Hidden details emerge from a medieval manuscript masquerading as a book cover

The pages of a medieval manuscript were folded, torn and stitched together to create a cover for 16th century property records. Cambridge University Library via CNN Newsource

Sometimes, a great find is hiding right beneath one’s nose in the humblest of places: on paper.

Indecipherable documents can languish in storage for years. Case in point: a treasure trove of lost letters written by Mary, Queen of Scots, that got a closer look in 2023.

After retrieving the letters from a box of unmarked documents, three researchers were able to decode the letters to uncover more about the queen’s secrets.

Now, a separate new discovery adds weight to the old adage about not judging a book by its cover.

Once upon a planet

When library archivists at the University of Cambridge in England inspected the cover of a 16th century property record, they realized it was made of pages repurposed from a medieval manuscript.

Known as the “Suite Vulgate du Merlin,” the rare 13th century fragments describe how a shape-shifting Merlin aided King Arthur early in his reign.

Rather than risk damaging the fragile, bound pages, a team of photographers and conservators at Cambridge have virtually unfurled the pages and uncovered hidden details in the text.

Dino-mite

A new study is helping scientists unravel the fiercely debated origins of the king of the dinosaurs — and how it became a fearsome apex predator.

The direct ancestor of Tyrannosaurus rex arrived in North America by crossing a land bridge from Asia 70 million years ago, the latest research suggests.

Mathematical models showed that the size of tyrannosaurids such as T. rex rapidly increased as global temperatures dropped.

T. rex also climbed to the top of the food chain in the vacuum left by the extinction of another group of carnivorous dinos 90 million years ago.

The wonder

Want to make the most of your morning cup of coffee as prices rise? University of Pennsylvania scientists tested a method to brew stronger coffee using fewer beans.

Trailblazers

For thousands of years, the Haenyeo have dived off South Korea’s Jeju Island to collect seafood from the ocean floor — and new evidence suggests they may have adapted for life underwater.

The women free divers descend as many as 60 feet (18 metres) multiple times a day, through pregnancy and old age, with no breathing equipment and only the aid of wet suits.

A new study has shown that the Haenyeo have a slower heart rate and unique genetic differences that enable them to cope with the pressures of free diving — as well as a trait that may even protect the unborn children of pregnant divers.

Force of nature

An underwater volcano located on a geological hot spot could erupt at any time — and scientists plan to publicly livestream the explosive event when it happens.

The Axial Seamount, as the volcano is known, is inflating with magma and causing earthquakes where two giant tectonic plates — the Pacific and Juan de Fuca plates — are spreading apart.

Yet life thrives in this seemingly hostile environment. Marine creatures can be seen clustering around hydrothermal vents called “snowblowers” that billow out hot water and microbes — and they bounce back from scorching within months of an eruption.

Meanwhile, to mark his 99th birthday, broadcaster David Attenborough has released a new documentary called “Ocean,” offering peeks at the underwater species and revealing the threats facing what he calls “the most important place on Earth.”