The world’s oldest known fossil primate skeleton is from an animal that lived about 55 million years ago and was even smaller than today’s smallest primate, the pygmy mouse lemur. The new specimen, named Archicebus achilles, was unearthed from an ancient lake bed in central China and is described by an international team of researchers today in the journal Nature.

Mysterious rocks, fossil bones, and other curious items streamed into the Museum last month, as thousands of visitors brought their finds to the Museum's annual Identification Day on Saturday, May 11.

Even geniuses make mistakes. That’s the reassuring message of the engrossing new book Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein—Colossal Mistakes by Great Scientists That Changed Our Understanding of Life and the Universe, by theoretical astrophysicist and noted writer Mario Livio. Livio will give a Frontiers Lecture on Monday, June 10, at the Museum on the topic of brilliant blunders by such towering scientific figures as Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein, and more.

The process of fermentation—transforming foods to make them more digestible and more nutritious—is as old as humanity itself. In this podcast, join Dan Felder, head of research and development at the Momofuku Culinary Lab, and author and fermentation specialist Sandor Katz, in a lively discussion about kimchi, kefir, and other fermented delicacies.

Twelve student scientists were recognized today at an awards ceremony and luncheon as winners of the American Museum of Natural History’s 16th Annual Young Naturalist Awards, a nationwide science-based research competition for students in grades 7 through 12 supported by Alcoa Foundation.