"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.....»»
Multiple ways to evolve tiny knee bone could have helped humans walk upright
The evolution of bones in primates' knees could have implications for how humans evolved to walk upright, a new study has found......»»
Thanks to humans, Salish Sea waters are too noisy for resident orcas to hunt successfully
The Salish Sea—the inland coastal waters of Washington and British Columbia—is home to two unique populations of fish-eating orcas, the northern resident and the southern resident orcas. Human activity over much of the 20th century, including red.....»»
Pollution of the potent warming gas methane soars and people are mostly to blame
The amount and proportion of the powerful heat-trapping gas methane that humans spew into the atmosphere is rising, helping to turbocharge climate change, a new study finds......»»
Q&A: Looting of the Sudan National Museum—more is at stake than priceless ancient treasures
Reports continue to emerge of the alleged looting of tens of thousands of artifacts from the Sudan National Museum in Khartoum......»»
How viruses move through insects for transmission of diseases
Viruses are master parasites that have adapted to infect many host species. Some viruses even use multiple hosts to spread their infections—such as arboviruses that use insects to move their infections to mammalian hosts like humans. Understanding.....»»
Promoting horse welfare with an intestinal disease screening method
Researchers at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, are developing a promising method to support the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in horses. Awareness of the prevalence of IBD in both humans and animals has increased in recent de.....»»
A roadmap for using viruses to enhance crop performance
Humans, livestock and companion animals benefit from virus-based vaccines and gene therapies, but crops do not. This paradox is highlighted by an international research group led by the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Plants (IBMCP) wi.....»»
Scotland"s most vulnerable children wait years for placement in permanent homes: Report
Scotland's care system is taking years to find many of the country's most vulnerable children permanent homes—and too many of them have no contact with their siblings, according to new research......»»
Speakers announced for the Ars Technica infrastructure event in San Jose
Come register to join us on September 18, learn some stuff, and hang out! Enlarge / The Computer History Museum, where we'll be meeting for our Bay Area adventure on September 18! (credit: SpVVK / Getty Images) Howdy, Ar.....»»
Stone Age mass grave contains mostly adult males who were related
A team of archaeologists and paleo-geneticists from Université de Bordeaux, working with colleagues from Université Côte d'Azur, both in France, has found that a mass grave from the Neolithic contains the remains of mostly adult males who were rel.....»»
SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission aiming for history with first private spacewalk
The SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission, a daring multiday orbital expedition that will feature the first-ever spacewalk by private citizens, is targeting liftoff early Tuesday, though weather could play spoilsport......»»
First robot leg with "artificial muscles" jumps nimbly: Study
Researchers said on Monday they had designed the first robotic leg with "artificial muscles"—oil-filled bags allowing machines to move more like humans—that can jump nimbly across a range of surfaces......»»
Charcoal, ashes and coprolites: Latest findings shed light on the Neanderthals at Prado Vargas
Geologist Alfonso Benito Calvo, a researcher at the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), is one of the codirectors of the ninth excavation campaign at the Neanderthal site of Prado Vargas, a cave in the Ojo Guareña.....»»
Could comets have delivered the building blocks of life to ocean worlds like Europa, Enceladus and Titan?
Throughout Earth's history, the planet's surface has been regularly impacted by comets, meteors, and the occasional large asteroid. While these events were often destructive, sometimes to the point of triggering a mass extinction, they may have also.....»»
References to ancient Britain linked to hostility online
Political posts on social media that most frequently referenced ancient history tended to be more extreme, hostile and overwhelmingly negative in tone than average, finds a new study by researchers from UCL and the University of Edinburgh......»»
Archaeologists discover a likely place for Neanderthal and Homo sapiens interbreeding
A small team of archaeologists, two from Germany, one from Denmark and another from Iran, has identified a potential region for interbreeding between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens during the Late Pleistocene......»»
Apple’s Image Playground and Genmoji features reportedly on track for iOS 18.2 beta
In the latest edition of the Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman reported that Apple is going to begin releasing their image generation features in iOS 18.2 later this year. If history is to be followed, we should see the first beta ship in October, wit.....»»
How did volcanism trigger climate change before the eruptions started?
New dating of a major ancient warming shows warming started before major eruptions. Enlarge / Loads of lava: Kasbohm with a few solidified lava flows of the Columbia River Basalts. (credit: Joshua Murray) As our climate.....»»
Indie App Spotlight: ‘FitBee’ helps you track your nutrition with ease
Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact. FitBee is a modern calorie and macronutrient.....»»
Space travel comes with risk—SpaceX"s Polaris Dawn mission will push the envelope further than ever
Space is an unnatural environment for humans. We can't survive unprotected in a pure vacuum for more than two minutes. Getting to space involves being strapped to a barely contained chemical explosion......»»