Seeing the wood for the trees: How archaeologists use hazelnuts to reconstruct ancient woodlands
If we could stand in a landscape that our Mesolithic ancestors called home, what would we see around us? Scientists have devised a method of analyzing preserved hazelnut shells to tell us whether the microhabitats around archaeological sites were hea.....»»
Ancient microbes linked to evolution of human immune proteins
When you become infected with a virus, some of the first weapons your body deploys to fight it are those passed down to us from our microbial ancestors billions of years ago. According to new research from The University of Texas at Austin, two key e.....»»
Ancient civilizations had ways to counter the urban heat island effect—how history"s lessons apply to cities today
As intense heat breaks records around the world, a little-reported fact offers some hope for cooling down cities: Under even the most intense periods of extreme heat, some city blocks never experience heat wave temperatures......»»
Trees stripped by invasive caterpillars muster defenses that can harm native insects, research shows
An invasive insect with an insatiable appetite can cause serious problems for a favorite native moth that likes the same food source—even though the two are never in direct competition for a meal, according to new research, published in the journal.....»»
Ancient tree resin artifacts provide earliest-known evidence of humans dispersing through the Pacific
Exactly when and how humans dispersed into and through the Pacific remains an intensely debated topic. Previous studies have been hampered by imprecise chronometric dating, making the exact timing and movement of people into the Pacific difficult to.....»»
Fossil hotspots in Africa obscure a more complete picture of human evolution, study says
Much of the early human fossil record originates from just a few places in Africa, where favorable geological conditions have preserved a trove of fossils used by scientists to reconstruct the story of human evolution......»»
Four things ancient Greeks and Romans got right about mental health
According to the World Health Organization, about 280 million people worldwide have depression and about one billion have a mental health problem of any kind......»»
Ancient DNA reveals Indigenous dog lineages found at Jamestown, Virginia
Previous scientific studies have indicated that North American dog lineages were replaced with European ones between 1492 and the present day. To better understand the timing of this replacement, researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Cha.....»»
This Code Breaker Is Using AI to Decode the Heart’s Secret Rhythms
Inspired by his expertise in breaking ancient codes, Roeland Decorte built a smartphone app that continuously listens for signs of disease hidden in our pulse......»»
New Windows 11 build removes ancient, arbitrary 32GB size limit for FAT32 disks
But the Windows NT-era disk formatting UI hasn't been fixed yet. Enlarge / If you've formatted a disk in Windows in the last 30 years, you may have come across this dialog box. (credit: Andrew Cunningham) As we wait for.....»»
New research shows agricultural impacts on soil microbiome and fungal communities
New research from Smithsonian's Bird Friendly Coffee program highlights a type of biodiversity that often gets overlooked: soil bacteria and fungal communities. For over twenty years, Smithsonian research has shown that coffee farms with shade trees.....»»
Trees compete for space, light and resources, and those clashes can leave battle scars
When you walk through a forest, it may feel like a static setting where very little is happening. But trees are constantly interacting and reacting to each other as they grow. There's intense competition for light and space. Every shift affects the o.....»»
California is home to millions of urban trees: What happens when they die?
To stop California's 6 million urban trees from knocking out power lines, crashing through houses, or lying across streets when they die, humans have to intervene......»»
Cactus dreams: Revealing the secrets of mescaline making
Mescaline, a natural hallucinogen known since ancient times, was not only a favorite of artists and bohemians but also a mainstay of brain research throughout the first half of the 20th century, until it was eclipsed in the 1950s by the much more pot.....»»
Stonehenge"s Altar Stone origins reveal advanced ancient Britain
New research led by Curtin University has revealed Stonehenge's monumental six-ton Altar Stone, long believed to originate from Wales, actually hails from Scotland. The study titled "A Scottish Provenance for the Altar Stone of Stonehenge" was publis.....»»
Rare archaeological site reveals "surprising" Neanderthal behavior at Pyrenees foothills
An unchartered area in the foothills of the Southern Pyrenees in Spain is providing insights into a poorly known period of Neanderthal history, offering clues that could help archaeologists uncover the mystery of their downfall, according to research.....»»
Study reveals urban trees suffer more from heat waves and drought than their rural counterparts
A recently published study in Ecological Applications details how trees in New York City and Boston are more negatively impacted by heat waves and drought than trees of the same species in nearby rural forests. The finding, made by researchers at the.....»»
House call: A new study rethinks early Christian landmark
Since its discovery by modern researchers a century ago, an ancient structure known as the "Christian building" has become widely considered the cornerstone of early Christian architecture. Constructed around 232 C.E. in the ancient city of Dura-Euro.....»»
Findings reveal eurypterids evolved giant size independently at least nine times
Sea scorpions, ancient predators that patrolled Earth's marine and freshwater habitats hundreds of millions of years ago, are the focus of a sizable scientific mystery......»»
Jamestown DNA helps solve a 400-year-old mystery and unexpectedly reveals a family secret
An ancient DNA (aDNA) study at the 17th-century English colony of Jamestown, Virginia, has identified two of the town's earliest settlers, and revealed an unexpected family secret......»»
New study unveils 16,000 years of climate history in the tropical Andes
A new study that explores ancient temperatures and rainfall patterns in the tropical Andes of South America has revealed how 16,000 years of climate history in this part of the world was driven by carbon dioxide levels and ocean currents from global.....»»