"A history of contact": Geneticists are rewriting the narrative of Neanderthals and other ancient humans
Ever since the first Neanderthal bones were discovered in 1856, people have wondered about these ancient hominins. How are they different from us? How much are they like us? Did our ancestors get along with them? Fight them? Love them? The recent dis.....»»
Island arcs study reveals ancient connections between ocean chemistry and volcanic rocks
Bringing a novel approach to a classic problem, researchers have revealed how changes in ocean chemistry over the past 2 billion years have left an imprint on volcanic rocks formed in island arcs. Island arcs, which arise from volcanic activity along.....»»
Archaeologist reveals factors affecting ocher application in ancient burials at Khok Phanom Di
A study by Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Paris published in the International Journal of Osteoarcheology has investigated the link between ocher burials and chronology, age, sex mobility and funerary tradition at the site of Khok Phanom Di (~4000–3500BP), Th.....»»
Scientists update eruption history of Oregon"s South Sister volcano
A hiker's pack usually gets lighter over time as they plow through trail mix and water, but Annika Dechert likes to joke that hers gets heavier. As an Earth sciences graduate student at the University of Oregon, she's picking up clues to the eruption.....»»
Integrated space-ground technologies empower archaeological research into ancient tombs
A team of international researchers has employed an integrated approach to uncover the mysteries of the Eastern Mausoleum of Qin State, an ancient royal burial site from China's Warring States period......»»
"Time capsule" lunar samples link the moon"s past and present
Samples collected from the surface of the moon by the crew of Apollo 16 more than 50 years ago have helped scientists reconstruct billions of years of lunar history......»»
Nobel economics prize: How colonial history explains why strong institutions are vital to a country"s prosperity
This year's Nobel memorial prize in economics has gone to Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and James Robinson of the University of Chicago for their work on why there are such vast differences in prosperit.....»»
Saturday Citations: Brown dwarf actually brown dwarfs; the adaptability of ice-age humans; archaeologists excited
This week, researchers discovered a near-Earth microquasar that sheds new light on sources of relativistic outflows. Doctors reported finding a triphallic gentleman. And neuroscientists reported on modest cognitive boosts from short (or "acute," in c.....»»
Controlling sound waves with Klein tunneling improves acoustic signal filtration
In the context of sensory modalities, eyes work like tiny antennae, picking up light, electromagnetic waves traveling at blistering speeds. When humans look at the world, their eyes catch these waves and convert them into signals the brain reads as c.....»»
It’s increasingly unlikely that humans will fly around the Moon next year
It's not just Orion's heat shield; the mission's ground systems are running out of time. Don't book your tickets for the launch of NASA's Artemis II mission next year just yet. W.....»»
A new generation of telescopes will probe the "unknown unknowns" that could transform our knowledge of the universe
In recent decades, we've learned huge amounts about the universe and its history. The rapidly developing technology of telescopes—both on Earth and in space—has been a key part of this process, and those that are due to start operating over the n.....»»
In search of evidence of ancient human existence, researchers traverse the inhospitable Namib desert
Strewn across the Namib desert is a treasure trove of stone tools of which little is known because getting to them is so difficult. There are few roads and vehicles have limited access in this protected area that lies in the desert of western Namibia.....»»
Microbiome studies in humans and zoo animals pave the way for new drug development
Microorganisms do not just colonize the body of mammals during infections. Billions of microbes can be found on and in healthy humans and animals at any given time, communicating with each other via chemical signals and thus influencing their health......»»
Astronomers detect ancient lonely quasars with murky origins
A quasar is the extremely bright core of a galaxy that hosts an active supermassive black hole at its center. As the black hole draws in surrounding gas and dust, it blasts out an enormous amount of energy, making quasars some of the brightest object.....»»
Ancient ‘Age of Dinosaurs’ Seafloor Found beneath Pacific Ocean
A vast, ancient slab of seafloor plunged beneath the Pacific Ocean and has hovered in Earth’s mantle for more than 120 million years, a new study suggests.....»»
SpaceX Catches a Falling Starship—A First in Spaceflight History
SpaceX’s fifth Starship flight test concluded with mechanical arms snatching the descending rocket booster out of the air.....»»
Warren Buffett Sent Wall Street a $93 Billion Warning. History Says the Stock Market Will Do This Next
Warren Buffett Sent Wall Street a $93 Billion Warning. History Says the Stock Market Will Do This Next.....»»
DNA confirms these 19th-century lions ate humans
“Tsavo Man-Eaters” killed dozens of people in late 1890s, including Kenya-Uganda Railway workers. For several months in 1898, a pair of male lions turned the Tsavo region of K.....»»
Humans have near-equal numbers of male and female babies, unlike many other animals—a new genetic study looks for clues
We know that boys and girls are produced in much the same frequency. But how—and why—is this 1:1 ratio achieved?.....»»
Coastal cities have a hidden vulnerability to storm-surge and tidal flooding that"s entirely caused by humans
Centuries ago, estuaries around the world were teeming with birds and turbulent with schools of fish, their marshlands and endless tracts of channels melting into the gray-blue horizon......»»
"Getting high" in Paleolithic hunting: Elevated positions enhance javelin accuracy but reduce atlatl efficiency
A recent experimental study led by Kent State University and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History suggests that hunting from elevated positions significantly increases the performance of thrown javelins while potentially decreasing the effectivene.....»»