How baked bat guano helped archaeologists understand our ancient past
In an experiment to understand better how ancient artifacts are altered by the sediment in which they are buried for thousands of years, Australian archaeological scientists buried bones, stones, charcoal and other items in bat guano, cooked it, and.....»»
Ancient climate study links past ocean acidification to current trends
A research team led by Prof. Li Mingsong at Peking University has provided new insights into the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and its effects on ocean chemistry......»»
Troubled waters: How to stop Australia"s freshwater fish species from going extinct
Three-quarters of Australia's freshwater fish species are found nowhere else on the planet. This makes us the sole custodians of remarkable creatures such as the ornate rainbowfish, the ancient Australian lungfish and the magnificently named longnose.....»»
Study confirms Egyptians drank hallucinogenic cocktails in ancient rituals
A University of South Florida professor found the first-ever physical evidence of hallucinogens in an Egyptian mug, validating written records and centuries-old myths of ancient Egyptian rituals and practices. Through advanced chemical analyses, Davi.....»»
Digital digs: Technology preserving Europe"s cultural heritage
Technological advancements such as 3D scans based on drone images are helping archaeologists document Europe's heritage before sites and artifacts are lost to future generations......»»
More evidence that Europe"s ancient landscapes were open woodlands: Study finds oak, hazel and yew were abundant
In 2023 a research group from Aarhus University in Denmark found that light woodland and open vegetation dominated Europe's temperate forests before Homo sapiens. In a new study, recently published in the Journal of Ecology, they take a closer look a.....»»
Declassified spy images help locate ancient battle site
Archaeologists from Durham University and University of Al-Qadisiyah in Iraq have pinpointed the location of a famous early Islamic battle using declassified spy satellite images......»»
Archaeologists excavate earliest known ancient Maya salt works
A team of archaeologists from LSU and the University of Texas at Tyler has excavated the earliest known ancient Maya salt works in southern Belize, as reported in the journal Antiquity......»»
Archaeologists find ancient cheese makers used tree leaves to boost milk production
A study published in Nature Ecology and Evolution sheds light on the innovative practices of Central Europe's early cheese makers......»»
New strategies needed to combat immune system-damaging poultry virus detected on UK farms
Researchers working to understand the prevalence of a virus that can severely damage the immune system of chickens have said that new strategies are needed to improve the control of the disease in the UK......»»
New AI model improves prediction power for genomics related to disease
To understand the workings of DNA in relation to disease, scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed the first multimodal deep learning model of its kind, EPBDxDNABERT-2, capable of ascertaining the precise relationship between trans.....»»
New DNA evidence rewrites long-told stories of people in ancient Pompeii
When a volcanic eruption buried the ancient city of Pompeii, the last desperate moments of its citizens were preserved in stone for centuries......»»
Saturday Citations: Color vision created demand for colorful animals; observing black hole light echoes; deadlines!
This week, researchers hypothesized that human culture is distinguished from cultures of other species like whales by unique open-endedness—the ability to communicate and understand an infinite number of possibilities. An ancient unicellular organi.....»»
New insights into the Denisovans—the hominin group that interbred with modern day humans
Scientists believe individuals of the most recently discovered hominin group (the Denisovans) that interbred with modern day humans passed on some of their genes via multiple, distinct interbreeding events that helped shape early human history......»»
New tools give researchers hope for fungus-ravaged US bats
Standing at a woodland entrance to the world's longest cave system in Kentucky, a park ranger warns those about to enter of an extremely deadly fungus—not for humans, but for the bat populations it has devastated across North America......»»
Cliff-top sites preserve ancient Aboriginal heritage on the River Murray
New research by Flinders University researchers, conducted in partnership with the River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation (RMMAC), has documented ancient archaeological sites on the cliff-tops in the region between Morgan and Overland Corner.....»»
Indigenous elders and ritual specialists help to unlock the meaning of ancient Amazonian rock art
Archaeologists documenting tens of thousands of rock art motifs in the Colombian Amazon have been consulting with Indigenous elders and ritual specialists to help interpret their meaning......»»
Q&A: Looking at ancient Roman plagues through an environmental lens
A pit of human bones, potential evidence of a catastrophic epidemic that struck Constantinople in 541 A.D. Sulfur deposits trapped in polar ice, showing traces of a series of massive volcanic eruptions. For Brandon McDonald, these seemingly incongruo.....»»
A causal theory for studying the cause-and-effect relationships of genes paves the way for targeted treatments
By studying changes in gene expression, researchers learn how cells function at a molecular level, which could help them understand the development of certain diseases......»»
Oldest depictions of fishing discovered in Ice Age art: Camp site reveals 15,800-year-old engravings of fish trapping
The Ice Age camp site of Gönnersdorf on the banks of the Rhine has revealed a groundbreaking discovery that sheds new light on early fishing practices. New imaging methods have allowed researchers to see intricate engravings of fish on ancient schis.....»»
Ancient unicellular organism indicates embryonic development might have existed prior to animals" evolution
Chromosphaera perkinsii is a single-celled species discovered in 2017 in marine sediments around Hawaii. The first signs of its presence on Earth have been dated at over a billion years, well before the appearance of the first animals......»»