Prehistoric roots of "cold sore" virus traced through ancient herpes DNA
Ancient genomes from the herpes virus that commonly causes lip sores—and currently infects some 3.7 billion people globally—have been uncovered and sequenced for the first time by an international team of scientists led by the University of Cambr.....»»
Assyriologist claims to have solved archaeological mystery from 700 BC
Ancient symbols on a 2,700-year-old temple, which have baffled experts for more than a century, have been explained by Trinity Assyriologist Dr. Martin Worthington......»»
Cold sintering may rescue plastic, ceramics, battery components from landfills
Recycling does not necessarily prevent an item from eventually ending up in a landfill, according to Enrique Gomez, interim associate dean for equity and inclusion and professor of chemical engineering in the Penn State College of Engineering. Instea.....»»
Demystifying the complex nature of Arctic clouds
With dancing ribbons of light visible in the sky, a team of researchers flew on a series of scenic and sometimes stormy flights into the cold unknown, trying to learn more about why one of the most frigid places on Earth is warming at a feverish pace.....»»
Maya used hallucinogenic plants in rituals to bless their ball courts
eDNA analysis found traces of xtabentum, as well as lancewood, chili peppers, and jool. Enlarge / A decorative ring made from carved stone is embedded in the wall of a ballcourt in the ancient Maya city of Chichen Itza. (credit:.....»»
For the ancient Maya, cracked mirrors were a path to the world beyond
Some people fear that breaking a mirror can lead to seven years of misfortune. The history of this superstition may go back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who ascribed mysterious powers to reflected images......»»
Maya used hallucinogenic plants in “ensouling” rituals for their ball courts
eDNA analysis found traces of xtabentum, as well as lancewood, chili peppers, and jool. Enlarge / A decorative ring made from carved stone is embedded in the wall of a ballcourt in the ancient Maya city of Chichen Itza. (credit:.....»»
Why you can taste more ethanol in a cold pint of beer or warm glass of baijiu
We all have our own preferred drinking temperatures for different alcoholic beverages, with people commonly enjoying beer or white wine chilled, red wine near room temperature, or baijiu (Chinese whisky) or sake warmed......»»
USDA testing beef for H5N1 amid current outbreak in dairy cows
On April 29, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it is now testing ground beef for any presence of the H5N1 virus that continues to spread among dairy cows......»»
Scientists show that ancient village adapted to drought, rising seas
Around 6,200 BCE, the climate changed. Global temperatures dropped, sea levels rose and the southern Levant, including modern-day Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon, southern Syria and the Sinai desert, entered a period of drought......»»
Chinese scientist who first published COVID sequence stages protest after being locked out of lab
The first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus in China staged a sit-in protest outside his lab after authorities locked him out of the facility—a sign of the Beijing's continuing pressure on scientists conducting research on the c.....»»
Cats suffer H5N1 brain infections, blindness, death after drinking raw milk
Mammal-to-mammal transmission raises new concerns about the virus's ability to spread. Enlarge / Farm cats drinking from a trough of milk from cows that were just milked. (credit: Getty | ) On March 16, cows on a Texas d.....»»
Isotopic evidence reveals surprising dietary practices of ancient hunter-gatherers
It has long been thought that meat played an important role in the diet of hunter-gatherers before the Neolithic transition. However, due to the scarcity of well-preserved human remains from Paleolithic sites, little information exists about the diet.....»»
Prehistoric Irish monuments may have been pathways for the dead
Archaeologists have used advanced lidar technology to discover hundreds of monuments in the famous prehistoric landscape of Baltinglass, Ireland, revealing insights into the ritual activities of the farming communities that occupied the area......»»
African farmers look to the past and the future to address climate change
From ancient fertilizer methods in Zimbabwe to new greenhouse technology in Somalia, farmers across the heavily agriculture-reliant African continent are looking to the past and future to respond to climate change......»»
The first glow-in-the-dark animals may have been ancient corals deep in the ocean
Many animals can glow in the dark. Fireflies famously blink on summer evenings. But most animals that light up are found in the depths of the ocean......»»
Ancient Maya blessed their ballcourts: Researchers find evidence of ceremonial offerings in Mexico
For sports fans, places like Fenway Park, Wembley Stadium or Wimbledon's Centre Court are practically hallowed ground......»»
Florida dolphin found with highly pathogenic avian flu: Report
The case of a Florida bottlenose dolphin found with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, or HPAIV—a discovery made by University of Florida researchers in collaboration with multiple other agencies and one of the first reports of a constantly g.....»»
New rock art discoveries in Eastern Sudan tell a tale of ancient cattle, the "green Sahara" and climate catastrophe
The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new research has found rock art over 4,000 years old that depicts cattle......»»
Barley plants fine-tune their root microbial communities through sugary secretions
Different types of barley recruit distinct communities of soil microbes to grow around their roots by releasing a custom mix of sugars and other compounds, according to a new study led by Jacob Malone of the John Innes Center, UK, published in the op.....»»
New "cold war" grows ever warmer as the prospect of a nuclear arms race hots up
Champagne corks popped on December 3, 1989 as Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US president George H.W. Bush met on the cruise ship, Maxim Gorky, off the coast of Malta to declare the end of the cold war......»»