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.....»»
The dark energy pushing our universe apart may not be what it seems, scientists say
Distant, ancient galaxies are giving scientists more hints that a mysterious force called dark energy may not be what they thought......»»
Ancient meets modern as a new subway in Greece showcases archaeological treasures
Greece's second largest city, Thessaloniki, is getting a brand new subway system that will showcase archaeological discoveries made during construction that held up the project for decades......»»
Oldest direct evidence of hot water activity on Mars found
New Curtin University-led research has uncovered what may be the oldest direct evidence of ancient hot water activity on Mars, revealing the planet may have been habitable at some point in its past......»»
Building climate resilient cocoa farming in West Africa
Agroforestry systems, which integrate trees and shrubs into farming, are vital to achieving sustainable cocoa production in West Africa where 70% of the world cocoa is produced. Climate change induced drought means that it is ever more critical to ad.....»»
Ancient fish-trapping network supported the rise of Maya civilization
The Maya were landscape engineers on a grand scale, even when it came to fishing. On the eve of the rise of the Maya civilization, people living in what’s now Belize turned a wh.....»»
AI and genus-conditioned algorithms create precise simulation-ready models of 600,000 existing urban trees
The Irish philosopher George Berkely, best known for his theory of immaterialism, once famously mused, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" What about AI-generated trees? They probably wouldn't make a s.....»»
Upskilling: An interview with Steph Piper
What maker skills do you have? What maker skills would you like to acquire? Steph Piper has been thinking about upskilling, and inspired by video games, she began to identify sets of skills as tiles that form trees. She created an online repository.....»»
Engraved trees map the way to preserving Sámi culture
Archaeologists analyzed trees engraved by the Indigenous Sámi of Arctic Europe, revealing the significance of these rare remnants of Sámi culture and the importance of preserving them from ongoing deforestation......»»
Oldest known alphabet unearthed in ancient Syrian city
What appears to be evidence of the oldest alphabetic writing in human history is etched onto finger-length, clay cylinders excavated from a tomb in Syria by a team of Johns Hopkins University researchers......»»
Study: Why Aztec “death whistles” sound like human screams
The basic mechanism relies on the Venturi effect, producing a unique rough and piercing sound. Archaeologists have discovered numerous ceramic or clay whistles at Aztec sites, dub.....»»
Researchers use immersive 3D tech to document and study the human past
Archaeologists from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) are revolutionizing the excavation and documentation of ancient sites with cutting-edge 3D immersive technologies......»»
Dedicated Roman gladiator superfans were the football hooligans of their day
In the amphitheater of Gladiator II, Ridley Scott trains his lens on fighters and emperors—but no account of ancient gladiators is complete without its devotees......»»
Superior photosynthesis abilities of some plants could hold key to climate-resilient crops
More than 3 billion years ago, on an Earth entirely covered with water, photosynthesis first evolved in ancient bacteria. In the following millions of years, those bacteria evolved into plants, optimizing themselves along the way for various environm.....»»
Ankylosaurid dinosaur, unearthed in China in 1986, identified as a new species
A team of archaeologists and paleontologists at the Jiangxi Provincial Museum, working with colleagues from Yunnan University, all in China, has found that the unearthed skeletal remains of an ankylosaurid dinosaur uncovered in 1986 at a dig site at.....»»
How trees adjust their strategies for acquiring nutrients through their roots as soil warms with climate change
Through a 20-year experiment, investigators have shown how different trees adjust their strategies for acquiring nutrients through their roots as soil warms with climate change......»»
Algorithm predicts DNA methylation in ancient specimens, providing insight into human evolution
Research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution introduces a novel method for inferring DNA methylation patterns in non-skeletal tissues from ancient specimens, providing new insights into human evolution. As DNA methylation is a key marker of gene.....»»
Ancient DNA sheds light on adaptation of early Europeans at the dawn of the agricultural revolution
Leveraging a unique statistical analysis and applying it to ancient DNA extracted from human skeletal remains, a team of researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and the University of California, Los Angeles has revealed new insights into h.....»»
Book Review: How Oak Trees Warn Us about the Limits of Adapting to Climate Change
Oak trees have genetic flexibility that allows them to solve ecological problems. But even they will need our help to survive climate change.....»»
Genetic analysis of hazelnut trees in British Columbia shows wide dispersal by Indigenous people
A team of environmental management specialists, dendrologists and Indigenous studies researchers found evidence showing that Indigenous people living in British Columbia cultivated hazelnut trees long before colonists from Europe arrived......»»
Populations overheat as major cities fail canopy goals
A new study led by RMIT University in Australia measuring access to nature for eight major global cities found most still have inadequate canopy cover, despite access to an abundance of trees......»»