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"Generations dreamed of reaching the Earth's northernmost point, finally succeeding in 1926. Ahead of the centennial, we remember the stories of those who valiantly came before — and failed. Before humankind first reached the North Pole, it was theorized to be an open sea, a hollow shell, and even the birthplace of the human race. The fight to be first was front-page news as nations raced to find Earth's northernmost point. Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen finally won the race on May 12, 1926. Thanks to his valiant efforts, it is now textbook knowledge nearly 100 years later that the North Pole is located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, covered in ice. Lesser known are the stories of the manifold failures and mishaps that came before its discovery."

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"Now, under careful watch and watering, most firs, spruces, and pines can keep their fragrant greenery for weeks, if not months. Someone like me, who excels at neither of those things, needs a tree that can hold on to its needles — and its dignity — without an ounce of effort in upkeep. Too much to ask, you say? Maybe a decade ago. But with today's sequencing and computational biology tools, you may never get stuck with a sad Charlie Brown specimen again. In fact, at this very moment, scientists are sifting through 1,200 gigabytes of genetic data, taken from hundreds of Christmas trees growing all over the world, to figure out what separates the best needle-holders from the worst."

"Santa's warm workshop is nothing like the cold, often-dark Arctic where reindeer really live. Above the Arctic Circle, temperatures can drop as low as –150°F, and darkness can last nearly the entire day. Now, a new study reveals how reindeer have evolved to cope with these tough conditions. To look for the genes that let Santa's helpers survive scarce food and months without daylight, researchers took advantage of a massive effort to sequence the genomes of reindeer and 43 other ruminants, including cows, sheep, and camels. They compared the reindeer's genes for various traits to the same genes in several other mammals."

DeepSeek, ChatGPT, and the rest can all step aside. There's a new AI in town, and it doesn't just run on OpenAI — it's powered by that, Midjourney, Anthropic, Meta, Google AI, and more. Insanely intuitive chatbots. Comprehensive writing tools. Advanced image processing and editing. Smart PDF interactions. And even more perks you won't find with ChatGPT. And unlike other AI giants — which will drain you $20/month for premium features — this one only costs $25 once. [Ad]

"As the season cools down and early sunsets settle in, cozy evenings inevitably take over: a soft blanket, a warm mug in hand, and a generous helping of popcorn within reach. That can only mean one thing — it's time to map out your holiday movie marathon. From seasonal romances to chilling festive scares to comedies that capture the holiday chaos, there's plenty to choose from. Below is a roundup of the best Christmas films currently available to stream, along with where you can watch them."

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