About 1,200 'grandmothers' returned to their homes after the Chernobyl disaster

View the abandoned town of Pripyat, a year after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster

The town's 50,000 residents were evacuated more than a day after the explosions at Chernobyl, leaving behind schools, apartments, and streets seemingly frozen in time. Most evacuees were resettled to Slavutych, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of the plant.

The Chernobyl disaster released more radioactive material than the Hiroshima bomb

A reactor explosion during a safety test resulted in a series of evacuations and resettlements that displaced over 300,000 people and left areas uninhabitable for up to 20,000 years. The Soviet government initially tried to hide the disaster, but rising radiation levels were identified by detectors in Sweden.

The Chernobyl exclusion zone remains a region restricted to public access

It now spans beyond the initial 30-kilometer radius around the nuclear plant to include surrounding areas found to have significant radioactive contamination. Aside from a handful of elderly self-settlers, permanent residency is banned, and access remains tightly controlled due to lingering radioactive contamination.

Dubbed 'stalkers,' some Ukrainian youth illegally explore Chernobyl's exclusion zone

A subculture of thrill-seekers, driven by a desire for rebellion and adventure, is representative of dark tourism in the region. Some stalkers sneak past militia posts to venture into abandoned ruins, risking radiation exposure while scavenging for ruins of the past.

More than 500,000 people worked to contain Chernobyl's fallout

The group—collectively referred to as "liquidators"—included firefighters, military troops, miners, engineers and sanitation crews. Beyond clearing radioactive debris and performing decontamination work, they confined radioactive material to prevent its spread into groundwater.

The Chernobyl exclusion zone has become a unique wildlife refuge

Within the area—roughly the size of Yosemite National Park—animals such as wolves, bears, and feral dogs descended from the pets left behind have gradually adapted to low-level radiation. Eastern tree frogs in the area have darker skin than usual, which may have helped protect them from ionizing radiation.

Chernobyl's remaining reactors kept running for 14 years after the explosion

Due to energy shortages in Ukraine, Chernobyl's other undamaged reactors continued operating for years. Units 1 and 2 operated until 1996 and 1991, respectively, while Reactor 3 remained online until December 15, 2000, when Ukraine finally shut down the plant.

Explore illustrative depictions of Chernobyl in comic books

Pieces related to the location since the nuclear disaster have told stories about radioactive vampires and monsters, accounts of bureaucratic corruption and creed, and visual retellings of experiences those in the region lived through before and after the event.

Ukraine once had the third-largest nuclear arsenal—and gave them all up by 1996

After the rapid collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine was left with over 1,700 nuclear warheads positioned throughout its territory. A massive global effort ensued, led by the United States, to return these and other nuclear weapons in former Soviet allied states to Russia.

Watch a visualization of the construction of Chernobyl's sarcophagus

Built to contain the remains of Reactor 4 after the nuclear disaster, the "shelter structure" was constructed from about 400,000 cubic meters of concrete—enough to fill 160 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Construction required vehicles and cranes modified with special shielding to protect workers.

A 36-year-old Russian physicist survived a particle accelerator beam to the head

Several safety mechanisms failed during Anatoli Bugorski's inspection of malfunctioning equipment at the U-70 synchrotron, the Soviet Union's largest particle accelerator. Despite receiving as much as 600 times the lethal dose of radiation to the brain, he has shown no intellectual damage and worked until the age of 77.

Where did all the refugees from the Mount Vesuvius eruption end up?

Archaeologists have found evidence of about 2,000 of Pompeii and Herculaneum's estimated combined population of 15,000. This article explores what happened to the remaining 13,000 people. Archaeologist Steven Tuck has proposed that the refugees fled the cities as volcanic activity increased, likely resettling elsewhere with family and friends. There's also evidence that the Roman Empire cared for many refugees fleeing Mount Vesuvius.

Scientists have not yet answered what the evolutionary benefit may be of menopause

Few animals are known to experience menopause, raising questions about why it would be evolutionarily advantageous to have women survive past their reproductive years. One leading hypothesis is the grandmother hypothesis—older women and other species known to experience menopause, like whales, can aid families and pass down knowledge to future generations.

All‑female Soviet 'Night Witches' terrorized German lines with stealth bombing raids

Flying obsolete Polikarpov Po‑2 biplanes, the all-female 588th Night Bomber Regiment—dubbed “Night Witches” by terrified German troops—flew over 30,000 night missions, dropping 3,000 tons of bombs under near silence.

A map of WWII refugees and their stories

Trace the paths of different people and families on this interactive map as they made their escape from the Nazi regime. Primary and secondary sources like letters, documents, memoirs and diaries, photos, interviews, and news clippings showed how many found a path to freedom, from the Kindertransport to individual stories.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in terms of casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

Mass protests in 2004 overturned a rigged Ukrainian election

During the Orange Revolution, Ukrainians protested against election fraud favoring pro-Russian candidate Viktor Yanukovych. Weeks of peaceful demonstrations led to a rerun vote, bringing Viktor Yushchenko to power and weakening Moscow's influence in the country.

Read excerpted accounts from some of the 8,000 residents with leprosy on Moloka'i

Accounts preserved by the Kalaupapa National Historical Park describe how residents felt about being sent to live in this remote location and knowing they would never be allowed to leave. In 2012, 20 residents with the disease continued to voluntarily live in the area.

What happened to the Vietnamese refugees who wanted to return home?

Not all who fled Vietnam at the end of the war wanted to be resettled in the US. But those who returned faced an unwelcoming government. This article follows one man's attempt to reunite with his family.

The Romanov family ruled Russia for more than 300 years

From 1613 to 1917, 18 Romanovs—including Peter and Catherine the Great—governed the vast Russian Empire. Their dynasty ended abruptly in 1917 when Nicholas II abdicated amid wartime shortages and revolutionary unrest, marking the end of imperial Russia.

A photographer's long-lost collection of images of mothers

Professional photographer Ken Heyman discovered a 50-year-old box of photos labeled "Mothers" in his storage unit, with images depicting various mothers with their children in touching, candid scenes. Check out the finest of the group with this gallery.

The canal project required the forced removal of local inhabitants

The canal displaced Panamanian communities, with towns like Gatun and Gorgona dismantled and farmlands lost, reshaping the region forever.

Dozens of US women in labor turned away from hospital between 2022 and 2024

An Associated Press analysis of federal hospital investigation data concluded that more than 100 pregnant women in medical distress were turned away from emergency rooms or treated negligently since 2022.

The emotional regression that happens when we visit home

Despite how mature we might like to think we are, returning home for the holidays often results in reverting to our moodier, angstier childhood selves. This story in the conversation dives into the root of this phenomenon, which can largely be explained by attachment theory. Read along to understand how your past experiences and attachment style can influence your current behaviors and for advice on how to cope with regression.

Civilians on short-term spaceflights can experience long-term astronaut health impacts

A collection of 44 studies—primarily based on data from a 2021 tourist trip to low Earth orbit—identified immune system disruption and some kidney damage in tourists, with women appearing to recover from space travel faster than men. Return trips from Mars may require human travelers to be on dialysis.

J. Robert Oppenheimer’s grandson says his grandfather would back nuclear power

While the "father of the atomic bomb" referred to the bomb as "an evil thing," after the Manhattan Project, he also described nuclear energy’s potential as an environmentally friendly solution to address the world's energy problem.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

Ebola species have historically been named after where they were discovered, stigmatizing residents who live there, including Bundibugyo, in Uganda.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

Volcanoes 'die' when their supply of magma runs out, if they are shifted away from their underlying magma reservoir, or if they get clogged by collapsing or their magma cooling back into rock.

Poison ivy will likely become both larger and more resilient due to climate change.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.