Where did life first form on Earth? Some scientists think it could have been around hydrothermal vents that may have existed at the bottom of the ocean 4.5 billion years ago. In a new paper in the journal Astrobiology, scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory describe how they mimicked possible ancient undersea environments with a … Read more
A groundbreaking study published by an international team, including faculty from Binghamton University, State University of New York, has documented the first known case of Down syndrome in Neanderthals. This discovery sheds new light on the social behaviors of our ancient relatives, revealing their capacity for altruistic care and support for vulnerable members within their … Read more
Four and a half billion years ago, the nascent solar system was a chaotic cloud of gas and dust. This primordial mix, swirling around the newly formed sun, began to condense and coalesce into solid bodies, giving rise to asteroids and planets. This initial stage of planetary formation occurred within a structure known as a … Read more
A joint study by researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, the University of Zaragoza, and the University of Strasbourg has provided groundbreaking insights into early Neolithic dietary practices in the Pyrenees. This research, conducted on archaeological materials from the Chaves and Puyascada caves in Huesca, Spain, has revealed the earliest direct evidence of dairy … Read more
Cosmology is the scientific study of the large-scale properties of the universe as a whole. It aims to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and eventual fate of the universe. By examining cosmic phenomena such as the Big Bang, cosmic microwave background radiation, dark matter, and dark energy, cosmologists develop theories and models that explain how … Read more
Rising to power in the wake of the Classic Maya collapse, Chichén Itzá was among the largest and most influential cities of the ancient Maya, but much about its political connections and ritual life remain poorly understood. In a study in Nature, researchers discover a practice of ritual child sacrifice focused exclusively on males. Close … Read more
Curtin University-led research has unveiled a groundbreaking discovery in paleontology: fossilized bones unearthed in western Queensland, Australia, have been identified as belonging to a newly recognized species of pterosaur, a formidable flying reptile that coexisted with dinosaurs. The detailed study, titled “Haliskia peterseni, a new anhanguerian pterosaur from the late Early Cretaceous of Australia,” has … Read more
Recent discoveries in Brazil have significantly advanced our understanding of the evolutionary history of ray-finned fish brains. Research led by Rodrigo Tinoco Figueroa, a doctoral student at the University of Michigan, has unearthed remarkably well-preserved brains in late Paleozoic ray-finned fishes. These findings, which include other rare soft tissues like fragments of the heart, eyes, … Read more
Cornell University researchers have provided a simple and comprehensive—if less dramatic—explanation for bright radar reflections initially interpreted as liquid water beneath the ice cap on Mars’ south pole. Their simulations show that small variations in layers of water ice—too subtle for ground-penetrating radar instruments to resolve—can cause constructive interference between radar waves. Such interference can … Read more
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. Other conditions, like cancer, they couldn’t treat—but they might have tried. Examining the limits of traumatological and oncological treatments in ancient … Read more
Archaeologists have discovered evidence for the earliest cattle herds in northern Europe, at the site of Swifterbant in the Netherlands. Using a combination of zoological, botanical, and biochemical methods, they investigated the emergence of farming in northern Europe and found that, not only are these the earliest known domestic cattle, they were also managed in … Read more
A groundbreaking discovery by a team of paleontologists has unearthed the fossil of a colossal flying reptile from the Jurassic period, boasting an impressive wingspan exceeding three meters. This extraordinary find, unearthed in a gravel pit near Abingdon-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, ranks among the largest pterosaurs from that era ever discovered. The fossil, which comprises part … Read more
A new study from Tel Aviv University identified the earliest appearance worldwide of special stone tools, used 400,000 years ago to process fallow deer. The tools, called Quina scrapers (after the site in France where they were first discovered), were unearthed at the prehistoric sites of Jaljulia and Qesem Cave. They are characterized by a … Read more
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 the continent, while giant beavers plied its lakes and ponds. Immense ground sloths weighing over 1,000 kg were found … Read more
An international team of astronomers has made a groundbreaking discovery with the identification of the two earliest and most distant galaxies ever observed, dating back to just 300 million years after the Big Bang. This significant milestone in the study of the early universe was achieved using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The discoveries … Read more
Within the intricate landscape of cell membrane lipids and the kinase enzymes that regulate them, phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) have long dominated scientific research, particularly due to their roles in cancer, diabetes, and various cellular functions. However, the spotlight on PI3Ks has often overshadowed other crucial members of this lipid enzyme family, including phosphatidylinositol-5-phosphate 4-kinases (PI5P4Ks). … Read more
Published today in the Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, a groundbreaking study has unveiled evidence of an “Age of Monotremes” in Australia, unearthed by a collaborative team from the Australian Museum (AM), Museums Victoria, and the Australian Opal Centre. This discovery, spearheaded by Professor Tim Flannery, Honorary Associate of the Australian Museum, and Professor … Read more
For the first time, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide ices have been observed in the far reaches of our solar system on trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). A research team, led by planetary scientists Mário Nascimento De Prá and Noemí Pinilla-Alonso from the University of Central Florida’s Florida Space Institute (FSI), made the findings by using the … Read more
Thousands of years ago, early hunter-gatherers returned regularly to Tagua Tagua Lake in Chile to hunt ancient elephants and take advantage of other local resources, according to a study published May 22 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Rafael Labarca of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and colleagues. Multiple archaeological sites are known … Read more
A famous Mycenaean suit of armor was not just ceremonial, but suitable for extended combat, according to a study published May 22 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Andreas Flouris of the University of Thessaly, Greece and colleagues. One of the oldest known suits of European armor is a 3,500-year-old suit found near the … Read more