How did ancient civilizations make sense of the cosmos, and what did they get right?
In the spring of 1900, a group of Greek sponge divers, blown off course by a storm in the Aegean, stumbled upon the wreck of an ancient Roman ship loaded with treasure that had sunk more than 2,000 years earlier off the remote Greek island of Antikyt.....»»
Ab initio methods help scientists make sense of complex particle collisions
When atomic nuclei and subatomic particles interact, the results are incredibly complex. These are the "many body problems" of quantum mechanics. To help make sense of these interactions, scientists create ways to simplify the range of possible outco.....»»
Egalitarian oddity found in the Neolithic
Men, women, and immigrants all seemed to have similar dietary inputs. Enlarge / A skeleton found during 1950's excavations at the Barman site. (credit: Université de Genève) Did ancient people practice equality? While.....»»
Pongamia trees grow where citrus once flourished, offering renewable energy and plant-based protein
An ancient tree from India is now thriving in groves where citrus trees once flourished in Florida, and could help provide the nation with renewable energy......»»
Elon Musk denies tweets misled Twitter investors ahead of purchase
Elon Musk says lawsuit over late disclosure of Twitter stake “makes no sense.” Enlarge (credit: Marc Piasecki / Contributor | Getty Images Entertainment) Just before the Fourth of July holiday, Elon Musk moved to di.....»»
Evidence shows ancient Saudi Arabia had complex and thriving communities, not struggling people in a barren land
To date, little has been known about people living in north-western Saudi Arabia during the Neolithic—the period traditionally defined by the shift to humans controlling food production and settling into communities with agriculture and domesticate.....»»
Ancient volcanic eruption not a catalyst for early Homo sapiens cultural innovations, researchers say
An international team of researchers from the Universities of Tübingen (Dr. Armando Falcucci), Siena, and Bologna analyzed the cultural remains left by groups of early Homo sapiens at Grotta di Castelcivita in southern Italy, dating back to before t.....»»
Bone remains indicate extinct humans survived on the Tibetan plateau for 160,000 years
Bone remains found in a Tibetan cave 3,280 m above sea level indicate an ancient group of humans survived here for many millennia, according to a new study published in Nature......»»
Study reveals ancient Nile floods were highly variable during wetter climates
Global warming as well as recent droughts and floods threaten large populations along the Nile Valley. Understanding how such a large river will respond to an invigorated hydrological cycle is therefore a pressing issue. Insights can be gained by stu.....»»
Clues to mysterious disappearance of North America"s large mammals 50,000 years ago found within ancient bone collagen
50,000 years ago, North America was ruled by megafauna. Lumbering mammoths roamed the tundra, while forests were home to towering mastodons, fierce saber-toothed tigers and enormous wolves. Bison and extraordinarily tall camels moved in herds across.....»»
Was Seahenge created for a ritual to extend the summer during climate change battle?
New research into an ancient timber circle discovered on a Norfolk beach and dubbed "Seahenge" suggests it was created in response to a period of extreme climatic deterioration at the close of the third millennium BC......»»
Report indicates EU citizens feel increasingly European
The sense of a European identity has increased among inhabitants of the European Union in the past 15 years—in spite of crises like Brexit and the Eurozone crisis. That is the conclusion of professor of European Studies Theresa Kuhn in a recent pub.....»»
Ancient medicine blends with modern-day research in new tissue regeneration method
For centuries, civilizations have used naturally occurring, inorganic materials for their perceived healing properties. Egyptians thought green copper ore helped eye inflammation, the Chinese used cinnabar for heartburn, and Native Americans used cla.....»»
Researcher uses satellite imagery to investigate ancient urbanism in eastern Africa
At the U of A's Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, Wolfgang Alders, a National Science Foundation SBE Postdoctoral Fellow, is using satellite imagery and archaeological methods to better understand the origins of urban life on the eastern Afri.....»»
New sensing techniques can detect drought tolerance in ancient crops, may inform new breeding programs
Drought is the most devastating environmental stress that farmers face worldwide. With the added pressures of climate change, drought years have become less predictable, more frequent and more severe......»»
"Extraordinary" 4,000-year-old Egyptian skull may show signs of attempts to treat cancer
From ancient texts we know that—for their times—the ancient Egyptians were exceptionally skilled at medicine. For example, they could identify, describe, and treat diseases and traumatic injuries, build protheses, and put in dental fillings. Othe.....»»
Researchers introduce a planetary inclusion scale to foster broader ethical thinking
Social inclusion and having a sense of belonging with other people are key elements of a good life. However, the fate of humanity is a challenge that extends beyond our social reality. Experiences of belonging and inclusion, understood in a broader s.....»»
Study reports successful synthesis of centimeter-sized single crystals
A spin liquid is a special state of matter that arises in certain magnetic materials at very low temperatures. Despite its name, it doesn't have anything to do with liquids in the everyday sense. Normally, in a magnet, these electron spins like to li.....»»
Discovery of ancient rock impression suggests ability to form cornified skin goes back to early evolution of tetrapods
A team of geologists, paleontologists and archaeologists affiliated with several institutions in Poland, Czechia and Germany has found evidence suggesting that the ability to form cornified skin appendages is not unique to terrestrial vertebrates, bu.....»»
Could Martian atmospheric samples teach us more about the red planet than surface samples?
NASA is actively working to return surface samples from Mars in the next few years, which they hope will help us better understand whether ancient life once existed on the red planet's surface billions of years ago. But what about atmospheric samples.....»»
Video: Five new stunning images from Euclid"s Telescope
ESA's Euclid space mission has released five unprecedented new views of the universe. These never-before-seen images demonstrate Euclid's remarkable ability to unravel the secrets of the cosmos......»»