening ceremony featured dozens of horses thundering across the stage. One of the most popular competitions at the games is a horseback game called kok-boru. Two teams of riders wrestle and race each other to grab a stuffed goat skin and throw it into the other team’s goal for points. There is also tyiyn enmei, in which riders must gather coins on the ground as fast as they can without getting off their horses. 

Non-horse competitions include tug-of-war, hunting with eagles, and archery (although there is also a horseback archery event). There are also cultural displays showcasing the different weaving, dancing, and clothes-making styles of some nomad groups. Beyond the athletics and sports, the World Nomad Games celebrate the traditions that people in this region still follow today.

Click through the slideshow for more photos from the games!

A summer drought across Europe has revealed something unexpected—or rather, many things. Low water levels in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs mean long-buried objects are coming to the surface, including ancient Roman ruins and German warships. 

In Rome, the remains of an ancient bridge have emerged from the low Tiber River. Though it is called “Nero’s Bridge” after the man who ruled the Roman empire approximately 2,000 years ago, some experts believe the bridge was built during the reign of Nero’s uncle, Emperor Caligula. 

In eastern Serbia, about 20 German warships from World War II have surfaced from the receding Danube River. These ships are among the 200 that were deliberately sunk in 1944 to avoid capture by the army of the Soviet Union, a former country that included what is now Russia. Eighty-two years later, locals and tourists have been able to visit, and even swim around, the now-visible shipwrecks.

But sunken warships are not the only thing the Danube River was hiding. Farther downstream, in Bulgaria, a village local found what is believed to be mammoth remains. A lower jaw, tusks, and a rib bone were collected from the riverbed for confirmation, but the Regional History Museum director in a nearby town said it is likely from a mammoth that lived and died thousands of years ago. 

Though low waterways have revealed exciting treasures, Europe’s prolonged drought and heat waves have been a cause for alarm. Farmers in the region are warning of low crop harvests from lack of rain, and there is increased wildfire risk in such dry conditions. 

These current concerns match a 400-year-old stone carving that has also emerged from a dry riverbank in the Czech Republic. The carving reads, in German: Wenn du mich siehst, dann weine, which means “If you see me, then weep.” Carved into what is called a “hunger stone,” the message is revealed when the Elbe River runs low in the city of Děčín. It serves as a record of past droughts, and it is also a warning of the impacts of a year with little water.

Click through the slideshow for more photos.

When Rita Moreno first arrived in Hollywood in the 1950s, there were few Latina movie stars. But despite limited opportunities, Moreno persevered, becoming a bright light of stage and screen. Today, the multi-talented Moreno is a legend with a rare achievement called an EGOT.

Moreno was born Rosa Dolores Alverío in 1931 in Puerto Rico. When she was 5, young “Rosita” and her mother moved to New York City, where the little girl began to take dance classes. At age 11 she started dubbing voices for American child stars in films that were to be released in Spanish-speaking countries. Two years later, she acted in her first stage play, and in 1950, while still a teenager, she made her movie debut.

At the time, most movie roles were offered to white actors. Movie studio executives often cast Moreno in small roles that were ethnic stereotypes with little regard to her own background. During her early career, she played Native Americans, Egyptians, and more.

Nineteen-year-old Sara Curtis jetted into swimming stardom after setting a new swimming world record twice in just two days. On August 12, the Italian swimmer beat the world record for the 50-meter backstroke, only to set an even faster time the very next day. 

At the 2026 European Aquatics Championships in Paris, France, Curtis competed in the women’s semifinal round of the 50-meter backstroke, a sprint swim race from one end of the pool to the other. Curtis swam the distance in 26.63 seconds, a new world record. Her speed was 0.23 seconds faster than the previous record holder, Australian Kaylee McKeown. McKeown had set the 50-meter backstroke record at 26.86 seconds three years ago. 

An unlikely celebrity has found international stardom this summer: a raccoon with a rare disability. The wild raccoon, who is affectionately named “Jimothy,” has a congenital spine condition that gives his body an unusually short, round shape. Jimothy’s fans admire his ability to adapt and thrive despite his physical differences. 

“It’s crazy how instantly popular Jimothy has become.… On the face of it, it is just a fun-looking little raccoon,” said Marcie Logsdon, a wildlife veterinarian at Washington State University (WSU), to the WSU Insider. “It’s really neat because it gives us an opportunity to talk about wildlife in urban areas that people are encountering on a daily basis.” 

After years of being stuck in the dugout, a new generation of professional athletes are now stepping up to the plate with the debut, or start, of the Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL). The WPBL is the first pro women’s baseball league in the United States since the 1950s. 

The league’s debut weekend was a home run for fans and players at the historic Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois. The Los Angeles Queens won 10–8 against the New York Heights on August 1, 2026. The San Francisco Firebells had a decisive victory over the Boston Hunters with 11–3 in game 2 on the following day.

The WPBL pros come from countries around the world, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and the United States, among others. The league includes former Little League star Mo’Ne Davis and softball pro Kylee Lahners. World-famous pitcher Ayami Sato is also in the league. Sato recently became the first woman to play in a Canadian men’s Major League game. 

The league debut included a piece of baseball history, too. Ninety-nine-year-old Maybelle Blair threw the ceremonial first pitch for the Queens and Heights game. Blair was a pitcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which existed from 1943 to 1954 and inspired the 1992 film A League of Their Own. 

The four team names honor four women who made their mark in history. Here are the team names and their inspiration, according to ESPN: 

• Boston Hunters: Named for Harriot Kezia Hunt, who in 1847 became the first woman to apply to Harvard Medical School, located in Boston, Massachusetts. Hunt became a doctor and a women’s health advocate. 

• Los Angeles Queens: Honors “The Queen of Baseball” Lizzie Murphy, who was the first woman to play against pro men’s baseball players in an exhibition game in 1922. 

• New York Heights: Named after civil rights activist Dorothy Irene Height, a social worker who promoted racial integration nationwide. In 1957 she became president of the National Council of Negro Women. 

• San Francisco Firebells: Honors a local firefighting volunteer, Lillie Hitchcock “Firebelle Lil” Coit. Coit began helping the San Francisco volunteer firefighters at age 15 in 1858.

Click through the slideshow for more from opening weekend!